Polite Dissent

Action Comics #679 is a fairly slight story as Superman goes. There’s a little bit of super-hero/super-villain fisticuffs, but most of the issue is spent catching up with the diverse cast of Superman supporting characters, from Lois to Lana to Lex II to Mae. The super-hero aspect of the comic is a direct sequel to Hawk & Dove #13 and features the villain Shellshock, who has the power to make things explode just by speaking their name.

Like I said, the story all started in Hawk & Dove #13. Ruth Spencer is the aunt of supporting cast member Kyle, and the black sheep of his family. She was a protestor during the Viet Nam war and she and her friends were responsible for blowing up a munitions factory. A handful of people died in the explosion, including one of Ruth’s co-conspirators and best friends, and she has been on the run ever since. While she paid a surprise visit to her nephew in Washington D.C., a strange costumed villainess named Shellshock — who bore an uncanny resemblance to Ruth’s dead friend — appeared and attacked. At the end of the evening, Shellshock disappeared and Ruth went back on the run.

Four years later, Superman is visiting Washington DC when he encounters Shellshock. They battle in the skies over the city for a while before she pulls her usual escape trick: speaking her own name and exploding. As coincidence would have it, Shellshock isn’t the only one visiting Washington that day: Ruth Spencer is there as well and notices the battle overhead. Later, while grabbing a newspaper from in front of a toy store, a doll in the window of the store comes to life and morphs into Shellshock. Ruth tries to talk to her, but Shellshock just flies off toward the center of the town, causing explosions as she goes. Superman comes flying in when hears the commotion and once again he and Shellshock battle. It all comes to a head in front of the Viet Nam memorial when Superman, Ruth, and Shellshock all come face to face. The truth is finally revealed: Shellshock is not Ruth’s dead friend, but instead a manifestation of Ruth’s own previously unknown psychic powers fueled by her guilt over the people who died in the factory explosion. Finally understanding the truth about Shellshock, Ruth realizes that she can’t run anymore and turns herself in.

For Hawk & Dove fans, there’s a scene with the comic’s SCU supporting cast including Lt. Wolfson, mechanics Mike and Ike, and sharpshooter Lt Trinh. They fill Superman in on some of the back story including the mysterious murdered of their boss, Captain Arsala, and his missing girlfriend Dawn (if these events are unfamiliar to you, I must regretfully point you in the direction of Armageddon 2001 #2). Superman muses to himself a little about Hawk and Monarch before flying off.

Unlike the Kesel written Hawk & Dove, this appearance of Shellshock is written by Roger Stern, and his version of the character is a little different. In her initial appearance, Shellshock was a woman a few words and only spoke when she wanted things to explode. One got the idea that she chose her words carefully because anything she said would cause an explosion, making conversation difficult. Stern’s version is more loquacious, and is able to talk at length without causing explosions. She plots behind the scenes and even soliloquizes at a few points in the story. I prefer the original version, but Stern’s version has some undeniable poignancy, especially with the revelation that Ruth had a brother who died in the Viet Nam War.

All Previous Hawk and Dove Reviews