Writer: Kenny Porter
Art: Jahnoy Lindsay and Lucas Gattoni
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99
Release Date: May 16th, 2023
Conner Kent is captured by the young space-adventuring team the Cosmoteers as Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow #2 by Kenny Porter continues! On a mission to stop Dominator X, these former experiments believe Superboy is just another weapon created by the cloning mad scientist. It’ll take all of Conner’s charm to convince them he’s one of the good guys, or it’s lights out for Superboy!
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THE DISPATCH
As Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow #2 opens, readers find out that the Cosmoteers have more in common with Superboy than meets the eye. And after Superboy and the Cosmoteers have a little sit-down chat, we discover that their method of madness may very well be just that… madness. Clash of opinions on how to save lives takes center stage throughout this issue. Therefore, morality becomes the crux of the comic which is quite ironic given today’s climate and sense of morality stretched to its limits. Killing will permanently stop more terror. Should we find a way to stop the bad guys without killing them? That’s a great question to discuss at the water cooler and one brought up firsthand in Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow #2.
Truthfully, the shtick gets old fast. Conner says “You think trying to keep people alive is a weakness? Where I come from, taking the easy way makes you weak.” I didn’t know Conner had a soap box but it sure felt like Kenny Porter did by the end of the issue. Readers, this felt absolutely nothing like the first issue of Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow. It felt like I was getting forced feed some type of Retributive Justice stance. It was a big turn-off compared to how much I liked issue one. Moreover, Conner didn’t really get to show off his skills as he did in the last installment. The Cosmoteers held the upper hand most of the time. For someone half-Kryptonian, I expected a bit more from him, especially in his own book named after him.
ART
Jahnoy Lindsay’s delicate tinge on art is certainly ok and brightens up the issue enough. However, it’s his action sequences that appear to suffer the most in Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow #2. The anime/ manga look just doesn’t work with the almost blurry action and less detail. Unlike issue one, nothing sticks out as overly dynamic or attention-grabbing.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow #2 was absolutely nothing like the first issue. Porter took a coming-of-age story where we saw Superboy rediscovering his place in the cosmos and has now morphed it into a book on moral codes and heroism under the guise of Retributive Justice. And sliding a comment in here or there would be one thing. However, Conner goes above and beyond to hammer his point home on numerous occasions.
As someone who thought we’d see Conner find his place amongst another group of clones similar to him, it’s weird to see the direction Porter has taken this comic so quickly. It’s shocking to see the about-face one can make after being only two issues into Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow. Readers, I was all in after issue one. And now, with the wicked tonal switch, I think I might be done with the comic. Let me know what you think, have a great week, and God Bless!
I read this a week ago as DC posted it early on their app. I barely remembered any of it.