Action Comics Annual 2022 first look - Superman and Mongul had very different childhoods and moms

Action Comics Annual 2022 #1 (Image credit: DC)

The cosmic warlord Mongul - created by comic book brand names Len Wein and Jim Starlin - has been menacing Superman and the entire DC Universe for decades, but everybody was a kid once, and for the first time DC readers will get to see Mongul's formative years and why he turned into the tyrannical despot he is.

Let's just say he and Clark had very different mother figures growing up.

May 31's Action Comics Annual 2022 #1 shows glimpses of both of their childhoods in alternating and contrasting stories giving insight into the adults they turned into due in part to the figures they had looking out for and guiding them.

Let's just say Mongul's mom won't be winning any mother of the year contests, while Superman's story provides a new revelation about Martha Kent's inner strength.

The juxtaposing stories are told by regular Action Comics writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson and artist Dale Eaglesham along with writer Si Spurrier and artist Ian Churchill.

Francesco Francavilla illustrates the main cover.

The stories of course provide backstory to the current long-form Warworld Saga being told in the pages of Action Comics pitting Mongul and Superman against one another. The story arc is working its way towards its conclusion and an ultimate final battle between the long-time adversaries.

Check out the first look pages with a preview of two pages from each story along with the variant cover by Steve Rude:

Image 1 of 5

Action Comics Annual 2022 #1 goes on sale May 31.

Of course, Mongul is among the best Superman villains of all time.

I'm not just the Newsarama founder and editor-in-chief, I'm also a reader. And that reference is just a little bit older than the beginning of my Newsarama journey. I founded what would become the comic book news site in 1996, and except for a brief sojourn at Marvel Comics as its marketing and communications manager in 2003, I've been writing about new comic book titles, creative changes, and occasionally offering my perspective on important industry events and developments for the 25 years since. Despite many changes to Newsarama, my passion for the medium of comic books and the characters makes the last quarter-century (it's crazy to see that in writing) time spent doing what I love most.