Action Comics #1096 Review

 

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.