Changes: Action Comics Vol 2 4

Revision as of 03:09, 16 June 2013

"Superman and the Men of Steel"

Cover
Textless
Colorless
Michael Choi Variant

February, 2012

Rated T for Teen (12+)

Superman and the Men of Steel

Hearts of Steel

Editors

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Action Comics Vol 2 # 3	Action Comics Vol 2 # 5

I don't know who's in charge in there, John, but I designed and built this warsuit you're wearing. And I'm taking it apart!

— John Henry Irons

Action Comics (Volume 2) #4 is an issue of the series Action Comics (Volume 2) with a cover date of February, 2012.

Synopsis for "Superman and the Men of Steel"

With the appearance of the self-replicating Terminauts, Metropolis falls into chaos. Additionally, John Corben's metal battle suit has become infected by some kind of alien consciousness which has made him the apparent leader of the invasion. Desperately, Lex Luthor struggles to get out of Corben's way and catch a ride on a military truck.

In Mr. Tide's robot factory, Clark Kent, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen find themselves face to face with an army of Terminauts, who chant that in advance of imminent planetary destruction and the extinction of life, they will preserve all significant artifacts. Seeing the threat, Clark runs off, but the others are too freaked out to move.

Elsewhere, mechanical engineer and weapons designer John Henry Irons catches a news broadcast about the robot invasion, in which the news anchor pleads with superman to save the city. Thinking for a moment, John decides to put on his own prototypical metal suit and help out.

The robots seem intent on finding Superman. Clark rushes out as Superman, and attempts to protect the citizens in the area, but he is suddenly surrounded by the police. They don't have a chance to arrest him, though, as the robots arrive and begin destroying tanks. Superman warns the police to get out of there, just as a tank explodes nearby.

Hiding in their car, Lois and Jimmy realize that the people of Metropolis don't appear to be targets. All they want is Superman and "significant artifacts." Suddenly, John Corben, who has harboured a crush on Lois for years, appears in the horrific metal suit, hoping that his new found super-strength will make her feel the way she feels for Superman for him. Lois tries to calm him, but it is clear that the alien intelligence infecting the suit is preventing him from thinking clearly.

Superman arrives and tries to land a punch, but the results are unexpectedly feeble. Superman is outmatched, and he is thrown onto the nearby bridge where Luthor and the military are making their escape. Lex commands them to turn the truck around and run over Superman while he's down. When a voice announces that dwarf star lensing is being initiated, Lex orders them to get off of the bridge, because something is coming. Having safely escaped the bridge, Lex gets on his phone to his alien contact and demands to know what is happening. He turns to see that a large portion of Metropolis has been encapsulated in some kind of bubble.

As Corben approaches Superman, he is suddenly attacked by Dr. Irons. Irons exclaims that he designed the suit Corben is wearing, and he will take it apart. While Irons and Corben are wrestling with each other, Superman has the time to realize that his city has been taken. Meanwhile, Lois and Jimmy discover that they are within the bubble. They have been preserved for all time, and in one hour, that preservation will be complete and irreversible.

Superman turns to see General Sam Lane. The General informs him that Lois has been taken, and he hopes that Superman can save her, despite their differences. Superman responds that he has a plan, but that he may need a little help.

Appearing in "Superman and the Men of Steel"

Featured Characters:

Superman

Supporting Characters:

Villains:

Brainiac

Terminauts

Other Characters:

Maxwell Minor (Mayor; voice only)
Metropolis Police Department

Inspector Blake

Mr. Tide (Factory For Tomorrow)

Locations:

Metropolis

Factory For Tomorrow

Items:

Metal-Zero (experimental warsuit)

Vehicles:

Brainiac's ship

Synopsis for "Hearts of Steel"

John Henry Irons has always been inspired by heroes. He was very much inspired by Richard Feynman, a Nobel-winning physicist. Following Feynman's lead, John Henry built a suit called "Metal-Zero" in order to protect the earth against alien invasion. However, Lex Luthor's influence corrupted the project.

Now, John Henry has donned his own suit in order to fight John Corben, a man who signed up for the Metal-Zero project, but was corrupted by an apparently alien intelligence. John Henry hopes that he can take apart the suit that he created and do some good.

Despite Corben's confidence in his ability to defeat the man who designed his suit, he is surprised when John Henry reveals that two minutes ago, he had already attached a USB flash drive with an auto-loading virus into Corben's suit through an external port meant as a fail-safe. With Corben's motor systems failing, John Henry knocks his opponent back with his hammer, smashing the suit.

With Corben defeated, the alien intelligence in the suit admits defeat for the time being. However, it promises that the earth is already in its possession before teleporting the suit, and John Corben along with it, away.

Despite Superman's appearance in Metropolis, John Henry supposes that maybe the city could use another hero. Maybe that hero could be him.

Appearing in "Hearts of Steel"