This issue isn't terrible. It's not great, but it's not terrible. That's pretty much good enough at this point in the land of DC weekly series, though.
Unlike the Atom's confusing death last issue, Khan dies in a way befitting the character, trying to use the Shackleton Assault Craft to take out Darkseid. He fails when Darkseid destroys the craft with his Omega Beams, but it's at least a noble (if abrupt) death.
Moreover, we learn that the Avatar of the Red isn't actually fighting the Geneva team, as she seemed to be doing last issue; she's been trapped by Desaad, and he's using her to create the clones fighting the team (and to fuel the Firepits). This revelation makes total sense, since it seemed bizarre that Yolanda hadn't found her way to the Avatars yet. The problem is that we learn all this information from Val, without any insight into how he knows it. After all, it's not like he had been a prisoner of Desaad; he had been kept in a USG facility.
Continuing on the issue of the clones, Superman reveals that his blood was somehow used in the cloning process ("they used my blood...in the pipes of this place...trying to pump it into their creations"). However, he also reveals that his blood is poison to the clones. So, it's unclear if they tried to use his blood to create the clones, failed, and then found Yolanda, or if his blood somehow interacts with Yolanda's in an important way for creating the clones, but, in and of itself, would be poison to them. The only clear part about it is that it's the deus ex machina that Batman needs to defeat the clones and free the Red.
I will say that we're clearly building to the finale here, given that the Red joining the Avatars is likely to help reverse the tide against the Furies. Hawkgirl and Jay tracking down the body of Famine will likely help contribute to that, so at least these two stories, combined, gives us the sense that we're going to get somewhere soon.
But, it also seems possible that the whole matter will be resolved before then, given that Mister Miracle and his team seem to have successfully blown up Apokolips. It can't possibly be true (because, again, I think we have ten more issues left in this series), so I'm intrigued to see what actually happened.
Also, Dick learns how to be a superhero in three hours under Ted's tutelage, but, at this point, I feel like the less said about that sub-plot, the better.
*** (three of five stars)
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