Action Comics #760

" ... Never-Ending Battle ... "

Joe Kelly Writer
German Garcia Penciller
Joe Rubinstein Inker
Glenn Whitmore Colorist
WildStorm FX Separations
John Costanza Letterer
Maureen McTigue Associate Editor
Eddie Berganza Editor
Superman created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster

Superman's unleashed on this month's breakthrough cover by Phil Jimenez and Liquid! Run! And it is a pretty fun cover. I like it when the characters interact with the words or other elements on the cover.  The cover on a whole is rather stylistic, and I probably wouldn't enjoy it very much on it's own. But it actually matches up quite well with the three other Superman titles this month. They're all done in the same style, with a chunk of the Superman shield in the background, interlocking to create one big, cool image.

Impulse (and Young Justice) only make a quick cameo here, so we'll keep this quick. A villain named La Encantadora has been making a living selling fake kryptonite to other villains around the world. And since she has the ability to teleport, she is able to constantly stay one step ahead of Superman and her dissatisfied customers. At one point in this worldwide chase, Superman arrives at the Statue of Liberty, expecting La Encantadora, but finding Young Justice instead.

Apparently Batman had set up the meeting, but wasn't able to attend. So he had Young Justice go to place a tracer on the villain. But, as Impulse says, Superboy scared her off with an Animaniacs-like "Hello Nurse" call and bad cologne. Impulse and Superboy both desperately want to help Superman, but he politely declines.

And that's all we see of Young Justice in this rather wacky, light-hearted issue. Superman runs into a whole bunch of villains, ranging from the serious (Lex Luthor, Ra's al Ghul, Metallo) to the goofy (Doctor Spectro, Clock King, Riddler). And, ultimately, he does catch La Encantadora by taking away the source of her power, her necklace.


This is a very different Superman than the one Impulse last saw. He's much more upbeat and positive, and, in my opinion, more enjoyable. As I write this review, DC is in the middle of a big Rebirth, with promises of making their characters more optimistic, happy heroes. For inspiration, they should take a look at stories like this. Superman is polite, but firm. Responsible, yet graceful in light of such an absurd situation. And few things are more ludicrous than a bunch of teenagers in a giant motorcycle parked on top of the Statue of Liberty fantasizing about beautiful villains.

The letters column is called Re: Action, but none of them mention Impulse or Young Justice (not that I expected them to). So let's check out the ads:

Choose your weapon. Choose your quest. Choose your team very carefully. Gantlet Legends for PlayStation and Nintendo 64.

Life is hard. Why make it harder with drugs?

I got your hand signal right here buddy. Crash Team Racing for PlayStation.

Introducing Omega Boost. Why go to all the trouble of being weightless if you can't blow up a bunch of space crap? For PlayStation.

Prepare for the greatest match ever! Pokémon: The First Movie. I do remember this movie quite well. It was a big event at the time. There has been a lot of Pokémon since, but nothing has matched the incredible hype it had in 1999.

The World is Not Enough. Starring Pierce Brosnan.

Sonic has a new light speed dash. Sonic Adventure for Sega Dreamcast.

Next time, Impulse will make another quick cameo in The Flash #155.