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SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL #116
"Chest Deep in Heroes' Blood"
Not Recommended (2/10)
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DC Comics
Writer: Mark Schultz
Pencils: Doug Mahnke
Inks: Tom Nguyen
Colors: Wildstorm FX
Letters: Ken Lopez
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Price: $2.25 US/$3.75 CAN |
There are any number of reasons I think this issue was bad.
Out-of-sequence storytelling that doesn't help the clarity of a plot already
reliant on in-depth familiarity with every other issue in the Superman line and
"Our Worlds At War" crossover so far sums up a lot of it. One of the weakest,
most ridiculous portrayals of Darkseid I've seen is another. The seeming death
of a character who is at once too minor to be considered gutsy and too important
to be considered a good decision is one more. But ultimately, the big problem is
that this is a story which basically goes nowhere, and while I'm all for the
notion of stories continuing from month to month or even title to title in some
cases, I like to get a complete story of some sort out of each issue.
If you haven't been reading "Our Worlds At
War" up to this point, good luck understanding this. No attempt is made to
explain Steel's condition, that Apokolips is on Earth and allied with Luthor or
even what's going on with the war, beyond vague mentions of Imperiex. If you
have been reading "Our Worlds At War," you still have a 50-50 chance, as Schultz
opens with a face-off between Superman and the Black Racer that doesn't pick up
again until you're 15 pages in.
Also, relieved as I am to have some artwork
on the Superman titles that isn't third rate manga imitation, I've seen far
better work from Mahnke in the past. While he's got some very energetic layouts,
especially when Superman is engaged in particularly brutal hand-to-hand combat,
he seems to have mastered only one facial expression: teeth gritted in rage.
Forget about the fear or uncertainty that occurs for Steel or Superman, if
anyone in this issue is anything other than angry, you won't know by looking at
the art.
However, my biggest problem is that although
a lot of stuff happens, nothing really happens. To explain that seeming
contradiction, let me just say that I don't see an actual story set up and
addressed here. The closest thing is the fight between Superman and Black Racer
over Steel, but that is left with vague clues as to what Steel saw and a
thoroughly vague resolution that leaves Steel's fate as much a mystery as that
of Kent's parents. And while it was interesting to see the Entropy Aegis suit
that has been created (and will probably be important down the line) and to see
Lois Lane leaving Metropolis, it really had little impact on the actual story at
hand.
In context, along with the rest of the "Our
Worlds At War" stories, this may be an important turning point in several
stories. But as a single issue, it fails pretty
miserably.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review. |
