The Best Superman for the Job is a Superwoman

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Submitted by RJ Carter on Thu, 08/11/2016 - 12:56

It seems only yesterday that I was talking about the trend of recasting male roles with female ones (oops, timecheck that: it was today) and here I am introducing one of DC's latest remakes of REIGN OF THE SUPERMEN with this release of SUPERWOMAN #1.

Back in the day when Superman died the first time, his death was followed up by introducing multiple replacement characters, any of whom might have been him but ultimately weren't. Now that Superman has died again, this time the New 52 version, there once more are replacements. Lex Luthor is laying claim to the title over in ACTION COMICS in his armored super-suit, there's a guy from a destroyed plain of existence who's actually the pre-New 52 Superman skulking about (although he's also thrown out the red underwear and chosen to don the same threads as the Superman who just died). And now there's...

It's really, really hard to say. Because I want to say that the woman on the cover is Lois Lane (because it is) and I want to say that she flies and has super strength and calls herself Superwoman (because she does). But then you'd think the series is about her...but it's not. To say anything more than that would spoil the ending of this first issue, which sees the introduction of Superwoman.

As to how Lois came by her powers, that's explained by writer/artist Phil Jimenez aptly enough. And given that the latest Superman's powers and abilities were far beyond those of...well, the Superman we grew up with, the method of her acquisition makes sense.

The story involves Lois looking for some help from a reliable, trusted source on how to control her newly acquired powers, which leads her to Lana Lang -- the girl who helped Clark figure things out in Kansas. Shift forward a few weeks, and Lois is on hand for a disaster involving Lex Luthor's newly unveiled mobile base of operations. It's a disaster that threatens hundreds of lives, including Lex Luthor's, and will require teamwork from a partner you weren't expecting to see. Trust me, after the introduction at the culmination of this chapter -- which borrows some classic lines from SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE -- you'll be coming back next month to follow the adventures of SUPERWOMAN. She's not who you think she is.