Review: Superman #6

People often talk about the downsides of having a character as powerful as Superman. The challenges of finding ways for the audience to relate to someone who posses so much ability as well as finding ways to create legitimate stakes. No doubt those are challenges and the best writers have found ways to overcome them. However, as issue six of Superman shows there are plenty of benefits as well. Brian Michael Bendis and Ivan Reis lean into the larger than life aspect of Superman“s world by giving us an issue full of gigantic action fitting for these massive titans.

After the events of the last issue, Earth has escaped from the Phantom Zone but Superman was left behind. He is not alone as an unexpected ally has also appeared as Zod looks to enact some revenge on Rogol Zaar-the person supposedly behind the destruction of their home planet. One of Bendis“s greatest strengths as a writer is building moments like this. Giving you an idea of where a story is headed only to find a way to magnify the situation instantaneously. The question is if he can take advantage of it.

If you were to equate this issue to a boxing match it would be the part of the fight where an opening occurs and a cavalcade of massive haymakers are thrown in a last-ditch effort to walk away the victor. To properly depict this collision Ivan Reis utilizes a series of splash pages that immerse you in the sheer brutality of what is occurring. There is no finesse nor grand plans here. Just behemoths laying waste to one another. Using a prose-like style Bendis layers in his Superman narration as he attempts to make sense of what exactly is happening. Right when he is beginning to make sense of the situation Bendis shows once again he is not quite out of tricks yet.

It is the type of ending that may seem like it is coming out of nowhere. What seems like the conclusion of the third act takes a massive shift to make you wonder we are heading into an entirely different storyline. Bendis is able to give you your cake and let you sample it only to make you come back later to have more, but when you do it may have additional toppings. We will have to wait and see how it all turns out. While it may cause this issue to feel a tad uneven, it does build for an even better story moving forward.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Writer: Brian Michel Bendis
Artist: Ivan Reis

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Daniel Clark

A fan of all things comics. Growing up on a healthy diet of 90's Batman and X-Men cartoon series ignited a love for the medium that remains strong today.