Superman #688 - DC

With Mon-El filling in for Superman, this issue finally gives us a little insight into him as a character. We find out that the 'cure' that Superman gave him, wasn't so much a cure as it isolated the cells that are lead poisoned. It somehow encapsulates them so that the disease can't spread. However, being a 'super' and all, his immune system is also hyped up. Therefore, it's seeing these encapsulated cells as a disease that it needs to fight. The bad news is, eventually the immune system will win. It will eradicate Mon-El's system of this 'cure' that it sees as an outside presence. And to further complicate matters, the 'cure' is fighting back. That's what caused his powers to disappear last issue. Since his powers are what gives his immune system the power to fight it, the 'cure' is trying to short out his powers to give itself a better chance. After examining him, Dr Light gives him about 18 months . . tops. He tells Jim Harper that he wants to devote himself to the mission, and promise, that he made to Superman. And in doing so, he wants Jim to teach him everything he knows about fighting. "If I'm going to keep doing this, I need to be on whether I am super or not." Jim and Mon-El also get a visit from Squad K. It takes a little convincing, but they show them that Mon-El is not Kryptonian. Also Jim launches a secret mission that helps him to recover his friend, Tellus. He's the Legion telepath from the future. However, in the process his team comes across a monitoring room where they see multiple screens full of 'supers' that someone is keeping an eye on. They don't know who they are, but we see that they're mostly the Milestone and Archie characters that are becoming embedded into the DC Universe. And Magog too. It seems that all of this comes back again to General Lane and his project 7734. In the end though, Mon-El comes across someone that points out some of the stuff he's missing in life. He goes out to witness a piece of it all, and comes to the realization . . "After all I have seen . . I know . . sadly, I realize . . I want to live." I thought this issue was a great look into Mon-El's character and it really gave the reader a reason to empathize with him. He's fighting something he can't just use his strength against. Kind of like the rest of us. James Robinson is doing a great job with these stories. We all knew he would, and it seems like he's found his groove. I'm still not thrilled with Renato Guedes' artwork, but . . it's growing on me. I enjoyed this entire issue.