Action Comics #1100: Mission Failure Review

 

Action Comics #1100: Mission Failure Review

Writer: Mark Waid

Artist: Skylar Patridge & Ryan Sook

Colorist: Ivan Pascencia & Patricio Delpeche

Letterer: Steve Wands

Cover Artist: Ryan Sook

Variant Cover Artists: Mark Spears; David Talaski; Jim Cheung & Jay David Ramos; Rahzzah; Daniel Sampere & Tomeu Morey

Editors: Jillian Grant & Brittany Holzherr

Publisher: DC Comics

Price: $5.99 US/$6.99 US Card Stock/$7.99 US Foil

Release Date: July 22, 2026

 

Young Clark Kent didn't ask Martian Manhunter, Booster Gold, and Mary Marvel to bring their battle to his time. He didn’t ask to lose his superpowers. Nor did he ask Epoch to try to kill him. Still, he had his new friends to defend him. But then, they weren’t around. Despite their promise to protect him, when Epoch returns, Clark Kent must defend himself against the time traveler who laughs at paradoxes.

 

Can scientist Bruce Gordon help the high schooler reclaim his superpowers? And how will Clark defend himself against his armored adversary? Let’s leap into Action Comics #1100 and see!

 

Mission Failure: Story

A cow's kick might hurt him. Clark might struggle to keep up in PE class. He might even need people to speak up when they talk to him. Still, there were compensations. Clark toyed with the idea of enjoying his teen years without the responsibility of protecting the planet weighing him down. Then, Mary Marvel disappeared.

 

Now, Clark's in Solar City. Booster Gold and Martian Manhunter have been erased from existence. But Clark has repurposed the spaceship that brought him to Earth into armor. And although he's not accustomed to fighting with a sword and shield, Clark needs to buy time until Dr Bruce Gordon can repair his solar recharger.

 

In Mark Waid's story, Clark Kent wants all the things his friends and neighbors do. He knows he's fighting for the planet and to help his friends from the future return to life. Clark Kent may only be a teenager. He may not be as experienced as his former teacher, Captain Comet. Still, Clark must draw on any advantage he can to regain his powers before Epoch kills him in Action Comics #1110.

 

Mission Failure: Art

Clark carries a sword and wears an armored version of his Superboy costume. As he withstands the energy rays from Epoch’s shoulder cannons, angled panels enhance the desperate struggle. When Epoch pounds him into the laboratory floor, the crumpled concrete gives way to fractured panels in the ground.

 

Ivan Pascencia and Patricio Delpeche enhance Skylar Patridge and Ryan Sook's art with bold colors in Action Comics #1100. The strong blues, reds, and golds shine, casting Dr Gordon's lab into darkness. Amid the speed and brutality of the fight, softer tones color Clark's memories. Yet as the battle ascends toward its zenith, darkness threatens to envelop the combatants.

 

Steve Wands places lowercase black words in a typewriter font inside yellow boxes as Clark sets the scene. Orange letters in yellow boxes locate readers in time and space. Uppercase black letters in white dialogue balloons turn bold with intonation and swell for raised voices. Large, colorful dialogue accompanies pain, while wiggly balloon arrows convey weakness. Bright, colorful sound effects enhance the armored combat and Epoch’s unrelenting firepower. Thanks to DC Comics for sharing Mission Failure and the three other stories in Action Comics #1100 with us.

 

Final Thoughts

Clark’s struggle with time began when cause and effect went out of whack. Then, at the Expo of Tomorrow, Clark rescued Mary Marvel, Martian Manhunter, and Booster Gold from Epoch’s attack. While he fights to preserve his own future, Clark also fights to reinstate his new friend's tomorrows. Clark's future wife will worry about her son's ability to follow in his parents' footsteps. Yet, Mission Failure demonstrates that Jon Kent will take his father's formative experiences to heart in Action Comics #1100.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

To look inside see my preview of Action Comics #1100.

 

For what happened last time, see my review of Action Comics #1099. 

For how Clark lost his powers, see my preview of Action Comics #1098. 

 

For Clark's battle at the Metropolis Expo of Tomorrow, see my review of Action Comics #1097. 

 

For how Superboy met Martian Manhunter, Mary Marvel, Booster Gold, and Epoch, see my review of Action Comics #1096.