Smallville

Smallville Season Eleven: Alien #3

Smallville Season Eleven: Alien #3The third issue of Smallville Season Eleven: Alien features unexpected team-ups. As Chloe spends time in the Batcave trying to pitch Batman on the idea of joining the Justice League, Lois and Nightwing hit the streets and get into a little action while taking down a local gang, and in Russia Clark Kent and Lex Luthor work together to discover more about the identity of the Monitor and his true purpose in this reality.

I enjoyed the scenes of Barbara and Lois together and getting the chance to see Lois kick some butt. However, I question Bryan Q. Miller’s choice to make Lois so capable that she comes off as pretty much equal to Batman’s trained partner in a fight.

Clark and Lex finally catch up with the Monitor (for all the good it does them) leaving that thread on a cliffhanger suggesting Lex Luthor might re-discover Superman’s secret (but I wouldn’t bet on it just yet). The Batman story also gets an unusual ending with the reveal of a Bat-Joker from another world who will no doubt cause trouble for Smallville’s version of the Dynamic Duo in the next issue. Worth a look.

[DC, $3.99]

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Smallville Season Eleven: Alien #2

Smallville Season Eleven: Alien #2As Lex Luthor releases the Monitor from his Russian prison, unaware how powerful and dangerous the creature actually is, in Gotham City Lois and Chloe seek out Batman and Nightwing for their help investigating the murder of a man dressed up like the Man of Steel.

While teasing us about a Crisis and parallel Earths (one of which I hope resembles the pre-New 52 DCU), Smallville Season Eleven: Alien showcases the capabilities of the Monitor who proves more than a match for the entire legion of Rocket Reds and even for Superman who the Monitor wounds (much to Clark’s complete surprise).

The Gotham storyline offers writer Bryan Miller and artist Edgar Salazar a chance to show off the Smallville version of the Batcave to Chloe and Lois and tease us with the possibility of a certain Mr. Dick Grayson being introduced into the series in the near future. Worth a look.

[DC, $3.99]

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Smallville Season Eleven: Alien #1

Smallville Season Eleven: Alien #1Okay, I have a love/hate relationship with Smallville. The decade-long television show was high on promise (and I’ll admit I liked Tom Welling as a youngish Clark Kent) but often short on delivery which may have something to do with stretching its premise of Clark’s pre-Superman adventures far longer than anyone involved with the show originally thought possible.

Despite writer Bryan Q. Miller’s involvement in the new series I found it hard to give the title a fair shake (although I was sorely tempted when it looked like Stephanie Brown might get new life in its pages). With my dissatisfaction with much of current New 52 Superman (I’ve already decided to scratch Superman/Wonder Woman #2 from my pull list after only two issues), I decided to try the first issue of this new mini-series.

On the plus side the Smallville version of Superman’s costume is actually less ridiculous than the New 52 version and the character has more than a bit of the old Clark Kent who I’ve been missing (along with several pre-New 52 versions of the DCU).

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