Superman Unchained #7 – Review

By: Scott Snyder (story), Jim Lee (pencils), Scott Williams (inks), Alex Sinclair (colors)

The Story: Can a one-man army take down an actual army?

The Review: Happy Independence Day, everyone—yes, even you folks who have nothing to do with the good ol’ U.S. of A. So I think it’s appropriate that my first review of the day celebrating America goes to the comic starring that most quintessential all-American hero, the Man of Steel himself. It’s also important that here, we’re dealing with a Superman in his purest, most heroic form, as opposed to one struggling not to unleash certain death on all living things—we’ll deal with that hot mess later.

That said, Clark’s big heroic moment in this series has come and gone; what’s left is purely personal, with little opportunity for growth. He seems on the verge of it here, reflecting on Wraith’s challenges from #5: “The choices I make about when I fight, how I fight, how I live my life inside and outside of this…those choices mean that Superman, as I’ve created him, he can’t last forever.” But he never synthesizes these musings into a concrete conclusion as to what he should do. Instead, he dithers, pleading with Lois for understanding, which is preaching to the choir if you’ve ever seen it.

Superman Unchained #6 – Review

By: Scott Snyder (story), Jim Lee (pencils), Scott Williams (inks), Dustin Nguyen (art), Alex Sinclair & John Kalisz (colors)

The Story: Superman faces the nuclear winter of Ascension’s discontent.

The Review: While I personally think Action Comics is the quintessential Superman title on the market, there’s no denying that Unchained remains the Superman “It Girl.”  What’s interesting is that the current storylines in each series have a common conflict: Clark’s universal concern for humanity versus purely American interests.  The way Greg Pak and Snyder have handled this conflict reveals the essential differences in their respective styles and books.

In a way, Pak doesn’t really challenge Clark’s values as directly as Snyder does.  In Action Comics, Ghost Soldier is a formidable opponent for Clark, but he’s no match for Clark’s capabilities.  Under those conditions, Clark can take a broader worldview than Soldier simply because he has the power to.  But Wraith is not only Clark’s match, but his superior both in power and experience.  If there’s a scenario Wraith can’t handle, it calls into question whether Clark can, either.

Superman Unchained #5 – Review

By: Scott Snyder (story), Jim Lee (pencils), Scott Williams (inks), Dustin Nguyen (art), Alex Sinclair & John Kalisz (colors),

The Story: If Superman’s image of himself 40 years from now is that bad, what hope is there for the rest of us?

The Review: While some folks may decry any grimness that enters the ultimately cheerful Superman mythos, I always thought Clark’s halcyon childhood in the comics was a bit too sugar-coated to be credible.  If Smallville and Man of Steel did the comics one better at anything, it was giving the young Clark some actual trauma and a bit of a temper—too much at times, sure, but my point is the changes weren’t inherently bad ones.

Since the DC relaunch, the comics have aligned more closely with Superman’s TV and film appearances by emphasizing that Smallville life was not always watching sunrises/sunsets from wheat fields.  Now, I may join the pitchfork-bearers when it comes to things like killing off the Kents,* but I have no problem with the notion of Clark’s burgeoning powers as a consistent source of tragedy for him.  It’s logical that his nature would invite more dramatic consequences to his actions than the typical farm boy.  With his origins, it’s asking too much to make it seem as if he experienced the ups and downs of childhood and adolescence like everybody else.

Superman Unchained #4 – Review

By: Scott Snyder (story), Jim Lee (pencils), Scott Williams (inks), Alex Sinclair (colors)

The Story: Superman becomes the Luke Skywalker to Wraith’s Obi-Wan Kenobi.

The Review: I’ll be the first to admit that even though I’m very much a superhero fan, the genre has grown formulaic over the years, and not to an unnoticeable degree either.  Still, I would discourage any broad generalizations about the integrity of the genre.  If anything, it’s harder than ever to write a superhero comic that’s well-crafted, much less novel.  Getting that balance of action-adventure while still telling a story with some teeth to it remains an elusive task.

That’s why Superman Unchained reveals the range of Snyder’s abilities even as some might say that the title wastes talents that might otherwise be spent on more legitimate, creator-owned pursuits.  Few others in the business can engage in the blockbuster type of action you see here while retaining some credibility.  Snyder’s scientific approach to the application of Superman’s powers is so convincing that you spend less time picking out the technical flaws of what’s going on, and more time relishing the action before you.

Superman Unchained #3 – Review

By: Scott Snyder (story), Jim Lee (pencils), Scott Williams (inks), Alex Sinclair & Jeromy Cox (colors)

The Story: Traveling halfway across Utah is bad enough; doing it as a result of a drop-kick is worse.

The Review: Superman-analogue villains are nothing new, even to the Man of Steel himself: Zod, Cyborg-Superman, and most recently, H’el.  Each of these antagonists is intended to parallel and contrast with Superman, to reveal his virtues by their own lacking of the same.  In a sense, these characters give a glimpse into how Superman could have turned out with a different upbringing than he had in Smallville.

Wraith is no exception to this trend.  Unlike Superman, he was sent to Earth not by circumstance but by design.  He describes himself as an answer to someone’s prayers, that someone being the U.S. military during a time of war.  Despite arriving looking fully grown, he refers to one General Rudolph as “the first father I knew,” meaning he was raised with all the efficiency, pragmatism, and discipline America’s finest can provide.  He’s an older, more experienced Superman with the attitude of a military brat, purposely isolated from society at large—a threatening combination.

Nothing could suit General Lane’s aims more.  While Superman definitely has more dangerous antagonists, Wraith included, Lane is the one that really grabs your attention, demanding your respectful hatred.  Few mortal men have the chutzpah to confront DC’s biggest so brazenly, but Lane’s unflappability gives even Luthor’s a run for its money.  When Superman states he just wants to talk, Lane replies shortly, “Well, you do it from your knees, son.”

Superman Unchained #2 – Review

By: Scott Snyder (story), Jim Lee (pencils), Scott Williams (inks), Alex Sinclair (colors)

The Story: Superman multitasks rampaging robots, black hole tech, and doppelgangers.

The Review: It didn’t register on me last time, but since it has a back-up feature, that means it’s one of DC’s few, extra-sized series: a higher price point for an added page count.  Since Snyder only uses a couple pages for his back-up, he basically has three extra pages for his own use.  In similar fashion to how stifled DC comics felt after they reduced their page counts two years ago, it’s remarkable how much more substantial those additional pages make the story.*

Even without them, the issue would have felt pretty dense anyway; that’s just how Snyder writes.  But those pages allow Snyder to add all those wonderful, brainy details that make his stories so naturally fascinating to read: references to Greek history (i.e., Apollodorius), British folk figures (i.e. Ned Ludd), and labor movement ballads sung to the tune of battle hymns.  Unlike Geoff Johns, who throws in these things to give his work a veneer of sophistication, Snyder uses them to enrich the story, to comment on the action, to hint on events to come.

Superman Unchained #1 – Review

By: Scott Snyder (story), Jim Lee (pencils), Scott Williams (inks), Alex Sinclair (colors)

The Story: Superman slips up on the fact-checking of his own story.

The Review: Superman is kind of an odd duck in the scheme of comic book icons.  Even though he’s practically the biggest and most important character DC has, his actual popularity—by which I mean the number of people who’d say he’s their favorite superheroes—always seems disproportionately low to his recognizability.*   He and Batman are ostensibly equals, yet the Batman franchise has consistently outpaced Superman’s in a big way.  Why?

My best guess is it has to do with how difficult it is to get a handle on his character.  I don’t think many people appreciate what a bundle of contradictions Superman is: at once human and alien, physically powerful but emotionally vulnerable, mild-mannered at times and bold at others, someone whose mission is to be a shining example when his deepest desire is to fit in.  Getting the right balance of all these qualities is, to say the least, a formidable task.