Cover Art for Action Comics #1095 - Written by Mark Waid with Art by Patricio Delpeche. Cover Art by Ryan Sook
“I’ve been best friends with Clark Kent since we were kids. Thought I knew him inside and out.”
We all have those tight-knit friendships that mean the world to us. Maybe it is someone we met in preschool that we grew up with and stayed close with. Maybe it is someone who you met in high school that finally fit your vibe. Maybe it is a coworker from a job that you bonded with over the course of your time there. Whatever the case may be, those are the types of friendships that we cherish more than anything in our lives, and when someone changes that friendship… it can really shake your foundations. Pete Ross thought Clark Kent told him everything, but on a rainy night in the woods, he finds out that “Clark has a secret.”
Action Comics #1095 picks up right from there and continues our adventures during Clark Kent’s early years in Smallville, with a heartfelt issue that features Clark’s best friend, Pete Ross. At the end of the last issue, Pete Ross found out the biggest secret in the world: that his best friend, Clark Joseph Kent, is Superboy. This issue is a look at what that all means to Pete and how it shakes him to his very core. His friend, the goofy, nerdy, clumsy Clark Kent, is one of the strongest heroes on Earth… but why didn’t he tell his best friend? Mark Waid delivers another defining issue in his run on Action Comics that packs an emotional punch.
Spoiler warning now in effect for Action Comics #1095.
The Secret of Secrets
Our issue opens with the night of camping that Pete and Clark embarked on in the last issue. Only this time, we see Clark land back at the campsite from Pete’s perspective, with the “S” shield bright on his chest against the dark thunderstorm in the background. Pete, of course, understands he needs to keep his best friend's secret, but he feels extremely hurt and thinks, “That my best friend is Superboy… and he doesn’t trust me to know.” These are two kids who shared everything with each other, as far as Pete was concerned, and this makes him very upset because how could his best friend not trust him enough to tell him? From Pete’s perspective, it seems like a betrayal.
Our scene shifts to the next day at Smallville High, where we see Pete wanting to have nothing to do with Clark. We learn that Pete rushed home from the camping trip after making an excuse about a cousin visiting, and when Clark tries to ask him to hang out after school, he wants nothing to do with him. Clark sees Pete being very quiet and says, “Pete? Say something, dude.” In Pete’s head, as he continues to look away from Clark, he thinks, “How about, ‘I’m furious you didn’t tell me about Superboy… dude.’” Pete feels like Clark thinks he is a joke. I can empathize with Pete here, and I’m sure others can as well, but we know Clark has his reasons for not telling him.
After Pete storms off, he saves a classmate from being bullied before heading home, where he continues to ignore Clark’s texts on his phone the next morning. He mentions that every time he closes his eyes, he just keeps replaying that night in the woods. It’s clear that this entire situation is really hitting Pete and has even begun affecting his sleep. He avoids Clark all day again, until a water main break on Main Street brings Superboy to the scene.
As Pete looks on, Clark saves the day, and Pete wonders why he doesn't just tell everyone at school. “He’s gotta know he’d be the most popular kid in school if he went public.” Pete isn’t thinking big picture; he just thinks, why would his best friend not want to be the most popular kid in school? You can really understand why someone in high school could feel this way.
Pete continues on his way and has an icy encounter with Mrs. Kent and Lana, as he continues to give Clark, and the people closest to him, the cold shoulder. In his mind, he even questions if the Kents created Clark in a lab or gave him chemicals to make him strong. He’s questioning everything he knows, as one of the foundational relationships in his life has, in his opinion, begun to crumble.
The Weight of the World
During this section of the book, we get possibly my favorite page of the issue, with not only great writing but some fantastic art from Patricio Delpeche. Martha Kent gives her son a call and asks Clark to spend time with Pete soon, if he can. She says Pete looks like “he’s got the weight of the world on his shoulders.” On this page, we get three big panels of Clark rescuing people around the world. First, he saves a man from being crushed by a falling tree in a forest; next, he saves a man from being attacked by a lion on the savannah; and finally, he saves some sailors on a lifeboat from a capsizing ship. While Pete may emotionally feel the weight of the world the past few days, Clark literally has the weight of the world on his shoulders every day, with the destiny that has been thrust upon him. This entire page was just a microcosm of why this run has been so good so far.
I want to give a further shoutout to Delpeche’s art style here as well. Delpeche’s style has the feel of a more classic age of comics to it, and since this entire run has been spent in the past, I think it adds a really nice dimension to this story in particular. I also love the use of light and shadow in the art for this issue. Many times in this issue, a silhouette of someone is used instead of showing their full detailed figure, and that stylistic choice really benefits the scenes it’s used in. For example, when we see Pete go over the camping night in his mind, he sees the outline of Clark, but the “S” shield is vibrant and detailed. It really drives home the focus of the scene: how that symbol is the focal point of the change in Pete and Clark’s relationship.
One of the other panels I want to point out is when Pete essentially blows Clark off in the school hallway. We see shadows cover his entire face as he turns away from Clark because, at that moment, he feels devoid of emotion. He feels hurt. He doesn’t feel like himself, and with Clark’s face shrouded in shadow as well, it’s as if he doesn’t know his friend either. This is just another example of how great art can make a good story, great.
Getting back to the story, Lana finds Pete sulking, and she "superglues" herself to him until he opens up about why he hasn’t been himself. The two have a heartfelt conversation about how he’s been feeling and what he needs to do to reconcile the situation, without expressly naming names, of course. Lana essentially explains to Pete that sometimes people keep secrets for good reasons, and that we have to trust the reason they haven’t said anything. Before they can come to a complete understanding, two local goons show up and threaten Lana to give them Superboy’s real name. Lana fights back and accidentally falls off a nearby cliff, just as Superboy jumps in for the save. Superboy tells the goons to never bother these kids again and then has some important words for Ms. Lang.
Superboy tells her to set the record straight with the town; people cannot think they are together, out of fear that someone could target her for the wrong reasons. He wants to make sure she is safe, and he cannot worry about her, or anyone else that people may target to get to him, with everything else he has to handle. Pete overhears all of this and comes to the realization that Clark does have a good reason for keeping the secret of secrets, and he begins to come to terms with it.
Over the last few pages of this issue, we see Pete begin to notice Clark’s subtle tells when he needs to turn into Superboy and save the day, and he even begins to help him cover for these moments, too. The foundation of their friendship that was rocked at the end of the last issue has begun to reform into something even stronger, as Pete realizes that his best friend just needs a “silent partner” sometimes and has his reasons for not “spilling his guts” just yet.
Ending Thoughts and Rating
Action Comics #1095 was another really solid entry in Mark Waid’s run, and I’m enjoying this flashback to Superboy’s early days in Smallville more than I thought I would. Action Comics has been more than a welcome counterpart to the currently DC-KO-focused main Superman title, and this slice of Smallville of yesteryear, every month, gives these two titles an interesting dichotomy. We don’t see Pete Ross much in modern-day Superman tales, but maybe this issue can be the start of seeing him featured more often. He’s an underutilized character in the Superman mythos. Waid’s storytelling prowess, combined with Patricio Delpeche’s classic art style, makes for a strong, Pete Ross-focused issue that shows that the bonds of friendship are some of the most important relationships in our lives.
RATING: 8/10