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Karl O'Neill
02-06-2007, 08:57 AM
52 WEEK 40 ***SPOILERS***



Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, Lexcorp is pleased to welcome you to the Melee in Metropolis, the Battle of the Baldies, the Fist-to-Cuffs of 52!!!! Over in this corner being a man that needs no introduction and accompanied by his body guard Mercy, Infinity Inc. and their special guest Natasha Irons…the Prince of Metropolis, the Former President of the United States, Double L…LEX LUTHOR!!!!!! And in this corner accompanied by the Teen Titans, Big Daddy Steel, Dr. I, JOHN…HENRY…IRONS!!!!!! So for the thousands in attendance and the millions at home and work on the internet…LETS GET READY TO RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMBBBBBBBBBBLLLLLLLLL LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Cover has Steel on top of the Lexcorp’s building with the “L” having been knocked off and falling.

The ticker at the bottom reads “Lex Luthor vs. John Henry Irons...The Teen Titans vs. Infinity Inc…”


The book is penciled by Chris Batista and there is no origin in this issue.


Week 40, Day 1
Metropolis: Having gotten a hold of Natasha’s spy bug Lex uses it to contact John in an effort to call John out by showing him what he has done to Natasha. John unhappy with the situation suits up in his Steel armor and sends a priority communiqué to the Teen Titans in an effort to acquire their help in the matter and asks them to meet him at the Lexcorp Building.
Steel and the Titans arrive at the Lexcorp Building to a crowd of Lexcorp employees who are being lead out of the building as “He wants to keep his workers safe”. Upon their arrival the Titans and Steel break through the front of the building where two security guards are located and quickly taken out when Steel slams his hammer into the floor;
The Titans consist of Beast Boy, Raven, Aquagirl and Offspring. An elevator arrives containing some of the members of Infinity Inc and some robots. Nukleon rushes towards Steel – “Well, well. Look who wants a rematch-- only to get knocked on his butt with an upper cut from the hammer’s handle. Steel starts to strangle Nukleon with the handle while asking him where Natasha is.

Upstairs: Lex is watching the battle on a PC screen with Mercy and Natasha in the same room. Lex looking down at Natasha “I have to admit I’m really looking forward to this. Aren’t you?

Downstairs: Steel is knocking his way through the Lexcorps security robots and knocking out another member of Infinity Inc. Beast Boy tells Steel to go and to …”let us Sluggo the Nancies!” Steel confirms that he heard the security guards correctly when they arrived that the floors above are empty and then takes of breaking through the ceilings/floors towards Lex’s office.

Upstairs: Steel crashes through to the top level to be met by Mercy and Natasha at which time Mercy starts firing at Steel. John jumps towards Mercy, with the bullets having no affect on Steel, and brings his hammer down towards Mercy, she steps aside allowing Steel to smash the desk that was behind her and is quickly knock out with a hit from Steel elbow to Mercy’s chin. Natasha gets up and runs to John giving him a big hug. Natasha tells John that “It’s good to see you!” John in return hugs Natasha back and tells her “It’s good to see you too. The Titans are down in the lobby. I want you to head down there; you’ll be safe with them. Natasha takes a step back and tells John that she want to stay with him and reveals that Natasha is really Everyman, who turns into a giant crab. Steel is grabbed by the crab’s right pincher and starts to get crushed causing cracks all over Steel’s armor. With all his might John breaks the pincher and escapes the grasp of the crab. Steels armor is now shattered as well as Everyman’s right hand. Steel pulls off his helmet, picks up his hammer and starts to walk towards Everyman who is slowly changing back into his human form.
John: Where’s my niece? WHERE IS SHE!?
Everyman: With Luthor—She’s with Luth----orrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
At which Everyman falls through the hole in the floor created by Steel during his flight up to the top floor.



Downstairs: Everyman dies from his landing
Beast Boy: Not enough room for two shape shifters around here.
Offspring: (looking up and seeing John Henry) Man, I would not want to be Luthor right now…

Upstairs: John smashes the door of Lex’s office and is met by Lex and Natasha who is bound in a high security chair.
John: LUTHOR! YOUR SUPER-POWERED THUGS ARE CRAWLING HOME TO MAMA! YOU’RE ALL ALONE! LET HER GO OR I POUND YOU AND YOUR HAND-TAILORED SUIT INTO THE SIDEWALK!
Lex: You think this is Dodge City, Dr. Irons? This is called breaking and entering, and the law entitles me to retaliate. Now. How does this work?
Lex uses his powers and blasts John with heat vision, which triggers the sprinkler systems, and then proceeds to look at his hand using x-ray vision. John gets up and leaps at Lex swings his hammer down upon Lex ***this is the scene from last week’s Next in 52*** Lex is driven into the floor from the hit and then quickly grabs the hammer and pushes the handle of the hammer threw John’s side. While John is pulling the hammer out, Lex flies out of the floor and hits John and then backhands him knocking him out of the window and breaking the handle of the hammer. Lex then turns towards Natasha all full of himself.
Lex: I like this. Explain to me again how being human is so much better than this. Now we can build our new JLA. We’ll enforce MY laws, MY philosophies, Natasha. With no one smart enough or coordinated enough to stop us, we’ll make the world a better place in days.
Natasha: Are you insane?
Lex: We’ll even rename Earth in my honor! Why Not? Planet Lexor!
John walks back in through the window.
John: You’ll never succeed, Luthor. You know why? Because you lack what all your pseudo-supermen lacked: a cause worth fighting for. No noble intention. No love. No creed. Nothing gives your life meaning only Luthor.
Lex: If I needed analysis, I’ll hire a qualified shrink, Irons. You have four broken ribs and a ruptured appendix. You small intestine is leaking fecal matter into your bloodstream…”

John tells Natasha that “we’re going home” which infuriated Lex who then smashes his desk with a single punch. Lex tells Natasha that he needs her to explain it all to the press and the Teen Titans to which Natasha tells Lex that she will as long as he doesn’t hurt John. John tells Lex that she doesn’t tale orders from anybody least of all you. This upsets Lex who charges at John. As Lex grabs John around the throat, John throws his hammer at the chair holding Natasha breaking her free. John punches Lex just as he uses his heat vision and blows a hole in the roof. Natasha picks up the hammer and says to herself “Luthor proved a close range electronic pulse can disorganize the artificial exo-gene. You hammer has an atomic power source”.
With John now holding his hands around Lex’s throat, Lex flies them both up through the hole in the ceiling and outside onto the roof of the building. Lex could hear that Natasha said something but can’t make it. Lex then slaps John off of him, but John’s robotic left hand is still around Lex’s throat which Lex easily breaks. Natasha then hold up the now powered up hammer taking Lex’s powers away.
Lex: What have you done to me?
John: The same thing you did to all those kids you killed on New Year’s! But maybe you should thank us: The Everyman Treatment is toxic. It was eating you up inside—in six months you’d be dead. SO I just saved your life, Luthor. Saving lives is what I do.
Lex: Get away from me! The exo-gene will recover in seconds! I’ll tear you apart!
John: (grabbing Lex around the throat) You don’t have seconds. Time for a fair fight.

Downstairs: Mercy is being taken away by the police while the Titans are standing around.
AAAAAUUUU
Offspring: uh-oh Blood curdling cries of pain.
Beast Boy: What’s happening up there? Did he make it? I mean it’s all gone quiet!
Aquagirl: No, look! LOOK! Up in the sky!
The Lexcorp “L” falls out of the sky crushing the Lexcorp title and entryway. When the Titans look up they see John with his arm around Natasha and Lex knocked out lying on his back.


Week 40, Day 5
Kahndaq:
Osiris: The rain has not stopped for over a week, and yet our gardens die. Civil unrest has begun to take hold in a country that has been peaceful for nearly a year. The Hospitals are overflowing with the sick, suffering from diseases that have not plagued these lands in centuries. Our cemeteries are overflowing. This is my fault Sobek. If I had not murdered that man I would have been able to keep these corrupted powers under control.
Sobek: Do you really think they did this, Osiris? You killed but one…
Osiris: And those around me will forever suffer because of it. I am cursed. Kahndaq is cursed. You may be as well, my friend.
Sobek: That would be terrible!
Osiris: I need to do something about it. I need to purify myself on a pilgrimage. I need to release my powers…and gain new ones to set things right. I do not want to do this to Isis and Black Adam, but will you help me find it, Sobek? Will you come with me?
Sobek: Come with you where, Osiris?
Osiris: To the Rock of Eternity. I need to find a new family.

NEXT IN 52: A bat looking Green Lantern looking down at the Castaways ship which appears to have crash landed in water, Adam Strange and Kory are fighting something off screen and Kory has been shot in the left shoulder with a spike, Renee fighting Richard Dragon.

Karl O'Neill
02-06-2007, 09:15 AM
screw you lex luthor!

MAK15
02-06-2007, 09:28 AM
so does this issue have another ticker that lies to my face?
because last issue there was no montoya, or dragon fighting, or montoya dragon fighting!

Karl O'Neill
02-06-2007, 09:36 AM
so does this issue have another ticker that lies to my face?
because last issue there was no montoya, or dragon fighting, or montoya dragon fighting!

NEXT IN 52: A bat looking Green Lantern looking down at the Castaways ship which appears to have crash landed in water, Adam Strange and Kory are fighting something off screen and Kory has been shot in the left shoulder with a spike, Renee fighting Richard Dragon

4thHorseman
02-06-2007, 11:20 AM
Damn, really didn't want to read the spoilers, but I just had to this week.

John Henry Irons....god I hope nothing bad happens to him. One of the first heroes I got into, and always been a lovable and true hero.

titanfan
02-06-2007, 11:39 AM
I still really really like that Steel is being shown to be able to hold his own against Luthor. Of course they could be setting him to be a badass before they kill him, but it sounds like he really comes into his own in this issue.

Jared H.
02-07-2007, 11:59 AM
Yeah, aside from the Giant Enemy Crab and Steel attacking it's weak point for massive damage, this was a great issue. Glad to see John Henry take Luthor out.

Joe Acro
02-07-2007, 12:08 PM
Wait a second. Steel's armor shatters due to be being squeezed by a giant crab claw? What?

jerrymcl89
02-07-2007, 12:37 PM
John Henry Irons....god I hope nothing bad happens to him. One of the first heroes I got into, and always been a lovable and true hero.

I was kind of surprised he lived through this issue, particularly since his fight with Luthor seemed designed to parallel the John Henry of folklore, who things didn't end well for.

Sgt. Preston
02-07-2007, 01:28 PM
Pretty fun read overall. It was great to see JH hand ol' Luthor a beating and get his niece back in the fold. My only beef was that we never saw Montoya and The Question. Considering this is supposed to be happening in real time are we to believe that Renee and Charlie are still roaming around looking for Nanda Parbat? He didn't exactly look like he was up for some more hiking....

Paul Newell
02-07-2007, 03:26 PM
Pretty fun read overall. It was great to see JH hand ol' Luthor a beating and get his niece back in the fold. My only beef was that we never saw Montoya and The Question. Considering this is supposed to be happening in real time are we to believe that Renee and Charlie are still roaming around looking for Nanda Parbat? He didn't exactly look like he was up for some more hiking....
You missed the confirmation, then?

I don't think ol' Charlie has much to worry about ever again.

Sgt. Preston
02-07-2007, 03:39 PM
You missed the confirmation, then?

I don't think ol' Charlie has much to worry about ever again.

If you're referring to his last moment in Week 38 I'm not sure that was exactly a confirmation of death as we've seen him fading off like that in previous issues as well.

Paul Newell
02-07-2007, 04:38 PM
If you're referring to his last moment in Week 38 I'm not sure that was exactly a confirmation of death as we've seen him fading off like that in previous issues as well.
Ah, looks like you did, then.

This is from Newsarama (http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=99043)

NRAMA: Fair enough. Did we just read Charlie's final words?

MS: Sadly, yes. We have just read Charlie's final words. He's dead, Jim.

Dark Ben
02-07-2007, 06:14 PM
I think this comic shows how long we can have to wait before a real burst like this it was awesome I don't mourn my money ^^ It was hard not to read the spoilers but NOW I'm happy

Lex
02-07-2007, 06:25 PM
Ah, looks like you did, then.

This is from Newsarama (http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=99043)
You think he was telling the truth? It wasn't that long ago that we saw the "last moments" for Animal Man. Or Booster Gold even.

Paul Newell
02-07-2007, 07:24 PM
You think he was telling the truth? It wasn't that long ago that we saw the "last moments" for Animal Man. Or Booster Gold even.
True, but then we didn't see a cover apparently showing a new "female" Animal Man or Booster Gold.

Or a teaser image showing a dead Animal Man or Booster Gold either. :)

SpaceBooger
02-07-2007, 07:47 PM
I was kind of surprised he lived through this issue, particularly since his fight with Luthor seemed designed to parallel the John Henry of folklore, who things didn't end well for.

im thinking he is still not going to make it. remember the wounds that lex sees with his x-ray vission inside steel...

Lex
02-07-2007, 07:51 PM
remember the wounds that lex sees with his x-ray vission inside steel...
All those injuries can easily be fixed by Dr. Mid-Nite or any other medical doctor.

Descartes_Lives
02-07-2007, 11:24 PM
Solicitations mentioned Ralph Dibny, and reading the synopsis here I see neither hide nor hair of the ex-Elongated Man. I am sad.

Harding Prime
02-08-2007, 02:03 AM
This is not the end of Luthor with the Everyman powers. Mark thy words...

Karl O'Neill
02-08-2007, 04:19 AM
This is not the end of Luthor with the Everyman powers. Mark thy words...

i'd say thats closure to the everyman story.

12 issues to go, with four extra tie-ins for ww3

they have to tidy up so many other stories.
dr fate/r dibny
skeets
booster
question
titans
metal men
egg fu.
batwoman
luthor is done

Belfast_Fanboy
02-08-2007, 06:42 AM
can anyone tell me what this world war 3 thing is its poped up a few ties but i dont know where eeveryones heard about it?

Karl O'Neill
02-08-2007, 07:09 AM
can anyone tell me what this world war 3 thing is its poped up a few ties but i dont know where eeveryones heard about it?

from the comics dude, black adam vs. the world!!!!!!!

Sgt. Preston
02-08-2007, 09:34 AM
Ah, looks like you did, then.

This is from Newsarama (http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=99043)

Ahh, thanks for the link. Obviously I missed that article. Well, that would explain no update on Charlie.;)

Harding Prime
02-08-2007, 12:36 PM
i'd say thats closure to the everyman story.

12 issues to go, with four extra tie-ins for ww3

they have to tidy up so many other stories.
dr fate/r dibny
skeets
booster
question
titans
metal men
egg fu.
batwoman
luthor is done

You think Luthor is not going to have anything to do with WW3. That is retarded. Luthor never goes down that easy. It was a good issue though. I really like John Henry Irons.

Jack Zodiac
02-08-2007, 02:10 PM
You think he was telling the truth? It wasn't that long ago that we saw the "last moments" for Animal Man. Or Booster Gold even.

To be fair, I don't recall him ever saying, one way or the other, that Buddy was definitely dead before they brought him back. And when asked, he did say that the corpse we saw in Week Fifteen (?) was Booster's- and it was! Just... his future corpse, graverobbed and hurled back in time.

This issue sucked. For the big, climactic battle between Lex and John, it was pretty freakin' weak. And who the hell scripted this crap? The dialogue was ridiculous, especially Gar. "There's only room for one shapeshifter around here." Hey, hero, you're mocking a dead kid.

I'm glad they wasted an entire issue wrapping up this plotline, because now we, potentially, don't have to worry about it for the rest of the series, which means we can focus on Doc Magnus on Oolong Island, the Black Marvels, Renee, the spacefaring heroes, and Booster.

Jack Zodiac
02-08-2007, 02:14 PM
You think Luthor is not going to have anything to do with WW3. That is retarded. Luthor never goes down that easy. It was a good issue though. I really like John Henry Irons.

WWIII has already been spoiled by D Didi. It's Black Adam cutting a swatch through the world. Considering OYL is only about three months away from this point in 52, and at the very beginning of OYL Lex Luthor was being convicted for the crimes he's commited during the missing year and before, I'd say that, unless we get a couple panels of his court hearings, we've seen all we'll be seeing of Luthor for the year.

Harding Prime
02-08-2007, 05:15 PM
At the very beginning of OYL Lex Luthor was being convicted for the crimes he's commited during the missing year and before, I'd say that, unless we get a couple panels of his court hearings, we've seen all we'll be seeing of Luthor for the year.

Well then I might stop picking up the weekly comic because that was the best story they were telling.

Jack Zodiac
02-08-2007, 05:17 PM
Really? I think it was one of the stories that was given the least attention. I highly doubt you skipped every week that didn't involve Steel and Luthor's Everymen. Your money, though!

Harding Prime
02-08-2007, 05:25 PM
Actually, most of the ones that didn't have some Infinity Inc. or Steel or Luthor on it, I did skip, except for maybe the Batman and some Booster Gold/Supernova stuff. This is the one I was reading the most diligently. I'll probably pick up some of the WW3 stuff because I did enjoy the early Black Adam storyline, lately its been kinda dull to me, like the Montoya and the Robot Building Island stuff. John Henry and Luthor, I think, were the best written characters of this series and the "end" of this story was a little anti climatic from the build up.

David O Burcham
02-08-2007, 08:52 PM
I'm just wondering what restaurant served the giant crab patties for Everyman to eat.

bird
02-08-2007, 09:18 PM
i never like these "pay off" big fight issues. it had to go down but i think they could have reduced it a bit and had more of the other storylines.

overall i didn't like this issue but it was inevitable.

Bored at 3:00AM
02-08-2007, 10:04 PM
As is usually the case, when Rucka's tiresome Montoya/Question/Batwoman storyarc isn't taking a backseat, my enjoyment of 52 goes way up. John Henry Irons can be such a great character sometimes and Lex Luthor is, without a doubt, my favorite super-villain of all time.

What I loved most about this issue, and I have to give all the creators their due here, is that they've set up a situation where the reader actually fears that any character could bite it at anytime. I was genuinely affraid John Henry wasn't going to make it out of his fight with Luthor alive.

brundlefly
02-08-2007, 11:16 PM
This issue sucked. For the big, climactic battle between Lex and John, it was pretty freakin' weak. And who the hell scripted this crap? The dialogue was ridiculous, especially Gar. "There's only room for one shapeshifter around here." Hey, hero, you're mocking a dead kid.


I agree, plus I got a bad 'Loeb's Superman/Batman: Public Enemies' vibe from Crazy Mustache-Twirling Lex in this issue ("I shall rename Earth Planet Lexor!!"). And I highly doubt that a man who contracted terminal cancer from Kryptonite poisoning would inject anything into his body that hadn't been tested and analyzed to the max for any possible dangers first. Steel's the only one who picked up on this "dead in six months" side-effect? Yeah, right.:rolleyes: Nice big-time hero moment for Steel, I guess, but this was a pretty disappointing climax to the Luthor/Everyman Project subplot.

Karl O'Neill
02-09-2007, 02:11 AM
Actually, most of the ones that didn't have some Infinity Inc. or Steel or Luthor on it, I did skip, except for maybe the Batman and some Booster Gold/Supernova stuff. This is the one I was reading the most diligently. I'll probably pick up some of the WW3 stuff because I did enjoy the early Black Adam storyline, lately its been kinda dull to me, like the Montoya and the Robot Building Island stuff. John Henry and Luthor, I think, were the best written characters of this series and the "end" of this story was a little anti climatic from the build up.

Luthor is done. dusted.

next.

DoctorDoom
02-09-2007, 10:47 AM
Luthor is done. dusted.

next.
Indeed. I liked this ish and liked it's climax. Can;t wait for the rest of the conclusions. And I'm awaiting....wait for it...

WORLD WAR III !!!

suttercain
02-09-2007, 11:47 AM
"Battle of the Baldies"

That's funny. But seriously this was my favorite issue of "52." Very well written.

PastePotPete
02-09-2007, 11:55 AM
Liked this ish. Something happened! Something got resolved!

It actually seems like a lot more is happening now that 52 is entering the home stretch.

Not my favorite storyline, but I do like John Henry taking down Luthor finally. That's fun.

How do these events tie in to the rest of 52? What will be there connection to the Booster Gold storyline? The Montoya/Question storyline? Dibny? See, I want this all to tie together somehow. If I find out I've just been reading a tangle of unrelated stories for the better part of a year, I'm going to be disappointed. Seriously.

rerun
02-09-2007, 02:20 PM
I wish there were more on the other stories, but if that wraps up this story, it works.

Maybe the stories will slowly wrap up leaving the Black Adam story and WW3 as the end of it all.

Shellhead
02-09-2007, 03:45 PM
This was a great issue. I too was genuinely worried that Steel was going to die, which made it all the better when he won. I hope that Everyman is not really dead, because he seems like an interesting villain. Luthor was scary, too, but not nearly as monstrous (physically and mentally) as Everyman.

K'Nort
02-09-2007, 05:53 PM
The dialogue was ridiculous, especially Gar. "There's only room for one shapeshifter around here." Hey, hero, you're mocking a dead kid.

Yeah, that was extremely out of character. For the heroes to be blowing off deaths in general, even of villains. And the growing implication that this is the new kewl direction of the DCU (ditto things like last week's bit with the half-eaten corpse) is going to start saving me a lot of money.

Jack Zodiac
02-09-2007, 06:40 PM
I didn't find anything wrong with, say, Steel choking out Nuklon, or letting that psycho Everyman fall, Gar was totally out of character, and his and Luthor's dialogue was unbelievable. "Let us sluggo the nancies?" Nobody even talked like that in the Forties.

Dr.Geekibus
02-09-2007, 07:31 PM
I'm totally with you on those dialogue points. "Sluggo the nancies?" Who talks like that?

But I'm glad that Everyman is dead. Am I the only one who found it stupid that a superhero who gets his powers by consuming the person he wants to copy was named Hannibal? As in Hannibal the Cannibal Lecter? That's beyond cheesy.

I thought the Teen Titans were relatively lame in this ish, although I was sort of glad to see Offspring there. I say sort of because I am not certain how excited I am to see DC trying so hard to shoehorn Kingdom Come into continuity. I liked offspring as a character but I would have liked to see him evolve a bit more naturally. There was an ish of JLA a few years ago where Plastic Man and Batman went to see Plas' son. He was a young teen at that point. I just don't see any transition to the hero thing. IMO.

LtMarvel
02-09-2007, 09:48 PM
I'm totally with you on those dialogue points. "Sluggo the nancies?" Who talks like that?

But I'm glad that Everyman is dead. Am I the only one who found it stupid that a superhero who gets his powers by consuming the person he wants to copy was named Hannibal? As in Hannibal the Cannibal Lecter? That's beyond cheesy.

I thought the Teen Titans were relatively lame in this ish, although I was sort of glad to see Offspring there. I say sort of because I am not certain how excited I am to see DC trying so hard to shoehorn Kingdom Come into continuity. I liked offspring as a character but I would have liked to see him evolve a bit more naturally. There was an ish of JLA a few years ago where Plastic Man and Batman went to see Plas' son. He was a young teen at that point. I just don't see any transition to the hero thing. IMO.
Hey, I would when leading my fellow super-heroes into battle.

Erebus
02-09-2007, 10:04 PM
In the beginning of 52, I considered the John-Natasha-Luthor plot to be the most boring. Now, I'm on the edge of my seat.

garin
02-10-2007, 02:41 AM
I thought it was a little weird.

If all it takes to stop Luthor is to go and beat him up, why did it take forty weeks? Steel should have slugged him at the autopsy of Alex Luthor and saved everyone the trouble. Wasn't the available evidence of Luthor's wrongdoing destroyed in that explosion?

Jack Zodiac
02-10-2007, 11:15 AM
Presumably they now have eye-witnesses like Natasha and the Teen Titans to attest to Luthor's downright nuttiness. And Nat's video bug.

Zero Hunter
02-10-2007, 12:53 PM
I thought it was a little weird.

If all it takes to stop Luthor is to go and beat him up, why did it take forty weeks? Steel should have slugged him at the autopsy of Alex Luthor and saved everyone the trouble. Wasn't the available evidence of Luthor's wrongdoing destroyed in that explosion?


Thats the great thing about Luthor. He covers his tracks so well all the time that the law can't touch him. If Steel would have went after Luthor before he would have ended up in jail. Luthor is the ultimate at using the system to his advantage. The only reason John finally went after him was because he was in fear for his nieces life and was willing to risk whatever the fall out was from it.

I loved the Luthor/Steel fight. I hope that it gets addressed again somewhere down the line with Luthor holding as much anger at being beaten by a normal man like Irons as he does towards Superman.

Kara Zor El
02-10-2007, 02:08 PM
Wait a second. Steel's armor shatters due to be being squeezed by a giant crab claw? What?

That bothered me too. But Some species of crab have incredibly strong claws that can crack open shellfish. So if the crab is giant and the strength grows in proportion then that may be powerful enough to shatter Steel's armor.

Having Steel in pretty much his origional suit was great. I loved the Jon Bogdanove version best. Hated it when he lost the 'S' off his chest and started showing part of his face. It says For Bog on one page.

Harding Prime
02-10-2007, 03:10 PM
His armor wasn't up to its peek specifications. If you take notice throughout the comic, long before the the crab fight, it was deteriorating from basically panel to panel. I think it was having some rust issues or something.

Berkey
02-12-2007, 09:27 PM
Great issue I am waiting to see what happens with Black atom and his family as well as Ralph on his quest.

Shellhead
02-12-2007, 09:51 PM
But I'm glad that Everyman is dead. Am I the only one who found it stupid that a superhero who gets his powers by consuming the person he wants to copy was named Hannibal? As in Hannibal the Cannibal Lecter? That's beyond cheesy.

I thought the Teen Titans were relatively lame in this ish, although I was sort of glad to see Offspring there. I say sort of because I am not certain how excited I am to see DC trying so hard to shoehorn Kingdom Come into continuity. I liked offspring as a character but I would have liked to see him evolve a bit more naturally. There was an ish of JLA a few years ago where Plastic Man and Batman went to see Plas' son. He was a young teen at that point. I just don't see any transition to the hero thing. IMO.

I disagree about Everyman. After reading and watching Red Dragon/Manhunter and The Silence of the Lambs, I thought that Hannibal Lector was a fascinating character. Two books/movies later, and one completely unneccesary remake, and it feels like the author is just milking Lector for every possible dollar, and also glorifying the character to an unacceptable degree. And it's not like Everyman is ripping off Hannibal Lector's super power, since Lector doesn't have one.

If you had been reading Teen Titans in recent months, you would understand that DC is deliberately showing the Teen Titans as lame during the year covered by 52. When OYL started, the Titans were starting from a weak position with a shaky line-up, and then struggling back towards their current greatness.

How is DC "shoehorning" Kingdom Come into continuity? Since Kingdom Come is set in the future, it is still a potential outcome for the current DCU, despite its official status as one of DC's Elseworlds. And if you've read enough JSofA to identify some Kingdom Come elements, you should also know that the theme of the new JSofA series is that these golden age heroes are trying to set an example for the rest of the DC heroes.

If the Justice Society is successful, the events of Kingdom Come won't come to pass. But that doesn't mean that the characters and costumes seen in Kingdom Come can't or shouldn't appear at all. The divergence between the current DCU and the future depicted in Kingdom Come could happen later, closer to that time.

Kara Zor El
02-13-2007, 03:38 PM
Anybody else think Lex in 52 is Earth 2 Lex? I thought that cheesy dialogue about Planet Lexor might have been a clue but I suppose he'd look older.

4thHorseman
02-13-2007, 03:39 PM
Anybody else think Lex in 52 is Earth 2 Lex? I thought that cheesy dialogue about Planet Lexor might have been a clue but I suppose he'd look older.

I dunno. I've been kinda curious about Lex lately. Looks like he is putting on some pounds, especially in one of the last issues of Nightwing. Looked a bit on the chunky side....

brundlefly
02-13-2007, 05:55 PM
Anybody else think Lex in 52 is Earth 2 Lex? I thought that cheesy dialogue about Planet Lexor might have been a clue but I suppose he'd look older.

God, I hope not (*calls for moratorium on Luthor imposters*). I chalked up the Lexor line to just another Silver Age homage (like Johns' ACTION) and the general nuttiness to superconcentrated levels of the Everyman gene therapy. After all, Lex had Superman's powers, roughly, so I'm assuming he'd had quite a bit more mucking around done to his system than any other project participant, which might have made him a touch mentally unstable. Or the super-senses (hearing, sight, etc.), which I assume would be hard to control without practice and maddening if one couldn't shut them off, might account for some of it.

Kara Zor El
02-14-2007, 04:45 AM
God, I hope not (*calls for moratorium on Luthor imposters*). I chalked up the Lexor line to just another Silver Age homage (like Johns' ACTION) and the general nuttiness to superconcentrated levels of the Everyman gene therapy. After all, Lex had Superman's powers, roughly, so I'm assuming he'd had quite a bit more mucking around done to his system than any other project participant, which might have made him a touch mentally unstable. Or the super-senses (hearing, sight, etc.), which I assume would be hard to control without practice and maddening if one couldn't shut them off, might account for some of it.

Youare probably right but it would be another way to get Lex of the hook and introduce Earth 2 and have Lex 1 and 2 become enemies, which worked so well with Alexander. What's worse than Superman for Lex Luthor? Another lex Luthor.

brundlefly
02-14-2007, 02:58 PM
Youare probably right but it would be another way to get Lex of the hook and introduce Earth 2 and have Lex 1 and 2 become enemies, which worked so well with Alexander. What's worse than Superman for Lex Luthor? Another lex Luthor.

Too late to get him off the hook, as the criminal charges he faces in court One Year Later in UP UP AND AWAY are from acts committed during 52. He beats the rap, but I'm assuming the charges in that story are all related to the Everyman project fiasco we've just seen. And while I thought the dual Luthor reveal was pretty neat during IC, it would seem kind of redundant to do the exact same thing again so soon. I do like the idea of the Crime Syndicate and the 'good' version of Lex rearing their heads again, though.

Kara Zor El
02-14-2007, 04:38 PM
Too late to get him off the hook, as the criminal charges he faces in court One Year Later in UP UP AND AWAY are from acts committed during 52. He beats the rap, but I'm assuming the charges in that story are all related to the Everyman project fiasco we've just seen. And while I thought the dual Luthor reveal was pretty neat during IC, it would seem kind of redundant to do the exact same thing again so soon. I do like the idea of the Crime Syndicate and the 'good' version of Lex rearing their heads again, though.

I hear yer. I haven't read Up, Up and Away yet. Bring on Lex Luthor of Earth 3 with his curly beard!

Shellhead
02-20-2007, 01:13 PM
I just re-read this issue the other day, before reading #41. It was great. Overall, this was a fantastic Steel issue. After all these decades of Lex resenting Superman for having superhuman powers, his hypocrisy is exposed to the world. The best part is that another human being beat Lex, and at his own game. Steel defeated Lex with technology, resourcefulness, and organized support.

The specific action in the fight was great, too. Nuklon II, looking tough, rushes Steel while talking trash, only to go down from a single blow. Lex's vicious bodyguard taunts Steel, then falls from a fakeout followed by an elbow to the face. Lex was just brutal, impaling Steel with his own hammer and then telling him about the exact damage he saw with x-ray vision. That made it all the better when Lex got distracted by his superhuman senses, then lost his powers when Natasha figured out what to do with the hammer.

It was probably for the best that we didn't see Steel actually finish Lex off, as seeing the middle-aged businessman getting hit by the muscular scientist might have created a little sympathy that Lex didn't deserve. Instead, his cry of pain and the toppling LexCorp symbol were good enough to wrap up this great storyline.

SpaceBooger
02-20-2007, 06:03 PM
im thinking he is still not going to make it. remember the wounds that lex sees with his x-ray vission inside steel...


I take my own comment back... it looks like he is going to make it.
Steel is on the promotional materail for countdown
http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/preview2.php?image=litg/previews_countdown.jpg

the4thpip
02-21-2007, 01:53 AM
Damn, really didn't want to read the spoilers, but I just had to this week.

John Henry Irons....god I hope nothing bad happens to him. One of the first heroes I got into, and always been a lovable and true hero.

It was actually nice they had Batista doing this issue. He's no Bog, but he does know how to draw the man and brings back memories of a very decent series in the very indecent 90s.

Kara Zor El
02-21-2007, 02:01 PM
It was actually nice they had Batista doing this issue. He's no Bog, but he does know how to draw the man and brings back memories of a very decent series in the very indecent 90s.

Yeah, that's how I feel too. It was a good homage.

DoctorDoom
02-21-2007, 04:06 PM
Yeah, that's how I feel too. It was a good homage.
Good homage indeed.