DC's NEW 52-SUPERBOY

There are so many different versions of Superboy in the history of DC Comics that it sometimes gets a little tough to keep track. In the past twenty years, he's been erased from continuity, restored, turned into a vengeful super-villain named Superboy-Prime, was reborn as a clone of Superman and Lex Luthor, died, was resurrected by Brainiac 5 to live his life with the Kents and Krytpo the Super Dog.
 

But his most recent series came to an end in August of 2011 and now the SUPERBOY title is back as part of DC's NEW 52. The series is back, but the character is far from what we have been exposed to in the past.
 

The book begins with our hero floating in a tank of Neonatal Amniotic Fluid and wondering why they call him Superboy. He's hooked up to machines and bald.  He's in a lab which he claims is the only home he's ever known. The lab guys decide that the only way to fully study Superboy is by terminating him and "sifting through the entrails". A redheaded doctor who apparently goes by the name of Red telepathically communicates with him and he bursts free before he can be executed. Unfortunately, the guy who appears to be the head of the project, Dr. White, gets fried in the process. But Superboy survives and is comforted by Red.
 

Next thing we know, it's a month later and our hero is going to school, where he apparently he is the resident genius. He's living on a farm with a kindly old couple known as the Helpworths. He spends time talking with a white haired girl named Rose Wilson who, in old continuity, was Deathstroke's well trained daughter. Life is good for our hero...even if it is actually a virtual reality life, as we soon discover that he is still in the lab, still being examined by the remaining scientists.
 

We learn that Superman was part of the DNA but don't know who the human cells came from. Hopefully, as Red exclaims, not from a "deeply pathological, meglamaniacal narcissist". Hmmm...sounds like Lex Luthor to me.And Rose Wilson is there too, threatening to kill Red for free if she crosses the line.A member of the scientific team,contacts reporter Lois Lane to provide information. That's when we learn the project is a N.O.W.H.E.R.E. authorized project. N.O.W.H.E.R.E. appears in several DCnU books, so it looks like they will be one of the core baddies in this universe.
 

One of the chief architects in the cadre is a guy named Templar who apparently is ready to turn Superboy loose as part of a team of heroes in hopes he will the destroy the team. The heroes are the Teen Titans and Superboy knows that he will do as Templar asks if it gains him his freedom.
 

I have mixed feelings about this book, but I think I'm in for awhile anyway. Scott Lobdell does a great job with the writing and characterization. hey-this guy has done his share of great comic writing on everything from THE ADVENTURES OF CYCLOPS AND PHEONIX to IRON MAN and a whole bunch of great works in between. His stuff is as good as always. Art by R. B. Silva is very reminiscent of Terry Dodson's work: clean lines, good expressions and proper anatomy. So, on a graphic storytelling level, this book is a winner.
 

And the story, which really left me with more questions than answers, moves along nicely. I had a hard time bringing myself to enjoy the book, having endured so many Superboys in the past. And I had kind of gotten attached to Connor Kent. To have that character thrown back into a test tube felt really cheap, but that's kind of how most of the New DCU goes so I had to suck it up and go with it. Once I came to the realization that I had never experienced this character before, I went along for the ride and just let it wash over me. And I'm glad I did.

As I said, I'll stick with this one for a few issues anyway, maybe more as long as the creative forces continue to tease and tantalize.
 

BTW: the hooded woman is pretty well hidden in this book. She appears on the first panel of the next to the last page of the story, as Red meets Templar.