Superman No. 850 brings surprising characters back into the mix

While Superman battles a new supervillain, Lex Luthor is visited by people he never wanted to see again.

The DC Comics’ Dawn of DC has made good on its promises since it started. All of the major heroes are going through terrible times. Wonder Woman is battling the U.S. Government’s unfair law that banned the Amazons from the country (Wonder Woman No. by Tom King). Batman has lost it all and continues to lose more (every issue of Batman since Alfred died in City of Bane). Of course, Superman would be part of their plans as well.

The Man of Steel is known as the greatest hero of all time. At first, the biggest moments were Lex Luthor erasing Superman’s identity from the world (Action Comics No. 1050), later being sent to jail, and Luthor renaming LexCorp to Supercorp (Superman No. 1 by Joshua Williamson). Then, in Superman No. 850, things started to truly heat up.

Perry White for Mayor

Lex Luthor did more than erase Superman’s identity from the world. He believed that the world needed to believe that Superman was a god. That’s why he made it so that if Supes tried to tell anyone who he was, it could kill them. The first person this affected was Perry White. Thankfully, the knowledge didn’t kill him. Now he’s out of the hospital and running for Mayor of Metropolis.

This may not seem like a big deal, but it is. Perry becoming mayor would help Superman and his family. Recently, a group known as the Blue Earth Movement has terrorized Metropolis. They believe that, because the Super Family are aliens, they’re taking over the world. Perry White may help ease their concerns. Of course, this won’t be an easy task.

If this was Gotham, this writer would think there’s no chance he’d win. But Metropolis is everything that Gotham isn’t. Look for Perry white to be sworn in as mayor in 2024.

Lex Luthor’s secret family

While Superman and his family are fighting the first supervillain of Metropolis (that Lex Luthor locked away), Lois Lane meets Lex in the prison hospital. Lois believes Luthor has an ulterior motive. Despite everything he’s done, Lex says he wants to help his former nemesis. While the two argue, Luthor gets a surprise visit from his mother, Leticia Luthor, and his daughter, Lena.

Luthor is not happy to see either of them. He’s gone to great lengths to keep them hidden. Now that they’re back, his mother reminds Luthor that she’s on the board of directors. She plans to find out if her son has the right to transfer his power of LexCorp over to Superman.

As for Lena, Brainiac’s three-circle indentions are on her forehead. This is from when she was aged into a teenager by Brainiac 13 (Our Worlds at War crossover). The problem is she was aged back into an infant. Plus, was that in the Earth-Prime continuity? Hopefully, those answers will come soon.

Brainiac is back

At the end of the comic, Brainiac has found a world similar to Earth for him to study. Brainiac isn’t alone. As he’s talking, three Czarnians appear. Brainiac says he used to embrace order, but now, the, “…assignment calls for chaos.” He unleashes the three Czarnians (their leader, General Chacal, and the other two are Tiburon and Duende), sends them to the Earth-like planet, and tells them to kill everyone.

Brainiac has a plan for that planet. He may kill everyone, but it was selected for a reason. He mentions that the people there have control over metal. What he needs that information for will come into play at some point and it will involve taking on Superman and his family.

If there are Czarnians left, Lobo will have information on them. According to General Chacal, he and the other two were erased from Czarnians’ history. Considering how awful Lobo is, imagine what the others have done to be deleted from history. There’s no way a collision between them isn’t inevitable. Don’t be shocked if Supes and Lobo team up to fight them.

Lastly, it can’t be a coincidence that Lena Luthor is back. She has a connection to Brainiac. Also, the Brainiac story popped up immediately after Lena’s forehead indentions were highlighted. If she’s connected, there’s a chance she’ll be the key to defeating Brainiac. Or maybe she’s Metroplis’ reckoning and doesn’t know it.

Stay tuned to Bam Smack Pow for more on what’s next for Superman and DC Comics in general.