Last Week In Comics:
A fresh take on 5 day-old comics.

Adventure Comics #5

The main story may have been a “Blackest Night” tie in, but the focus on Superboy-Prime holds more weight than the always popular zombies also featured.

Superboy-Prime was a major player during the Infinite Crisis, his role was that of a super-powered pawn of Alex Luthor to recreate the Multiverse. Since his reemergence, S-Prime has been portrayed as a spoiled brat who’s super-powered temper tantrums ended the lives of many characters of the DCU. After Infinite Crisis, S-Prime was a member of the Sinestro Corps and then led the Legion of Super-Villains before being exiled back to his proper universe Earth-Prime. Earth-Prime is our Earth where the DCU heroes exist only in comic books, the same comic books that show Superboy-Prime as a villain. Last Week In Comics (LWIC):

• Superboy-Prime flies to the offices of DC Comics (on Earth-Prime) to convince them to stop writing about the Black Lanterns and making him out to be such a cry-baby.
• Before S-Prime convinces DC that if they stop creating the comic then the “Blackest Night” will end the Black Lanterns attack S-Prime and move the fight back to where it started, his basement.
• Alex Luthor tries to fill Superboy up with emotion to feed on, but Prime’s emotions are too conflicted and switch back between: will, hope, love, fear, and rage.
• Superboy-Prime uses the old “if you can’t beat them, join them” tactic and places a Black Lantern ring on his finger.
• Full of emotion, S-Prime takes turns being one of each of the colors of Lanterns to destroy them.
• After defeating the Black Lanterns, S-Prime is reunited with his girlfriend, who calls him a hero. Being labeled a hero fills Prime up with hope as the last panel of the story focuses on the black ring on Laurie’s hand.

I enjoyed reading about Superboy-Prime trashing the DC Comic offices, but what was even better about this comic was the short story setting up the next arc – Conner Kent, the current Superboy, vs Lex Luthor.

Amazing Spider-Man #614

Recently Electro returned to NYC broke, grumpy, middle aged, with uncontrollable powers. Ticked off that he lost all of his investments from the money he stole in the past, he created a couple of viral Youtube videos encouraging the people that were hit by the recession to stand up against the large companies and their government bailouts. Targeting the DB (formerly the Daily Bugle) and Dexter Bennett specifically, Electro makes a deal with the publisher that he will back off if he pays. Using the “blood money” from Bennett, Electro pays the Mad Thinker to cure him of his now uncontrollable powers. Instead of removing them, the process did the opposite – Electro became supercharged. LWIC:

• Electro steals electricity from every electrical source in the city.
• With the new found power in both the public and super-nature, Electro wants more of both.
• To get more media attention and power he goes back the DB an after Dexter Bennett.
• Spider-man, of course, shows up just in time to convince Mayor J. Jonah Jamison to lend him some troops to capture Electro.
• The Mayor’s troops cut the power to the city and Spidey takes down Electro.
• Electro was not the only thing that went down during the attack – the DB collapsed in the battle.
• In prison Electro is rescued by the Kraven the Hunter’s wife and the Chamelion.

Before the DB (formerly the Daily Bugle) was destroyed, Bennett gave the property and business back to the original owner – J. Jonah Jamison. With Jamison back in control of the Bugle, even though there is no physical building, and the formation of a team of super-villains this comic was a great read for the setup of the next storyline alone.

and

THE BEST COMIC OF LAST WEEK
BATGIRL #5

There was a time before “cross-company” mandated crossovers when Super-Heroes “use(d) their powers to police day-to-day crime while also combating threats against humanity by supervillains, who as their name implies are criminals of ‘unprecedented powers’ in the same way that superheroes are crime fighters with ‘unprecedented powers.’” (source Wikipedia) Batgirl, while tied into continuity, steers away from the “company-wide” take on storytelling and returns to traditional take on super-hero comics. LWIC:

• Batgirls first official night patrolling the town results with her tangleing with a pyromaniac who’s veins are filled with gasoline.
• After some witty banter, Batman and Robin show up and take over, not knowing that his veins are fueling the fire.
• Robin takes down down the bad dude hard spilling his “blood” all over and before the whole place goes BANG, Batgirl tosses a couple of “freezing” Batarangs.
• Batman is not happy that Batgirl froze his partner to save many innocent lives and reads the riot act to Barbra Gordon about training Steph as Batgirl.
• The freezing of Robin creates some interesting dialog between the newest Boy Wonder and the third Batgirl, as shown at the top and bottom of this post.
• The issue ends with Steph getting involved both in and out of costume with the son of a possible “big wig” in the mob that leads her to getting shot…

This book was easily the BEST COMIC OF LAST WEEK because, unlike the other Batbooks, the legacy of Batgirl isn’t being continued by Stephanie Brown, its being reinvented. This comic is just a true coming of age story for a new type of hero; a type of hero who existed before and was recently forgotten.