Metallo finally takes the stage!
Creative Staff:
Story: Robert Venditti
Art: Paul Pelletier, Andrew Hennessy
Colors: Adriano Lucas
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
What They Say:
Superman’s place as the hero of Metropolis is challenged by Metallo! Can the Man of Steel withstand the Metal Menace’s Kryptonite heart or will he defeated for good?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Robert Venditti set the stage a while ago for the debut of Metallo but we’ve been waiting to see what form it would take. He’s had a few pages here and there over the run but has been largely kept to the background while Superman has dealt with other issues. His return to the spotlight comes with Paul Pelletier and Andrew Hennessy illustrating it while Adriano Lucas gets to work a lot of glowing green this time to showcase the kryptonite. The book has a good look to it as it’s mostly about the action but it also ups the intensity just in the quieter scenes where the information is being revealed, which helps to drive the narrative along.
Metallo’s had enough of this being kept in reserve nonsense as he’s of mind that General Lane is just taking advantage of him. And he intends to be the hero that he’s sacrificed his body for and that means taking down that fake hero that never had to sacrifice anything. It moves quickly with Metallo handling Lane and the miliary project easily before heading off and that allows just enough time through back channels to land on Perry White’s desk. I do like that he basically puts the building on a kind of lockdown but you’d figure they’re at a point where he’d send them all to work remotely based on what could potentially happen. Lois handles this as well as she can since her father had promised to abandon this course before, but the realization that Clark likely heard everything sends her into a panic too late as he’s already headed off to confront Metallo.
The fight between the two is pretty much as expected but that’s not a bad thing,. Superman knows he has to go in hard and fast to try and take him down while figuring out if Metallo has gotten an upgrade or not. He’s not an easy opponent and I like that Venditti goes with the idea that Kryptonite doesn’t instantly put Superman into mortal status. It takes some time to really drain him but he does feel the effects quickly. It makes for a good fight as he becomes more ragged along the way and Metallo’s overconfidence grows. The only thing that saves Superman is Lois driving her car right into Metallo to distract him. That said, you know superman is going to have a backup plan for things and Venditti provides for a nice callback to the past in order to setup a resolution – all while General Lane is doing his own thing.
In Summary:
We’ve had Metallo teased for what feels like a dozen issues so far so I’m glad to get some payoff here. The villain is one that always freaked me out as little kid when I would get the 3-in-1 plastic baggie of comics from the toy store/section and he was in there. It was just creepy and dangerous in ways that resonated easily to my little brain. I’ve enjoyed what they’ve done with him over the years even as he becomes more fanatical. I’m curious to see if they can do a wholesale reinvention someday but what we get here from Venditti is solid stuff that’s easily accessible. Mix it in with what General Lane has been up to and allowing Superman to make a good callback here helps to tie a lot of things together well.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 12+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology and Kindle
Release Date: August 3rd, 2020
MSRP: $0.99
