Action Comics #1100: Superman Meets Superboy Review
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Daniel Sampere
Colorist: Alejandro Sánchez
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, Clark gradually realized that, whether he wanted to or not, he had to reclaim his powers. Earth needed a Superman. And the threats facing his planet would only grow over time.
Now, Clark has regained his powers. Once more, Clark Kent is Superboy. But after defeating Epoch, Martian Manhunter, Booster Gold, and Mary Marvel believe he should accompany them on their mission. What will Superboy discover as he travels the time stream with his new friends? And how might it affect his future? Let’s leap into Action Comics #1100 and see!
Superman Meets Superboy: Story
After the events in Mission Failure, Clark accompanies Booster Gold, Mary Marvel, and Martian Manhunter on their search for Superman. While they fly through the timestream, Mary Marvel expresses her concerns that their flight could alter Clark’s future. Martian Manhunter also warns Booster Gold to curb his enthusiasm.
Still, Booster is in the driver’s seat in Action Comics #1100. He argues that Superman has vanished. Despite everyone's superpowers, no one has found their friend. Young Clark, with his super vision, represents their best hope of finding Superman. Amid his love for his friend and his desire to share that love with Clark, Booster shrugs off his friends’ concerns about revealing too much about Clark’s future.
Joshua Williamson’s story tackles the role of spoilers in our lives. Some people don’t want to know anything about their future. Others read the last chapter of a book to learn how it ends before deciding to read the book through. Booster's arguments suggest that knowing his future will give Clark a target to strive for.
Superman Meets Superboy links with previous events in Action Comics with DC K.O. and Justice League Unlimited. And after Mary Marvel, Booster Gold, and Martian Manhunter asserted Clark’s importance to the future, Superboy gets to play a vital role in finding his future self. Mary Marvel and Martian Manhunter tried playing it carefully. Trying to shield knowledge of future events from Clark led to the trio being erased from time. So, they let Booster Gold call the shots in Action Comics #1100.
Superman Meets Superboy: Art
Booster sits before the controls of their time ship, while Clark, Mary Marvel, and J’onn stand. Booster's face reveals his exuberance as he thumps Clark on the chest. Clark's eyes glow, and his jaw drops, as he sees what lies ahead of him. When Mary moves forward, gesturing with her arms, Clark shrugs and points at the eye-catching visions beyond the canopy.
Their ship may look futuristic. Still, the keyboards and black-and-white monitors reveal its cobbled-together nature. Daniel Sampere tilts panels 45 degrees when separately showing Mary Marvel and J’onn frowning at Booster Gold’s decisions. But in a cinematic wide shot, the camera rights itself as Mary Marvel throws up her hands in Action Comics #1100.
Their ship travels along a stream of light as it ventures into the future. The white, light-red, and light-yellow bands of light contrast with the vibrantly colored occupants and the glimpses of the future. People in the timestream radiate colors like an aura, or multiply in slow motion. Then, their view outside grows opalescent until Alejandro Sánchez portrays their surroundings as individual bands of color amid a white void.
Steve Wands fills white dialogue balloons with uppercase black lettering that grows bold with intonation. Offscreen dialogue appears in white boxes with colored borders, while Superboy’s appears as white words in blue boxes. Sound effects reveal how the ship reacts to changes in the flow of the timestream. As alarms wail inside the transparent canopy, the dialogue swells, and balloons change shape in Superboy Meets Superman. Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this story with us.
Final Thoughts
Mary Marvel and J’onn argue that learning secrets will heap more responsibility on Clark’s young shoulders. Yet Booster Gold insists on sharing the secrets he knows Clark will enjoy hearing. As the trio argues over two sides of the same coin, they embody different aspects of friendship while searching for their greatest friend in Action Comics #1100.
Rating 9.6/10
To look inside the previous story, Mission Failure, 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.
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