Superman has his ups and downs in terms of storytelling last month. First, we had the lackluster conclusion of the “Super Sons of Tomorrow” crossover. It was dark, bleak, and just flat out confusing. On the other end of the spectrum, we had the beautifully illustrated story of Superman giving cancer patients the greatest day trip ever. While that story put the biggest smile on my face, I do worry about the future of the Man of Steel. He has looked into his son’s future and has learned of its destruction. Will we see Superman his son away or teach him to be better?
**Some Spoilers Below**
Story:
On the anniversary of Krypton’s destruction, Clark takes Jon to the Fortress of Solitude for a history lesson. He explains to his son that, as long as they live, Krypton will live. Before the lesson concludes, however, Superman gets an interplanetary signal. In a far-off universe, a planet is on its last legs ready to implode like Krypton. Superman decides he will not let another race suffer Krypton’s fate and goes off to save them, with Superboy in tow. When the Man of Steel arrives, they are welcomed by the alien race before they tell the Kryptonians the truth: they WANT the planet to explode. The aliens see their death as the ultimate sacrifice to their god.
When I read this, I had the strangest feeling of deja vu. That’s when I realized that the Green Lanterns series had a near exact story less than four months ago! The only difference between that story and this one is that the Green Lanterns story was more character driven. Without that character-driven plot, this issue of Superman falls short. The beginning was interesting, with a humorous jab to the ‘Last Son of Krypton’ title, but after that, it’s just going through the motions the Lanterns did in October. This is the first half of a two-part story and unless it is able to find a way to make this connecting more to that Krypton lesson at the start, this story might be one to skip.
Art:
Doug Mahnke returns to illustrate this story and it really doesn’t fit a Superman story. I went into his art before in my review of Superman #33, but to elaborate, his style is too creepy. It causes our heroes facial expressions to come off as more villainous. There is a panel that has Superboy smile at his father and he looks like he’s being infected by Joker serum. The Superfamily should be friendlier to look at instead of creepy.
That being said, the back half of the story shows off what Mahnke is good at illustrating. When Superman refuses to leave the planet to its fate, the seahorse aliens turn on him. As silly as that sounds, Mahnke’s style makes them genuinely scary. They look like terrifying monsters to tear apart Superman, despite clearly being in the shape of a seahorse. When it comes to the villains and darker worlds of Superman, he does great. It’s only when Mahnke tries to draw something friendlier, it doesn’t work. I would love to see his work in a story like Black Dawn or something horror themed…just not on Superman.
Conclusion:
This issue was not my cup of tea. Despite an interesting opening, the story devolves into stories we’ve heard before. While the art can make the aliens creepy to fit the story, it does the same to Superman and Superboy. On its own, I cannot recommend this issue. Hopefully, the conclusion of this story will bring it back from the edge.
The man was a highly-recognized and incredibly skilled surgeon till a car accident damaged the nerves in his hands, ending his career. Seeking treatment, he opted for the mystic arts and, over time, became the Sorcerer Supreme. Unreal. That alone is enough of a reason to want to write for this character, but it is what he does on a daily basis to keep our planet safe, like having to face world-shattering entities and villains, that is appealing. He has saved our realm countless times over while we’re walking our dogs and going about our daily routines.
Kent Nelson was the son of an archaeologist, taking on the craft as well. He turned in his greatest find, an ancient immortal, named Nabu, while exploring a pyramid in the Valley of Ur, in ancient Mesopotamia. He freed Nabu but accidentally killed his father in the process. Nabu took Nelson under his wing while molding him into Doctor Fate and gifting him his signature amulet, helmet, and cloak. What makes this character exciting to write about is how Fate runs in the family, as it has been extended to not only other family members but his wife as well. It’s a task that is seemingly passed on, which makes for great stories to tell, along with the fact that he is constantly doing battle with evil magical and mythical beings, all while also having served on the Justice League of America and Justice Society of America, among other affiliations.
Logan aka James Howlett aka Wolverine has always been a favorite character of mine (my first comic memory was reading the Spider-Man vs. Wolverine one-shot by James Owsley and Mark Bright). So if given a chance, I always wanted to write Wolverine. But lately, it is one particular version of “Ol’ Canucklehead” that has attracted my attention, and that is Old Man Logan. Old Man Logan was created by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven in the pages of Wolverine but was given life in his own title by Jeff Lemire recently. What I love about this version of Wolverine is the attitude. This is a Logan well past his prime, having seen much more than the ALREADY weathered younger man we all know. More akin to an aging western gunfighter or lone wolf ronin, Old Man Logan has enough pathos to fill issue after issue and his age would also allow you to tell some great flashback and parallel narrative tales. He is a man out of time twice over. I’m already getting ideas!
One of DC’s ‘cult’ characters, resurrected policeman Jim Corrigan/The Spectre has always fascinated me. Created during The Golden Age, and a big part of the JSA, Spectre has been used sporadically over the years in various degrees. To me what makes him special is the unique combination of the supernatural and the grounded the character brings. He is not only a streetwise cop but is also the freakin’ Judgement of God himself. This duality would open up the doors to tell stories on both a huge, magical epic scale and even ‘Law and Order’ style police procedurals. Think about it; you could have entire arcs about the DCU’s crazy magic world and then do a flashback about Corrigan, as a human, working a case. Plus the character is one of the coolest looking in DC with a great color scheme and costume.
I love a good anthology and so Marvel’s What If … comics were right up my alley. Like a comic book Twilight Zone, What If … were random stories of alternate timelines and the after effects. Like an omnipotent Rod Serling, Uatu the Watcher narrated every issue. What a fascinating character is Uatu? A race of super-beings who, lead by Uatu’s father, tragically helped another civilization annihilate itself. Ashamed, Uatu exiled himself to a distant part of the multiverse where he’d watch a place called Earth. It’s there that Uatu sees the same pattern of destruction facing the future of mankind and, posing as a human, begins to investigate the cause of humanity’s collapsing destiny; a mystery that will reach across multiple Earths.
All my life I’ve had a fascination with space and Mars (I’m @RMartian on Twitter). Martian Manhunter was always an interesting character, like Superman, he’s a complete fish-out-of-water. The origins of a character like Martian Manhunter are also murky and mysterious too. He’s far less defined than Superman, Batman, or Wonder Woman, leaving the door open to play around with a lot of interesting science fiction ideas. Taking the original premise, Manhunter is brought to Earth by a human experiment in a middle of a great war happening on Mars. With no way back, Manhunter goes into hiding, but his heroic nature makes it difficult for him to refrain from helping those in need while also looking for a way back home. Soon Manhunter discovers the fate of his people when White Martians arrive to kill the last Green Martian.
The product of an ancient assassin program, Azrael did what many only dream of by filling in for Batman. During his time as the Dark Knight, Azrael created an iconic suit of armor, became defeated Bane, but unfortunately went off the deep in the process. When a new series launched, Azrael was left to redeem himself from his past mistakes and move forward to prove he was worthy of being a part of the extended Batman family. The original Azrael, Jean Paul Valley hasn’t made an appearance in the Rebirth universe and this needs to be rectified. Yes, he did die and even was a Black Lantern for a time but the DC is filled with ways of resurrecting the dead. If I was able to bring him back, I’d have him work to fight against the Court of Owls, who would be working to resurrect the assassin creation program which made Azrael in hopes of creating a being which could bring Gotham under their control.
