The Black Ring Vol. 5

The Black Ring is a Superman-family epic written by Paul Cornell with art by Pete Woods, serialized in Action Comics issues 890–900, set after Blackest Night and before Flashpoint and the New 52 reboot. The protagonist is not Superman but his archenemy Lex Luthor: in Blackest Night, Luthor was briefly chosen by an orange ring and personally experienced cosmic-level greed; after the ring was reclaimed by Larfleeze, that power became an obsession he could not shake. He embarks on a quest across the DC Universe, targeting the residual primal energy of the Black Lantern Corps, hoping to forge from it a "Black Ring" that transcends all ring-bearing systems. Along the way he clashes with Gorilla Grodd, Vandal Savage, Deathstroke, the Joker, Brainiac, and even Death itself, and builds himself a robot assistant resembling Lois Lane; these encounters peel back layer by layer his jealousy and fear of Superman. This volume is the fifth in the series, corresponding to Action Comics issue 894, i.e., part five of "The Black Ring." According to verified English periodical records, that issue also includes the second day of the "Jimmy Olsen's Big Week" backup. In addition, DC's official collected edition Superman: The Black Ring Vol. 1 covers Action Comics issues 890–895.