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Superman: Secret Origin #6 was a great conclusion to another excellent retelling of Superman's origin. Geoff Johns wrote a very clean and interesting story all the way through, and the conclusion didn't let down.

This issue becomes a straight super-battle between Superman and Metallo, with Lex Luthor pulling at the strings of the military in order to try to bring Superman to his knees. It's very simple, very straightforward and quick to read. The issue was 40 pages, answering and resolving most of the questions the plot set up.

I enjoyed both the main plot, and the interactions with Lois. Johns teased for a moment that Lois was going to figure out Clark was Superman, as Clark gave a classic cheesy excuse for why he was missing in action. The dynamic and love story that was set up was cute as well.

Lex Luthor really lost it at the end here, which was my only complaint. Though I understand, he came off in the end as too much of a Dr. Evil "I'll get you next time gadget!" kind of guy. It's not out of character though, just a personal preference of mine.

What's strange to me looking back is how much DC decides to retell the origin of Superman. We have this, we have a graphic novel coming out by J. Michael Straczynski, and then of course there's the classic Birthright by Mark Waid. Interestingly enough, I find Secret Origin to be almost as classic as the Birthright story, and I can't think of too many other Superman stories I'd really regard as highly as the origin stories. So though retelling the origin is a somewhat tired concept, it seems to continue to be the best part of the Superman mythos.

Gary Frank delivered as he usually does. We were treated to extremely detailed characters and figures, though the expressions I see from his characters always feel the same to me with a shocked or angry look to them. I mentioned when I reviewed and earlier issue of the series that I thought it worked better on a grittier version of Superman like Supreme Power was than with a character who is supposed to be a symbol of hope.

All in all, I had a lot of fun with the issue. The art is fantastic even if it may not be the most fitting, and Geoff Johns' storytelling is top notch for his take on Superman's Origin. This series is highly recommended to people who are coming onto Superman for the first time.

9/10