***THIS REVIEW WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON THE NERD BLITZ PATREON***
Given how great Superman And Lois has been I’ve really started getting the itch to experience some more great Superman stories and so, with that in mind, I’ve decided to dive back into some of the books I’ve collected over the years and take another look.
That leads me to this book.
Fresh off of his legendary run on The Amazing Spider-Man, J. Michael Straczynski went to DC and took on their biggest character.
I believe I got this book not long after the day it came out and devoured it, I remember loving it back then.
But that was over a decade ago at this point, and my opinion could very well have changed when it comes to this book.
So let’s get comfy and take a look together, aye?
This is your ever present ***SPOILER ALERT***
Cover by Shane Davis: This cover pretty much sets the tone for this book perfectly.
This is a younger, hipper, more modern take on Superman.
And man does it do a good job catching the eye.
Great amount of detail and I fuckin’ love it.
Art by Shane Davis: Same as the cover, the level of detail is incredible.
You get a great sense of emotion from Clark’s face and the suit is a perfect update.
It reminds me a bit of the Smallville Season 11 costume, but it’s miles better because it has the trunks.
There are a couple of really great and stunning splash page glory shots of the costume that are spine tingling, if you are as big a fan of the character as I am.
The new villain looks like a cross between some sort of cyber demon and Silver Banshee.
Though not wholly original, I don’t care.
It’s a pretty damn cool looking design and I love it, as well as all of the art.
Story by J. Michael Straczynski: After Jonathan Kent died, Clark Kent makes his way to Metropolis to try and figure out what to do with his life.
With his father’s words of encouragement to pursue something that will benefit the world ringing in his head, Clark takes interviews all over town.
From the local Football team, a scientific research think tank, and to the Daily Planet, he’s still just not sure what he wants to focus on.
Then a threat from Krypton’s sister planet presents itself and the leader of this onslaught, Tyrell, vows to murder and destroy until the sole survivor of Krypton reveals themself.
The being unleashes hell across the globe and Clark realizes he must step up and face this threat that’s tied to his past and do his father proud.
I know that nowadays everybody hates origin stories, but fuck everybody.
I love a good origin story, I always have and always will.
And this is a damn good revision of the Superman origin that is incredibly well thought out, down to the littlest details.
Why doesn’t Superman wear a mask?
Well, Martha thought of that!
With all of the power that Clark wields, hiding behind a mask would only give people more reasons to distrust this being who appeared out of nowhere with all of these extraordinary abilities.
Shit like that goes a long way in making this feel new, yet familiar.
This story has a lot of similarities to Superbum.
If it weren’t for the fact that that flick had none of the heart or moral compass instilled in the character by Jonathan and Martha, I’d almost think this story was semi-influential on that movie.
I’ll drop a second ***SPOILER ALERT*** here, because I feel this is immensely important to note.
The villains in both of these stories die, yes, and Superman does play a part in both deaths.
But in this case a wounded Superman, thanks to red starlight, pummels and disables Tyrell’s ship.
When the villain comes back swinging, Superman punches Tyrell away and barely escapes, leaving the crippled ship to bring about the end of Tyrell.
Could he have tried harder to save the villian?
Yes.
But he also didn’t crack his fucking neck.
And that makes all the difference in the world to me.
Back to the Kent’s and their handling, it is clear that these are good, caring people who want the best for their incredible son, but they understand that his power gives him an incredible responsibility to his adopted home world.
And that similarity alone makes it clear why, especially when they are in sure hands, Superman & Spider-Man are my two favorite superheroes, and Straczynski definitely is a sure hand.
Again, this book came fresh off the heels of his Amazing Spider-Man run and he is such a good fit for both.
In his intro to the book, Straczynski talks about what the Superman shield means and he certainly gets it.
Something else that I want to point out, and I hope this is a device that continues in the other two volumes of this line, is the Daily Planet article that closes out the book.
It’s a short interview with Superman, it’s a small bit of business, but it adds a great amount of color and depth to the world.
I always love shit like this and I will be highly disappointed if this gimmick doesn’t make further appearances in the series.
Twelve years on, this book is as good as I remembered it being.
I feel now how I felt then, it is definitely a fresh take and yet it feels familiar.
It feels gritty and real without sacrificing the ideals of the character.
It is hopeful, heroic, and uplifting in the way, at the end of the day, that all Superman stories should be.
If you haven’t experienced this story for yourself yet, search it out, make the effort, read it and see one of the best characters in all of fiction shine in a whole new light.
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