Action Comics #46 discussion

[HsssH]

Short summary:

Clark is infected with wrath but he can control it and beats up bad guys for cops to arrest.
Calls on Henry/Lana to help with rescued people and bails on Lee. Since he is infected he can now travel via shadows and track down Wrath.
Lee followed him in same way and Wrath was waiting for them since she can feel whatever is happening in the shadows.
Basically her black sticky stuff infects people, it does not change them, it just puts their anger forward. Her plan is to drop it on everyone and to clean the Earth from monsters. Lee is able to resist this influence and Wrath says that she is the key to new, better world.
Meanwhile she brings an enforcer - infected Frankenstein. Issue ends with Superman fighting against him.

Couple of points:
Its not going to change anyone's opinion on this run. I liked what happened before and I liked this issue too, those who didn't like earlier issues won't like this either.
Fact that black stuff doesn't really change people works for me pretty well since it means that, for example, evil cop was evil even before he got infected. Its kinda like alcohol when people start doing stupid stuff that they wouldn't do otherwise yet have thoughts about it somewhere deep in their heads.
Superman is shown as enjoying this anger and Wrath sure likes to taunt Lee with saying how Clark lost it, but reading his internal monologues its fairly obvious (at least to me) that he is giving in to get an edge against the Wrath/Frankenstein and save people, he does seam to be in complete control and likely will be able to pull out of it on his own once he saves the day.

[Rakzo]

Thought this was one of the weakest issues from this run. Some solid characterization here and there but the consequences are pretty by the numbers and I don't like Wrath at all.

I can't wait until these constant crossovers end.

[Hopeful Hero]

This issue does have some good character moments but I still feel like this whole arc/crossover would be better received when read as a whole. Right now waiting month after month for a piece of the story along with having to read with other connecting titles isn't helping matters much. I am actually looking forward to how Pak plans on ending this whole thing and how Supes gets his abilities back along with whether or not most if not all the people will remember who Clark really is.

[HsssH]

Can't say that I agree with that. I read only Superman and Action and a) I don't feel like I'm missing something important b) I don't feel that Superman adds anything to Action or vice versa. This was a bit of a case at the start of this mega-arc where Action had references to couple of Superman issues, but after that its been rather standalone.

[Flash Gordon]

This was really, really terrible.

This entire story is a gigantic missed oppurtunity. I had such high hopes. Hopefully Action Comics gets back on its feet soon...

[DeathFalcon182]

How is this in any way a good Superman story or just a good story in General beats me. Superman's not written like Superman, villain is just a cartoon and story is filled with overused clichéd plot elements. I'm dropping this until after 50 because Pak currently seems bored with Superman considering how terribly and lazily this book's being written.

[Tra-EL]

Thought this was one of the weakest issues from this run. Some solid characterization here and there but the consequences are pretty by the numbers and I don't like Wrath at all.

I can't wait until these constant crossovers end.

Same here man. I tore through American Alien the moment I purchased it. Truth? I still buy Action and Superman (dropped BM/SM; SM/WW and loved those titles before Doom) and tell myself everyday that I'm going to catch up but I never, ever do and it's because of the crossovers. Turning into a fan that hates crossovers. Seems like they were nonstop since New Krypton and that was what? 7 years ago? Good lord.

[Ascended]

This was by far the weakest issue Pak has given us. Just really bland.

I had high hopes for TRUTH when it started, and I've still enjoyed a good chunk of it for what it is, but I feel like this story is ignoring the things that really need to be addressed, and rather than exploring what these changes would really mean, its focused on a traditional story setup that we could have gotten from any era with minimal adjustment. I like the involvement of Savage and his crowd of fellow villains, this has a great "Superman revenge squad" vibe to it, even if the other villains arent very impressive on their own. But we've largely glossed over how this affects everyone else, the superhuman community as a whole, or the League in particular.

This should be a game changer, but it feels like any other crossover story and the "heart" of it is slowly dissipating with each issue, as Clark gets closer to finding the people responsible.

When the dust settles, I dont really care what they do. Return the classic status quo, stay with Clark being de-powered and a public figure, whatever. But what I want by the end of TRUTH is a long stint with no crossovers, where each book can just do its thing and tell its stories. Pak's real strength lies there, where he doesnt have to coordinate with other titles, and Yang deserves a chance to do impress us on his own.

Seriously DC, give us twelve issues straight without a crossover.

[Sacred Knight]

I can't say this with any certainty because I'm not in anyone's head, but it feels--just feels, again I don't know--like even the creators have lost the enthusiasm for this story.

And yeah, I'm with you guys, I want at least a year without a crossover after this. At least for one of the titles. I don't think that's too much to ask but unfortunately I'm still not counting on it with Berganza as editor. With sales pretty much remaining static though and thus all things on the business front being equal, I'm hoping they at least see that fan response for the Superman line pre-Convergence--or more accurately, pre-Doomed--appears to have been more positive. Which, I don't think is coincidence, was a time when Action, Superman, Superman/Wonder Woman, and Batman/Superman, were telling their own stories.

If the aim is a quick fix, at least in regards to Superman and increasing his popularity, I would implore DC to consider this: there is no quick fix. Its been proven now. If the character gets more popular its just going to be of its own volition. So in the meantime, for the existing fans, spare us the supposed game-changing stuff. Just do your best to give us good stories.

[Mantis Girl 94]

I look forward to SM/Action/BM&SM as these are the books I collect just for Kal.

I didn't mind the issue but it didn't blow me away either. I like Wrath, I think she is pretty cool for a Villain. I was like WTH when I saw Frankie though...I didn't even know he existed in the DC world...I must of missed some important issues or something... I was waiting for Kal to say; "What? Frankenstein? There is no such thing!" LOL

I didn't hate the issue but I don't see myself re-reading it for many many years...

[Myskin]

I can't say this with any certainty because I'm not in anyone's head, but it feels--just feels, again I don't know--like even the creators have lost the enthusiasm for this story.

Yeah, I've got the same impression. I don't know if that's the case, but this often happens when a reboot is on the horizon, or some kind of editorially mandated conclusion/relaunch. The writers already know about it and they don't "dare" anymore.