SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL #117
"Total Abandon, Chapter I: Things Fall Apart"
Neutral (4/10)
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DC Comics
Writer: Mark Schultz
Pencils: Doug Mahnke
Inks: Tom Nguyen
Colors: Wildstorm FX
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Axel Alonso
Price: $2.25 US/$3.75 CAN |
This is the first Superman comic book I've read since even before the "Our Worlds at War" event got under way, and I was surprised at how easy it was to get into the story. Schultz does a good job of bringing new readers up to speed and successfully conveys the notion that the heroes are embroiled in a war, not just a battle with a super-villain. Sadly, the tale is devoid of any degree of suspense, but that's a flaw of the crossover, not Schultz's plot.
The invasion of Earth by Imperiex and Apokalips is no longer the crisis the heroes must avert, but Brainiac-13's usurping of Imperiex's mission and power. While Superman leads a powerful strike force against Warworld (driven by B-13's intellect), the Amazons offer up their island home of Themyscira to block the energy tendril reaching out for Earth. Meanwhile, Luthor faces the power and anger of his daughter Lena, artificially matured by B-13.
As many suspected, Steel is not dead. He stands resurrected in this story, sporting a new armor that's powered by Imperiex. Though I enjoy the character, I'm not enamored of this change. One of the appeals of John Henry Irons was that he was a self-made man, someone who rose out of adversity to develop his mind and his skills as a scientist. His armor was an achievement, but this new armor is something that's given to him. It's not a part of his brilliance. It may even be a curse, and it robs the character of some of his honor.
Given the number of alien elements in this story, Mahnke's art is perfectly suited to telling the story. He conveys the power of the heroes and the villains, and despite the significant number of players and different scenes in the plot, he maintains clarity in the action throughout the book. Wildstorm's FX's crisp colors do not encroach on the dark mood the artists have created... in fact, it often goes a long way to reinforce it.
In the end, though, now that we know to whom the Big Crossover Death referred to, the event has lost any sense of suspense. We know the heroes are going to come out on top, that the status quo is barreling toward the DC Universe once again. In fact, Steel's unexplained reappearance confirms it.
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