If you listen very carefully, you can hear it, the subtle ticking of a clock. It’s easy to miss, but trust me when I say you don’t want to miss it. After all, it only comes around once a month, and if you’re not paying attention, it’ll pass right by. That’s right, come one, come all, for it’s Prime Time. Superman #37 dropped this week. Written by Joshua Williamson with art by Dan Mora, the second issue in Superboy-Prime’s quest for redemption fires on all cylinders.
- Title: Superman #37
- Creatives: Joshua Williamson (Writer), Dan Mora (Artist), Alejandro Sánchez (Colorist), Ariana Maher (Letterer)
- Characters: Superboy-Prime (CK), Martha Kent, Jonathan Kent, Damian Wayne, Power Girl, Captain Atom, Hawkgirl, Green Lantern, Cadejos
- Villain: Clayface
- Format: Ongoing Series
- Our Rating: 9/10 Stars
Does Superboy Prime Deserve a Second Chance?
The issue starts with Superboy-Prime visiting none other than the Kents. Though he’s having a blast exploring all the corners of the DC Universe he never has and fighting off baddies, he feels the weight of his own history. Members of the Justice League watch his every movement, waiting for him to slip up or show his darker side again. That’s the part of himself he’s just wanting to move past. But how can he move on if it’s all anyone ever sees him as? The Kents being… well the Kents, they can’t help but try to give him support and a listening ear.
Prime is struggling to manage his job working at a comic store with his superheroics. His boss gets on to him about his constant tardiness, but even despite his poor attendance, Prime is still up for employee of the month as long as he can show up on time. After work, Prime continues his tour of the DC universe going to Gotham City where Damian Wayne promptly tries to kick him out. Yet Prime sees this as an opportunity. Damian had a redemption of his own. Since he was raised as an assassin, he had always struggled with morality and to earn the trust of others, but he did it. Prime just needs to know how.
Though Damian initially blows him off, Prime continues to trail behind to help Damian take care of Clayface and a chemical bomb he left behind. He flies it into the sky and uses his heat vision to destroy anything that could hurt the people of Gotham. He wakes up the next morning having blacked out, but luckily Damian kept watch over him. Though Prime realizes he’s late for work, Damian calls after him to tell him the truth. It took people giving him a chance, and more importantly it took time.
Joshua Williamson and the Metatextual Magic of Superboy Prime
Joshua Williamson makes writing Superboy-Prime look easy. Simultaneously, he’s able to make Prime charming, a bit of an asshole, endearing, and a parody of comic fans all at once. I find myself wishing this wasn’t just an arc but something that would continue for years to come. You can’t help but feel for Prime trying his best to be bigger than his worst moments, but even at his best he still feels a detachment from this world. One that he knows as fiction and one that can’t seem to see him as anything other than the villain he had grown into.
But he is trying and even between the callous remarks about the Kents being dead and trespassing on Themyscira, you see his connection to the DC universe deepening. Though it’s a small moment in the issue, Prime’s reaction to Crime Alley feels especially relevant. He’s been viewing the world from the perspective of a tourist, visiting all the sites like it’s an amusement park, but the place where the Waynes were shot by Joe Chill leaves him frozen. He remarks that it doesn’t feel anything more than “morbid and gross.” Williamson also continues to be the foremost Damian Wayne fan, weaving him into the story with great effect.
Aside from how nice it is to see Williamson writing Robin again, his inclusion really speaks to the themes of this arc. He fills the role of a more realized Prime: someone who had done horrible things and felt the weight of the reputation those actions garnered. He made it out of that hole, no matter how difficult it was, and it gives this lingering impression that Prime can too. You don’t have to be your worst self, you don’t have to be the person everyone sees you as, but being better is possible. It just takes time and effort.
The Power Girl and Martha Kent Problem
All of that being said, I do need to bring up one notable gripe with this issue: the conversation between Martha Kent and Power Girl. I think out of all the members of the Justice League, Power Girl has by far one of the best justifications for not trusting Prime, and I think the ease in which she backs down doesn’t do justice to her or Prime himself. As much as I love Prime now, this arc is going to be at its best when it properly acknowledges the horrific things he’s done. In fact, I’d love it if by the end of this arc, there are still some members of the Justice League who don’t trust him.
Redemption is a powerful and important theme, but it’s equally important to convey that forgiveness is not something that is owed. Ultimately, I get the impression that the speed at which this is brushed over is more of a symptom of this issue already being packed, but a little more time on this moment would’ve gone a long way.
Dan Mora and Alejandro Sánchez bring Gotham to life
Oh Dan Mora, you could draw a piece of lint for 22 pages, and I would still pre-order two variant covers. Jokes aside, Dan Mora does an incredible job of making this issue feel exciting, even with minimal action. The sequence with Clayface in the sewers does look fantastic, but I think it pales in comparison to the level of work he does with Prime himself. The emotional range Mora gives him is just expertly done. From rage to glee, from shame to fear, this issue shows us a Prime with incredible emotional range. Prime is a complicated character to say the least, and I don’t think this issue would work half as well if it didn’t have Dan Mora’s expressions.
Alejandro Sánchez on colors does an incredible job complimenting Mora’s work, with every scene in Gotham being a highlight. Whether it be the gross muck of the sewers, the dull eeriness of crime alley, or the surprising calmness of Gotham in the morning, Sánchez knocks it out of the park.
Final Verdict: Is Superman #37 Worth Reading?
Overall, I don’t think there’s any reason not to be reading Superman right now. Since his return in Superman #28, Prime has shifted from a character I couldn’t care less about to one I want to see a full ongoing for. Williamson and Mora have completely transformed this character from who he was to one of the most endearing and sympathetic assholes in the DC universe while embodying a theme that’s core to Superman: fighting for a better tomorrow. See you all next month when the clock strikes Prime Time once more. Don’t be late.
‘Superman’ #37 proves Damian Wayne is the Roadmap to Superboy-Prime’s Redemption
I don’t think there’s any reason not to be reading Superman right now. Since his return in Superman #28, Prime has shifted from a character I couldn’t care less about to one I want to see a full ongoing for. Williamson and Mora have completely transformed this character from who he was to one of the most endearing and sympathetic assholes in the DC universe while embodying a theme that’s core to Superman: fighting for a better tomorrow. See you all next month when the clock strikes Prime Time once more. Don’t be late.
