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Title: Return of the Hero
Writer: Scott McCloud
Penciller: Mike Manley
Inker: Terry Austin
Colorist: Marie Severin
Letterer: Lois Buhalis
Cover Art: Rick Burchett & Terry Austin
Release Date: May 7th, 1997
Cover Price: $1.75 U.S./ $2.50 Canada
Summary:
As
fired rage through Metropolis, we get an in-depth look at Lex Luthor.
Description:
Fires
rage as Superman is saving people trapped in a burning factory. Superman's face
is obscured in shadow as he goes about the task of saving people, and he's been
doing this almost non-stop all day. When Superman thinks he has saved everyone,
a security guard tells him that someone was left inside, prompting him to fly
back in and save the guard's dog. This sequence is different. In this sequence
we see Superman from the people's point of view. In this sequence we can't hear
what he's doing, only see, which makes us actually question his actions.
The narrator of the story is a young man named
Frank. He is in his apartment in Suicide Slum. He's telling his sister about the
fire he saw and that he has two heroes. Superman is the first, but he surprises
us by saying that his second is Lex Luthor. Frank admires how Luthor pulled
himself up from the same abject poverty in which Frank lives. If the most
powerful businessman in Metropolis can come from Suicide Slum, then it means
that Frank has hope for himself.
At a fund-raiser in an upscale part of
Metropolis, Lex is presenting Lexcorp's plans to "save" Suicide Slum
by putting up shopping malls and high rent apartments. This would draw attraction
to the area, as well as a name change hopefully. Lois Lane interrupts his speech
in the style of Sam Donaldson by asking if he is behind the rash of fires in
Suicide Slum. She accuses him of burning out the people who won't sell to him,
and he draws the presentation to a close. Luthor ain't happy.
Frank, watching the report on TV, see what Lois
has done on the news and fumes that people should leave Lex alone. His mother
tries to steer him toward seeing his father as a hero. It appears that Frank
hates his father and even says this about him:
"Dad was a crook and you know it,"
Pretty harsh.
Lois Lane happens to be a friend of Frank's mother, and picks this time to show
up; Frank confronts her over attacking Lex and storms out of the room. Lois is
just a bit puzzled as this, as Frank's mother approaches her. Frank's mother
hints to Lois that there is more to her husband's jail term than meets the eye. Then, there's
another fire in the Slum. Frank and his friends try to loot a store while
everyone is watching the fire. Frank changes his mind about this, but gets
caught.
Luthor bails Frank out of jail and shows him all
about his business, saying that Frank might be able to help in the future. Frank
is both confused, yet excited about his potential "partnership" with
Luthor. Luthor, begins reminiscing about Frank's dad, Francisco. It seems he cut
a deal with Luthor where if he did not talk about what he knew, Luthor promised
that no harm would come to his family. Francisco died in jail a year later,
having kept his end of the bargain, and Luthor had intended to keep his end as
well. Luthor finds out that one of his arson had mixed up an address, and is on
their way to torch Frank's apartment.
Luckily, when the fire starts both Clark and Lois
were at the apartment to get the story of why Luthor paid Frank's bail and to
fill him in on what his father had done to save the family. Superman is able to
save everyone in the building. Luthor realizes what has happened and sees that
there is no need for him to act. Frank two and two together and decides that
Luthor is not a hero he wants to have any more. He's now a Superman supporter
all the way through.
Review:
A
good story told from an interesting point of view. While this is nothing that
ever could be pulled of in the animated cartoon, it works perfectly here. Scott
McCloud does a good job making us see Superman and Luthor through other eyes,
forcing us to make different assumptions and ideas about them. Mike Manly does a
good job on the art, but he's not Burchett. Overall, a nice little tale.
Rating: 
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