Steel - The Jersey City Era, Part 8 (Issue #46)

[superboyprime]

Superboy attempts to romance Natasha Irons. This is one of the more light-hearted issues of the run.



One fine morning at the Irons household...





I'm pretty sure the title of this story, Bori, is meant to be a punny way of making Boris into a plural noun. You know, as if it were a Latin word?

I haven't included many Natasha & Boris/Paul scenes in my previous posts for lack of room, but they've actually been a consistent presence throughout the series, engaging in such wacky hijinks as making enemies with the local ice cream shop boy and creating a hobo Olympics, where they scored how effective the contestants' begging techniques were. At present, the two's relationship is at the same place it's pretty much always been: some nebulous state where they simultaneously are/aren't a couple.

As for Superboy, he met Nat last issue, when he rescued her and a few others from a falling store sign.

* * *

Moving on to other members of the cast, Amanda spent the previous night with Skorpio. She's not too happy about that.



I love the "doctor" panel. Everyone's keeping secrets from everyone else. Oh, and Shorty and Bryce are two ganglords Dr. Villain wants offed for trespassing into his enforced DMZ around the hospital, in case you were wondering.



Elsewhere, Superboy's original plan was dinner in Paris, but Nat had a better idea...



Steel is thinking he's mishandled the situation with original Boris...



Nat and Superboy's next stop: A polar bear exhibit!





Steel's here to request the Kid's help with a runaway train loaded with chlorine gas, which is what the police call was about. The two are about to find out if they can be more powerful than a locomotive...

Comments

[icon_uk]

Something's annoying me about this, is there ANY reason Skorpio hasn't been shopped to the cops for being a murderer? I appreciate he's a doctor doing good work the rest of the time, but that really doesn't balance it.

And Natasha doesn't come across terribly well in a lot of this, talking about defining her relationships by how much she can manipulate someone?

[bewareofgeek]

Well, only two people know. One is the guy who HIRED him to be Skorpio, and as for Amanda... it comes up.

[icon_uk]

"Comes up"? I think we're a little past the point where that's applicable, no?

She's known for some time, has no real reason NOT to report him, and now she not only knew, she slept with him to boot. What sort of a vibe are we supposed to be getting from Amanda by this point? Are we actually supposed to warm to her? Or even like her much?

[bewareofgeek]

I'm being deliberately vague in order not to spoil upcoming issues and steal superboyprime's thunder. I think you'll be satisfied.

[superboyprime]

I'll add that he only kills hardened gangsters and the like. Think the Punisher, only he does it for money. The point is that Amanda has no reason to think innocents are at risk from him being free.

[misterbug]

Prepare yourselves for a 'Cannot Unsee' here, people, because in that cover, and a little in that 'Bori' panel, Superboy looks a lot like a butch lesbian.

And I say this as a complement; I love the look of butch lesbians. It's something they haven't tried with any alternate-reality Supergirls thusfar...

[auggie18]

You could make a strong argument for Cir-el, depending on the artist.

[wizardru]

Once more I say unto you....BOOOOOOOTTTTSSSS!!!!

Also: Superboy's 90s look really hasn't aged well, huh?

[bariman]

If I had jet-boots, I'd wear them all the time.

90s Superboy really depends on the artist. Sometimes, he looks goofy yet cute. Other times... there's this.

[mistersandman]

If I had jet-boots, I'd wear them all the time.

Dr. McNinja explains why this is an amazing idea:

[icon_uk]

Yeah, it suffers the fate of the "too trendy gear", but it's still a more distinctive outfit than his current look, which half the time just appears to be lazy.

[wizardru]

Not hard, when his current look is basically black t-shirt with S-logo and jeans, really. It's kind of hard to tell when he's dressed casually, really.

[pyrotwilight]

Aww what a cute non-couple.

[kaete]

I guess I missed it before, but what's with the whole Boris obsession? I don't understand the reference. Is it like naming someone Galahad?

[bewareofgeek]

Boris... and Natasha.

[mistersandman]

My mind is blown. I can't believe I didn't get that before.

[bariman]

If only Nat had a couple of villains known as Moose and Squirrel.

[mistersandman]

When I saw the cover, I was worried that Natasha was going to leave Boris for Superboy because of HIV-drama. This is so much more satisfying.