Mark Waid Plants a Young Lex Luthor Right Next Door to Clark Kent in Action Comics #1104

DC's "Lex Luthor: Year One" throughline continues in Action Comics #1104, out November 11 from writer Mark Waid and artist Patricio Delpeche. The chapter picks up right after issue #1103's "Mama's Boy" and drops a young Lex back into Smallville — putting him on a collision course with a kid who has no idea he's about to meet his future archenemy: Clark Kent.

Per DC's solicitation copy, the two end up fast friends, and the issue leans into the dramatic irony of a friendship every longtime reader knows is doomed. Waid has built a career on formative-years stories like this one, and running Lex's slide toward villainy through a childhood bond with the future Superman gives the arc a more personal, tragic hook than a standard origin retread.

Chris Brunner and Rico Renzi handle the standard cover, with variants from Ryan Sook, Manny Vincent Carbonilla, and Mike Del Mundo rounding out the options, plus a Mahmud Asrar cover marking Watchmen's 40th anniversary.

Action Comics #1104 hits stores and digital platforms November 11 from DC Comics, $5.99 for 56 pages.

Original reporting: Comic Watch.