Smallville Season 11 #4 Review
Lex unveils his plans for Earth’s defense, and reveals his mysterious new ally, in Smallville Season 11 #4.
Smallville Season 11 #4
After the doctors assure Lex that there is nothing wrong with his brain, while at the same time he’s seeing and hearing visions of his dead sister Tess, he calls a press conference announcing his new Guardian Platforms, weaponized space stations that will defend Earth from hostile aliens. The man Lex has placed in charge of this new endeavor? Hank Henshaw. Meanwhile, Superman and STAR Labs team up to try and discover the source of the cosmic rift, and the location of the space ship that came through.
The meaning of this story’s title “Guardian” becomes clear as Lex reveals his plan for planetary defense. While this version of Lex is a little stiffer than I’m used to (it really hurts Lex’s character to not have Rosenbaum’s natural charm to spruce up the dialog), I can totally get behind a Lex who not only wants to steal the spotlight from Superman, but who does such an epic job of it. The Guardian Platforms not only make Lex one of the most important men on the planet, putting him at the center of the action, but if successful, they act as a pretty big stepping stone to the White House, his eventual goal, which we know thanks to the various flashforwards on the TV show.
The fact that Tess hasn’t been forgotten after being killed is gratifying, as she became such an important character. Her haunting Lex as a ghost, however, reminds me of this season’s SUPERNATURAL, where one of the main characters went through the exact same story with visions of the wisecracking Devil following him around. I hope there’s a good reason for her existence beyond Lex’s hallucination.
STAR Labs now standing for “Swan Technology And Research” was inspired. Including Virgil Swan as the founder of the home of Superman’s science team is one I love, even if I’m having a hard time remembering if this clashes with TV continuity. It seems odd that STAR would never have been mentioned as being founded by Swan before now. Either way, I love Miller taking a cue from the Animated Series and having Supes working closely with the group.
Henshaw’s reveal was spoiled a while back thanks to the solicitations, but it looks as if he is “this season’s” main villain story arc. I had kind of hoped that honor would go to Lex as we rebuilt his character. However, it is nice to have a bad guy Superman can punch eventually. I do wonder though, how many fans are more familiar with Henshaw from Geoff Johns’ GREEN LANTERN comics than from Superman.
A COMIC BOOK BLOG RATING
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Lex’s plans are suitably huge, and the new STAR Labs is such a cool idea | The Tess plot feels warmed over from SUPERNATURAL |
| Rating |
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