Superman Annual #11

The Apes of Wrath

Writers: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Penciller: Joe Phillips
Inks: Rich Faber and Rob Stull
Colors: Jason Wright
Letters: John Workman
Associate Monkey: Maureen McTigue
And Eddie Berganza as Beppo the Super-Monkey!

Yes, both this issue and The Flash Annual #12 were given the unoriginal title of The Apes of Wrath. And once again, the cover is by Arthur Adams, and doesn't look too bad. However, it is slightly inaccurate. True, Superman does rescue Lois Lane from a giant robotic gorilla, but he doesn't even begin the fight until after he turns back to normal. Picky detail, I know, especially since the selling point of this issue is to see Superman as a gorilla. Perhaps that's a problem with the story, though. It would have been better to actually see this exact scene inside.

Impulse only makes a quick cameo at the end of this issue, so we'll just quickly breeze through it. Since the Flash had such an easy transformation back to human, Superman gets an equally easy one. He simply flies up to space and exposes himself to direct sunlight. Meanwhile, the prince of Gorilla City, Ulgo, is manipulated into believing humans caused this war with the apes, and he retaliates by hopping into a giant gorilla robot to destroy the Pentagon.

Naturally, Ulgo kidnaps Lois Lane so she can tell the world his righteous story. However, Lois had recently unearthed the gorillas' plot, and she and Superman just talk Ulgo down by revealing the truth to him. There is still a bit of a fight, though, as Ulgo conveniently loses control of his robot, giving Superman something to smash. Once the day is saved, Young Justice arrives, sadly too late to help.

Impulse blames his teammates for their late arrival, and Wonder Girl explains they were planning on using a giant exploding banana to take down the giant gorilla. Superboy admits this plan sounds kind of dumb when you say it out loud. Superman tells them they can still help clean up, then starts working with Prince Ulgo to end this war.


This was a surprisingly good issue. The art was decent, and the story wasn't half-bad. I liked seeing the split in ideologies in the gorilla community, and I liked how Lois played a big part in saving the day through good old-fashioned journalism. And Young Justice's random arrival was perfect. In a world filled with so many heroes, stuff like this should be happening all the time. "I'm here to help! Oh ... you already won ... OK ..." Although I do wonder where Secret is. She usually gets left out of every Young Justice cameo.

So that's it for Impulse's involvement in JLApe. Since there aren't any letters or new ads, I'll leave you until next time, when we cover The Flash #153.