Superman Vs. Super-Assassin
Whenever I talk to people about this series, there’s quite a few who don’t keep up with it. I don’t blame them; there are a ton of universe-altering events in the other books. The closest stories those events were in were Multiplicity (where a multiverse invader tries to capture all the Supermen of the multiverse), and Superman Reborn, which also took place in Action Comics. Personally, I prefer these shorter stories that convey messages and this issue is no exception.
**SOME SPOILERS BELOW**
Story:
After Lois Lane gets an interview with Deathstroke, the assassin uses this opportunity to draw out Superman. He’s under contract for a mystery client who wants to test if Superman has a “breaking point.”
This point is the moment where Superman will snap and kill someone, so Deathstroke isn’t holding back. This leads to a few encounters between the Man of Steel and the world’s greatest assassin, which are actually pretty entertaining!
While I like the concept, I feel like this kind of story should have happened near the beginning of this series. The mystery client, who will remain anonymous in this article, has seen Superman in action before. If the client is choosing NOW to measure his “breaking point,” they are really bad at their job.
Preferred timeline aside, we have an interesting story does a fantastic job at giving insight into the positive and negative aspects of their personalities. While Superman sticks to his code of no killing, Deathstroke rationalizes the point of killing to shape history. It’s fascinating to have these two characters on opposite ends of the moral spectrum to compare and contrast with one another.
Art:
If you’re a fan of the art in the Suicide Run and Family Business storylines of Deathstroke’s 2015 run, then you’ll be a fan of this issue. Tyler Kirkham has worked on both Superman and Deathstroke comics in the past and his skills continue to shine here. The style here allows the characters to demonstrate a broad range of emotions, making the comic almost feel alive when you read it. The coloring of this issue, courtesy of Arif Prianto, really makes the characters pop off the page. It especially shows when it comes to the uniforms and powers of the Man of Steel, as well as Deathstroke. The burning red eyes of Superman are actually quite intimidating, thanks to the colors and design of the page.
Conclusion:
This issue was phenomenal. The writing was strong, the art was beautiful, and the action was entertaining. While I don’t know when this story will pay off (as next issue, the superfamily goes off planet), I hope we can get another great story with these two soon.
Issue Description:
“BREAKING POINT” Part 2
