Written by: Joshua Williamson
Art by: Jamal Campbell
Colors by: Jamal Campbell
Letters by: Arian Maher
Cover art by: Jamal Campbell (cover A)
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: August 21, 2024
Superman #17, by DC Comics on 8/21/24, continues the Absolute Power tie-in when Superman and Zatanna travel to the JLD headquarters to find a book that leads to the bar that contains the map.
Is Superman #17 Good?
Okay, Superman #17 is not bad and possibly one of the better Absolute Power tie-ins. Joshua Williamson takes Superman on a magical mystery tour with Zatanna’s help, where we get a glimpse of the mystical highways and byways of the DC Universe. Therefore, the issue is at least novel.
When last we left the Man of Steel in Superman #16, Conner Kent escorted the gravely wounded Superman to the Fortress of Solitude for medical attention, prompting the few remaining heroes who haven’t been captured by Amanda Waller to use the Fortress as a safehouse. Superman recovered enough to speak with the refugees when he learns Zatanna has an idea about using mystical pathways to reach other heroes outside Waller’s view. Meanwhile, Lois Lane donned power armor to rescue Jimmy Olsen and her friends in Metropolis.
In Superman #17, we begin with a brief flashback prologue depicting the original Superboy’s run-in with Kid Warlock in Smallville, underscoring the young Kryptonian’s increasing dislike for all things magic.
Now, still reeling from the attack on the Fortress of Solitude in Absolute Power #2, Superman and Zatanna enter the Justice League Dark’s headquarters on a special mission – to find the Map of Mordru, which shows the reader the location of all Dark Roads for travel between points unseen. As they walk, Superman lets loose his frustration over his defeat at the Fortress and Jon Kent’s conversion into a mind-controlled cyborg.
Joshua Williamson does a decent job of setting up Superman’s state of mind, which establishes the motivations for his decisions throughout the rest of the issue. Longtime readers already know Superman is not fond of magic, but new readers will pick up that important tidbit with the opening scenes.
Elsewhere, Lois Lane rockets to Lena Luthor’s apartment in one of Lex’s power suits. There, Lena, Silver Banshee, Jimmy Olsen, and the partially-mind-wiped Lex are waiting for Lois to discuss how she got the suits and what to do next. Mercy arrives to deliver the bad news that Superman was indeed shot. In a brief lead-up to this scene, Amanda Waller dresses down Peacemaker for letting Lex escape by a “mysterious” person wearing power armor.
The preceding scene almost works. Lois flies around Metropolis like Iron Man without a helmet, so she should be imminently spottable and easy to identify. Why would Jimmy or anyone else be shocked that Lois would use a tool at her disposal to help her allies? The tone and purpose of this scene are just odd.
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