Man of Steel 1 Featured Reviews 

“The Man of Steel” #1

By | May 31st, 2018
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

There has been a lot of talk about the impact of Brian Michael Bendis joining DC Comics. On the surface, it is one of the bigger defections in recent comics history, but that doesn’t amount to much if the comics themselves aren’t very good. But now that conversation can change, because we have the first full issue of Bendis’s DC run. Keep reading for our spoiler-free review of “The Man of Steel” #1.

Cover by Ivan Reis
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Penciled by Ivan Reis and Jason Fabok
Inked by Joe Prado and Jason Fabok
Colored by Alex Sinclair
Lettered by Cory Petit

A new era begins for Superman as a threat from his earliest origins reemerges to destroy the Last Son of Krypton. As Superman struggles to come to grips with what has happened to his wife and son, he must also face a new threat that’s determined to burn down Metropolis!

Bendis wastes no time digging right into the DC Universe. I don’t mean the collection of characters often called that collective title, I mean space itself. The issue opens with a shot of Krypton, and the next two-page spread drops the villain Bendis created, Rogol Zaar, into the history of the DCU, bringing him face to face with what looks an awful lot like the DC Universe Illuminati: a Guardian, a Tamarin, a Thanagarian, and other alien beings that are part of some sort of council.

This is Bendis staking his claim to more than just Superman and Metropolis. While that will be his focus, he makes it abundantly clear that he is playing with all the tools in the DC sandbox, and that he will not shy away from big picture that is DC. This really does feel like a sounding bell, announcing that “The Man of Steel,” and by extension “Action Comics” and “Superman,” will be very much in the thick of DC’s larger stories for the Bendis era.

Joining him on this journey through Metropolis and more are Ivan Reis and Joe Prado, who will also be his team on “Superman” come July [check out our interview with Reis and Prado here – Ed.]. Reis and Prado know big, bombastic superhero stories, and they get a chance to do just about everything in this first issue, from space to city, explosive fires to empty newsrooms. Reis is one of DC’s most recognized superstar talents, and he gets a chance to do all the things you’d want him to do in this issue.

Reis particularly shines on the shots of Superman flying, which is the low-key way to tell if someone is going to be a good Supes artist. Superman has to be at home in the sky, and therefore fly with grace. But it can’t look as if flying is no effort for him, because there are times he has to really get somewhere, so even his relaxed flying needs a sense of urgency under the surface, and his Superman has that. When he turns on the jets, his facial expression changes, but the intensity in his body remains the same. Flying is what he does, and he’s both good at it and enjoys doing it.

There’s a long sequence involving a building fire, and Reis does a really fine job illustrating the insanity and danger of the situation, juxtaposed with Superman’s relative calm throughout. It can be easy to present Superman as aloof in these situations, but Reis makes sure his body language never gives that impression. The scene is also constructed nicely by Bendis, who gives us a myriad of vantage points to see Superman through the eyes of: a firefighter, a scared child, someone trapped in their burning apartment.

My one critique of Reis and Prado in this issue is that their Clark Kent is a little too hunky and broad. I know that he can’t be a beanpole when Superman has a barrel chest, but there has to be a real marked physical difference between how Clark presents and how Superman does. Here, Clark looks like Superman with slick backed hair in a business casual setting. Hopefully, given more than just a few pages, Clark’s disguise can fit a little better down the road.

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What was really interesting was that, while this feels at times like a Bendis story, this also feels like something new for him. Scenes that might have been overkill in the past – like the scene between Firefly and Killer Moth – were a little more restrained. That scene also has a nice bit of Metropolis/Superman knowledge that I’m sure has been used before, but is a logical, and fun, bit of information: don’t scream, he listens for the screams.

Bendis introduces a new character that seems like more than a one-timer, a firefighter named Melody Moore. Because she’s a Superman character, of course she has an alliterative name. Instead of the standard LL (Lex Luthor, Lois Lane, Lana Lang), Bendis introduces an MM – perhaps a sign of a ‘next step’ for the franchise? Probably not, just a familiar name. But Moore is a hero in her own right, and Supes treats her like a peer. The introduction to the character is simple and effective. Moore is easy to like, feeling both confident enough to ask if she’s taller than Wonder Woman, but also starstruck a bit. She seems like a character likely to stick around.

There is still the lingering absence of Lois and Jon, discussed in the “DC Universe” #0 story, that is given a little more here, but the mystery isn’t any closer to being solved. You can see how much it has shaken Clark, but it hasn’t stopped him from being either a reporter or a hero. Despite the (perceived) sad nature of their absence, the book never loses its sense of hope and the need to do good.

If one area of the issue that falls a little short, it is Rogol Zaar. While we get a little sense of his motivations, the character still feels a little one note and underdeveloped. There is obviously time for that, but there’s nothing about him thus far that piques much interest just yet. The point of this miniseries isn’t to establish Zaar as the new big villain, it is to give Bendis a chance to win us all over to his Superman stories. And on that level, it works pretty well.

Even for Bendis skeptics, this miniseries begins on a really strong note. The future of the Super-side of the DCU looks strong right now, and having a dedicated voice steering that line is probably a good idea. Despite being the cornerstone of the DCU – and having a pretty good ‘Rebirth’ thus far – Superman still feels overlooked in the grand scheme of DC. Bringing in Bendis – especially when Bendis is writing something this effective – cant hurt the effort to refocus the line around Superman.

Final Verdict:


Brian Salvatore

Brian Salvatore is an editor, podcaster, reviewer, writer at large, and general task master at Multiversity. When not writing, he can be found playing music, hanging out with his kids, or playing music with his kids. He also has a dog named Lola, a rowboat, and once met Jimmy Carter. Feel free to email him about good beer, the New York Mets, or the best way to make Chicken Parmagiana (add a thin slice of prosciutto under the cheese).

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