I’ll get the light stuff out of the way first. There’s a lot of playful banter between Bouncing Boy and Triplicate Girl about going out on another date. This is the first real sense of continuity I’ve seen in this comic. It’s nice to see that these two are comfortable with their relationship. Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad, take note!
Sunboy gets a speaking part. He sings too! He also has this habit of calling shotgun. I had no idea what “calling shotgun” meant until Bouncing Boy explained it.
Superman and the others seem surprised to see Brainy’s battle mode as if looking at it for the first time. I looked in the back issues and saw that he uses his battle mode in the Green Lantern issue. So, why are they so surprised to see it? I’m at a lost on that one.
That said, the meat of this issue is supposedly this comic’s version of how Brainy and Superman deal with Brainiac 1.0.
Originally posted by lm8:
I'm hoping they manage to keep good continuity between both stories. I much prefer if the comic book compliments the TV show episodes rather than both being completely independent sets of stories with the only thing in common being the same characters.
It’s nowhere near the cartoon version. The most obvious difference is the timing. In the cartoon, Superman doesn’t find about Brainiac 1.0 until his second trip into the future. In the comic, Superman finds out the first time around.
Another difference is Brainiac 5’s knowledge about his ancestor. Both Brainy versions are similar in that they don’t have full access to their database. There are some off-limit areas. Cartoon Brainy knows all about his heritage plus a few details about Superman’s father. Comicbook Brainy says that he “suspected” but wasn’t sure about his family history. We get a line-up of his forbearers. Man, those are some rough looking characters, aren’t they?
Third difference is Superman’s and Brainy’s attitude. Cartoon Brainy is all hush hush about his past. He was afraid of altering the future and that he was just afraid of Superman’s reaction. Comicbook Brainy confronts Superman without any hesitation and does the unthinkable (more on that later)! I find it interesting that Bouncing Boy is the one who has to convince Brainy to keep it a secret from Superman. On Superman’s end of it, cartoon Superman is a bit miffed, but comicbook Superman takes it all in stride. Comicbook Superman even says that Brainy is reading way too much into things.
I mentioned that Brainy does the unthinkable. Before I say what that is, I realize that the name of this issue is “Bad Ideas.” This issue reminds me of “Where’s Waldo.” Remember that? You had dozens of people drawn on a page, and you had to spot Waldo in the crowd. This issue seems to say, “Hey kids, can you spot how many bone-headed things Brainy does?” Anyway, Brainiac 5 tells Superman to “hit me as hard as your super-strength allows.” Why would you ask someone who’s as powerful as Superman (even if he is just a teenager at the moment) to hit you with everything he’s got? I mean, why sign up for the electric chair? I know people can be gluttons for punishment in real life. They want you to hit them for something they did wrong. Another thing. In the “Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes” comic, Dream Girl wants Karate Kid to knock her out. I forgot what Dream Girl was trying to accomplish, but it only worked when she’s unconscious. I guess Karate Kid’s too much of a gentleman to bring himself to do it so Shadow Lass knocks her out. With that knowledge, I can almost (I said ALMOST) understand Brainy’s actions, but I don’t understand Superman’s.
Even if you can get past the fact that Brainy wants Superman to hit him, the darndest thing is that Superman actually does it. He hits Brainy and knocks him through 3 walls. I’m reminded of the part of “Who Am I” where Superman picks up Brainy and almost hits him. We later find out that it’s not Superman but Ronn Karr. Someone brought up an interesting point. Was that outburst Ronn Karr’s personality seeping through or would Superman really do something like that? One wonders. Getting back to the comic, Superman doesn’t hit Brainy out of anger, but it’s one of the most uncharacteristic behaviors I’ve seen in Superman given what we know about him. All his life, he’s had to show restraint. In “Man of Tomorrow,” he’s at the fair. He could have easily won the carnival games and hit the milk bottles but he goes out his way to miss them on purpose. He remembers Ma Kent’s words about being different. Why then would he let loose on Brainy like that? Superman apologizes and says that he was just anxious to learn about his past, but it seems out of character for Superman to hit Brainy (or any of his friends) for any reason.
Oh well. That’s my 2 cents. Overall, it wasn’t that bad of an issue, if you can get past a few things, but it seems like wasted potential.
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