REVIEW: Action Comics #1104

Nature versus nurture takes center stage in Action Comics #1104 as writer Mark Waid, artist Patricio Delpeche and letterer Steve Wands continue examining the making of Superman’s greatest nemesis in “Lex Luthor: Year One: Part Two.”

Alexander “Lex” Luthor wasn’t always the calculating, manipulative and power-hungry man we know today. This issue takes us deeper into the experiences shaping the brilliant boy who will eventually become Superman’s greatest enemy. Not everything is within Lex’s control, but when does a painful past stop explaining someone’s choices and start becoming an excuse? Could Lex have taken another path and become a savior of the world alongside Superman?

Before we explore that possibility, let’s check out this issue’s Lex-centric covers. The standard cover, illustrated by Chris Brunner and colored by Rico Renzi, puts young Lex’s potential resentment of superpowered beings on full display. A Smallville billboard celebrating Superboy goes up in flames as Lex strolls away holding a lit matchbook and a portable gasoline container. A glowing green “L” adorns his purple polo shirt, and he almost looks like a devious salesman pleased with his latest deal. The scene doesn’t occur in this issue—Clark isn’t Superboy yet—but it suggests the hostility to come.

Ryan Sook pays homage to Jerry Ordway’s cover for The Adventures of Superman #424 (January 1987), the first issue published under that title. In Ordway’s original, Superman stands triumphantly with an eagle approaching his left arm and a city behind him. Sook replaces him with Lex in nearly the same pose, but the skyline is engulfed in flames and smoke. Lex wears his iconic purple-and-green outfit, introduced in Superman #282 (December 1974) and later made famous on Challenge of the Super Friends, where he led the Legion of Doom. It’s a delightful piece of comic-book history with a sinister twist.

Manny Vincent Carbonilla’s variant offers a different perspective. An older Lex stands behind his younger self, seated beside a chessboard, and gently rests a hand on the boy’s shoulder. The torso of Lex’s warsuit hangs on the wall behind them, along with a tattered Superman cape. Is the older Lex offering reassurance, guidance or a warning? The image leaves plenty to ponder.

Together, these covers show different stages of Lex’s evolution, from gifted child to a man determined to destroy everything Superman represents. There are also variants available by Michael del Mundo and Mahmud Asrar & Frank Martin.

Inside the issue, Delpeche does a brilliant job depicting chapters four through seven of young Lex’s life. I loved seeing the places Lex and his mother, Leticia, have traveled since faking their deaths in issue #1103. There’s even a shoutout to Memphis, my hometown, alongside several major cities familiar to DC Comics fans. Those details ground their journey in the larger DC Universe. And the shoutouts don’t end there! Waid and Delpeche also give us a glimpse of another future millionaire and his family. That encounter leads Lex to a revelation about himself and, eventually, a special gift that changes his life. I won’t spoil the details, but it’s one of several moments that make this chapter so intriguing.

I love how well this creative team tells its story. Waid’s dialogue and Delpeche’s expressive artwork work beautifully together, capturing the emotions behind family conversations, difficult decisions and seemingly small moments that could carry enormous consequences. We see how those experiences influence Lex’s understanding of the world. Initially, I wondered why Waid was spending so much time contrasting Lex’s childhood with Clark Kent’s, especially since the boys haven’t even met in this storyline. Now I see how important those parallels are. Where one boy experiences one kind of family life, the other faces something very different. The choices their parents make, the affection they offer and the expectations they place on their sons all help shape the men these boys may become. Delpeche gives those contrasts genuine emotional weight.

More than anything, this issue explores family: the love we receive, the acceptance we seek, the things we lose and the wounds we carry into adulthood. Our upbringing can influence our identities, loyalties and relationships, but it doesn’t have to dictate every choice we make. That tension is especially compelling when the child at the center of the story is Lex Luthor.

(10/10) Action Comics #1104 is another outstanding chapter from a creative team that understands how to build a villain’s origin without asking us to excuse his future actions. Waid, Delpeche and Wands deliver beautiful visual storytelling, heartfelt family dynamics and thoughtful parallels between two boys whose paths have yet to cross. It’s character-driven storytelling at its finest.