I don’t think so. I have some guesses, but she may be new.
I think there are some nice/fun concepts behind it. My main issue, though, is it has been a lot of talk about those concepts and not much in utilizing them or… really very much happening at all. That is until…
Steelworks #2:
Which was my favorite chapter of the new Steel story thus far. In particular, I like how it’s setting up the conflict between Shawn Kerry and John Henry. Shawn, a man who is down on his luck and has experienced tragedy as an indirect result of John walking away from his job at Amer Tek, is being aimed at Steelworks like a bullet by the same corrupt, big business forces that John is trying to combat against. I really like this conflict for a couple reasons. First, Steel is focused on protecting Metropolis from the collateral damage of super-battles, but now he’s under attack from someone who suffered collateral damage from John Henry’s civilian life. That’s pretty poetic. Second, it’s representative of how the private concerns of capital leverage the struggles of the poor to turn them against public works that would improve their lives. Steel’s projects could improve things for people like Shawn in maybe a decade…? Charles Walker III’s money and influence could improve Shawn’s life right now. Often the greater good is subverted for immediate material gain and this story illustrates that well. That conflict escalated in this issue with some fun action sequences. I also still really enjoy the damage reports from classic stories at the end of each issue. I want them to keep those up. Still, it’s not perfect. Charles Walker III is a bit generic as evil, rich guys go. I could take or leave the whole “no supers” concept because, again, you can’t really tell a superhero story in a collective superhero universe that phases out superheroes. Still, this issue started the process of turning me around on this series.
Glad you liked the Special! As for Johnny Sorrow and the Subtle Realms stuff: He’s an angry silent film actor empowered by Cthulhu. That’s the long and short.
I have a theory on that, but it’s just a theory. In New 52’s Action Comics Annual #1, John Henry hands Superman a Steelworks business card and describes it as a “socially responsible tech company” that “brings (his) technology to the neediest places on Earth.” From what I remember, he meets Lana while doing this kind of work. So, assuming John’s been doing Steelworks for a few years now and assuming it’s a non-profit because of its charitable aims, it’s likely that Steelworks runs off of government grants and has built a good reputation for itself. I also believe that Steel was given the most access to the Warworld tech following Superman’s return to Earth. If my theory holds up to this point then I could see the city of Metropolis essentially giving Steelworks a sizeable (millions to billions) grant to use the Warworld technology to improve the city. Maybe…
Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #5:
Was a good issue that sets up some fireworks in the next. There were a lot of good character interactions here. I liked Harley trying to apologize to Jon for helping murder his potential doppelganger and Jon basically not accepting it and just telling her to work to make amends. I also thought that Jon meeting the Injustice Kents was rather poignant. The action came when Injustice Superman and co. captured Batman’s resistance after Jon left their company. That scene managed to make me feel worried about the survival of Catwoman, so that was effective. We end with IJ Supes announcing the executions of Harls and Bruce, so now Jon is on a timeline to get things done! A good chapter in an engaging story, but… I’ll honestly be happy to see the back of the Injustice universe.
Personally, I don’t like it. It only sort of resembles Routh. But… what really matters is how you feel about it.
I watched the first two episodes a few days ago. It was fine. It’s a bit too anime influenced for my tastes. I also had reservations about how they were characterizing Superman and Clark Kent and that dynamic, but am willing to accept it for now since it’s a younger Superman and it works with their greater theme of finding oneself (like Superman seems to get stronger the more he discovers about himself). It was fun and I particularly liked the Newskids Legion (essentially the updated Newsboys). All in all, not what I would’ve done, but it seems to have a strong concept, a sense of identity, and it was fun. So, I’ll keep watching.
Edit: I forgot to mention my favorite quote from Steelworks #2 which was: “Jonathan, when you served as the world’s sole Superman… you took a more active role in the challenges of our day. The climate crisis, the rise of fascism… Jon, you were right.” Words of wisdom those… and I should know because I more or less said the same thing last year.