Same old, same old
Subject Zero from the first issue is now suddenly a villain and Kal, aka. Subject One is... a kid. In this flashbacked tale, we get to see how Kal gained and lost friends.
The Good:
- The Art: It's pretty cool. You can tell that Subject Zero is huge. Unlike with Cyborg a couple issues ago where you had to have the Flash explain that Cyborg is more buff, it's absolutely clear that Subject Zero is huge and indestructible. It's great art for a nice book that has to convey a lot of different freak-factors.
- It's a very touching tale, all in all. Even though young Kal does not speak, it is perfectly clear what he feels. Well done.
- I still like Subject Zero's look.
The Bad:
- By now, there's very little difference between regular Superman and the Superman of this book, even though we're still not officially introduced to someone calling himself or being called "Superman". It's a superpowered alien in love with a girl named Lois. That's what it's about now. Where did all the interesting plot ideas from the first issue go?
- Subject Zero has devolved from a rather interesting, newly-introduced character to the stock psychotic villain of the day. And if that wans't bad enough, he wasn't even allowed to be any good at being psychotic. He stomps about the place for a bit, then he gets defeated within a couple panels. Whoopee.
- Why do you have all these interesting side-characters, such as the Medusa-like scientist, when you're never going to use the for anything other than providing cannon fodder for Subject Zero? Couldn't this character have been used elsewhere in a more interesting situation?
- By now, this proves to be an annoying trend: I have no idea why I keep buying these books. They offer nothing that could give any clues or hints or anything to the main plot of Flashpoint. This is more like a reboot. We don't need it. Why? Because there's a reboot coming up in a couple of weeks. As such, we don't need to know who Superman is. We don't need to know that he's in love with Lois as we're getting yet another new version of that in a couple weeks..
The Verdict:
You might as well buy this. Why? Because you've most likely bought the first issue and buying first issues is always kind of daft when it's a three-issue series and you're not getting the other ones. It's only three dollars, after all. Besides, the art is nice, but don't expect it to be any different from any other Superman incarnation you've ever come across.
