It’s quite a talent to continuously build a mystery with one of the most familiar characters in the world and Christopher Priest is doing it with Superman: Lost. The newest issue has one of the wildest callbacks from the 90s, while tussling with the very heart and soul of who Superman is and why he does what he does.
Spoilers ahead, as I swim through (pun intended) this fun issue of Superman: Lost.
Recap:
The issue opens with Lois, writing an article, clearly very frustrated with the situation she is currently dealing with. Her husband is a shell of who he used to be and she has no idea why, but she’s picking up clues along the way. One of those clues being Clark’s rechargeable solar suit he was gifted during his disappearance; it spills out of the closet, along with other debris. We figure out very quickly what this is.
Clark is in this really cool solar suit with a mildly annoying AI named Marquis. Clark eventually happens upon what he assumes are SPACE DOLPHINS!!! Because, of course, he’s dealt with this sort of thing with Lobo in the past. After a discussion about how long it would take Clark to get home, he’s ready to take his chances with the damn dolphins.
This ends up with him dealing with another planet’s problems, but with some great visuals from Carlo Pagulayan and Jason Paz, we get a really visceral concern that Superman has to deal with. One thing leads to another and Clark ends up in an even worse position than before.
Review:
I have to give this story a chef’s kiss. In a past issue, I was a bit exhausted by the endless explanations for why gravity played a crucial factor in Superman’s powers. This explanatory repetition happened again with the dolphins but honestly very necessary, because how many of Gen Z’s comic readers or even some Millennials get this reference? I loved every panel of the dolphins, including the twist that they were the Bad Guys and may not even be what Superman thought they were??? Wild.
My initial thoughts as to where Clark ended up? A micro-verse. If you read this issue, you’ll know why I’m guessing that.
Rating: 5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
BOOK THREE: THE TIDE. With the assistance of advanced technology from an unnamed planet, Superman begins his voyage home—only to discover that, even at fantastic rates of speed, Earth could still be several lifetimes away. However, hope arrives in the form of a familiar species allowing Superman to hitch a ride with them, but they encounter a grave threat to their existence on a mysterious planet along the way.
Written by: Christopher Priest
Art by: Carlo Pagulayan and Jason Paz
Colors by: Jeromy Cox
Letters by: Willie Schubert
Cover by: Carlo Pagulayan, Jason Paz and Elmer Santos
Price: $4.99