Review: Luthor Takes the Stage in a Solid, If Uneven, 'Action Comics Special' #1

Coming on the heels of Geoff Johns’s New 52 Justice League runs, which set up Lex Luthor as a [...]

Coming on the heels of Geoff Johns's New 52 Justice League runs, which set up Lex Luthor as a superhero rather than a villain for a time, the Rebirth status quo for Superman was intended to include an armored, flying Lex Luthor wearing a Superman "S" on his chest and vying for Metropolis's love.

It never entirely took shape; Action Comics writer Dan Jurgens had a parade of big-picture stories in which Luthor played a negligible role, largely because he would have been outclassed and overpowered. Over in Superman, Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason focused on more personal stories affecting Superman's family and Lex really didn't fit in there, either.

The Action Comics Special #1, from Jurgens and a cavalcade of top DC talent, gives Jurgens a third consecutive chance at an epic send-off for his run while also providing DC with an issue of Action Comics to run this month (since incoming writer Brian Michael Bendis will be starting with a six-issue, weekly series which begins at the end of the month). The publisher seems to have decided that the best use of that real estate is to tell stories that center more on Lex Luthor than Superman himself, somewhat fulfilling that promise of early Rebirth.

The The comic features a lead feature by Jurgens with artist Will Conrad, colorist Wil Quintana, and letterer Rob Leigh. In addition to a preview introducing Firebrand, a character who will soon be seen in The Unexpected, Action Comics Special #1 features a backup story by Mark Russell, Jill Thompson, and colorist Romulo Fajardo Jr. (this, too, lad letters by Leigh), and another by writer Max Landis with artist Francis Manapul and letterer Steve Wands.

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(Photo: DC Entertainment)

The Jurgens/Conrad story, "The Last Will and Testament of Lex Luthor," centers on a mysterious figure who appears to be Lex Luthor. He impersonates Superman using impressive technology and manages to "trick" the Fortress of Solitude into revealing Superman's secret identity, then uses that knowledge to launch a series of attacks on Lois Lane, hoping to ruin Superman's life by killing his wife.

The story is a solid closing chapter for Jurgens's take on Lex, although it is difficult to say more without blowing its biggest reveal. Dealing with the dynamic between Lex and Clark, the story — like the rest in this issue — is likely meant to be understood as an imaginary (non-canon) story. Conrad's art is strong and Quintana's colors do some heavy lifting, but the story does not come together quite as nicely as Action Comics #999, or Jurgens's story in #1000, both of which were one of the great Superman writers at the top of his game.

Mark Russell and Jill Thompson's story, "Supreme Est Lex," is the tale most likely to be an attention-grabber, since it deals with the White House Correspondents Dinner, where Clark Kent delivers a blistering roast of Lex Luthor (in attendance in his capacity as the head of LexCorp), who takes the jokes deeply personally and chooses to run for President.

…Was that a spoiler? Well, yes and no. In short order when reading the story, it becomes clear that this is a riff on U.S. President Donald Trump's famous roasting at one of the Obama Administration dinners, which is rumored to have provoked the multimillionaire into running for office. If you don't see the ending coming, you likely have not heard those Trump rumors, in which case the ending will not connect with you in the same way as it would someone who is in the know.

Jill Thompson's art is mostly lovely, although uneven, and while Russell gets in some very funny bits, this story feels a bit too on-the-nose to be truly inspired. A much funnier and more cutting approach to lampooning Trump came in Russell and Steve Pugh's The Flintstones #5, cover dated January 2017.

Max Landis's story, "Driver's Seat," is a simple, heartfelt one with a nice ending and gorgeous art from Francis Manapul, who remains one of DC's most reliably impressive artists. It might have made a nice addition to Action Comics #1000.

In an odd coincidence, the story features Superman going out of his way to provide financial security to an ingenious criminal after he arrests him -- something Batman does in this week's Deathstroke issue.

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(Photo: DC Entertainment)

There is something off-putting about including Max Landis here. Releasing "Driver's Seat" in this book means that he is published in an issue where the lead feature was written by Jurgens — someone whose work on "The Death and Return of Superman" Landis has attacked numerous times in the past.

Landis also remains under the specter of numerous allegations of sexual assault, including from filmmaker Lexi Alexander (who has directed episodes of Arrow and Supergirl) and MAD Magazine's Allie Goertz. The idea of DC eager to work with Landis following all of that feels unsavory.

While the story itself is perfectly serviceable, it is merely good, not great, and it leaves the story, and to some extent the book, tainted by Landis's baggage.

The Firebrand preview looks to be another of the New Age of Heroes teasers which will be included in numerous DC books, but since this is a bit of a Frankenstein's monster of a one-shot, it seems likely a lot of fans will interpret it as part of this issue.

Written by Steve Orlando and featuring art by Cary Nord and Ryan Sook, the story also features the work of Mick Gray and Wade von Grawbadger on inks and FCO Plascencia on colors. It is a great-looking story, gorgeously rendered and featuring interesting panel layouts and some cool character designs (including a guy who looks like a zombie version of Macho Man Randy Savage). It offers a tantalizing look ahead at The Unexpected but is not a story unto itself, and since the creative team's names do not appear on the cover of Action Comics Special #1, it is safe to assume this is not technically a part of the package.

"The Last Will and Testament of Lex Luthor": Rating: 4 out of 5
"Suprema Est Lex": Rating: 3 out of 5
"Driver's Seat": Rating: 4 out of 5

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