Action Comics #10 Review
Superman’s double identity as Clark Kent takes an unexpected turn as Nimrod, the world’s greatest hunter, chooses the Man of Steel as his next prey in Grant Morrison’s Action Comics #10.
Action Comics #10
Maxim Zarov, the world’s greatest hunter, renowned for killing every kind of creature to ever live on the Earth, begins to track Superman, following his trail all the way back to Smallville and the Kent Farm. As Zarov stalks Clark Kent through Metropolis, the young reporter publically sacrifices his life to save people from a bomb outside the Daily Star building, proving that Clark and Superman cannot be the same man, once the still-living Superman takes down Zarov. But the question still remains, with Clark Kent officially “dead” what is Superman’s next move?
Alright, so it’s taken almost a year, between the opening arc rehashing the origin and various interludes involving time travel and parallel Earths, we finally get down to the meat of what Grant Morrison’s work on Action Comics could be. Despite reports that Action would line up with the other DC titles once the opening arc was finished, we now see that the book will stick around in the “Five Years Ago” world. Most likely due the popularity of this rougher-around-the-edges Superman, and maybe a little something to do with Grant Morrison not wanting to play along with the other Superman Family books.
Also making a reappearance this issue is the t-shirt and jeans look that, again, was surprisingly popular. It now seems that Superman chooses to save the armor for big, Justice League-level stuff. Which makes sense, as the armor is a practical device by which this younger and weaker Superman protects himself. It’s ACTUALLY armor for him. But when he’s facing more human foes, he just doesn’t need it, so why bother?
Superman beating up the child-killer, only to carry the guy’s poor hamsters around with him for days trying to find them a new home was not only hilarious, but was also a great window into the kind of guy Clark is. His desire to use the Justice League to fix all the worlds’ problems shows not only his eagerness, but also his naivety. Batman’s fear that such actions would essentially turn the team into The Authority was a step in the right direction, although I’m puzzled by his belief that one day the JLA will have to take out Superman themselves. That felt wildly out of place, and I’m not sure what Morrison is driving at here.
Kraven- oops,I mean Nimrod’s hunt for Superman gives Morrison the chance to again show us a Superman is not just strong, but smart as hell, as he is one-step ahead the entire time. But the real threats have only been hinted at. Again, the little man makes an appearance, as does this mysterious “first Superman” mentioned by the Legion in issue 6.
But my favorite part of the issue would have to be Lois and Jimmy just hanging out in Clark’s apartment, like regular people. I was kind of disappointed with the distance between Clark and his two closest “friends” in the opening arc, but here we see that there is a history between these three that we have not seen yet.
That carries over into the back-up by Sholly Fisch, as the pair, along with Perry White and other reporters, eulogize Clark at a local bar. The emotion is very real, and I genuinely felt sorrow for everyone. This whole issue was filled with a grounding element the series desperately needed, spending time building up the relationships between the characters, while still giving us a fun and exciting adventure story.
A COMIC BOOK BLOG RATING
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Loved the more quiet moments with Clark and friends | Nimrod feels like just that, a dumb Kraven clone |
| Rating |
2 Comments
In JL #1, Superman knocks out Green Lantern, and in the following issue, he keeps pace with the Flash. JL 1-6 is on the same timeline with Action Comics, so why does he need the suit at all, if he’s that powerful, and he derives no benefit from it? It didn’t protect him from Darkseid’s omega beams.
Superman looks like a twit holding hamsters with the rest of the League around. A complete and utter fool. Did he really think someone would take them? Then again, the rest of the League comes across as severely out of touch in that scene. Batman’s sees Superman’s desire to do good as the pathway to hell paved with good intentions. He doesn’t see that what Superman is suggesting is the right thing to do. What’s more, Superman doesn’t have the conviction to do it on his own.
Yeah, that was a pretty… unpleasant, maybe… scene with the JL. Everyone’s attitudes just rub me the wrong way.
The Hamster thing was funny on the surface, and the more I thought about it, the more I think it’s a metaphor. Superman takes out this killer and then is forced to carry his hamsters around, because now there’s no one to care for them.
Batman is basically makes the same point when he refuses to upset the delicate balance of power on Earth. Basically he’s saying to Superman “You’re not thinking about all the hamsters you’d be stuck with if we did this thing.”
But Morrison probably could have made that point without having Superman bring the hamsters to the meeting. That was very WTF.