TITLE: Doomsday Rex

Summary

The Joker continues to cause all kinds of trouble for the heroes of the DC Universe, and Superman is no exception. Joker easily walks into the Pentagon and releases Doomsday from his specially-designed holding cell. Finally freed, Doomsday seeks out President Luthor to exact his revenge for getting him "killed."

As luck would have it, Superman is nearby the White House. The two fight in and around the White House. Luthor does his part by exposing both Superman and Doomsday to Kryptonite-like radiation, in an attempt to weaken or kill both his nemeses. Superman falls, but Doomsday escapes the radiation trap and seeks out Luthor.

Luthor holds off Doomsday with the aid of J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, who was nearby disguised as one of Luthor's assistants. J'onn holds off Doomsday long enough for Superman to recover, who arrives to finish their battle.

The difference with this fight between Superman and Doomsday is that Doomsday is now sentient, giving Superman an opening that didn't exist in their previous battles. Superman is able to win the psychological battle by introducing the concepts of pain and doubt. It is this newfound uncertainty that finally causes Doomsday to lose the fight.

The story closes with Lois and Clark visiting the Kent farm at Martha Kent's request. Lois and Clark are pleasantly surprised to see that Jonathan Kent has returned home. He was missing after the cataclysm in Kansas during the recent Our Worlds at War storyline, but Jonathan's memory returned when he saw a news broadcast covering a Superman story.

Opinion

Celebrating the 100th issue of Superman after his death, Jeph Loeb brings back Doomsday to fight it out with Superman once again. The battle itself is okay, nothing special in and of itself. The battle scene did, hovever, give Ed McGuinness the opportunity to pencil some nifty pin-ups.

Loeb's scripting isn't all that bad, but there's not really that much one can do with a slugfest story that will make it stand out above the rest. This is a double-size issue, yet it is a quick read due to the extended battle. But that's the way an epic fight in a comic book should be, full of dynamic imagery and with a minimum of dialogue.

On a final note, this issue is part of the latest DC crossover event, Joker: Last Laugh. Loeb does a good job of bypassing the usual problem of integrating someone else's plot into his own story, by reducing Joker's involvement to just removing Doomsday from his restraints. By page 6, Joker is no longer in the story, and has served only as a catalyst for this standalone issue.

Conclusion

This is a classic fight issue that features a rematch between Superman and Doomsday. The fighting is intense as ever, and features a now sentient Doomsday. The battle scenes are well drawn, and McGuinness' version of Doomsday is both massive and imposing. While not the most interesting issue in Loeb's current run, the fight isn't half bad, and is a nice tribute to the 100th issue anniversary of Superman's death.