Retro Review: The Man of Steel (Limited-Series)

STORY

In 1978 Superman the movie came out, and it completely redefined Superman for many people of my generation. This became my new cannon for the man of steel for some 8 years, cleaning up the joyful wackiness of the Golden and Silver Ages of comics. No more super babies, super dogs, super horses or even super boys. All we we left with was a Superman and it was surprisingly welcome. Thanks to a brilliant combination of acting and directing. In 1986 after the Crisis on Infinite Earths mega event from DC, long time Marvel creator John Byrne was given a shot at re-inventing the most iconic character in all of comics. Taking away many ideas from Superman the Movie, Byrne would respectfully update the man of steel for a new age.

With the reboot of DC’s cannon Byrne’s approach was to give Superman a history within this new continuity before the launch of his new series, unlike say Wonder Woman by George Perez. While Byrne was obviously inspired by the movie of nearly a decade ago he found many opportunities to put his own ideas into effect. These ideas were so strong that they would influence Superman’s cannon right up until the present day. The story starts right away presenting a Krypton unlike any we’ve seen before. One might still consider it a cultural and technological utopia, but it has also become a stagnantly sterile society for the past thousand years. Hoping to give his son’s life a true taste of humanity is what leads him to send Kal El to Earth, that and the knowledge of how the yellow sun will effect him, ensuring the child’s ultimate survival. This idea would allow Superman to truly consider himself both and Earthling and an American first and be less concerned with his alien origins (this was also the time of the Cold War, so patriotism was high).

The second change that would define the pre-New 52 reboot was that Pa Kent didn’t die off in Clark’s teen years. Something that had previously instilled a sense of fallibility in Superman, demonstrating for all his power that he was no god, something that would forever keep the character grounded. Bryne instead does not kill off Pa but instead has him remain a strong influence in Clark’s life and frankly it worked as a fresh means of keeping Superman humble without giving him the classic tragic backstory that so many superheroes have.

The most lasting change however was with Lex Luthor himself. In this series he plays very much like a twisted version of the MCU’s Tony Stark. He is a wealthy industrialist, brilliant inventor, and utter control freak. Completely corrupted by his wealth and power, this is a man who never hears the word “No.”“ spoken to him. This time Luthor’s animosity will be driven by both ego and xenophobia as not only has Superman replaced him a the most powerful man in the world but also is discriminated against by Luthor for being something other than human. It’s a particularly brilliant set of motivations that are far more palatable than the chemically induced madness and jealousy of the Silver Age.

The last thing Byrne does is update characters like Lois Lane, adding the background of army brat to her, cleverly giving her extra reasons for possessing such moxie, spirit, and ability to handle herself in dangerous situations thanks to her upbringing. It’s a far better solution that what is done in modern comics. Just asking the readers to believe that a character is simply good at everything with no explanation whatsoever.

ART

The art is Byrne at his best, the man is a legend in the field, obviously inspired by other greats like Neal Adams. I’ve followed Byrne’s work since his indie days and his work has always been incredibly clean and precise, hitting his peak for me in the 80s and 90s.

Giordano’s inking is quite good on Byrne, though personally I liked it best when Byrne inks his own work (Alpha Flight and FF). Giordano, Austin and Kessel all do him great justice though. The pair work well together throughout the series except in issue 5 of the series. I have to wonder if Giordana was forced to rush on this issue as compared to the rest of the series it comes across as a bit sloppy.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Forget the deconstruction and reconstruction of The Man of Steel movie and The New 52. This series is everything Superman should be. Go read it now.

SCORE: 5 out of 5

Writer/ Artist: Â John Byrne
Inks:Â Dick Giordano
Colors:Â Tom Zuiko

NOTE: This is the first comic book marketed with a variant cover.