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As Superman’s crusade escalates on Earth, the Man of Steel and longtime friend and ally’s relationship hits the breaking point in Action Comics.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Action Comics #1034, on sale now from DC.
While Superman may be widely seen as one of the most prominent and noble superheroes in the DC Universe, there are plenty of his longtime friends and allies that don’t see eye-to-eye with the Man of Tomorrow on some important decisions. Lately, tensions have been rapidly escalating between the surface world and Atlantis, placing Superman and Aquaman at odds with one another over their priorities and respectively placed loyalties. And as things come to a head between the American and Atlantean militaries, the two Justice League teammates appear to have ruptured their friendship and partnership permanently as decisive action is taken.
The latest round of surface world-Atlantean tensions arose when a Kryptonian refugee ship crashed into the ocean, with Atlantis locating it first. Investigating the wreckage, the Atlanteans discovered the ship’s power source was an ancient artifact known as Genesis and were intent on using it towards the betterment of Atlantis, firmly rebuffing Superman’s request to examine the relic in the Fortress of Solitude first. After Genesis transformed several nearby Atlanteans into towering monsters beyond Aquaman’s control, the American government was alerted to Genesis’ existence and sought to recover it for themselves, pitting them against Atlantis. And in Action Comics #1034 — by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Christian Duce, Adriano Lucas and Dave Sharpe — the shooting between the two militaries starts.
With the American navy and Atlantean military in an armed standoff in the waters above the spaceship’s wreckage, the Superman Family arrives to personally defuse the tense situation. Believing the Atlanteans to be preparing to attack, the Americans open fire first, with Superman himself bearing the brunt of the blast. The Atlanteans return fire in retaliation, with Jon Kent and Supergirl barely able to keep their blasts from striking the U.S. warships. Enraged that the two sides were so willing and eager to erupt into a full-scale war between each other, Superman puts an abrupt kibosh on the fighting by using his frost breath to create a massive ice wall between the two sides. And as he dives into the ocean to confiscate Genesis and prevent it from falling in the hands of either side, he finds Arthur Curry waiting for him.
Guarding Genesis inside of the wreckage, Aquaman warns Superman that if he proceeds as planned, things will be forever changed between the two superheroes. Aquaman and Superman have certainly come to blows before, with Aquaman’s Atlantean physiology, even letting him get some decent shots in, but here one-on-one, Arthur concedes that he will be unable to stop Superman. Despite the warning, Superman doesn’t appear to hesitate to grab Genesis, warning the assembled militaries of its corrosive influence from Warworld before departing for the Fortress of Solitude to keep it away from both forces.
Superman privately admits that he rarely inserts himself in Earth’s governance but, given Warworld’s connection to Genesis, he finds himself compelled to act rather than let an epic war break out. This comes with the consequence of rupturing his alliance with Aquaman. Warworld’s influence coming to Earth further fuels the Man of Steel’s decision to depart from the planet and take the fight to Mongul but Superman may not find Earth as welcoming for him when he returns home. The militaries of Atlantis and America are angry for Superman intervening and, in Aquaman, Clark Kent won’t find an understanding friend waiting for him this time.
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