Week Thirty-Five


Waitaminute! That’s not the cover! The solicits lied to us! We’ve been duped! Remember that “Rain” we’ve been hearing about for the past few months, that’s supposedly coming to “52?” Well, if you take a look at the picture and replace all of the flames with falling Everymen, you now know what the Rain is all about. It’s the Rain of Supermen, as Luthor pulled the plug last week on just about every Everyman in his program. The result, at the stroke of midnight, is a literal downpour of superpowered men and women falling from the sky onto Metropolis Square. The result, as drawn by Phil Jimenez, is astounding. Complete and utter chaos and anarchy. In the midst of it, Supernova confronts Luthor, only to have the billionaire feign dismay and act as if he’s as surprised as the next guy. Supernova flies away and ends up teleporting a great number of victims to the city limits, where they can be safe from the madness.

Infinity Inc. is still operational, however, and they’re all super-pumped after Luthor explains that they’re some of the only people who were able to adapt to the faulty part of the Everyman process. It’s science stuff, and I don’t know anything about science, so just go with me on this one. Natasha, however, finally realizes what an unreasonable brat she’s been these past nine months and decides it’s time to take action. At the same time, John Henry Irons’ worst fears are realized, and he mobilizes the Teen Titans to help him drop Luthor cold.

Out in space, we meet up with the intrepid gang of superpowered space maroons, who realize that Lobo is not to be trusted. Turns out, he’s the one who’s collecting the bounty, and he tells them at the issue’s close that he’s going to take them straight to the Lady Styx. Should’ve listened to that Emerald Ekron guy, folks. Big mistake.

As you can see, this issue not only paid off in a big way, it still keeps that characteristic “52” tension hot and moving forward. To say I was a big fan would be something of an understatement. This series is blowing my mind with each new week. My only complaint is that Jimenez didn’t draw the entire issue, as it looks like Dan Jurgens took over about midway through. Oh well. Can’t complain too much. If you didn’t pick up this issue, go do it. It’s awesome.

See ya in seven.