Art by: Agustin Padilla
Cover Price: $0.99
Release Date: August 1, 2014
Is This On?
Last Week it looked like Lex was ready to push the button to start a Crisis. Funny thing is, everyone may be in need of a little do over. What, with Eclipso spreading like wild fire and Superman and Lois jumping between Earths. The only one who seems to be sitting pretty is Lex, himself. So why is he so eager to change things? It looks like a classic case of Lex being Lex.
In my opinion, the Eclipso story line has been the weakest of Chaos. No offense to Eclipso himself because it's really been a pacing issue. It has crawled along at a snails pace barely moving forward with each appearance. That changes a bit this week. Bryan Q. Miller gives us some solid direction with ties all the way back to the beginning of the arc. Plus, it involves some Super guest stars.
Miller also gives us a glimpse at the mentality and quality of the "Lex Corps". I can imagine Lex telling these guys, "You're not paid to think", but unfortunately they are on their own...and thinking...about doing some really bad things. Luckily, someone has an eye on them.
Finally, we get to Superman and Lois Lane. They've hitchhiked on a Starship and I don't think they've brought a towel. Of course, things don't go well and past sins are coming back to bite them. Just when it looks like like things couldn't get worse, Lex says hello. Lex is great, but Supes reaction is priceless.
This week is all about buildup and an awesome cliffhanger. The Eclipso story is finally moving forward and I can't wait to see the trouble Lex gets into. The bad guys working for Lex must be setup for some trouble down the road or maybe Miller just wants to show that Lex has a horrible HR department. Or maybe both. Overall, this issue was a bit more setup than I figured this far into the arc. That said, I can't wait for the next issue.
Bits and Pieces:
Smallville: Chaos #9 is a bit more setup than I expected. We do get some interesting direction to the Eclipso story and a quick look at some of Lex's goons. However, it's Lex, himself, who steals the show even if he is only in the book for a couple of panels.
8.0/10
For some reason, I've been thinking of Chaos as equivalent to the first half of a midseason two-parter of a TV season. I started thinking that when I saw the description of the first issue, so I'm not sure exactly why I made the comparison, but it seems to fit so far.
ReplyDeleteThat's a pretty good comparison!
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