Let’s get it over with. Not only should you not read this book, you should shun anyone who does read this book or sells this book. This is one of the laziest and stupidest comics I’ve read in a long time. Johns is trying to evoke Superman: The Movie, but not only fails but makes me wonder why anyone would hire him to write a comic book instead.

Let’s jump to the idiocies:

1) A company run by a single person that has been in business for maybe a decade has a large number of government contracts. I know Lex Luthor is setup to be some sort of mad genius, but there is no way he can compete with the giant multi-national companies that the government buys defense systems from
2) A general goes by himself to meet a defense contractor. Every competitor would be filing lawsuits against the government picking Luthor if a general (and is he the only one picking the vendor, what happened to the league of lawyers, GAO, compliance, etc people that would be involved) is stupid enough to associate himself with a contractor. And most likely they would win and pull some contracts from Luthor
3) A general is able to order armed forces into an American city and have them shoot weapons. The President would be demanding his resignation and his head on a platter in about 30 seconds
4) A general, even on the order of the President, would never be able to shut down any business just by walking in without a court order. And if it was going to be shut down with a court order, the armed forces wouldn’t be the ones doing it. And to shut down a well-known newspaper would cause so many first amendment cries from every other media entity in the country.
5) Luthor is such a beloved figure that he is able to have people begging to be hired. And then we he grabs one person a day and uses them as a guinea pig, no one follows up? No stories from anyone on what happens inside Luthor’s buildings?
6) Lex tells the General (who happens to be Lois’ father) to reign her in in exchange for some new weapons technology. Since when would the General have the authority to buy (or barter in this case) weapons technology on his own? Even if the weapons are given for free, the training, distribution, maintenance etc will cost money and that would have to come from Congress (who love investigating defense contractors who offer shady deals)

I had no problems with Gary Frank’s art, but it was difficult to enjoy while I was repeatedly banging my head against the table at the idiocy of the story.

In short, without touching the general Superman leaps of logic (new reporter in town at the same time as a new superhero who favors the reporter’s co-workers, etc.) this is a lazy, badly thought out story. I won’t even touch Clark’s premature ejaculation firing off his heat vision when Lana kisses him or the medical idiocies (let’s replace the Sergent’s heart with a radioactive device and he can recover within minutes and start fighting Superman) or the business and military idiocies (what General wanders around with only a Sergent). Not Recommended in any way, shape or form.