Written by: Joshua Williamson
Art by: Jamal Campbell, Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, Dan Mora
Colors by: Alejandro Sanchez, Jamal Campbell
Letters by: Dave Sharpe
Cover art by: Dan Mora (Cover A)
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: April 23, 2025
Superman #25, by DC Comics on 4/23/25, pits Superman and Superwoman against a super-powered clone of Lex. The outcome could be a game-changer.
Is Superman #25 Good?
Recap
When we last left the Man of Steel in Superman #24, Mercy unveiled a new line of offensive and defensive weapons developed by Supercorp. The unveiling coincided with a group of aliens suddenly arriving on Earth to test out new weapons. Superwoman joined the Justice League while Superman stayed behind to deal with Mercy's bad business idea. The tables suddenly turned when Superwoman learned the aliens were testing weapons obtained by Supercorp. When Superwoman and the JL defeated the aliens and reported their discovery to Superman, Mercy unveiled her Metallo-inspired upgrades and the Lex Luthor clone she created to retake control of the company.
Plot Synopsis
In Superman #25, the fight for Metropolis begins anew. We begin with a flashback from a time before Lex went to jail. The collaboration with Superman, the creation of Supercorp, and everything that happened since was part of a long-term plan by Lex to defeat Superman. However, Lex warned Mercy not to unleash his superpowered clone, dubbed Project X-EL, because it was too dangerous.
Flash forward to recent times. The kindler, gentler Lex is comfortable expressing his feelings for Mercy. Unfortunately, she's still locked into the original plan and rebuffs Plex's ideas about starting over for a quieter life. Secretly, Mercy implanted Project X-EL (PXL) with the upgrades from the recent Supercorp weapons research, and she unleashes the clone to become the true Lex once again.
Now, PXL comes alive and uses Mercy's kryptonite beam that weakened Superman and Superwoman to attack in full force. The battle spills out into the street. Meanwhile, the original Lex is still in police custody, headed to Strykers Prison. He recognizes Mercy is out of control and summons Marilyn Moonlight to break out, don his power suit, and join the fight against PXL.
The battle commences. PXL is more than up to the task, but during the fight, PXL's mind grows unstable and psychotic in a Bizarro kind of way. When PXL threatens the Kent family, Superwoman blasts PXL with an overload of heat vision, but original Lex delivers the killing blow. The issue ends with Superman and original Lex at odds over what needs to be done, and Superwoman learning the cost of a heat vision overload.
First Impressions
Superman #25 is an above-average way to end the Supercorp arc when Joshua Williamson unveils secrets, delivers hard-hitting, consequential battles, and an ending that builds anticipation for the future. Williamson has been hot or miss on this series, but this issue is a hit.
How’s the Art?
As you can see from the credits, a small team of artists worked on Superman #25, and it shows. Normally, you'd be annoyed with stylistic changes from one section to the next, especially when the changes occur without an obvious break point in the narrative. Here, the transitions are mostly logical, and the styles of the main artists are complementary enough that you don't mind it.
What’s great about Superman #25?
Joshua Williamson's script delivers practically everything you're looking for in an entertaining Superman comic. You get drama, action, surprises, and (presumably) consequential developments. Above and beyond the nuts and bolts of the writing, you get a few cool, wow moments. For example:
PXL suddenly talking in Bizarro speak, or Superwoman unleashing a mega blast in her protective range.
These are the kind of cool moments DC needs more of instead of endless talking or meandering, decompressed plots.
What’s not great about Superman #25?
Particularly in this arc, Superman's moral outrage seems slightly misplaced. We saw him react too strongly to trapping Doomsday and alien invaders in a bottle city in the previous flight. Here, we see Superman react too strongly to the destruction of an artificial Lex. Williamson shows the extreme reaction to demonstrate how Superman has the moral high ground, but the scenario presented reads as out of step with the reaction.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Final Thoughts
Superman #25 delivers surprises and hard-hitting battles when Superman, Superwoman, and Lex battle against a superpowered Lex clone gone crazy. Joshua Williamson's script gives you reasonably everything you're looking for in a Superman comic, and the art team's delivery is excellent.
8.5/10
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