Superman #15

So far, the current Superman storyline, He’l on Earth, has proven to be both annoying and unimaginative.  The villain of the series not only has a name that could have been generated by a lazy fifth grader, but he was also imbued with magnificent powers just so that he can be a punching bag for the Man of Steel.

Of course, this only proves to accentuate one of the main problems with Superman.  The hero is so unbelievably powerful that it is difficult to create a villain worthy of his incredible strength.  The result is that an interesting tale involving Superman is difficult to write due to the fact that half of a good story depends on the antagonist.

This is actually why Lex Luthor was such a good villain.  Although he didn’t possess any obvious powers, this seemingly average man was always able to be a formidable match for the most powerful being on Earth by using only his wits and wondrous business sense.  In fact, it was partially his professional approach to the problem of the Kryptonian that made Luthor such a charismatic bad guy.

Unfortunately, as Superman #15 shows us, it appears that New 52 has done away with this corporate portrayal of Lex Luthor.  Instead, he is now a mad genius trapped in a prison of his own making.  Better yet, it is now obvious that he’s insane.  It also appears that, much like the Joker with Batman, he might have a sick obsession with Superman.  The scar on his face is pretty cool, though.

In this issue, we are again treated to more annoying scenes of the whiny teenager known as Superboy.  The only saving grace that this character possesses is that he is not the infuriating Superboy Prime from Infinite Crisis, but that isn’t saying much.

The comic ends with the appearance of the Justice League, and because DC seems to love to rub in our faces that Superman and Wonder Woman are now dating, we are given cliché exposition that informs us that the two want each other even though the entire planet is being threatened.

Although not as bad as the Supergirl and Superboy issues, this comic merely continues what has thus far proven to be a failed story arc.  In fact, the reason why this issue is better than the rest is probably due to the fact that He’l doesn’t even show up in this one.  However, even the absence of this unimaginative character seems not to be enough to save this comic.