Review: Action Comics #999

Action Comics #999 came out this last week and reminded me of the days when you would watch a car's odometer slowly turn over some huge number. We are on the cusp of Action Comics #1000, a mega-accomplishment which brings with it a new, bold direction. We have all seen the 'Bendis is Coming!' ads. I have had waxing and waning optimism about Bendis' run. I am approaching the future with some trepidation.

But we are here to talk about Action Comics #999. This is writer Dan Jurgens' swan song. Yes, a Luthor centric special is in the works. But this is Jurgens goodbye to running the comic and guiding the Man of Steel. After a prolific run which has now spanned 3 decades, this could honestly be Jurgens' goodbye to the character. And as a result, I am looking at this issue like a funeral mass. I was sad going in, hoping to celebrate the creators and this run while also being sad that they'll be gone. For me, since Rebirth, I have had a Superman that reads right, that feels right, and that I have enjoyed. And I haven't been able to say that often these last many years.

And this issue is a bit of pure Superman. He is looking for truth and justice. He isn't cruel. He wants to inspire and bring people together. And we see a lot of that here.

We also get Will Conrad on art. There is a fair amount of realism here. The bulk of this issue are conversation scenes that are heavy with emotion and Conrad does a great job bringing us those beats.

But this is a turning point for the creators, for the comics, and for a couple of characters. On to the book.

Last issue, Lois had successfully rescued her father from being executed. The physical threat is over.

So can these two reconcile? General Lane has long been a military man of action, a man who follows orders, a man who fears Superman and aliens. It is hard for me to know how much of his past is still in continuity. But the undercurrent of his needing to be prepared should Superman go rogue remains a constant.

Lois, of course, trusts Superman, loves Superman, married Superman. And she has gone against her father in the press, revealing his secrets. As she says, the press is there to keep people accountable. Her father's missions from the shadows needed to be revealed. She is a woman of action, who wants truth and justice herself.

The conversation between father and daughter is curt and cutting. And unfortunately Jon, who wants to meet his grandfather, has to witness it all.

Superman isn't there because he is in space stopping an asteroid on a collision course with Earth. Within the asteroid is a rare crystal which is nearly invulnerable when exposed to air, something that would stand up even to him.

Superman gathers the crystal because he needs it. He plans of releasing Hank Henshaw from the Phantom Zone because it is a cruel prison, one which destroys minds already addled.

There is a lot to this scene, from an editor's note telling us what S.T.A.R. stands for to Superman thanking the Kents for raising him to know right from wrong.

Meanwhile Lois and Sam continue there debate. The General knows that he has to be ready for any threat. That is the cost of freedom.

Lois makes sure that he knows that she is aware of the cost of freedom. She has covered war. She had friends growing up whose fathers died in service.

In a brilliant debate point, General lane turns Lois' words back on her. She said that the press is there to make sure everyone has to answer to someone. So who does Superman answer to? Who is the one who will hold him accountable? Hmmm ...

These are such strong personalities and in some ways two sides of the same coin. They both want justice and fairness and truth. But they come from viewpoints of fear or hope.

Superman used the aforementioned crystal to make a prison cell and releases Cyborg Superman from the Phantom Zone. Superman can't in good conscience leave Hank Henshaw in that realm. We get a retelling of Henshaw's tragic origin, of losing his family and going mad.

After a skirmish, Superman tosses Henshaw in the cage and gives the villain a memory crystal with which Henshaw can relive his favorite memories of his wife and kids. Perhaps this kinder prison will help rehabilitate the Cyborg.

For me, it is almost as creepy. There is something very Philip K. Dick about this. Isn't an endless montage of loving memories keeping Henshaw placated just as much of a prison?

Maybe I am thinking too much about this.

And then we get the link of the stories.

Superman sees how friends and family are all that Henshaw wants. It's all anyone wants. Maybe he has to help mend the bond between the Lanes.

I don't know, that flat face of the Cyborg in these panels is creepy. Is he just zoned out? Is this placated life lost in memories truly free?

Finally Clark comes back just as Sam is storming out. Clark physically won't get out of the way. He guides Sam back. Clark admits he sat back hoping the father and daughter could learn to love each other. But it is clear they need a hand.

In a great last page, he 'introduces' Sam and Lois, pointing out how similar they are, how passionate they are, and how they should love and respect each other. It is an olive branch extended leading to a dinner together.

Yes, this is a fine ending for Jurgens. We get closure here. Sure, this seems as fast as the emotional scenes in Supergirl #19. But we have background with Lois and Sam. We have some history. And you can see how they are ready to try and reconcile even if neither is ready to extend their hand first.

I loved this.

So time to turn the page.

I don't know if Bendis will be able to match the excellence we have seen in the last two years in the Superman books. So a thank you to Dan Jurgens for giving us the Superman long time fans have been clamoring for. And thank you for this issue showing a compassionate Superman trying to right some wrongs and help people heal.

Overall grade: A

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