There is a few things I have always loved about the current Smallville comic series and one of those things is that not only is it true to the characters of Smallville since it is being written by someone who knows them (Bryan Q. Miller) but it is also true to a Superman story. Miller is able to do anything in this comic book without budget limitations such as CGI, casting and other things that would make it hard for him to introduce other characters or do some insane action sequences. I’m going to continue loving this Smallville book because we’ve had such great easter eggs from the series (Dr. Swann references!) and easter eggs about the DC Universe such as a WayneTech laptop sighting and you’ll be able to see Batman in 5 more issues if I’m not mistaken (Bring on Steph!).
This issue seems to be an epilogue for the Guardian story arc where Lex Luthor launches a platform in space that will help protect Earth incase Superman isn’t always there or goes rogue. In this issue, we are provided with a classic Superman and Lex Luthor face off in the LexCorp tower that many people will instantly recognize as it has been used in plenty of Superman media. I can’t be the only person who loves pissed off Superman, right? This issue is the first time in Smallville you’ll get a pissed off Superman. Even though it’s not on the level of pissed off as he was in Superman vs. The Elite, Clark learns that his actions have consequences and Lex Luthor is smarter than he seems despite forgetting Kent and their childhood friendship (which was one of the best parts of the TV show). Chloe and Oliver are also on their own personal hunt in this issue for something that they think had crashed onto Earth during Superman’s adventures in the first issue. During this scene, there are flashbacks of the TV series (it happens commonly in the comic book series to catch new readers up on what had happened in the show) and the art in these montages are much more beautiful than the rest of the comic has.
I always thought the art didn’t capture the likenesses of the characters too well, but this shouldn’t be a problem if you’re looking for a good Superman book and it’s no surprise that this is one of DC’s top selling titles and is reasonably better than the actual Superman series. Pere Perez actually brings really good art to the table and it’s very well done in a cartoon style. Superman’s armor is also one of my favorite things of the book design wise. It seems to be a mixture of his New 52 costume and the costume featured in the upcoming movie Man of Steel. As always, Cat Staggs brings an exciting and wonderful cover in this issue that is somewhat misleading but still beautiful to look at. Capturing the likenesses of characters is only a slight pet peeve I have with this book as I can’t imagine Tom Welling’s voice but it doesn’t take away from the great action and storytelling presented.
If you love Smallville and you were incredibly sad to see it go, I definitely recommend buying these digital issues on Comixology. This book is tons better than the finale that left a lot of fans disappointed and I know you are probably waiting for Batman to join but if you want a sneak preview of what the book is like without reaching out to the extended DC Universe, this is by far one of the coolest issues we’ve had. The rating it gets from me is 4.5 out of 5 stars.