Action Comics #969 continues the fantastic run by Dan Jurgens featuring Superman, Super Lex, Lois, another version of Clark Kent, Superboy, and so much more. This arc is dealing with two aliens who have claimed they are on Earth to stop Lex for not what he has done in the past, but what he will do in the future. The Slayer of Gods, L’Call has brought Lex to the planet of Nideesi in a distant galaxy. We learn a lot more about L’Call and Zade, and get a look into their motives, and a get very touching look at L’Call and his wife and daughter. This really makes the Godslayer, who seemed like a straight up villain before this moment, a deeper character. There is one scene in particular that explains why he stopped fighting Superman when Superboy begged him to in a previous issue. It really made that line that he uttered to Jon that much more powerful when we see how it tied to his own child.

Like all of the issues in Action Comics so far, the story flows really well. According to the Godslayer, L’Call and his associate, they say that spheres have shown them the future where Lex Luthor will replace the fallen Darkseid as his equal and bring the same horrors and genocide to many living beings. Lex argues that they cannot punish him for things he had not done, and we get the Minority Report and Civil War II type story where one side says you can’t police the future while another says if there is any chance at it coming true, you must prevent it at all costs. This is an interesting premise for Lex since he has been such a monster before, but he has been doing a lot of good these days as another version of Superman.

Of course Superman is about honor, even when it comes to Lex. He searches for the man who for a very long time spent every waking hour trying to destroy him, even against the other Clark Kent’s wishes. This issue doesn’t deal much with the other Clark, but they have been hinting at something with him for quite some time, and something just isn’t right with him. I cannot wait to find out what it is, or who he is, and although everything checks out that he is in fact Clark Kent, there’s obviously a bigger mystery there.

The art by Patrick Zircher has a nice classic feel to it, and is well done. I felt like I was reading an old school Superman story, and that is a great feeling to have. DC has done such a good job on this series, and while it is what Dan Jurgens is doing with the story, the art is a big part of that as well. Not only do Superman and Lex look great, but so do L’Call, and Zade. The colors by Arif Prianto are bright and work well contrasting with the deep inks.

Action Comics is one of my favorite DC Rebirth titles and the great issues just keep coming. I highly recommend this series to anyone, even if you aren’t a huge Superman fan. This book provides a ton of mystery, and great storytelling. I really like how while there are smaller arcs, they all tie into the bigger story and what is going on with Mr. Oz, Doomsday, Lex, Superman, and more. This series has the biggest legacy of any comic book. These creators are doing a great job living up to it.

Story: Dan Jurgens Art: Patrick Zircher Color: Arif Prianto
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

DC provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review