What if this virus has been dormant in me all along? What if it mutates and becomes harmful to the public? I can't allow myself to stay here if I risk harming the people I want to protect. 
- — Superman
Action Comics (Volume 2) #20 is an issue of the series Action Comics (Volume 2) with a cover date of July, 2013. It was published on May 1, 2013.
Synopsis for "Hybrid, Part 2"
As Lex Luthor receives word that the Superman has been killed thanks to a sudden infection in his hand. Superman is alive, however, and wakes under the care of Dr. Veritas, who explains that his super-immune system has fought off the infection, though not without consequences. Fortunately, she had been watching him for some time, and teleported him to her facility in order to prevent the infection from transferring.
The consequences she spoke of involve the fact that his powers will be weak for a time, as he recovers from his battle with the infection. Additionally, a monstrous hand that had mutated, grown, and separated itself from his body when his immune system rejected it, remains, though its cells are dead. Veritas hopes that he will use his enhanced vision to examine it for her.
Whatever the infection was, it seems to have combined with his Kryptonian DNA to create a new life-form, adapting on a cellular level like a virus. Before he can examine it further, the hand comes alive, and grabs him around the neck. The longer it remains in contact with him, the more it grows, forming a humanoid but very alien physique. Hoping to prevent it from continuing, Superman blasts it with his heat vision, only to discover that it used that blast as fuel for its further development.
As a last-ditch effort, Veritas activates a red light that mimics the energy of a red sun, in the hopes of weakening the creature as it weakens Superman, having inherited his physical attributes through his DNA. As he grows weaker, Superman begs Veritas to turn off the lights long enough for him to use his Arctic breath on the hybrid creature, and shatter it.
Elsewhere in Metropolis, the mutation virus seems to have spread to the populace, and Lex's robotic assistant Aria expresses concern over his strategy, noting that Superman has been spotted - alive.
Superman's arrival seems to attract the hybrids, and he attempts to quarantine them by sealing them beneath the city's underground infrastructure. Unfortunately, the creatures seem to fuse into one, and grapples him with its tentacles.
Watching from afar, Luthor dons his warsuit, and prepares to save the world from the menace of Superman.
Appearing in "Hybrid, Part 2"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Dr. Shay Veritas (First appearance)
Antagonists:
- Lex Luthor
- Aria
- Hybrid
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "The World of Krypton, Part 1: Discovery"
Despite his being needed by the Kryptonian Science Council to discuss the budget for his exploratory mission, Jor-El is already on that mission, exploring the depths of the Sea of Banzt. There, he and his companions discover the ancient underwater city of Xan, where a thought-extinct species called Teklons swim still.
Lara Lor-Van is particularly annoyed at Jor-El's absence at council, and considers him a spoiled brat. She has been engaged to Jax-Ur, who is a decidedly different kind of man from Jor-El, but at the least, he is reliable.
Jor-El's absence is made worse by the fact that the budget matter was a cover for the fact that the council has intercepted a coded message from inside the capital. Someone on Krypton is planning a coup, and the time has come to bring the issue to the people. Unfortunately, before the meeting can convene, The Colonel bursts into the chambers, and kills one of the council elders with Lara's side-arm.
Appearing in "The World of Krypton, Part 1: Discovery"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Lar
- Zora
- Kryptonian Science Council
- Kra-Hu
- Lara Lor-Van
- Jax-Ur
Antagonists:
- The Colonel
Other Characters:
- Teklons
Locations:
- Krypton
- Sea of Banzt
- Underwater City of Xan
- Sea of Banzt
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- This article gives special thanks to Richard Bonk.
See Also