Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Skylar Patridge
Colorist: Ivan Pascencia
Letterer: Steve Wands
Cover Artists: Dan Mora, Ryan Sook & Ethan Young
Corner Box Variant Cover Artist: Skylar Patridge
Reign of the Superboys Variant Cover Artist: Aco
Editors: Jillian Grant & Brittany Holzher
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $4.99/$5.99 Card Stock
Release Date: March 11, 2026
After his first overseas mission for General Sam Lane, Clark
needed to talk with someone. But unlike enlisted soldiers and commissioned
officers, he couldn’t seek out a counselor. Clark considered telling his best
friend. Pete Ross was his age and had known him all his life. Pete would
understand what he was going through and help him through it. Then Clark
realized that, like the weapon Modora was developing, knowledge could also be
injurious.
Clark may be a teen. Still, he must navigate a minefield of
ethical decisions while preventing people like General Sam Lane from blowing up
his civilian identity. Can Superboy stick to rescuing cats from trees, assisting
the emergency crews after traffic accidents, and helping organize the
Smallville Library? Or will adults force the teen to confront more thorny
dilemmas? Let’s leap into Action Comics #1096 and see!
Story
Clark may have superpowers. Still, when it rains, he puts on
a jacket to stay dry. When he notices Lewis Lang walking past, Clark greets him
respectfully while dashing for cover. Clark distrusts Lana's father. The
archaeological and anthropological professor always makes notes when Clark
visits their house to study with his daughter. Still, when a tree explodes amid
the rain, Superboy doesn’t hesitate to save Lana’s father.
In Action Comics #1096, an adult Clark Kent shares
experiences from his past. After saving Lewis from an out-of-sync lightning
strike, Clark attends the Expo of Tomorrow with his friends. But amid the
impressive exhibits, Pete and Lana notice that the ice cream cones they are
enjoying look as full as when they first got them. As Clark looks around, he
notices other examples of time flowing in an abnormal pattern.
Mark Waid's story addresses how we deal with stressful
situations. Clark struggled to cope with the physical demands of battle in
Modora. Once again, Clark finds himself beset by dangers on all sides and must
find a way through. While an adult Clark Kent looks back on the incidents that
defined him, his younger self must also draw on his experience to help him
address the mysterious events in Metropolis. Action Comics #1096 suggests that,
by sharing these stories from his youth, an adult Clark Kent copes with the
world-shaking events he faces by remembering how his less-powerful self tackled
difficult situations.
Art
Professor Lewis Lang wears a trenchcoat with an upturned
collar over his suit and dress shoes. An umbrella shields him from the rain as
Clark dashes past in jeans, a T-shirt, and a hooded jacket. But when a tree
glows like the sun, transforming Lewis Lang into a silhouette, his umbrella
cannot protect him from the flying limbs. Clark’s yellow jacket wafts in the
dense air, giving birth to a red-and-blue streak of light, as Superboy carries
Lewis to safety. The smoking, orange-yellow trunk framing Superboy and Lewis
evokes the ship that brought Kal-El to Earth. But when Lewis reclaims his
umbrella, a shadow envelops his face. Superboy rises into the white-gray sky
and gazes down on the departing figure.
Unlike that murky moment in Smallville, the day dawns bright
and clear in Metropolis. Like a worker's hard hat, the Expo of Tomorrow
suggests a futuristic Golden Age. Instead of statues of gods, tall, thin
evergreens lead toward flag poles. Sculptures emulate rockets. Skycabins ascend
on central pillars, while a monorail rides a curving track high above visitors’
heads. As they near a sculpture that evokes Clark’s past and future, Lana’s
orange hair links her with the fluttering pennants. Wearing a red polo shirt, a
mother frowns at her son’s red elbow. As Clark wears blue and white clothes and
red shoes, a bursting blue balloon frames the teen's face in the red air.
Amid Skylar Patridge’s engaging characters and scenic
surroundings, and Ivan Pascencia’s moody yet vibrant art, Steve Wands places
Clark Kent’s lowercase typed black narration in yellow boxes. Black uppercase
letters inhabit white balloons, while Superboy’s thoughts float in Old School
clouds. Words grow bold for intonation and swell for volume. Distant dialogue
appears as tiny black letters in white ovals with blue outlines. While the boom
of an exploding tree welcomes readers to Action Comics #1096, applause mixes
with protesting metal and gunshots, before the saga rises to an explosive
finale. Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this story with us.
Final Thoughts
Sometimes we don’t understand why things happen the way they
do. But as young Clark Kent waits to discover why Lewis Lang is being so
secretive, he struggles to solve a perplexing mystery surrounding out-of-sync
events in Action Comics #1096.
Rating 9.8/10
To look inside see my preview of Action Comics #1096.
