Action Comics Special 1: Consumed by Hate

Check out this issue, which includes 2 back-ups!

The Last Will and Testament of Lex Luthor

Dan Jurgens - Writer, Will Conrad - Art, Wil Quintana - Color, Rob Leigh - Letters, Will Conrad and Ivan Nunes - Cover, Andrea Shea - Assistant Editor, Paul Kaminski - Editor

Initial Reactions

Overall, I liked this story.  For me, the conclusion was by far the strongest point in the story.  Anytime Lex and Superman get to talk it brings up some interesting ethical points.  The ending is quintessential Superman, and it serves as a solid wrap-up of Action Comics since Rebirth.

The Story

We open at the Fortress of Solitude, where there is an intruder fueled by hate.  Kelex detects the intruder, but it is too late. It is blasted away and the intruder gains access to the crystals.  With this access, he is able to look in on the Kent apartment, confirming Superman and Clark Kent are one in the same.  While watching on, he scoffs at Superman, saying that his biggest weakness is that he embraces his humanity instead of his potential for god-like status.

Lois is on a plane to Paris for an assignment, and Clark and Jon are enjoying a pizza.  During dinner, Jon receives an anonymous text with his mom's flight information.  However, instead of her real name, it is listed as "Mrs. Superman".  This sends a red flag for Clark, and he takes off after the plane.  A missile is coming for it, and all the while the mystery person praises Lois, saying her mistake was picking Superman instead of him.  

Superman is able to stop the missile, but the plane is still going down over the ocean.  He is able to save the plane, but the intruder says its not about hurting a bunch of people, but instead about psychological warfare against the Man of Steel.  As Lois and Superman talk about what happened, they try to figure out who orchestrated this attack.  The answer they come up with is Lex Luthor because the missile was a mix of Lexcorp and Kryptonian alloys.  Lex and Superman are not on great terms at the moment, but overall they have been allies.  After checking out the office and interrogating Lex, Superman is not convinced he is the culprit.  

Obviously Lex is upset with this line of questioning and is now resolved to get to the bottom of the issue.  After Superman leaves, he pulls up the footage of the attack.  He discovers that missile appears to match Lexcorp engineering.

Meanwhile, Lois reports for duty at the Daily Planet.  When she enters the elevator, the intruder hacks it and sends it flying out of the top of the building.  As she plummets to the ground, Lois is grabbed by Lex, who reveals himself as the person who broke into the Fortress.  He tells her that the reason he is doing this is to get to Superman by using his biggest weakness.  After his monologue, he drops Lois who is swept up by Superman. 

Superman and Lex have it out, and it is revealed that he is using armor that is a mix of his own tech and Kryptonian Battle Armor.  Lex also tells him that he laced the missile with a deadly Kryptonian chemical which weakened Superman for today's battle.  As he is in the midst of battle, he launches another missile toward Lois.  That is stopped by...Lex Luthor!  This allows Superman to take down the other Lex.  He tears open the battle armor to reveal that this Luthor is from 70 years in the future.  Lex reveals that he came back in time to take down Superman because that is the one thing he has not been able to accomplish in his life.  These accomplishments include beating cancer.  After everything, the only thing he couldn't do was defeat Superman.  Hate and revenge fueled this last attempt.

After his diatribe, Lex suffers a heart attack.  Before Superman can rescue him, the armor explodes.  The present-day Lex approaches the wreckage asking for answers.  He hates the idea of someone impersonating him doing such awful things.  Superman keeps his answer vague, refusing to tell Lex who it really was.  He merely says it was a man bitter and hateful.  Superman flies away, allowing Lex to remain his relative innocence.

Final Thoughts

This is a classic Lex Luthor story.  Throughout the many incarnations, this is certainly a very plausible conclusion to his arc when all is said and done.  Lex has allowed himself to be so consumed by hate that he will go to the greatest lengths to end Superman.  No matter what form Lex has taken throughout the years, this has been the consistent through line.  I really like this issue.  I am glad Jurgens was allowed to tell one final story.  Just so you know, there are two backup stories that we won't discuss here.  They are both fun in their own right, so I would recommend that you give it a look.

Do not let hate consume you as it did for Lex Luthor.  As you can read here or observe in real life, it can take over your life.  Instead of focusing your energy on hating a person or group of people, instead open you heart to those people.  Now that does not mean you have to condone everything they do or always enjoy everything about them, however you should care for them.  We can do this through the love of God.  He first loved us, and we are to share that love with everyone.  Don't be like Lex, instead love others as you are loved by your God.

What did you think of this issue?  I would love to talk about it with you.  You can comment below, or find me @behindthecapes on Twitter, or by liking the Behind the Capes Facebook page.  Also, something new, Behind the Capes has a group called Behind the Capes' Nerd Out Round Table, where we talk about a bunch of geeky stuff.  It is technically a closed group, but anyone can join if they agree to the simple rules laid out in the group.  I would love for this group to grow!