Action Comics #33 discussion (spoilers)

[DochaDocha]

Figured there would've been one by now, separate from the preview thread.

Anyway, I enjoyed the book. Seemed apparent to me that Kara was trying to help Kal, not screw him over. Liked the conclusion to the book.

I liked "Doomed" so far, but it's spread out too thin. Glad that the plot advanced more in this issue than it has in prior "Doomed" chapters.

[DragonPiece]

Such a good issue, didn't see Cyborg Superman coming at all.

[Sacred Knight]

The Lana/Steel stuff was great. Granted, Lana sort of put everything together with Lois a little too quick for my liking, but no big. The Superman stuff though, meh. Pains me to say it but I was finally bored with an aspect of a Pak issue. The Supergirl stuff just didn't work for me at all; her motivations nor anything she says make any sense to me. And the stuff with the Char and that world-eater or whatever he is, just seemed like filler to me. I mean if this was set up for seeing more of him in the future, cool, but in a long storyline I'd rather the plot move forward more.

Though one thing I did like about these scenes is the furthering mystery of just what it is that's talking to Clark in his head. Even he's not sure anymore. Is it Doomsday? Just a manifestation of the potentially evil side of him? Personally I think we're leading toward a reveal that Doomsday is literally what he described himself as in Superman's head: a parasitic entity. Its physical form is based off whatever sentient mass he infects. So what Superman killed in the first issue was at one time, a sentient being taken over by the beast. This is how Doomsday evolves. It destroys and destroys until it inevitably comes across a being stronger than he, and when that happens he simply infects that stronger being destroying the old vessel, and enters the new one. But he has to have a certain level of charge in order to infect. So Batman was wrong, in a sense. In the first issue Doomsday wasn't phasing in and out of Earth to periodically feed to get strong enough to feed off of Superman. He was getting strong in the preparation of leaving his old body and entering the new, stronger one. In the last fight, Doomsday was finally strong enough to make the transfer, and let Superman tear him apart.

As for the Cyborg Superman, maybe Zor-El will regain control again at some point and aid in curing Superman.

[Xarek]

I agree with your theory there, Sacred Knight. The issue does point this out. In fact, for a moment there I thought that the "Char Destroyer" was another being infected with the Doomsday virus. Another being that, like Superman, tried to control his demonic urges and tried to give the Char a warning of their impending destruction. I think this aspect worked well for the story.
On the other hand, Pak's portrayal of Supergirl is completely wrong. It doesn't help that Kuder gave her an evil creepy grin that just didn't sit well with me. And the "reveal" that Lois Lane is evil came about too easily for my tastes.
The issue gets bonus points for the return of Cyborg Superman (which would explain Supergirl #34 in the Doomed saga) and Pak's Lana still gets an A+, but in general, I'm kind of disappointed. An enjoyable read, but below Greg's usual quality.

[Sacred Knight]

Yeah it was a bit too easy. I mean, totally works for Lana to be weirded out by the fact that Lois is the only one who's not falling comatose, but she connects the dots (outside of it being Brainiac), a little TOO fast.

[DochaDocha]

Well, something in this series has to happen quickly...

Interesting theory about Doomsday. Would be cool if it's correct.

[Grayson]

It was nice seeing Cyborg Superman at the end. I've been wanting to read a story with the New 52 version of him since I read his Villain's Month issue. I know he was in Supergirl, I just don't care for her though.

[Robotman]

Man, Kuder's art was just amazing in this issue! He's always great but the larger scope of the settings really allowed him to flex his creative muscles.

[toddx77]

Felt like more of a filler issue, but I did enjoy the ending. I like the Doomsday theory though. It may go with Grant Morrisons story about being called Doomsday killing Superman instead of the Doomsday monster. Although that would put Doomed and the first arc of Superman/Wonder Woman taking place a good amount of time before Johns Superman which feels off.

[Ascended]

Just finally got to read the issue today.

I enjoyed it. Though I agree that Kara was way, way off. I dont read her book, so my main exposure to her in the 52 has been Red Lanterns and the various Super-crossovers, but it does feel like Pak just couldnt get a handle on her personality at all and just said "screw it, deadline, we're going this way!" and left it at that. Which is odd, since he writes everyone else really well. But in the end, I myself dont really get her these days so Im not going to be too quick to judge Pak. Maybe she's just not a character he can write. It happens. Geoff Johns can write some characters really well, but cant write Wonder Woman to save his career.

But beyond Kara, I enjoyed the issue. The idea of Doomsday being a virus is a fun one and I really hope it turns out to be true and not Clark going slightly insane. That's a cool twist and Morrison provided a precedent for it in All-Star. Perhaps, as a parting gift to the mythos, Lobdell dropped one more really cool in-continuity idea that more nuanced writers can run with. That guy should be a Super editor, he gets Superman like few others, but just cant write worth a damn.

The stuff with Lana and Steel was pure gold. After this issue, I want a buddy team-up book with the two of them. Just brilliant dialogue all around, great pacing....loved every panel and page they shared.

The Char stuff....it felt a little off, as others have said. So, it feels to me that Pak is putting some pieces in place for his next arc, and that's cool. This feels a lot like "Superman vs. Galactus" with the whole world-eating thing. And I am so beyond okay with that happening. But it did feel a little forced and off-beat here. But that could largely be due to Kara herself; she did bring about this sequence and her reasoning was...fuzzy. However, we got Superman taking control of the Doom Effect and using it to his advantage, rather than being a victim of his infection. We got (it seems) a plot thread for the next arc established. So that brings a good chunk of positive to the issue.

Cyborg Superman showing up is a pretty big "meh" for me. I read the Villain's Month one-shot and know he's basically Brainiac's Herald (or something?) but really have not seen enough to care about him in the slightest.

Speaking of which, is it me or are there a lot of Heralds starting to pop up? Superboy is now the Oracle's Herald or something, now Cyborg Superman.....okay, maybe two Heralds is not much but I do get a distinctly "cosmic" vibe from it all.

And the Lois thing everyone is talking about....seems to me that Lana put it all together decently enough. She would know that Lois Lane has always been among Superman's loudest supporters, and with the "murder" of Dr. Light so recent, Lois turning on Clark like she did would raise some red flags. She supported him when he had, to all appearances, committed flat-out murder. Why would she stop supporting him when he's sick? Add in the fact that she alone is awake when everyone else is in a coma and the creepy "Everything's fine here, Dave" phone call and yeah, I can see a smart girl like Lana putting two and two together and coming up with "Something's wrong with Lois." I mean come on, the chick just went into space without blinking an eye. She can work out that something's wrong with Lois. I wonder if some of us posters here aren't just thinking of the pre-52 Lana, who was (normally) exceedingly average.

I also find it sort of funny that this thread is so short when the last issue's discussion is still going on a month later.

[Sacred Knight]

I think Pak just wasn't completely in tune with the Red Lantern situation. Because when he wrote her in the Batman/Superman Annual as plain Supergirl, he wrote he quite well. Which isn't meant to be apologizing for a bad characterization, it was bad either way, I just think that was the reason.

[Prime]

That new character will be a pain for Superman in the future it seems.

[Xarek]

...
And the Lois thing everyone is talking about....seems to me that Lana put it all together decently enough. She would know that Lois Lane has always been among Superman's loudest supporters, and with the "murder" of Dr. Light so recent, Lois turning on Clark like she did would raise some red flags. She supported him when he had, to all appearances, committed flat-out murder. Why would she stop supporting him when he's sick? Add in the fact that she alone is awake when everyone else is in a coma and the creepy "Everything's fine here, Dave" phone call and yeah, I can see a smart girl like Lana putting two and two together and coming up with "Something's wrong with Lois." I mean come on, the chick just went into space without blinking an eye. She can work out that something's wrong with Lois. I wonder if some of us posters here aren't just thinking of the pre-52 Lana, who was (normally) exceedingly average.

I also find it sort of funny that this thread is so short when the last issue's discussion is still going on a month later.

I think the Lois/Brainiac reveal lacked a certain oomph. Not due to Lana's deductive capabilities, mind you, but because of how he turned out to be exposed. It was too convenient. Brainiac tipped his hand. Lois basically went "resistance is futile!", subtlety be damned, and Lana figured it out, of course.
That specific Lobdell thread was a long time coming and deserved a better payoff. Lois being evil should be a big reveal. But instead, it comes off as simply meh.
But despite this, it was a good read. And it does set things up nicely for SM/WW #10.

[Kuwagaton]

To be fair, I haven't been reading since the Doomsday story started, but I did expect Pak to bring me back in. It didn't really happen, I don't feel like I really missed anything or that any of the new developments are compelling. I did like the scenes with Steel and Supergirl, though.

[Blacksun]

Lois reveal was so convenient...geez