Superboy #9

The Culling Part 2: Lost Claws!

Scott Lobdell Plot
Tom DeFalco Script
R.B. Silva Penciller
Rob Lean & Iban Coello Inkers
Richard & Tanya Horie and Hi-Fi Colorists
Travis Lanham Letterer
Chris Conroy Editor
Ian Churchill with Alex Sollazzo Cover

Our cover shows Superboy battling one of Harvest's Ravagers, known as Warblade, as Dawnstar helplessly looks on. And yes, even though it's snowing, we are still in the Crucible. It's climate can drastically change at a moment's notice because Harvest is apparently an all-powerful deity. Anyway, this cover actually looks pretty good — I just wish we had the same art team for the inside pages. Silva is not one of my favorites.

Our story picks up in the still lava-filled Crucible, which Superboy now says is under Antarctica. (Can't Lobdell make up his mind?) The Ravagers attack the Teen Titans, Legion and four unaffiliated heroes (Thunder, Lightning, Beast Boy and Terra). Red Robin takes on Rose Wilson, and almost gets killed by her, but Kid Flash saves him at the last second. But instead of thanking Kid Flash, Red Robin orders him to collect all the kids and try to find Skitter.

Kid Flash does as he's told, but grumbles that he might as well be asked to sweep the floor. As the lava transitions into snow, Tellus and Chameleon Girl of the Legion help Kid Flash by ... lifting the other teenagers to higher ground? I'm not sure what exactly they're doing. Anyway, Chameleon Girl calls Kid Flash cute, which he appreciates, until he sees her transform into a "floating jellyfish thingy."

After crisscrossing the Crucible a dozen times, Kid Flash can't find any more stray kids or Skitter. As he prepares to head back to the fight, he's ambushed by Timber Wolf, who says he recognizes Kid Flash from the future and blames him for causing the death and suffering of many people. Kid Flash is perplexed by this, but he's luckily saved by Tellus, who uses his psychic powers to knock out Timber Wolf. It seems that Tellus also recognizes Kid Flash, but chooses not to reveal or judge Kid Flash by his past. Tellus flies Timber Wolf away, mystically telling Kid Flash to concentrate on the future that his still his to create. But this whole experience only confuses Kid Flash (and the reader) even more.

By the time Kid Flash meets back with the others, the Ravagers have all been defeated. Sadly, despite Kid Flash's efforts, a bunch of the random teenagers were killed in the fight. Our heroes only have a moment of respite before Harvest himself comes flying down into the Crucible. For the second straight issue, his plans were clearly thwarted, yet he claims that everything is going exactly how he wanted.




The mindless violence continues on in its race to prove how "edgy" and "mature" the New 52 can be. But it was nice having our heroes battles villains for a change. However, we had to suffer through another round of bread crumbs for Kid Flash's backstory. No, we didn't learn anything new. Yes, we had people conveniently get cut off before they could finish their thought. And no, this isn't deep. This isn't impressive. This is just plain dumb. Lobdell is going to milk this out as long as he possibly can, and it's going to be pure agony the rest of the way.

To be continued in Legion Lost #9