When I stopped reading comic books in 1994, Conner Kent had just come on the scene and was this arrogant little twit with an awful haircut, sunglasses, leather jacket, and Chachi leg band. He was one of four new Supermen who appeared after the famous "Death of Superman" saga in which Doomsday supposedly killed the Man of Steel. I really didn't think he'd last.
When I started reading comics again in 2007, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Conner Kent had not only stuck around, but that he'd matured, changed to a much simpler costume, was kinder and more respectful of others, and gotten a whole helluva lot more sexy. He had suddenly (13 years later) gone from one of my least favorite characters to one of my all-time favorite characters.
So when I heard about DC Comics' new reimagining of their entire universe now in 2011 and saw the cover of Superboy #1 from the New 52 collection, I was, naturally, a bit scared. Gone were the casual T-shirt, muscles, and tight-fitting jeans. Conner now resembled a cross between Tron and the New Mutants' Warlock.
I bought and read the new #1, and...it didn't suck. For once, the art on the interior (by R.B. Silva) was better than the cover art. (It's usually the other way around.) The story was pretty interesting, too, but I have to try to forget everything that Conner once was. While sad that Conner was once again scrawny looking, I was relieved that he wasn't mechanical, as the cover implied. He's this naive human-like construct, living in a "Truman Show" world. He was created from half Kryptonian DNA and half -- shhhh! Supposedly, it's a secret. Unless it's something different than Lex Luthor's DNA this time around, it's not going to be much of a surprise for those of us already familiar with Conner's origins.
I look forward to seeing where DC takes Conner this time around. Let's just hope that on the way, he swings by a gym and an Abercrombie & Fitch.
No comments:
Post a Comment