Written by Joshua Williamson
Art by Jamal Campbell
Published by DC Comics

PREVIOUSLY: SUPERMAN #1

The Parasite, whom I always thought was one of Superman’s more underrated recurring villains (I’d like to see him as the threat in a live-action movie someday) is on the loose. But now his power set has been radically altered. Before he just absorbed the life energy of others to become stronger, now he’s multiplying into dozens of other…mini-me’s, I’d guess I’d call them. As Superman encounters a crown of little Parasite he thinks to himself one one Parasite draining him “was always too much…but a dozen clones?”

As he barely escapes the attack he flies to the top of a building to see that the city of Metropolis has been blacked out, all power drained, as the Parasites overrun the city. The entire time this is going on, asSuperman and his allies (we get brief scenes of Jon, Supergirl, Superboy, Steel and Natasha Irons) try to contain the Parasite and save as many civilians as possible, Lex Luthor is taunting Superman from his jail cell, trying to convince him to free him so they can work together and to end this. Naturally, Superman still doesn’t trust Lex.

There are some notable debuts in this issue. We meet the Secret Order Of Mad Scientists, a group of villains whom I don’t know if they’re new or just new to me, who are behind this, all part of some kind of vendetta that they have against Lex Luthor. I’m intrigued to learn more about this group.

And we meet a new superhero, a Black woman called Marilyn Moonlight, who says she appeared while Superman was in outer space, leaving Metropolis unprotected. Her powers are unclear, she appears to be riding a ghost-horse, and shooting ghost guns, and says she’s needed because Metropolis is “haunted.” I’ll admit she’s a cool-looking character, and I’m happy to see a new Black superhero in D.C., but I can’t help but feel like this is the wrong book for her, as Metropolis already has Superman and now his super-family, so a city like this shouldn’t need another superhero (it’s the same way how I feel like there are now too many Bat-characters in Gotham City). But I’ll just have to wait and see how she’s used going forward.

Lex has some good lines, coming off as his usual arrogant self, even despite being imprisoned. At one point he questions why Superman has come to him yet, guessing that Superman is “wasting time on trivial matters like helping people or saving lives.” 

But when Superman finds out that Lois Lane has been infected by the Parasite too, the situation gets desperate, ending with a dramatic cliffhanger.

Joshua Williamson is proving to be adept at writing a suspenseful and action-packed story, and I’m loving Jamal Campbell’s art. This is a great book!

SUPERMAN #2