This is my penultimate article in this series, as they like to say in the solicits, and I’ve carried over into May. Guess that means I should probably ease up on griping about all those late issues, huh? Today, I wanted to discuss the Man of Steel’s comrades and rogues and hear your favorites in each category. Judging by July’s Action Comics cover, sometimes its not easy to tell which side is which.
NOTE: I neglected to mention last time, but the voting for all polls will close on May 20. I’ll post the results shortly thereafter. Thanks to all my fellow Superman fans for your votes. You make me smile.
Super Friends
Supergirl – Depending on which incarnation we’re dealing with, this one can get tricky. So, let’s just discuss the current one. She started out strong at her debut, then kinda fell off for a bit while she found her feet. Lately, though, the character has begun to shine brightly once more.
Steel – John Henry Irons is one of a short list of characters that I would give a vital organ to write for DC. He’s a man of integrity, brains, and heart. This guy has a lot to offer, and when Superman needs him the most, he’s always there.
Eradicator – The antihero of the Superman family. He began “life” as a Kryptonian artifact, which quickly became bent on recreating that destroyed planet right here on Earth. Since taking on human shape, he’s palled around with not only Team Superman, but also with the Outsiders.
Valor – Lar Gand was adopted into the El family as an honorary member. He’s better known as either Mon-El or Valor. If he’s not helping out Superman or trapped in the phantom zone, he’s working with the Legion in the 31st century.
Superboy – I’m not talking about Superman when he was a boy or whatever. I mean Kon-El. At his debut, his biggest power was Super-annoyance, or something like that, but within the past handful of years, he’s become a mainstay in both the Superman books, as well as those of the Teen Titans.
Lori Lemaris – A mermaid super-crush from Clark’s past. In the 90’s, she often was a bone of contention between Lois and Clark.
Kelex – He was originally a robotic servant to Jor-El, prior to Krypton’s destruction. With the creation of Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, Kelex was reborn as it’s hum-drum robotic caretaker. In later years, Natasha Irons, Steel’s niece, came along and gave him a “funky fresh hip hop” attitude. Yes, it was even corny back then.
Nightwing and Flamebird – No, not that Nightwing and Flamebird; the other ones. The Kryptonian legend came to life most recently in the pages of Greg Rucka’s run on Action Comics to help fill in for Superman while he was away on New Krypton. Such a tragic love story.
New Gods – Yeah, yeah, they’re all dead/reborn. Whatever. Back in the day, though, Jack Kirby’s Fourth World gods always made for a kick-butt time to be had by all. They cannot come back soon enough.
Super Villains
Lex Luthor – Super genius, mad scientist, arch nemesis to Superman. What a score card. And to top it all off, Paul Cornell just gave him the biggest push he’s had, since, probably ever.
Brainiac – Which Brainiac, though? Are we talking version 1.0, 3.0, 13.0, or Geoff John’s “No, no, this is the ORIGINAL Brainiac” version? Take your pick, they all have rocked Superman’s world at one time or another.
Conduit – This guy just doesn’t get enough props. Kenny Braverman was basically Superman’s answer to Batman’s Hush. A childhood friend, who’s parents basically wished he was more like Clark. Fast forward. Someone’s targeting Clark’s friends and leaving notes behind, stating: “I know.” Of course, these stories did predate Hush by a good while.
Doomsday – The beast that killed Superman. Sure he’s been back countless times, now, but he will always be remembered as this relentless killer.
Mxyzptlk – A true trickster. His impish pranks runs the gamut between silly and deadly. Mostly, his tricks have been “all in fun,” but occasionally, he’s taught Big Blue a moral along the way.
Darkseid – A more evil soul I cannot imagine. Truly Superman’s match, he holds a certain grudging respect for the Man of Steel. Though, he has recently been “killed” by Batman, his time will come back around. This is comics, after all. That time can’t come quickly enough.
Bizzaro – He am sane ally.
General Zod’s Crew – Ah, Kryptonians. Why must they all be bad guys?
Mannheim/Intergang – Intergang just will not die. Apparently, their roots are still firmly planted in the DC universe. Every now and then, the powers that be will exhaust their epic summer story arcs and pull out the ol’ Intergang card.
Cyborg Superman – Hank Henshaw has bounced back and forth between Superman and Green Lantern’s rogue’s gallery, and every time the guy shows up, he’s a force to be reckoned with. He’s a very tragic character to be sure, but c’mon, the guy did vaporize 7,000,000 residents of Coast City.
Metallo – The man with the kryptonite heart. This has pretty much been Metallo’s shtick from day one. It’s hard to believe he’s still around. It’s equally hard to believe that other villains haven’t capitalized on simply carrying around a chunk of the meteor rock.
Manchester Black – What an awesome character. Seriously. Why doesn’t anyone ever talk about him? If you haven’t read What’s so Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way, you are sorely missing out. After you’ve read that, go check out Ending Battle. You’ll thank me.
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