Analysis Notes
| General |
Only pages 1-2, 6-7, and 10-22 are dealt with
here. Some of these pages have only tangential connections to Cole Parker. |
| Based on Perry White’s comments in 19:4, at least
a couple weeks have passed since Adventures of Superman #598. |
| 1:1 |
Stryker’s Island is in Metropolis Harbor. It houses
many metahuman criminals. |
| 1:3 |
This is Cole Parker, who was influenced by images of the
hard-light hologram of the Superboy’s Legion Persuader fighting
Superman from Superman v2 #171, which were played on Metropolis televisions
in Adventures of Superman #598. |
| 1:4 |
This is a flashback to Adventures of Superman #598. The cellmate is Loki. His prisoner number is 060660666, an obviously
evil number. |
| 2:1 |
This is also a flashback to Adventures of Superman #598, taking place in the Daily Planet newsroom. |
| 2:3 |
Although we presume that this is Loki — he is never
named — based on comments made in Adventures of Superman #598
(“low-key”, “ages-old”, and “fate”),
this scene appears to involve Parademons from Apokalips, and thus probably
occurs in Armagetto. That would imply that this is not Loki, but someone
from Apokalips instead. |
| In this issue, Loki has light brown hair. That is a coloring
error; he had blond hair in Adventures of Superman #598. |
| 6:2 |
Well, no, he probably doesn’t belong in maximum
security. Kidnapping, threatening the life of the victim, and major vandalism
(and probably conspiracy, as the leader of the group) are felony crimes,
but it’s not like Parker killed or even injured anyone, nor is
he a metahuman or even a threat to the general populace. |
| Note the video camera floating over the food line, and
the robot guards; there is no direct interaction of human guards with
the prisoners here (although that is in variance with the scene at the
end of Adventures of Superman #598). This may not be maximum
security, but there are still plenty of dangerous inmates here. |
| 7:3 |
Parker doesn’t even question why Loki is in the
prison, much less not in maximum security with this sort of power. Loki
is using his “persuasion” power. |
| 7:5 |
Obviously quite a number of metahumans or aliens here. None identifiable for tracking purposes, however. |
| 10:2 |
It’s possible that pages 1-2 and 6-7 have been a
dream or flashback up to now. We won’t treat them as such, though. |
| 10:3-4 |
Note the lack of questioning as to how an inmate ended
up with an axe. |
| 11:1 |
The explosion is from Parker’s cell, caused by his
transformation. |
| 11:2 |
The flying objects are probably cameras. |
| 11:3 |
No one here is recognizable as anyone worth tracking |
| 12 |
Nothing from Loki’s speech on this page is an obvious
reference to other events, literature, or mythology. (Other than “coming
out party” referring to the jail break.) |
| 13:1 |
Notice the “ants” on the wall, presumably
repairing the damage. |
| There is no way to tell here which individuals might be
Jimmy and Clark. |
| 14:1 |
The implication here is that Lois turned on the sex
appeal, probably. |
| 14:4 |
Hasn’t Clark done ample work as a reporter in the
past? His reactions here seem mighty “white bread”; is he
overdoing the “mild mannered” bit? |
| 15:2 |
Sounds like he may have received a sharp reprimand after
the event with Lois. |
| 15:4 |
Okay, explain this one: given robot guards and insect
robots doing construction repairs, why do they still file paper? Perhaps
the clerk is like Perry and doesn’t trust the B13 technology. |
| 16:1 |
This is presumably the same generator plant that Cole
Parker was organizing at in Adventures of Superman #598. |
| 17:1 |
Loki’s appearance keeps shifting. Now his hair
is heavily slicked back, and almost black; he had been blond in Adventures of Superman #598. The absence of color on his moustache here doesn’t
help, either. |
| “A nudge”: the power of persuasion. |
| 18:1 |
“Killer instinct”: a reference to Superman’s
code against
killing. |
| 18:2 |
Lois probably has a certain attraction for the guy which
Clark can’t
match. |
| 18:4 |
“Contact sheet”: Jimmy is a photographer. |
| 19:2 |
Didn’t bother writing it up? Reporters sometimes
don’t report on certain subjects for a number of reasons, but not
bothering isn’t one of them. |
| 19:4 |
Perry’s comment here indicates that at least a couple
weeks have passed
since Adventures of Superman #598. Being kidnapped, tied up, and
threatened with an axe is an event for which Perry would probably have a somewhat
stronger reaction if it had happened just days ago. |
| 20:1 |
Note the iMac computer. |
| 20:2 |
Clark has presumably already used his x-ray vision to
see what the threat
is. |
| 21
|
Note that although Parker was influenced by the Persuader
hologram, which used the character design from Superboy’s Legion,
this isn’t that design. This is much closer to the Persuader design
seen in the main Legion continuity. (That one didn’t have the ragged
cloak; it had more of a refined, “medieval” look to the outfit.) Is it possible that this Persuader and the one from the 30th century
are the same one? (Note that in the preboot continuity, the Persuader
was Vietnamese, named Nyeun Chun Ti. No name has been given for him in
the current continuity; he certainly doesn’t have to hold to the
previous version.) |
| When the text on a newspaper is going to be large enough
to read it, like here, it behooves the creators to put in real text. Kurt Busiek’s
work on Astro City is the best example of this, where every newspaper
article, even ones where the text is going to be just 2 pt high, is real
text which goes with the headline. |
