30 in 30 - Day 6: Superman and the Metal Men

[Brandon Shepherd]

'80s Heavy Metal!

 

For Day 6 of my 30 in 30 series, I connect back to my journal from Day 1: "Checklists." In this journal I shared some of the checklists I have, one such list was for artist/writer John Byrne's run on Action Comics, #'s 584-600 in 1987/88. Earlier this year I was able to cross off Action Comics #590 (July 1987) from the list. Action Comics under Byrne's run became a "team-up" feature, with Superman working with other heroes of the DC Universe; showcasing Superman as a natural leader.

 

Action Comics #590: "Better Dying Through Chemistry," has Superman crossing paths with the Metal Men. To date, this has been the only Metal Men story I have read. What I like and appreciate about the "team-up" concept of the run under John Byrne was the simplicity of the stories. They're a great introduction for people such as myself, who are not as familiar with many of the characters Superman is working with. These stories are a great starting point, especially the issues where Superman met the Phantom Stranger (Action #585) and the Demon (Etrigan/Jason Blood in Action #587).

 

Thanks to Action #590, I now know that the Metal Men are a quirky group of robots created by the dapper Dr. Will Magnus. As a reader of this issue I get the sense that Dr. Magnus has his hands full, especially with Platinum (Tina), who is in love with the Doctor, this is called faulty programming by Dr. Magnus. There is also Mercury, who has the biggest ego of the group, Gold - the team leader, Lead - the big bulky guy, Tin -the runt of the group and Iron - all around strong guy. Thanks to the distinctive personalities of the Metal Men, Superman quickly leans they have difficulty working together as a team as they deal with the threat of Chemo, a villain composed of toxic chemicals and limited intelligence, bent on destruction. When reporter Clark Kent fell into a vat of chemicals while on assignment, little did he know that the chemicals contained the remains of Chemo, thanks to the dip from Kent, Chemo was able to reform himself in the image of Superman.

 

Action Comics #590 is my favorite cover from Bryne's Action run. The yellow grabs my eye, the image of Chemo as a giant green Superman keeps my eye on the cover. As if the yellow and greens weren't enough, there is also a neat image of the combined Metal Men, acknowledging that they are no match for Chemo, especially now that he has Superman's powers. It's covers like this one that I place in the "classic" comic style category, it shows a villain, multiple superheroes and word balloons emphasizing danger, very direct. I love the colors, I enjoy the story inside and I love having a graded example.

 

The Metal Men also appeared in Action Comics #599 (April 1988), making them the only characters to appear twice during the "team-up" portion of the run. I have not yet had a chance to read Action Comics #599, this will be reprinted in the upcoming Superman: The Man of Steel Volume 8, due out in January, 2014. I can't wait to read it.

 

Brandon

 

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[Brandon Shepherd]

My copy of Action Comics #599 - I hear it has something to do with Lex Luthor manipulating the Metal Men!