5 Things to Like About Action Comics #865

Geoff Johns is doing a good job on a number of titles, but the one that might be getting a little less publicity is Action Comics. He does do a lot of retoconning (nobody seems content to leave to a Crisis anymore), but sometimes it's to good effect. At once redeeming and perverting Toy-Man in the latest issue is a good example. 5 things to like about it?

5. This notionThis talks to us as fans. It's also fine meta-text on the kinds of villains heroes draw. And it's a critique of what's been done with Toy-Man over the years. In the story, Toy-Man feels he's been unjustly sent to Arkham Asylum. And in a very real way, exposure to the crazies in that place ("Batman villains") has driven him mad. Comics families, DC Universe cities, have a nature that cannot be denied. Spend time in Gotham, you might get some dirt on you.

4. These panels
Yeah, he probably does. Do villains choose how they want to play it? If you want to rob banks with your gimmick, go to Central City. If you're into leaving clues and getting your head kicked in, go to Gotham. Want a quick arrest, but a fair shake? Metropolis.

3. Toy-Man's redemption and reinvention
So the pedophile-killer Toy-Man was a robot that could fool Superman. Hm. That's a bit cheap as far as retcons go. EXCEPT that Johns sells it by inserting every Toy-Man appearance in continuity with these things. I mean, there's the Golden Age Toy-Man and the one from Super-Friends! Plus the animated adventures Toy-Man and the more recent Hiro Okamura. (Note that both cartoon versions still had their day in the comics, so they're not just visual puns.) He's made the "other" Toy-Men, actual "toys". Continuity porn? Or a love for the history of comics that runs deep?

2. Toy-Man confessing to Jimmy Olsen because, y'know, he's only 16
Oh yeah, that's right, characters actually age. Well, Toy-Man's mistake should be forgiven as Jimmy's only aged 6 years in the last, what, 67 years? Putting him in here as an "eternal youth" is just perfect.

1. The return of Cat Grant
Personally, I've always liked this character. She added a lot to the Superman Family when she came on board post-Crisis, and not just because she completed the Superman's Girlfriends trifecta of brunette-redhead-blond. She actually dated Clark for his own self, then Jimmy in an April-September kind of deal, was raising a kid by herself, and hey, who's doing the Daily Planet's gossip column these days anyway? She's potentially as strong and driven as Lois, but more malleable. I think I'm more curious about seeing her again than I am Brainiac.

So... are you a Superman person or a Batman person?