I’ve been reading this one for a while through individual issues. I’ve got it marked as beginning read as of September 16, though I am not certain if that is the correct date. I do know that I read the last two issues back to back yesterday – November 23 2015.

This is a limited mini-series involving a character who, as far as I know, never existed before. The story line is an off-shoot of whatever ‘Superman: Doomed” might be. Judging from the look of Superman when he popped up in this collection, this is the Action Comics version of Superman. The New 52 Action Comics, I mean. I read several collections of those comics a while back, but I had stopped at some point.

As an offshoot, I’d probably have no clue what was going on, at least that’s what I would expect going in. Oddly, I had a relatively stronger grasp of the plot and activity than I probably should have. I’ve been feeling relatively dim-witted recently, so my ability to grasp and enjoy a series that’s an off-shoot of a comic line I no longer followed, involving a character that hadn’t existed before, is probably due more to the author than to my own abilities. Which is odd, considering I normally dislike, rather passionately dislike, the work of this author.

So – A young man gets an internship at a science institution in the city of Metropolis. The science institution is one I’ve seen in passing, but haven’t had much reading contact with. I’ve a vague recollection that it might be Star Labs, but it could be some other, completely different entity. Well, as I was noting, a young man, whose name I probably knew at some point, gets an internship at [insert science lab name here]. He’s one of the lucky few allowed such an opportunity. He’s quite excited about it, so much so that he isn’t put off when he’s basically given a night-janitor task to complete.

So, there he is, cleaning. Sweating profusely in his containment suit. Somewhere along the way, he absent-mindly ‘vents’ the suit a little to get some ‘air’. Thereby exposing him to ‘spores’. Shortly thereafter it turns out that he’s turned himself into something like a monster.

Despite being a six issue mini-series, the plot line was a lot more disjointed than I’d expect. Though I’m thinking of this more in reflection. Each individual issue was good enough to push me to the next. But all combined, the plot-line is kind of all over the place and filled with odd little additions and subtractions. So, in that sense, it’s good I read this through individual comics instead of through the 152 combined volume.

Right, so, that’s my rambling thoughts that occurred after completing the final two issues of this six issue mini-series. I had written reviews for issue 1-4, so I might as well include them here. Since I’ll probably be deleting the individual issues at some point.

Issue 1:
Read: September 16 2015
Rating: 4 stars

Super short. Well, I knew that going in, but I kind of expected 'more' to have happened than the brief snippet this comic showed. Still, was quite intriguing.

A young man gets the chance of working at S.T.A.R. Labs. As an intern. Assignments are handed out. He, and a young woman, gets the task of working that night. Cleaning. Woman's upset. Man is just happy to be working at S.T.A.R. labs. Ah, that's the kid's name. Couldn't recall. Because it looks like something the monster would grunt, instead of being a name. Reiser.

So, Reiser and young woman work in the lab. She 'supervises' by watching from outside. He wears that yellow contamination suit. Scrubs walls. Hours go by. She's still watching. He's still scrubbing. She takes a much needed break from watching and otherwise doing nothing. Goes to pee, as she bluntly puts it. He rests. Does stupid thing. Needs to breath. Pulls mask up. Breaths. Gets all infected and stuff.

I left out the part where, in between getting the assignment to work that night, and showing up to work, he and his roommates attempt to find a new roommate. One of which is this hot woman. Who the roommates turn down. But who Reiser fancies. So chases after her. I mention all this because after getting infected, Reiser runs into her again. She invites him back to her place.

She's now naked, and he's resting on a bed. And I'm double-checking that I'm reading DC Comics instead of something else, like, say, Vertigo. Okay, her nakedness is blocked by objects, and later, a towel. He gets so excited he spontaneously self-combusts. Or, at least, that's what it looks like. He's all burnt looking on the bed. She's standing there in a towel looking at him all confused.

Interesting first issue. I don't recall if all of the above occurred in the first issue, though I believe it did.

[ETA: well, after rereading what I wrote about issue 1, I notice two things immediately – that fellow female lab partner continued to appear in the issues but I kind of expected more from her than occurred. Also, that ‘hot woman who was turned down to be a new roommate’ had this quite interesting reaction to Reiser and monster Reiser. This is something that failed to be explained or picked up upon in later issues.]

Issue 2:
Read: September 16 2015
Rating: 3 stars

This issue opens with the face of that old woman from the Incredibles who liked making superhero costumes. Image pulls back, scene is reviewed. And, oops, that's a young boy. Standing in a gym. Still, that face really looked like that woman from Incredibles. Ah well.

Okay. So. Scene unfolds. I've no clue what is going on. Why the heck is the second issue starting in a gym with people I don't know? Small kid pulls out gun. Shoots coach. Leaves. Um. hmm. Apparently the small boy is not really a small boy but an alien bounty hunter. Whose new assignment, it turns out, involves tracking down Reiser and killing him.

So, that's what occurs in the second issue. Small boy bounty hunter. Reiser attempting to figure out what the heck is happening to him.

[ETA: Whole bounty hunter story got ‘wrapped up’ but no clue why he was included at all in this series]

Issue 3:
Read: September 16 2015
Rating: 3 stars

These issues keep opening oddly. First one opened with a scene from 'the future', as in it's an event that occurred, then we go back to how life lead to that point. That point of time being when Reiser woke up underground in the body of a monster. Second issue opened up with a scene involving a small boy. Who is a bounty hunter.

Third issue opens up focused on Reiser's roommate (who I didn't, at first, recognize). Two things - roommate apparently is gay (I may or may not have known that before, I forget), and, apparently, also has these superhuman powers. From touching something. Or something like that.

Meanwhile, Reiser admits to the woman he was working with at S.T.A.R. labs that he took his helmet off briefly. Jayne, which, I finally recall, is the woman's name, freaks. Though Reiser hadn't gotten to the part where he is a monster yet. She freaked when Reiser suggested coming clean to the higher ups. Freaked because she put long years into getting an internship at the lab. And this will look badly on her. She immediately leaps up and runs away from Reiser. Heh. Actually she's running to the lab to see what had been in the room prior to their cleaning it.

Meanwhile the second, that young boy from the prior issue shows up and attacks Reiser. Stuff happens.

This is a disjointed series, story wise. Good illustrations, or however that is expressed.

Issue 4:
Read: September 16 2015
Rating: 4 stars

The most recent issue released. And the reason I tried the free sample to see if I'd try more. The reason being that Wonder Girl's on the cover. And I'd just mentioned her in a thread. And I'd never actually read anything that included Wonder Girl. So . . . imagine my disappointment when it turned out that this is the first issue she's in. heh. Ah well.

So. Apparently S.T.A.R. Labs knows about Reiser. And how he has been changed. They call in some Teen Titan types to take Reiser out. Or capture. I forget if their assignment is capturing or killing. So, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, and . . . third guy I can't recall now, show up. Wonder Girl sends the other two away (for whatever reason). And sets out to defeat Reiser.

They fight. And stuff. Good addition to the story line. Course now I'll have to wait a while for the next issue. I didn't realize, before hand, that there were six of these thingies in the first volume. I should have waited for all six before starting.

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So. 2 3 star issues, 2 4 star issues, then the final two issues I gave a combined rating of 4 stars. Giving me an overall rating of 3.66666666666666666666666666666666666666666666667. ( )