Super Powers #5

Superman and Firestorm have actually succeed in destroying the Doom Seed in Italy. The secret is to not travel back to the present day via the pod. However, Darkseid's plan can still work if 4 of the seeds survive. Thus it's up to Batman, Robin and The Flash to eliminate another seed. It's a good thing that the Flash can build up enough speed to travel through time. Only, their trip through time will be anything but a cake walk as instead of going into the past, the heroes wind up in the future; one where Darkseid has conquered the Earth. 

Having the Man of Steel and the Nuclear Man killing one of the seeds adds an element of suspense to this issue. Without the plot device of needing 2 of the 5 seeds to be deactivated, anything Batman, Robin and the Flash do in this issue would be moot points. It still doesn't really matter as there is still 1 issue left of this miniseries. 

One thing I am missing from this volume as opposed to the previous Super Powers comic are the original quartet of villains. I really would like to see the Joker, Penguin, Lex Luthor and Brainiac involved somehow. However, since we saw them on the side of the heroes by series end, I think Darkseid would just smite them with his Omega Beams if he saw those 'traitors' again. Plus, having the 4 villains teaming once again with the Justice League would have diminished that awesome twist. Still, by not having some Earth bound DC villains in this book, whether they were figures in the Kenner toy line-up or not, takes away from the childlike wonder of the Super Powers brand. 

As much of a fan of Kirby's Fourth World, the biggest misstep in the short history of Super Powers was focus on Darkseid and his forces instead of producing more recognizable and more relatable baddies like Catwoman, Sinestro and Bizarro. Had the focus been different, we probably would be seeing the line run another 3 or 4 more years. Not creating all-new characters for the toy line was misstep #2. More on that when I review Volume 3!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.