52 Or Shatner: Week 21

52 Or Shatner: Week 21

Sep 28

And the hits just keep on coming…on time, no less!

Shatner? 52? Eh?

52.

I’m getting curious about Lex Luthor’s game plan here, especially thinking “forward” to the Lex we saw in Busiek and Johns’ big-ass One Year Later Superman/Action Comics arc. Anecdotal evidence at least indicates that the writers of the OYL books haven’t been briefed necessarily on the action of 52, probably as a necessary measure to keep the book’s plot machinations from leaking out somehow. Still, it’s hard for me to line up the return of the mad scientist purple shirt Lex we saw OYL with the more recent evil businessman manipulator Lex we’re seeing in 52. If the stars don’t somehow line up on this one, I’ll be very disappointed, as it’s not like they’ve just dropped the ball on some minor plot or character tidbit–it’s a major characterization shift for a major player in the DCU, so they better have their shit together. Or I’ll cry till I fill my shoes!

Having said that, I’m admittedly intrigued to see where Lex’s plot is headed–will his superhero treatments have some kind of Order 66-esque trigger that turns all his metas into an army of absurdly powerful drones, doing his bidding? Or is the dialogue of this issue suggesting he just wants to make a crappy reality show about superheroes?

Interesting, too, to consider for a second the facets and tapestry we’re working with here–the Steel plot is also justifiably the Lex plot, plus there’s the Ralph plot that’s becoming the Ralph/Dr. Fate/Journey to Hell plot, and the Booster/Skeets/Rip Hunter/time is fucked plot, and the Starfire/Adam Strange/Animal Man hook up with Lobo to run away from that big one-eyed head plot, which may or may not have something to do with the Lady Styx plot gurgling to the surface, and you stir in the Metal Men and Supernova and Batwoman and on and on and on…

In other words, it’s neat how the scope is slowly expanding to truly become a tale of the DC Universe writ large, but with worthwhile personal stakes as well.

1 comment

  1. Hilton

    Good point on the progression of Lex. We still have a long way to go, and there is somethng megalomaniacally mad scientist about the way he’s giving and taking the powers of his team. I need to re-read OYL now.
    As long as they don’t try another “2 lexes” plot, a la Villains United, I’ll be okay. I’m still not entirely sure which was which in that story. 🙂

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