In the pages of ‘Superman’ #11, Superman had responded to an attack at a secret Russian laboratory. In the lab, Supes discovered that the Russians had found a portal to another world and had brought through some sort of alien Predator-like creature. When Superman attempts to stop whatever is going on, the creature attacks the Man of Steel… and actually wins!
When Superman comes to this issue, he sees the alien creature frantically working at a control panel. It appears as if the alien is attempting to reopen the portal through which he came to Earth. Superman can’t let the alien bring more of his kind through. He figures that, if one of them can bring him down, an entire army will decimate the plant. Regaining his strength, Supes breaks free of his bonds and attacks the creature.
Meanwhile, the Russian government is planning on getting two birds with one stone. They expect that they can clean up their alien mess and get rid of Superman in one swoop… by dropping a nuclear warhead on the lab!
As a backdrop to the Earth-saving story, we get a glimpse into the life of Clark Kent as he struggles to find a way to fit in with the friends and family that he’s built up in Metropolis. To this point, Clark has been standing up Lois’ sister on dates and dropping out of all sorts of things at seemingly random times. Of course, while we know why he does these things, his friends are starting to view him as a bit of a flake.
The juxtaposition of these two stories comes to a nice conclusion after Superman’s battle with the alien and show again that Dan Jurgens has a good grasp on what makes this character stand the test of time. Marvel’s Spider-Man may have turned 50 this year, but Superman will hit the 75 year mark in 2013! It’s the good old fashioned ideals that Superman stands for both in his superhero guise and as Clark Kent that make him so enduring.
Final Score:
SUPERMAN #12
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Dan Jurgens & Jesus Merino
Covers by Dan Jurgens & Norm Rapmund
