Action Comics #1103 - Lex Luthor: Year One - Part One
Written by Mark Waid
Art by Patricio Delpeche
Letters by Steve Wands
Cover Art by Chris Brunner and Rico Renzi
Action Comics #1103 is a comic that I needed to stop and think about a little bit when I finished it. Why? Well, it’s not that I didn’t think it was a good issue; I did. Mark Waid’s narrative is great as always, and I actually really dug Patricio Delpeche’s art. There was just something about this particular arc, taking place at this particular time in the current Superman family of books, that I think felt a little off. Let’s get into it. Spoiler Warning Now in Effect for Action Comics #1103!
Lionel, Leticia and Lex
This issue is broken down into three chapters, and chapter one opens with Alexander Luthor musing about his life and some of his many accomplishments. Luthor will never be known for having an ounce of humility, and he comes off like that immediately from the first panels of the issue. I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again, I’ll say it forever: One of Mark Waid’s greatest strengths in his writing is that he just nails the voice and aspects of every character. Lex thinks he is the epitome of humanity, and it comes off like that here in spades. Now, Lex has done some terrible and incredible things in his life, but there's still something that eats at him more than most: memory loss.
Luthor continues his opening monologue by saying that he essentially finds it disgraceful that he’s suffered amnesia in his life and he now wants to record his life story not just for his record but for the “Study of Future Generations.” Yeah, that ego isn’t inflated at all, huh? Lex then begins his tale, and it unfortunately begins with an abusive, alcoholic father who cannot stand to see his son outsmart him.
Long story short, Lionel Luthor lost his job working for Vandal Savage. Luthor’s family was doing well; they had money, and things were most likely pretty stable, but it all came crashing down when Lionel’s alcoholism cost him his job and the Luthor family’s lifestyle. The family is forced to move to Shelby, Kansas, where Lionel is just another person on an assembly line in a town of less than ten thousand people. Now, who do you think Lionel took out all of his anger on? Yeah. Exactly.
Lex and his mother, Leticia, are shown to be quite close, and it’s no shocker why, as she loves how smart and intuitive her son is. In her mind, his brilliance is something to be nurtured and applauded, not something that deserves a smack in the face. Lionel cannot stand the fact that his son can comprehend things that he can’t anymore or never could in the first place. The dichotomy of Lex’s parents is one of the most interesting things in this issue. A literal angel and devil on his shoulder. Leticia tries to seek out possible friends for her and Lex in the community, but as seems to be the case in Lex’s early life, things don’t end well.
Lex displays his smarts for some folks from their local church that Leticia invited over, but instead of applauding him, they treat him just like his father does: with disdain, hateful looks, and of course that word that seems to pop up when people can’t understand someone: “freak.” Lex is heartbroken, and one of the best lines in the entire issue is when he says he never saw his mom that happy ever again. All she wanted was for her boy to feel special and appreciated and seen by others as she saw him, but the world spat in both their faces. It’s sad, and you can see how Lex started to become the person that he eventually becomes. When you're treated with nothing but disdain from others despite your drive to just be good and be helpful… it would make anyone angry.
The Kents and The Luthor
Now, the second chapter. This was a beautifully written story about a much earlier time in Superman’s childhood, even further back from when the recent Superboy arc had been taking place. Clark is just coming into some of his real powers as his fifth birthday approaches and when he starts to be able to lift up the Kent home, the Kents need to have a real discussion with their little boy. Being the incredible parents they are, they help Clark understand that he’s a special child and essentially explain to him that he would never want to make others feel bad by using powers they could never hope to ever have. “We Kents never make people feel bad about who they are or what they can do, Clark. Promise me.” Martha Kent, you bring a tear to my eye.
I think this story around Clark’s fifth birthday party is actually incredibly heartwarming and yet again provides another excellent example of why the planet Earth owes Jonathan and Martha Kent everything. How this little chapter ends I won’t spoil, but its ending scene is a great reminder that Clark truly respects the way his folks feel and that goes a long way towards the beautiful relationships he will have with them over the course of his life. Let’s get back to Lex and Leticia; maybe things are going to turn around for them?
Chapter Three opens with another awful night in the Luthor household. It’s just another drunken Saturday night for Lionel in the Luthor house as he throws a glass that would’ve injured his wife if she didn’t move out of the way fast enough. We see Lex packing a suitcase in his room as the fight rages downstairs. Eventually, Lionel has had enough and gets in his car and drunkenly drives away as Leticia looks on with a… happy look? Turns out this was Leticia and Lex’s plan all along. After reporting her car missing five weeks ago, Leticia hid it herself as she and her son waited for the perfect time to execute their escape plan. That plan? Burn the house down, act as if she and Lex perished inside, and escape in her “stolen” car.
The way Leticia manipulates the 911 phone call to the police is genius, and it also shows that she isn’t some dumb housewife. We learn earlier in the book that she was once a prominent and gifted engineer in her own right before she gave it up. She’s smart, and she picked the perfect moment for her and her son to get away from the abusive alcoholic excuse for a husband and father in Lionel Luthor.
I loved this final chapter in the issue because it shows not only the lengths Lex and Leticia will take to get away from Lionel, but it shows that for her son, Leticia will go to any lengths to keep him safe and make him feel loved. Waid makes us feel legitimately bad for Lex and his mother, and we want to see them escape. The saddest part about this entire thing is we know the type of person Lex eventually becomes; we know the type of person he turns into. Somewhere along the way of this Lex Luthor: Year One story, the love of his mother won’t be enough anymore. Somewhere along the way, his inner demons will come out. Somewhere along the way, empathy dies. I feel like excited is the wrong word for me to use here because I’m not excited to see how he becomes the monster that he becomes. I am hooked, though. I think that’s a better way of looking at it. It’s like a car accident on the side of the road. You can’t look away even though you know it’s going nowhere good.
Patricio Delpeche’s Art Shines
The art in this story by Patricio Delpeche was great. I liked not only his pencils but also a lot of the color decisions he made in this issue. The way he uses his shadows was one of my favorite things, in particular how he darkens characters due to their evil nature or, in some cases, the dark decisions they’re making. Lex is bathed in shadow and deep red light at the beginning of this issue when he gives his opening monologue. The perfect look for an evil genius in his evil lair. That red light and shadow is represented again in the first interaction we see between Lex and his father in the issue, almost as a way to say, this is the moment that led to darkness. Genius storytelling through the art as well as in the narrative.
The second chapter of the story, Clark’s fifth birthday, is beautifully drawn also. The classic look that Delpeche gives the Kents and young Clark looks great. In particular, I loved the scenes in this chapter that take place at night because there is always some form of light in the darkness. Whether it's the porch light illuminating a conversation between the loving parents and their special son or a backlit hallway light watching over those same parents as they come to terms with the fact that they really need to keep that little boy safe. Superman is always a light in the dark, and this is both some wonderful foreshadowing into his bright future and a nice point to make that the Kents will always be a source of light in Clark’s life. The last chapter of this issue is quick, but man, does that house burning scene look great. The use of shadow and light in this last part is really cool once again as this time, the light of the fire is like the beacon that signals the start of Leticia and her son's new life. I loved this issue but I do have one slight criticism.
I just feel like, with the momentum coming out of the D.C. K.O. aftermath and the Kingdom of Zod event, I wanted to jump right back into what was going on with the Young Superboy we’ve been hanging around with for the better part of the past year. He went through the wringer during the Kingdom of Zod event and essentially had his mind wiped to forget his legendary future. I want to know what's going on with Lana Lang and her father. I want to know how Pete is continuing to handle the fact that his best friend is Superboy. Maybe I just sound a little impatient; sure, I’ll give that to you, but I feel like this story would maybe have worked better as a massive annual instead of making it its own arc?
Now I want to preface that my opinion could very well change as this arc goes on, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it did. If anyone could completely sway my opinion, it's Mark Waid, and I mean I absolutely loved the art too. I just wanted to see more of Young Clark's story because I know there's so much more to tell, and I’m chomping at the bit to get here.
Action Comics #1103, part one of Lex Luthor: Year One, is an emotional beginning to Mark Waid’s newest arc. Patricio Delpeche provides some great classic-looking artwork with some brilliant use of light and shadow in an issue that shows how essential our parents are in shaping our lives. Luthor is Superman’s greatest enemy, but this issue shows us that it never needed to be that way.
RATING: 8/10