Review: Action Comics Vol. 2- Welcome to the Planet
Quick Summary
Pros: Lex Luthor’s character gets some great character development. The Clark Kent mystery becomes more interesting than ever before. Lois Lane shines as a main character.
Cons: Those who have not read the Superwoman series will likely miss out on a number of positives in the book’s second half.
Overall: While the first volume in this collection was an alright beginning, the second volume is a truly fun experience. It is full of character development, mysterious happenings, and compelling storylines that have a chance of connecting with readers. This is a volume that works well on its own but works even better as a piece of the greater Superman story. Any reader interested in the mysteries of Superman’s life should give this volume a read.
Story
With the status quo of the series already established, Action Comics Vol. 2: Welcome to the Planet dives right into the thick of things by hitting readers with enigmatic and entertaining story arcs. It shows the potential Lex Luthor brings to any comic he is in, explores the mysteries of the new Clark Kent and Superwoman, and also highlights Lois Lane as the fantastic character that she is. There is a lot in this collection but writer Dan Jurgens does a great job in balancing it all out and crafting a final product that fans will appreciate. It also does a fantastic job in setting up for the future of this series, as I am more excited to read it now than I have ever been before.
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This volume starts out with a flashback to when Lex Luthor officially rose up as the self proclaimed champion of Metropolis. This newfound heroism creates an interesting dynamic when paired with Lex’s abrasive personality and makes this chapter very entertaining. Readers experience a hero willing to threaten or cripple villains in order to defend the city he protects. With Lex Luthor’s role in the DC Universe on the rise, this chapter instills a great deal of confidence that he will continue to be a unique and interesting character to watch.
From here, the volume transitions into a story arc about the new Clark Kent. Introduced in the previous volume, this Clark Kent appears to have no connection to Superman and claims that he has a completely separate origin. This arc mostly follows Superman’s journey in verifying those claims and his subsequent confusion when they turn out to be true. Though not much about this paradox is explained here, it presents an incredibly tantalizing mystery that has a great deal of potential to pay off in the future.
The final arc in this volume focuses on Lois Lane’s return to the Daily Planet and her investigation into the Superwoman mystery. Unlike the Clark Kent mystery, this one is short and complete, it is introduced and solved within a few chapters. Diminished length does not mean diminished quality though. In fact, the open and shut nature of this case provides a lot of satisfaction in the face of so many other unresolved storylines. The only problem is that the Superwoman portion of this story will, most likely, not be very interesting at all for anyone unfamiliar with what is going on in the Superwoman comic series.
While this investigation is certainly fun, the real highlight in this arc is Lois Lane herself. Lois Lane’s individual importance is often overlooked as she is relegated to a side character in the life of Superman. Here though, she shines as a mother, as a career woman, and as a friend. Her struggle to be a mother to her child while also maintaining her passion as a journalist is something many can relate to and is admirable in a way completely separate from the typical heroics of comic books. It makes this portion of the story incredibly unique and relevant at the same time.
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Art
The artwork in this collection maintains a similar level of quality as the artwork in Vol. 1: Path of Doom (Review). This means that the entire collection looks good everywhere, but doesn’t necessarily have anything special going on. Patch Zircher, Stephen Segovia, Art Thibert, and Tom Grummett all put in stellar work that manages to maintain a semblance of consistency, despite the large number of separate artists. Maintaining consistency and quality like this goes a long way in making a series look good and is definitely one of the book’s positives. Overall, this is a good looking book that few readers will be able to find flaws with.
Continuity
Action Comics Vol. 2: Welcome to the Planet directly continues the story started in Action Comics Vol. 1: Path of Doom (Review).
The story here continues in Action Comics Vol. 3: Men of Steel (Review).
This volume also references and continues the stories from many other comic books, detailed below:
- Many references are made to the previous Superman’s death, which is detailed in either Superman Vol. 2: Return to Glory (Review) or Superman: The Final Days of Superman (Review).
- It is mentioned that everyone knew Clark Kent was Superman. This is because his identity was revealed in Superman Vol. 1: Before Truth (Review).
- Lex Luthor’s dominion over Apokolips is brought up. His time there is detailed in Justice League: Darkseid War- Power of the Gods (Review) and Justice League Vol. 8: Darkseid War Part 2 (Review).
- Lena Luthor’s attempt on her brother’s life happened in Justice League Vol. 7: Darkseid War Part 1 (Review).
- The end of this collection heavily references Lana Lang and an alternate version of Lois Lane’s recent adventures. These are explained in Superwoman Vol. 1: Who Killed Superwoman? (Review).
- Lois mentions a letter she received from another version of Lois. She received this letter in Superman Vol. 1: Son of Superman (Review).
- Superman mentions having a prior conversation with Lana Lang. This happened in Superman Vol. 1: Son of Superman (Review).