Review: Adventure Comics #3 (#506)

Or – “Reconnecting With Old Friends…”

Last time out, Kon-El caught up with Wonder Girl, the love of his life and founding member of Young Justice.  She told him of her grief-fueled kiss with Tim Drake, who was Robin at the time, and they forgave one another for youthful indiscretions and/or untimely death.  This discussion seems to have spurred Kon to look up his ex-best pal, but the new Red Robin (YUMMM!) is somewhat busy trying to track down a millionaire who is stuck in a cave somewhere…  Will their reunion be as cordial as the first?

Adventure Comics #3 (#506)
Written by Geoff Johns
Co-feature written by Geoff Johns and Michael Shoemaker
Art by Francis Manapul
Co-feature art by Clayton Henry

Previously, on Adventure Comics: Connor Kent, aka Kon-El, returned from his prolonged absence into the midst of a cosmic crisis that shook both the 21st and 31st centuries.  The battle with the Legion of Super-Villains left his world changed, and led to the return of the original Pre-Crisis version of the Legion of Super-Heroes.  Upon his return to Smallville, Connor has tried to get back to basics, keeping a running tally of things that Superman did, and trying to match those feats to understand his Kryptonian nature.  Sadly, though, he is also working through such a list for his human side, and the DNA of Lex Luthor.  This, by the way, makes the current workings of his mind somewhat suspect.  At the same time, in the 30th Century, the LSH rebuilds in the face of a xenophobic United Planets, a populace who doesn’t quite trust them, and many missing members, dealing with menaces large and small, issues of family, the return of old friends and the dispatch of an Espionage Squad into the past for unknown (seemingly Kon-El related) purposes…

We open with Connor checking one more thing (“Died and Came Back”) off his list of Superman-related to-do’s and dealing with high school biology.  His lab partner (Simon Valentine, from issue #1, last seen discovering Tellus in Bruin Lake) natters on about DNA, the genetic portion of good and evil, and whether or not he could isolate a person’s “moral fiber,” and divine their true nature.  Before Kon can respond to this very tempting line of thought, he’s interrupted by the hilarious arrival of Krypto.  The super-dog has brought Connor’s old rogue’s gallery (Silver Sword, King Shark, The Scavenger, and Stinger) as prizes, like a group of super-powered dead birds.  Simon is bothered that Conner disappears (“What does Lex Luthor do?   3) Alienate friends.”) while the Metropolis Kid angrily upbraids his super-pup.  They deliver the villains back to their various incarceration sites, and Kon wonders about tracking down Lex Luthor.  Krypto can’t track him, and so they seek out Red Robin on the streets of Paris, trying to track down a Mother Box to find out what happened to Batman.  It just so happens that Robin knows the location of one Luthor Lair already, and the boys go searching for clues.  When the unpleasant topic of WHY Robin knows this lab comes up, he admits that he raided it initially in order to find information on cloning, to try and bring Kon back.  They share embarassing secrets (One is searching for his seemingly dead adoptive father, the other for his possibly evil genetic donor) and bond, while another super-pair, Luthor and Brainiac come up with some sort of nefarious plan.  “Drop me off at Smallville,” says Luthor to his green-skinned buddy ominously.

Our co-feature kicks off on planet Tharr, the hottest planet in the universe, the homeworld of Brek Bannin, Polar Boy.  Once leader of the mighty LSH, Brek is now stuck in wingman mode as he and Sun Boy chat up girls at a poolside bar.  Everyone knows Brek as the “Substitute” hero, while Sun Boy does his usual schtick to try and impress the ladies.  “I make it… HOT,” he smarms but the women of Tharr are completely bewildered.  “On PURPOSE?” asks one hottie (See what I did there?  Heh) who can’t understand why anyone would want MORE heat.  The art is really lovely here, as Clay Henry delivers a wonderful alien world and some beautiful facial expressions.  They’ve come looking for Cryo-King, Tharr’s OTHER super, who has made a bid for Legion of Super-Villains membership and finally gotten a break.  The fire and ice duo trail Cryo to Tharr’s frozen inner core, where he gets the drop on Sun Boy.  Polar Boy attacks, and  things suddenly get personal, as Cryo-King reminds Brek again of his “Substitute” stigma.  An angry Polar Boy quickly drops his counterpart, and he and Sun Boy counter-attack, easily taking down the villain.  Johns delivers some wonderful moments illustrating the basis of this odd friendship, as Dirk tells Brek that he made an excellent Legion leader, and a great hero besides, and both men agree that the mission turned out to be kind of fun.  The story ends with the boys discovering an ancient paper map of Earth.  “You think you’re the only Legion with an espionage squad in the 21st century?” asks Cryo-King as the Science Police drag him away…

Geoff Johns continues to deliver on both fronts with this book, as Kon’s story deepens with each issue and this issue’s Legion vignette gives us something entirely new and wonderful.  I’m enjoying Francis Manapul’s art on the S-Boy portion of the tale, offering a lighter touch and a more “pencilled” look than his work on LSH recently.  The coloring is nicely handled, using pastels and sepia tones that give the story a quiet, retro feel.  The moment where Red Robin takes off his mask and the two old friends finally got to see one another face to face is great.  (“You really need a haircut,” says Connor.  “You need a real costume,” retorts Tim.)  As wonderful as last issue was for Connor and Cassie, this issue surpasses it, as best friends finally come clean with one another and their friendship is rekindled.  As for the Legion, the new friendship of the Sun Boy/Polar Boy team shines, as we get one of our first looks at Tharr and get to reconcile the nerdy, reject Polar Boy with the Levitz-era leader.  It’s important to note that Polar Boy’s election to the post took place in LSH V.3 #36, well AFTER the point where Geoff Johns has said that his Legion takes off from (LSH V.3 #27.)  It’s good to know that we’re going to see some of the awesome moments that came AFTER the changes to the timestream did maintain in the home continuity, and it’s wonderful to see the devil-may-care womanizing Sun Boy and the quiet try-harder-and-succeed Polar Boy as a duo.  This issue hits all the right notes, from art to story to colors (although I had to add GRATUITOUS LENSFLAAAARE!!!!)  Adventure Comics #3 (also known as #506) earns a damn-near perfect 4.5 out of 5 stars overall.  The only place where the issue suffers, in my view, is in the split-feature format.  In a perfect world, I would have been able to pick up a full issue of the Legion of  Super-Heroes AND a full issue of the Adventures of Kon-El in the 21st Century…