Doomsday and Mountain Giants

First Look for January 16, 2018

Today’s first look heads to a galaxy far, far, away and then again to Metropolis and each sees a larger than life bad guy. Actually, in Star Wars #29, the Mountain Giant isn’t really a bad guy, he’s just been influenced by the dark side. Yoda tried but ran into some issues keeping him in the light and an interesting confrontation ensues. In Action Comics #958 the fight to see who gets to be Superman is interrupted by Doomsday and we see the new Superman and Lex team up. Oh yeah, and there’s a Clark Kent running around in the issue as well. Who knows where this is all headed but it’s fun to read whilethey get there.

Star Wars #29

Yoda’s Secret War, Part 4 by Jason Aaron and Salvador Larroca. Published by Marvel Comics, 2017.

In the last issue Yoda and Garro discovered that the blue stones were part of something much larger and something living, but that being was barely alive. In this issue, he helps the mountain creature return to life, but while he tries to impart freedom and love to the creature, Garro teaches the Rockhawkers of the being. And they teach the creature hatred and fear. With the mountain angry and out for revenge, only Yoda stands in the way of the destruction of the Muckwhackers It’s a battle of the light and dark, love vs. fear, and Yoda against a mountain. But we won’t see the result until the next issue as we jump back to the future to see Luke arriving in the Vagadarr system and landing on the planet where the battle took place. The only problem is that he finds he may have wanted to finish reading the story before he raced off to the war zone.

The story and art are both great in this issue and I particularly like the homage to Tolkien with the “None Shall Pass” reference where tiny Yoda faces off against the ginormous mountain.

You can find first looks at other issues in this title linked in my January Reading List.
I rate this issue a A-.

Action Comics #958

Path of Doom, Part Two by Dan Jurgens and Patrick Zircher. Published by DC Comics, 2016.

In the last issue we saw the new Superman from an alternate Earth confront Lex who was claiming that he was gonna be the new Superman. They fight and are only stopped when Doomsday shows up in the city. With this new development, in this issue, the two team up to take on the monster while they continue to wonder about each other’s motives and legitimacy. Meanwhile, there’s also a Clark Kent running around the battle zone but when he’s confronted by Jimmy Olsen, he emphatically claims he’s not Superman. So with two people who want to take on the mantle of Superman and one who used to be the hero but who doesn’t want it now, we’re still faced with one of the baddest monsters the Man of Steel has ever faced rampaging around Metropolis. What more could happen? How about a young Jonathan Kent who insists he can help his dad in the fight and a mysterious Mr. Oz who’s agenda seems to be dictated by what the new Superman decides to do. It all adds up to an incredibly fun issue that I really enjoyed. This is definitely a must read if you’ve ever had an interest in the Man of Steel or DC Rebirth.

You can find first looks at other issues in DC Rebirth linked in my January Reading List.

I rate this issue a A.