Geeks everywhere took to the streets in mass celebration
this past week upon the release of Zack Snyder’s (300, Watchmen) “Man of
Steel,” the first Superman film that people have felt good about since the 1978
original. Okay, maybe we weren’t
partying in the street, but we were pretty excited.
But while Zack Snyder was releasing his film, another Snyder
(unrelated) was releasing his own take on the Last Son of Kypton. Drawn by comic industry legend Jim Lee
(X-Men, Justice League), “Superman Unchained #1” was released by DC Comics this
past Wednesday, and frankly, I had a hard time finding myself a copy due to its
popularity.
As someone whose knowledge of Superman extends to one film,
one graphic novel, and a few appearances in the other comics I read and
collect, Superman Unchained changed how I look at the Man of Tomorrow. There’s no backstory, no origin, no Krypton,
just great storytelling.
The story actually opens on April 9th, 1945
during the atomic bombing of Nagasaki with something even the most creative of
conspiracy theorists couldn't come up with.
As the bomb is falling, it opens up and a blue glowing nuclear man pops
out! Now, I can't confirm this, but it
brings back memories of a supervillain named Chemo being dropped on the city
of Blüdhaven during the
Infinite Crisis DC event of the mid-2000s.
However, the two do looking nothing alike.
This issue really presents Superman in a way I’ve never seen
him before. When I think Superman, I
thinking, “Truth, justice, the American way, and a very unthreatening
demeanor.” But as presented here,
Superman is shown on more than one occasion either completely or slightly
silhouetted or sporting glowing red eyes.
A stark contrast to how I've always seen him.
Superman’s story focuses on him stopping eight crashing
satellites from hitting the Earth, and then afterward, trying to find out who’s
responsible, the new cyber terrorist group Ascension, who Superman believes
isn't capable, or criminal mastermind Lex Luthor, who is being moved into a
maximum security prison supposedly having turned over a new leaf and has grand
plans to improve Metropolis. The two
options provide an exciting back and forth as Clark Kent refuses to print in
his article that Ascension is suspected, despite that the public all fears that
Ascension is responsible.
One thing that didn't really work for me is that inside the
print version of the issue there is a tear out (careful not to rip) double
sized poster that is actually two pages of the comic. On my first read through I thought this was
just a promotion poster, so I ripped it out and kept on reading (comic used
confusion, it was super effective). The
pullout is an absolutely stunning display of Lee’s work a, digital fans will
miss out on being able to examine it with their own eyes.
There’s a character revealed in the cliffhanger ending (it
wouldn’t be a comic without a cliffhanger) seems a bit forced, since there’s
been absolutely no time to develop this new character, and Snyder is going to
really have to do something to separate this villain from others or we will be
seen as incredibly redundant based on his character design. But, since everything Snyder puts his pen to
turns to gold, I’ll give him a free pass.
All-in-all, Superman Unchained is a good read with an
exciting take on a character that’s been around since 1939. Superman Unchained #2 is due out on July 10th.
Superman Unchained #1 cover by Jim Lee
No comments:
Post a Comment