Smallville: Season 11 #11 is the eleventh issue of the print edition of the DC Comics comic book series. The issue collects parts 7-8 (chapters 31-33) of the Haunted story arc, originally released digitally.
Summary[]
In order to face Bart’s demons, Superman and Impulse confront a reluctant ally: the JSA’s Jay Garrick! Lois’s investigation into Lex takes a surprising turn. Chloe’s journey through her doppelganger’s memories turns dangerous.
Recap[]
On the soccer field in Mumbai where Bart played with the kids earlier, one of the speed storms breaks out. Another hits at Louvre in France. Chloe and Oliver monitor the outbreaks at Watchtower and note the increasing frequency. Oliver relays this to Clark while Clark asks how Chloe is doing following her procedure. Oliver assures him that he's looking after her.
Clark and Bart walk the white plains of Utah until they come upon an isolated house. An old voice asks if he can help them and Bart reveals they are looking for Jay Garrick. The man at the end of the voice steps from the house and identifies himself as Garrick.
In Metropolis, Chloe gets frustrated that she can't do help more and can't sort out her counterpart's memories. Suddenly, she's stricken by a memory and falls into Oliver's arms. At Smallville High of Earth-2 six years in the past, something has attacked the graduation ceremony. This universe's Jodi Melville, Greg Arkin, and Justin Gaines, all meteor-infected like their Earth-1 doubles, run the halls of the school trying to escape. Melville's hunger gets the better of her, slowing them down. Their stalker emerges from a doorway, Clark Luthor. He blasts Justin and then Jodi with his heat vision, killing both.
Arkin runs and hides, asking the bugs to help him escape. Luthor finds him and incinerates him as well. As he moves to leave, he can hear the thumping of a heartbeat. Using his X-ray vision, he discovers someone hiding under a desk. As he nears the desk, he begins to feel the harming effects of Kryptonite. It's enough to turn him away. Spared, Chloe 2 moves from the shadows below the desk, revealing the Kryptonite necklace around her neck. Back in the present on Earth-1, Chloe mutters dismayed words from the memory.
At Garrick's house, the old man chastises Bart for stealing his identity. He asks him he did it and Bart admits that he doesn't know. He also reveals that he doesn't remember anything of his life previous to waking up with his abilities, just that there was a flash of light and the names of Garrick, Wally West, and Barry Allen just appeared in his head. Clark explains to Garrick the plan Carter Hall had of resurrecting the Justice Society of America with the help of the new, younger heroes. He asks for the elder's help.
Garrick suggests Bart talk to his old teammate, Pieter Cross, instead. Impatient, Bart asks what the old man knows about the "Black Racer." The elder speedster tells them his leg was broken when the federal government tried rounding up the JSA and he never wanted it repaired. When Clark attempts to ask why he would never want to run fast again, Bart correctly guesses that he's seen the demon. Garrick admits to it and explains that what is occurring to Bart happened to him. Clark mentions the speed storms and Garrick says it's the racer calling Bart out. Bart asks how the old man survived it and Garrick reiterates that he just stopped running. Bart adamantly refuses that option and the elder tells him the only other option is to die.
Lex angrily surveys the room at LexCorp where the Project Intercept machine once stood. He asks after the security tapes and the night guards, and Otis tells him the tapes were stolen and all of the guards quit. Lex turns to the vision of Tess and she denies having anything to do with it. He realizes that it must have been Oliver Queen. Otis remarks that it would likely be best to postpone the procedure to cause his boss brain damage to kill Tess' conscience. Frustrated, Lex leaves. A memory of Earth-2 from two-years ago. At Chloe's apartment, the Earth-2 Oliver practices shots with a bow and arrow; his skill is far off from his Earth-1 counterpart. Chloe drinks whiskey and they talk about their plan to take down Clark Luthor. Oliver worries he'll irk people by trying to dig up the town of Smallville in search of the meteor rock they'll need. Chloe dismisses his concern and tells him it's the only thing that will work for their cause. She then asks why he's there with her instead of with her cousin, his girlfriend. Oliver announces his going to ask Lois to marry him, to which Chloe laughs and snidely rejects the notion.
Chloe corrects his shooting posture and he nails the bullseye. They both acknowledge that they've got but one shot against Luthor, and it must count. They embrace and kiss. In the present on our Earth, Chloe 1 finishes explaining the memory to Ollie while in the tub. They're both baffled by the supposed romantic encounter between their doppelgangers. Chloe asks if Clark and Bart had any luck in Utah. A speed storm alert on Ollie's phone tells them no.
As the speed storm crackles in Utah, Clark tries to reason with Jay Garrick that there must be another option to help Bart. Garrick asserts that there is no choice in the matter and that by using the Speed Force, the demon is there to collect the debt. Clark asks why there were no records of speed storms while Garrick was with the JSA. The old man surmises that Bart is so fast that it has made the creature hungry and desperate. Picking up on the thought, Clark reasons that it is sending out the speed storms to try to create a new speedster to take on as its prey. Bart realizes that the biology of the speedsters is special and that's why so many have died in the attempts.
Bart asks Garrick how many speedsters there are. The old man gives a mealy answer about not being the first and Bart not being the last. Bart confronts him about not having raced the demon himself to stop to have possibly stopped it, and Garrick denounces their abilities as a curse. Clark offers that curses can be blessings if they don't let their powers control their lives. Garrick likens Clark to Carter Hall and Bart jumps on the moment to call him out for not having stayed in touch with his team. The old man owns up to being proud of how he acted, but it's not good enough for Bart. Riled up, he starts tapping into the Speed Force before Clark manages to stop him.
Clark fields communication from Chloe at Watchtower. He asks how she is and she tells him she's coping. She alerts him to a speed storm brewing in Las Vegas, a huge one that isn't slowing down and many dying. Clark relays the message to Bart, who tries running off on his own. Clark grabs him and Bart argues that the racer is waiting for him there and is calling to him. Clark tells Chloe that they didn't come up with a solution. She responds that S.T.A.R. Labs might have something. Patched to Emil Hamilton, the doctor explains they took the concept of sending Clark into the sun to remove his irradiation to fashion a containment suit. He states that they modified the suit to collect speed energy and that Clark might be able to use it to constantly move fast enough to confront the demon.
The scientists at S.T.A.R. fire a pod into the atmosphere and it quickly rockets its way to the young heroes' location in Utah. The pod opens to reveal the new suit, a black and silver affair with a glowing S-Shield. Clark quickly puts on the suit and speeds to the massive storm in Las Vegas. Boldly, Clark proclaims to the demon that it's "time for round two."
Lois Lane speaks to Otis about Tess and Psimon for a little bit. Otis is still getting over being fired from his job. He does not want to speak to Lois at the moment. After leaving the bar, Lois contacts the Batcave. Barbara Gordon is there having just recovered from her nasty encounter with the White Martian. Lois wants Barbara to speak to Otis. She arrives in Metropolis on the Bat-Rocket and speaks to Otis.
In Las Vegas, Clark Kent saves a man from becoming another victim of a speed storm. He cannot save everyone but he does save as many as he can. Superman stops the speed storms and has everyone evacuate. An angry Black Flash, seeing that Superman is trying to stop him, decides to kill him. Superman and Black Flash begin to fight. Meanwhile, Jay Garrick gives Bart some advice before he goes off to join the fight.
Title[]
Coming soon
Continuity[]
Coming soon
Variant Covers[]
References[]
Previous Story: Smallville: Season 11 #10 |
Next Story: Smallville: Season 11 #12 |
Episodes: Season 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10
Minor Characters: Season 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 Screencaps: Season 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 |