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.