Convergence: Superman #1

They've been stuck under an impenetrable, power-dampening dome for a year, but are Superman and Lois Lane downhearted? Are they heck? Clark is on the streets doing his best to fight crime like a minor league Batman, while Lois is his lo-tech Oracle, at his side every step of the way. 

Knowing Lois, she'd be literally at his side were it not for the small matter of a baby bump. Yes, Mr and Mrs Superman are expecting a bairn. Did Superman have to be human for pregnancy to occur? Or is it that despite the new situation, Mr and Mrs Superman are super-relaxed, sometimes a factor in couples conceiving after years of marriage. So far as they know, they're still on their Earth - that's the post-Crisis, pre-Flashpoint world we readers followed for decades - and rescue is a possibility. 

In fact, they're on the world of Telos, the world that is Telos, Stockholm Syndrome stooge of the collector of cities, Brainiac. In his boss's absence, he's decided to put the heroes of various domed communities against one another, with the winner gaining their world a place in the universe once more. 

And this is the day the dome drops. This is the day Clark regains his powers. And this is the day the Kents' comparatively cosy continuity clashes with the foulness of the Flashpoint world. 

And I was having such a good time, too, hanging out with old pals. 

One of the things about these two-issue micro-series is that only one world's heroes gets cover billing. And so I forgot just who Clark and Lois would meet in their book. The gloomiest, most bloodthirsty versions of DC's shining heroes I've come across. They lived on a world in which Kal-El was a sun-starved slave of the military. In which Amazons beheaded innocent civilians. 

In which this guy was Britain's favourite hero...

It's fair to say there's a real tonal clash between the heroes of two worlds, as embodied in Superman's fight with Captain Thunder (whom he starts to call 'Shazam', which is wrong for his timeline). Billy Batson's sweet alter ego is nowhere to be seen, replaced by a hard-faced super-thug. 

Also on the scene is Jimmy Olsen who, like Lois and Clark, was at a reporters' convention in Gotham City when the dome rose. Driving a Jack Kirby Whiz Wagon borrowed from Star Labs' Professor Emil Hamilton (presumably he was at a mad scientists' convention in Gotham), Jimmy throws a spanner in the works just as Superman's reasoning abilities, and the trust he naturally inspires, looks set to end the battle before it's really begun. 

Throw in a good cliffhanger involving Lois and you have a comic whose conclusion I'm itching to read. Sure, I never, ever, wanted to see the Flashpoint mob again, but who knows, some of 'our' Superman's warm nature may yet rub off on them. 

Seeing Dan Jurgens write Lois and Clark again is a treat. There's more chemistry between them in those four panels above than Superman and Wonder Woman have displayed in several years of New 52 comics. I never would have dreamt they'd react to the Dome the way they have here, but they're making the most of things until help comes. Makes sense when you think about it. 

And I laughed at Jim's cheeky 'Metropolis first' attitude.  

Jurgens' take on the Flashpoint 'heroes' is equally impressive, and I trust him not to hit the excesses of some of the 2011 crossover's many lowlights. I'm pleased that rather than have him jump straight into the fray, the Thomas Wayne Batman begins working things out. 

Lee Weeks draws one gorgeous married couple in the Kents, equal partners in life and love. And while his masked Clark is interesting, his Superman is magnificent, red trunks and all, a sun god among the Gotham gloom. And he doesn't half draw a good concrete canyon. 

As for his spunky, smart Lois, how I've missed her. Weeks is a rare visitor to DC's books, and always extremely welcome, with his ability to make the larger than life scenarios sit alongside a pleasing naturalism. 

Brad Anderson's colours match the story beats well, with things getting noticeably lighter as Superman returns. And Sal Cipriano's lettering is an asset. 

As for that cover by Weeks and Anderson, it's simply gorgeous, and I especially like the prominence of Lois's wedding ring.  

I don't believe Telos will wipe everyone out bar the knockout contest's ultimate champion. I think the bottled cities' homeworlds will be restored, for when someone has a good story to tell. And I hope that means we'll get to see Baby Kent. Having had this version of Lois and Clark returned to me, I'd love to follow them into parenthood.