Superboy #14

The Face of H'el!

Tom DeFalco – Writer
R.B. Silva – Penciller
Rob Lean – Inker
Tanya & Richard Horie – Colorists
Travis Lanham – Letterer
Chris Conroy – Editor
R.B. Silva & Rob Lean with Hi-Fi – Cover

Our cover shows Superboy being torn apart (telekinetically) by the main antagonist of the Superman crossover called H'el on Earth. The Teen Titans (minus their leader, Red Robin) are helpless to prevent Superboy's muscles grotesquely being unraveled by the invincible H'el. Yeah, if you thought Harvest was invincible, wait until you meet H'el. This is the way of the New 52 — our heroes can only fight invincible villains they have absolutely no chance of defeating. Anyway, on this cover and inside, R.B. Silva did his best to mimic the style of Kenneth Rocafort, the main architect of H'el on Earth. That's not an easy task, as Rocafort walks a very fine line between transcendental and terrible. Silva slipped on the wrong side, and somehow ended up making every character's skin look like the texture of a porcelain doll.

We pick up our story with Kid Flash and Wonder Girl having a late-night discussion in Tim Drake's penthouse at Lex Towers. Kid Flash was unable to sleep with Red Robin's sudden departure for Gotham City and Bunker's crusade to have Superboy move in with them. Kid Flash acknowledges Superboy's role in helping Wonder Girl solve her armor problem, but he still thinks Bunker is wrong. Bunker, meanwhile, is visiting Superboy in his apartment across town. Suddenly, H'el attacks, and Bunker summons his teammates by making a large "T" in the sky with his bricks.

Our heroes wake up Solstice and arrive at the scene of the battle in time to watch H'el begin to take Superboy apart just like on the cover. The Titans charge H'el, but he pushes them away with a whirlwind. It takes a little work, but Kid Flash is able to counteract the whirlwind and free himself and his teammates. Solstice despondently believes they don't stand a chance against H'el, but Wonder Girl vows to risk her life for Kon-El, even if she doesn't necessarily like him.

But as soon as the Titans catch up to H'el and Superboy, H'el teleports away and takes Kon with him. Bunker says they can't lose another member like they lost Skitter, but Kid Flash says they already have lost a member in Superboy. He asks Wonder Girl what they should do, as she has become the de facto leader in Red Robin's absence.




Scott Lobdell is no longer the writer on Superboy, which only hurts things continuity-wise. Superboy is back in his Harvest uniform that he abandoned in Teen Titans. And Wonder Girl's trial is over in this series before wrapping it up in Teen Titans. I've checked several sources, and all indicate this issue came out one week before Teen Titans #14, when it really should have come out after it ... or during it. I don't know, we'll get there. The fact of the matter is the Teen Titans are caught in the middle of two crossover events — H'el on Earth in the Superman books and Death of the Family in the Batman books — and things are just going to be messy.

Speaking of messy, this was easily the worst art we've seen in the New 52. I know I give Brett Booth a lot of grief, but this stuff? Man! Silva and the Hories couldn't even figure out what to do with Kid Flash's eyes. They're supposed to be red, like on the cover, but inside, they alternate between being white and actually showing his pupils. It's the kind of sloppiness that goes hand-in-hand with the grammatical typos I spotted in this issue. Luckily for us, we're not going to be returning to this series anytime soon.

Next time, Teen Titans #14.