In an effort to make its stories more accessible to new
readers, DC recently launched The New 52, cancelling all of its existing titles
and starting 52 new series with revamped and rebooted versions of its major
characters. But how will the New 52 affect the DC universe? Will new readers
actually be attracted? Will old fans still be interested? Will the new titles
be fresh and new, or disappointing and unfaithful to the original continuity?
After buying and reading all but a few of the 52 new #1s that DC released over
the course of a month, I have set out to review some of the major ones and let
potential readers know which new titles are and are not worth reading. So,
without further ado…
Superman #1
Writer: George Pérez
Penciler: Jesus Merino
Review by Samuel N. Harris
“Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No…it’s
Superman!”
The opening pages of the newly relaunched Superman #1 do indeed show us Superman
up in the sky, hovering over Metropolis and looking down unpleasantly as the Daily Planet building is demolished to
make way for another company, the Planet Global Network. It’s a new era for the
citizens of Metropolis and the characters in Superman’s world, and it’s a new
era for the Man of Steel himself and his readers as well.
This issue pits Superman against all sorts of foes and
problems, including relationship problems with Lois, the fact that big business
is taking away the Daily Planet, a couple of masked terrorists trying to steal
hazardous materials, and an inexplicable fire creature who seems connected to a
mysterious alien entity. The action starts off small with Lois and Clark and
others in their civilian identities; their marriage having been retconned by
the universal reboot, Clark’s and Lois’s relationship is in rocky territory, as
Clark is angry at her for selling out the Daily Planet and supporting the move
to the larger global news network. They get into an argument in the midst of a
big public announcement about the new changes (made by Morgan Edge, a name
which longtime readers may recognize), and the relationship problems and
disappointments help to add at least some element of relatable human drama to
the life of Superman, who the creators keep trying to make relevant again.
Things start to pick up a little more in this issue when
Superman encounters a couple of criminals hijacking a truck full of explosive
and hazardous chemical materials. Superman’s apprehension of the criminals is
an enjoyable enough action sequence for a couple of pages, but I’ve got a
couple of criticisms with it. First, a somewhat minor one, is the fact that the
criminals are wearing clown masks reminiscent of the Joker’s face. There’s
nothing inherently wrong with this, but it seems to me that DC is trying to
make a lot of their characters—or maybe just the
underappreciated-in-modern-times Superman—more like Batman to capitalize more on
the success of Batman comics and The Dark Knight. On a related note, if you read my rant—I mean, my completely fair and
unbiased critical review—of Action Comics#1, then you’ll know that I object to Superman being made more like the darker
Batman instead of like his own iconic self. This scene also includes more of
that, as Superman taunts the criminals cockily when they’re at his mercy, and,
worse, defeats them by throwing their truck up in the air, causing the
chemicals to explode and presumably killing the two men. Killing criminals is a
line that even the dark Batman isn’t willing to cross in most versions of his
story, but apparently this newly revamped Superman has no problems with it. Superman’s
arrogant attitude is perhaps not quite as apparent in this issue as it was in Action, but his methods and the lengths
he is willing to go are even more brutal. This is not a version of Superman with
which I am very familiar, or very comfortable.
The explosion from the chemicals inexplicably turns into Superman’s
next foe: a sentient fire monster that speaks in an alien language and seems to
be saying something about Superman’s home planet, Krypton. We aren’t yet told
where this being came from or why, but it probably has something to do with a
mysterious, horn-blowing alien creature who was shown for about a page earlier
in the issue—which, according to the editor’s footnote, has to do with Stormwatch, another of DC’s new titles,
about the watch for something alien approaching our universe. There appears to
be a complex, interwoven plot going on here, and I like the fact that it’s
tying into another new DC title to lend some continuity to the new universe.
However, this issue doesn’t give us all (or any) of the answers to this big
plot, so the alien and the fire monster may seem underdeveloped, confusing, or
just plain random and uninteresting to some. Superman’s fight with the fire
monster is an enjoyable action scene, but it doesn’t seem like anything huge or
spectacular just yet. Maybe it will once the whole plot unfolds, but it’s too
soon to say based on just this one issue.
Speaking of continuity and large plots, it’s still
unclear to me how this Superman title
corresponds with the other one, Action Comics (an aspect I also
mentioned in my review of Action).
Superman’s costume in Action is only
a blue T-shirt, jeans, and a cape, but his costume in this issue (and in Justice League #1) is mostly similar to
his classic, more iconic-looking one (minus the red underwear on the outside). I
actually prefer the costume in this issue, so I’m not complaining, just
wondering how the two fit together, or if they even do at all. I’ve heard that Action #1 may take place ten years
before Superman #1, when Superman’s
crimefighting career was just beginning, but I haven’t seen official
confirmation of this from DC or in either of the two new Superman issues, so
the question of continuity remains a mystery to me.
Superman #1
is decent enough if you just want a fun, escapist adventure, but it’s got a few
problems on some deeper levels. For one thing, the continuity and some
plotlines are unclear and underdeveloped, and more importantly, Superman’s
portrayal is fundamentally different from that of the iconic, unquestionably
good hero who he always was before. Maybe things will get better or clearer as
the series progresses, and maybe I’ll read some of the subsequent issues
eventually, but I probably won’t be eagerly rushing out to buy them over the
course of the next few months.
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