Broken Frontier

The Christmas Spirit isn't exactly with Superboy, but readers are treated to the once and future Teen Titan's exploration of the real world.

Continuuing their reignition of Superboy, the incredible duo of Scott Lobdell and R.B. Silva get to take our hero out of his element for the first time. There's no virtual reality going on, there's no short leash with a ravaging caretaker ready to pull the trigger. Superboy's given his first chance to roam the world, and what does he do? Take issue with Christmas trees. Hey, if you didn't grow up with them, you have to admit they're an odd concept.

Longtime WildStorm fans will find much to celebrate about. Following the previous issue (ending with revelation that "Red" is the super-powered Caitlin Fairchild of Gen13 notoriety), the newly buxom bombshell drops a bombshell of her own, that she and "all thirteen of us" are impervious to telekinetics. Whether Scott Lobdell will be the one to shepherd this much-loved faction of the WildStorm universe into the New 52 DC Universe or if he's just teasing fans by giving them what they want, it's a sly line that doesn't stand out to the everyday reader, but gives long-standing fans something to look for. With "Red" only garnering four pages out of the entire book (and no Rose Wilson at all), the book takes a drastic turn out of the world we were just getting used to. Supplanting the (in one case, now ousted) members of N.O.W.H.E.R.E. (with this issue lamp shading the fact that nobody knows what the acronym stands for) is Centerhall, a new leader who gives Superboy the opportunity to come and go as he pleases, instead of being treated like a guided missile or attack dog.

With newfound freedom, Superboy goes on his own "Rum Springa" and gets to explore the world… and he finds out that he just doesn't care for Christmas carolers. In his own personal Pulp Fiction, he's found a punching bag that he can lash out at, and that's his own metahuman "Pumpkin" and "Honey Bunny" that need stopping. While he steps up to heroics in a rare turn, given his new nature, he also lights a tree on fire just to do so. This Superboy requires a little bit of work to become the true bearer of the "S," but the seeds are planted… at least you think so, until he announces that he'll go after the Teen Titans after all. He's misguided, but his heart and logic are in the right place.

The issue jumps from wrapping up previous plot elements to starting others, and doesn't feel like a great single issue story, but one that works better in a larger narrative. Only the fight with the hormonal homicide villains begins and ends in this issue, and the story wraps up with possibly the first "go read this other book for the rest of the story" in the New 52. While readers of Superboy would likely be reading Teen Titans, and the stories may cross over naturally, it's still disheartening to see that four issues in, Superboy's gotten it's first "you need to have read other issues to get all of this" moment.

While the story is all over the place, wrapping up two different plotlines, and starting another that will be continued in a different series, it's a fun story that finds moments for character building, all while people fall out of buildings or are telekinetically blasted away by a teenager who just doesn't know better. Lobdell and Silva have their hands on a great character and a great story, it would just be better if it stayed in the same lane.