Anatomy of a Betrayal: Superman #43

The following is my review of Superman #43, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

It takes many years of work and dedication to build trust. Conversely, it takes only seconds to destroy. It's akin to a wholly unfair law of physics. It takes a master artist years to craft a beautiful painting or a sculpture whereas it takes an idiot with a hammer or a blowtorch just a few seconds to destroy it. Trust is like a work of art that everyone tries to create. For Superman, however, this work of art might as well be in a museum surrounded by pyromaniacs and drunks.

Despite his dedication to helping his adopted home, Superman does not readily trust others with the intimate details of his personal life. It's how he maintains both an alien and a human persona. And for decades, this has been a big part of his identity. Being able to live both lives helps anchor him to humanity, even though he's an alien with the power to bench press a planet. Now, one of those lives is shattered and the other is severely wounded. And it hits him in way that makes a bath in liquid kryptonite seem relaxing.

Of the very few people that Superman has trusted over the years, Lois Lane is the trustworthy equivalent of the Sistine Chapel. Whether they're married or just respected co-workers, few relationships have been integral to the Man of Steel's mythos than the trust he has in Lois Lane. She's the one who helped introduce Superman to the world. She's the one who helped create the very concept of Superman. Like Steve Jobs and Apple, Lois Lane helped create the iconic brand of Superman, minus the turtleneck and jeans.

Yet in Superman #43, she's the one who does to most to undermine that concept. She betrays a trust that was once as implicit as a dog and his bone. It's this betrayal that gives weight to the, but that weight turns out to be hollow in some areas. The main purpose of this story is to put Lois Lane in a position where she has to be the one to expose Superman's identity. By that most minimum of standards, it succeeds. Anything beyond that, however, requires the story to be graded on a curve.

Even without that curve, the details of the story still warrant a passing grade. The entire first half of the story is dedicated to reaffirming the trust and bond that Superman and Lois Lane share. It's a trust and bond that circumvents the usual romantic undertones and in many respects, that helps make it more genuine. Superman and Lois trust each other in a way that isn't clouded by emotion. It's built heavily on mutual respect. When the concept of every romantic comedy and 70 percent of all sitcoms revolve around friends becoming lovers, it's a refreshing moment.

It's this moment that gives Lois' actions a sense of impact. It's also a moment that adds complications to the ongoing conflict between Superman and Hordor. It's a conflict that began with Hordor revealing that he knows Superman's identity as well and is using it to extort him. It has already put Superman in a difficult position, one of which ended up with him waking up naked in a bed next to a fully-clothed Lois. The idea that it could lead to some much more volatile situations isn't too much of a stretch, especially for someone dating Wonder Woman.

The circumstances are in place. The details of the story are present to give Lois' actions significant emotional weight. Like all the ingredients to a good turkey dinner, everything is in place. But when the time comes to put these ingredients together, the end result isn't as savory as it could've been.

The main issue with the cooking process of this story is that it was rushed. The clash that unfolds between Superman and Hordor seems to skip multiple steps, some of which might have involved pre-heating the proverbial oven. Superman basically goes from confronting Hordor to doing exactly as he says, not making a significant effort to work around it or find another way. For most heroes, that could be understandable. But this is Superman. Even if he's at half-strength, he's still more resourceful than an army of Angus McGuiver clones.

Because this process is so heavily rushed, Lois Lane essentially follows suit. She skips those same critical steps, never stopping for a moment to contemplate another way to remedy the situation. Instead of trying to find a more cunning way to stop Hordor from extorting Superman, she essentially jumps the gun and exposes his identity. And even though she told him earlier in the story that she would keep his secret, she does it in a downright callous manner. It gives the impression that Lois Lane treats her promises the same way Donald Trump treats bankruptcy.

This is the biggest shortcoming of the story. It doesn't give the sense that Lois revealing Superman's identity was the only solution to the problem. And even if those details where present, there's nothing emotional or dramatic about Lois' decision. She just assesses the situation, shrugs, and goes through with it. That is the impression she gives. It's not outright cold, but it is still callous on a level more befitting of Hillary Clinton than Lois Lane.

Even with this shortcoming, Superman #43 still accomplishes its main goal. It creates the circumstances in which Lois Lane has to be the one to expose Superman's identity to the world. Those circumstances aren't wholly unreasonable. It's just the execution of those circumstances that limits the impact of the story. It doesn't create the impact of an unavoidable tragedy. It just creates the sense that Lois Lane is a lousy friend.

There is still merit to the story in Superman #43 in that it makes an effort to establish an impact. It effectively asserts that even in a world where Superman and Lois Lane are not Shakespearean star-crossed lovers, there is still a powerful connection between these two. It's a connection that is now heavily damaged, but not completely shattered. However, it's probably going to be a while before Superman trusts Lois with anything other than his shoe size.

Final Score: 6 out of 10

Trolling the Man of Steel: Superman #41

The following is my review of Superman #41, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

In the movie "Coming To America," Eddie Murphy plays a disillusioned prince in Akeem Joffer who kept a pretty big huge secret from the woman he loved. Granted, being the prince of a rich African nation is not the kind of secret that would upset most women, especially in the post-Jerry Springer era. However, Akeem kept this secret from his love for all the right reasons. He wanted her to fall in love with him for who he was and not just because he was a prince. As such, Superman maintained a secret identity in Clark Kent for a similar reason. He couldn't be the Superman he wanted to be without an anchor to the people he wanted to protect. So what happens when he loses that anchor and a good chunk of the ship it was attached to?

That's the premise of whole "Truth" arc that starts to unfold in Superman #41. It's an arc that has already unfolded on other books, such as Action Comics, Batman/Superman, and Superman/Wonder Woman. These books establish that Superman's identity has been revealed to the public, Lois Lane is primarily responsible for doing so, and he's lost a sizable portion of his powers. Even by Superman standards, this is the ultimate trifecta of a bad day. Even a collective attack by Darkseid, Brainiac, and Lex Luthor couldn't challenge him like this. Unlike his enemies, Superman can't punch this problem into submission or inspire it do good. He has to deal with it and he must do so in a weakened state.

It continues DC's ongoing theme of stripping Superman down to his core values, removing the powers that make him almost god-like and putting him in situation where bench pressing a small planet won't do him any good. Time and again, these situations offer compelling reminders that Superman is not just defined by his powers. He's defined by doing the right thing, even when he has the power to do otherwise. The narrative here is very different. It's not just about doing the right thing anymore. For once, Superman will have to pay a price for doing what he does. What does that do to him as a character? The answers in Superman #41 are incomplete, but it does lay the foundation for this dramatic upheaval in Superman's life.

The main conflict is fairly basic, but nicely refined in that it builds on a story that was established in previous issues. Somebody is selling some very powerful, very illegal weapons that even Ted Nugant wouldn't want to own. It's up to Superman and Jimmy Olsen to stop them and uncover the truth about where these weapons are coming from. It has many of the same themes as a typical Nicholas Cage movie, but there's one major complication that prevents this from being just another Tuesday for Superman.

There's this unknown mystery figure who happens to have footage of Clark Kent turning into Superman. We don't get a clue who he, she, it, or they might be. There's no ominous, Morpheus-like voice. There's no CSI style shadowy figure. There's just a series of text messages that attempt to blackmail Superman. It might as well be an overly ambitious internet troll. This just isn't the kind of troll that can be blocked or muted.

It feels kind of cheap on some levels, having somebody use text messages to blackmail Superman of all people. At the same time, there's something oddly fitting about it. In some respects, it's the state of the modern world catching up with Superman. This isn't the era of phone booths and goofy disguises anymore. This is an era where lives can be ruined with a single tweet. Just ask Anthony "Carlos Danger" Wiener. Superman has always been able to navigate the times and keep functioning as he has since the days of FDR. This time, even he's not powerful enough to overcome the power of internet trolls.

This isn't immediately clear to him from the beginning. Superman doesn't really take this threat very seriously at first. This is one of the biggest weaknesses of the story. The tone is almost casual in how Superman deals with this threat to his identity. He gives the impression that he can deal with it, but the very first page, which briefly flash-forwards to the future, reveals that he fails. It's somewhat of a disconnect in the path to this final outcome is unclear.

The helps feed the second major weakness of Superman #41, which is that it feels incomplete. The end result is already spoiled, both on the first page and in other associated Superman comics. In fact, this issue is way behind the curve in terms of tone and theme. It's like watching Terminator 3 before watching the first two movies. It only sets up for Superman's identity to be revealed and not in a satisfying way either. We know it's coming, but it just ends too abruptly.

It's disappointing in terms of what is promised by the reveal on the first page. There's no dramatic moment where Lois Lane gasps or Twitter explodes with the revelation that Clark Kent is Superman. This may still happen in the next issue. But at this point in Superman's narrative, it just limits the kind of dramatic impact. It obscures the perspective and undermines the substance of the story.

Without that first page reveal, there's less to obscure. But on its own merits, Superman #41 feels like only three-fourths an episode of the Wire. It has the right pieces in place. The characterization of Superman, Lois Lane, and Jimmy Olsen is spot on. Superman knows his identity is in danger of exposure, but that doesn't stop him from doing the right thing. And the plot surrounding these mysterious weapons is one that has merit as well. It just fails to connect these pieces in a way that feels like a polished product.

Future issues may help fill in the gaps and make those connections. But on its own, Superman #41 feels less like a blockbuster movie and more like a teaser trailer. And in this age of cat videos and internet celebrities, that's simply no longer sufficient.

Final Score: 6 out of 10

A Stiff Drink of Humility: Superman #40

The following is my review of Superman #40, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

The true strength of a hero is not defined by how they conduct themselves when they’re at their best. It’s defined by how they carry themselves when they’re at their most pathetic. Any hero can come off as a paragon of virtue and strength when they’re standing atop the corpse of a slain dragon amidst a crowd of cheering admirers. But if that same hero has a bad day and deals with it by getting into a bar fight with a clown, they’re not going to come off as very heroic.

Bad days are everyone’s kryptonite. Even Superman is capable of having one for reasons that don’t always involve a cage fight with Doomsday. Those kinds of days help reinforce the traits and values that make him the alpha and omega of superheroes. He’s already had his share of bad days lately, which have ranged from dealing with Jimmy Olsen as a roommate to Lex Luthor as a teammate on the Justice League. But the day he endures in Superman #40 reveals something even more profound about the Man of Steel. And it does so in a way that’s both oddly insightful and laughably entertaining.

Superman’s rough day at the office begins with his flashy new power, which involves him firing off a potent solar flare at an intensity that only makes it a slight Dragonball Z rip-off. It’s the power that helped him defeat Ulysses. But unlike his many other inhuman feats, this power comes with a side-effect that even Dr. Oz couldn’t overlook. It renders Superman powerless for a brief span of time. It sounds like only a more convenient form of kryptonite, but it gives Superman an opportunity that he hasn’t had before and it’s an opportunity he exploits in the story.

While learning about his new power under the observation of the Justice League, Superman reveals a side of himself that’s easy to ignore. Being so powerful, he’s hopelessly numb to certain human experiences. He can never know the joys of an ice cream headache, dumping tobacco sauce on a taco, or taking a dip in a hot Jacuzzi on a cold winter day. This is a man who takes punches from Mongol and falls into volcanoes at least once a week. These are human feelings he can’t experience. Now thanks to this power, he has a window with which to be human and he embraces it.

This in and of itself is a profound statement about Superman. Most superheroes who don’t rely on cosmic forces, enhanced biology, or gadgets that cost more than MC Hammer’s old house go out of their way to avoid losing their powers. They see losing this power the same way a typical high school student sees losing their smartphone. It’s like having a limb amputated. But for Superman, it shows that what he stands for goes beyond his powers. Doing the right thing doesn’t take the strength of Superman. It just requires the desire to do it.

This is a trait Superman has shown on many occasions, but one that’s becoming more and more relevant in an era where every superhero goes through an emo period. Being without his powers doesn’t discourage Superman in the slightest. In fact, he’s probably the most upbeat person in the Justice League when he’s without his powers in this story, except for Wonder Woman when she gets a chance to see him naked. The ability to actually experience being human without it involving a plot by Lex Luthor is exhilarating for Superman. To him, being human only reinforces why Superman is such an icon.

It makes for a fun and engaging story, following Superman as he partakes in some very human experiences. The fun ends for him, however, when he experiences one of the least appealing human experiences that doesn’t involve root canal. He gets hung over. Let that concept sink in. Superman, the icon of all things just and true, gets hung over after sharing a friendly meal with his friends in the Justice League. It’s as funny and outlandish. Anyone who has ever experienced a hangover after a Super Bowl party can appreciate its impact.

Yet despite being so hung over, Superman still wakes up the next morning and continues being Superman. Even with his powers returning, it’s very clear that he’s fighting the urge to curl up next to a toilet for the rest of the day. But he still puts on his cape and manages to do what Superman does, stopping a fairly typical battle involving street thugs armed with alien weapons. In any other context, it would be as generic as Peter Parker breaking up with his girlfriend. But the fact that Superman is doing this while fighting a hangover just adds an extra bit of value to the story.

It’s still a fairly short battle with few details worth remembering, but it’s not intended to be another epic struggle against Brainiac. It’s meant to show that Superman is still capable of being Superman while exploring human experiences. He doesn’t rely on his powers, nor is he hindered by human weaknesses. He still does the right thing, even when he’s fighting the urge to throw up every 15 minutes.

Superman #40 is an entertaining, condensed narrative that tells and important story. Some parts of that story are rushed, but the important parts are not glossed over. Superman learns more about his new power. He also learns more about human experiences, from the pleasant taste of a cold beer to the unmitigated agony that too many beers can incur. But he still finds time to be Superman. It’s a perfect summation of what makes him an icon among icons. Only now, he’s not just an icon that can inspire others to be better. He’s an icon they can share a cold beer with and that just makes him all the more heroic.

Final Score: 9 out of 10

Revealing Strengths and Vulnerabilities: Superman #39

The following is my review of Superman #39, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

The concept of a secret identity is a lot harder to contemplate in an era where identities are only as secretive as a botched instagram post. It was probably a lot easier decades ago when only the CIA, the DEA, and George Lucas utilized elaborate camera tricks. So someone like Clark Kent could get away with having a secret identity, especially with all the skills and powers that come along with being Superman. Over his history, he’s had to elaborate and creative. He’s not like Batman, who has enough money and gadgets to make most of his identity issues go away. But in this era, elaborate and creative just isn’t enough.

This creates a logistical problem of sorts for Superman. He lives in an era where phone booths are as extinct as eight-track tapes and everyone has a camera in their pocket. Yet somehow he’s still able to keep his identity secret from his friends, his family, the NSA, and Fox News. It’s one of those issues that’s easy to shrug off because it’s been part of Superman’s mythos since the 1940s, a time when a camera cost a mortgage payment. But after discovering a new power and keeping all his secrets solely amongst the Justice League, he’s taken a chance and revealed his identity to someone.

It’s overdue and it lacks impact, but it’s still an important development. Superman #39 explores that development in wake of the conflict surrounding Ulysses. It’s a development that didn’t have much of a transition, but it still counts as a pivotal moment for Superman. It even ends up being more than pivotal. It offers a refreshing insight into what makes Superman the ideal by which all heroes are measured.

The revelation itself isn’t the center of the story. It essentially starts a conversation that ends up going way beyond the merits of a secret identity in the 21^st century. Jimmy Olson’s reaction is fairly predictable. It’s not overdone or overly dramatic. For a character like Jimmy Olson, that’s appropriate. He’s still this wide-eyed kid who sees the world from the perspective of someone whose spirit hasn’t been crushed by mortgages, bills, and the IRS.

To Jimmy Olson, his best friend being Superman is like finding out his best friend just bought a Ferrari. It’s shocking, but in a good way. Nobody faints. Nobody gets mad. He doesn’t whine about his friend lying to him all these years. He just accepts it and embraces this revelation. It might come off as bland, but it’s not callous. He doesn’t shrug it off or get overly worked up. And it’s because Jimmy’s reaction is so healthy that Superman can offer some perspective about what he’s going through.

In addition to revealing his identity, Superman is also dealing with not having his powers for a day. It’s one of the unfortunate side-effects of his latest Dragonball Z derived ability to generate a solar flare. But not having his powers doesn’t cripple him. He doesn’t tremble with fear and he doesn’t carry himself like he’s not Superman anymore. He actually embraces the opportunity to be fully human and having someone like Jimmy Olson to share the experience with makes it meaningful.

It’s probably the most mature way anyone has ever responded to a loss. Most people have a nervous breakdown whenever they drop their cell phone in the toilet. Superman lost the power that makes him Superman. That’s a lot more serious than simply not being able to Tweet from an elevator. But this loss doesn’t cause Superman to curl up into a fetal position and pray to Rao for the strength. It doesn’t even stop him from being Superman and this is where the true impact of the story shows.

Even though he’s fully human and completely vulnerable, Superman still doesn’t hesitate to help people in need. When a girl falls out of a tree, he helps her. When a crazed gunman takes a hostage, he does something about it. He does it when he’s just Clark Kent in normal street clothes. He also does it while he’s wearing his Superman armor. Not having his powers doesn’t change that in the slightest. He’s still Superman. He can still be the hero everyone needs him to be without his powers. In that sense, even other heroes who might complain about not being able to lift a freight train have no excuse.

The story doesn’t contain much in the form of style, nor does it offer anything decidedly epic like Superman’s final battle against Ulysses. But it does offer a beautiful reminder of why Superman is so iconic. It shows that Superman doesn’t do what he does because of his powers. In fact, his powers wouldn’t even rank in top five in terms of reasons why he’s the ideal by which all heroes are measured. He does the right thing, regardless of whatever power he may or may not have. That ideal is and always has been Superman’s greatest power.

This underlying theme is the greatest strength of the story. It’s a theme worth reinforcing. It’s easy to forget in between clashes with Lex Luthor and battles against alien warlords that Superman is more than the breadth of his powers. There will always be some satisfaction to the stories where he decks Lex Luthor and flies off with Lois Lane into the sunset. But there’s a different kind of satisfaction in stories that show why Superman embodies the ideals of so many heroes before and since his creation. It could be argued that him punching out Lex Luthor is more satisfying, but reinforcing those ideals is definitely more meaningful.

The story in Superman #39 isn’t overly epic. Revealing his identity to Jimmy Olsen doesn’t make for an overwhelming narrative, but it still does so in a meaningful way. It just ends up becoming secondary once Superman gets a chance to be Superman without his powers. It’s easy to be inspired by a man who isn’t afraid to do the right thing even when he can’t punch through a brick wall. But with or without Superman’s powers, it still doesn’t make glasses a viable disguise.

Final Score: 8 out of 10

The (Lost) Promise of Paradise: Superman #36

The following is my review of Superman #36, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

Many people, at some point in their lives, have been stuck living somewhere they would rather not be. Sometimes it's a bad neighborhood. Sometimes it's a bad roommate. Sometimes it's the girlfriend of a roommate that makes an otherwise bearable living situation into a test Job himself would fail miserably. In many of these situations, the best recourse is to leave and find someplace else. But what if that wasn't an option?

For many people, Earth itself is akin to living in a dilapidated housing project in downtown Detroit with a crack house on one floor and a team of insomniac tap-dancers on the other. It is estimated that there are approximately one billion people living in extreme poverty. If these people were offered an easy escape for themselves and their families, most would take it without a second thought. It's perfectly logical for any rational human to escape from a bad situation. But being logical and rational in a world where Duck Dynasty is a hit show is not always enough. This is the dilemma Superman faces in Superman #36.

It's no secret that Superman, with his limitless powers and access to technology that makes the iPhone look like it runs on vacuum tubes, could fix a lot of the world's problems. However, he doesn't do that for the same reason we wouldn't give cavemen an atomic bomb. It would create more problems than it solved. He wants to make the world better in a more noble, albeit tedious way. His new ally, Ulysses, has a different approach and it doesn't involve the typical General Zod approach either.

Ulysses is a lot like Superman in many ways, so much so in some respects that Superman could probably sue him for identity theft and win with the right legal team. His desperate parents tried to save him from a catastrophe, he grew up on another world, and he became imbued with great power. The main difference is that he is fully human and he returned to Earth thinking that it had been destroyed, much like Krypton had been destroyed. It put him in a position to be another hero on Superman's level, capable of inspiring mankind to be better while making the Lex Luthor's of the world cry themselves to sleep at night. But this is where the two characters diverge in a way that no legal team could argue around.

Whereas Superman sees hope in mankind's future, Ulysses came to a very different conclusion. He sees all the racism, poverty, bigotry, and reality TV shows as a sign that mankind is beyond hope. No amount of inspiration can save them. Ulysses says outright that he could help mankind cure all disease, end all war, and even help them create an iPhone uses Adobe Flash, but it wouldn't be enough. Mankind would still find a reason to be miserable, like some self-immolating goth kid in high school. So he offers them a different solution that Superman has never dared to offer.

He makes what is essentially a limited time offer on an infomercial. For six million lucky humans, he will transport them in his ship to his former home in the Fourth Dimension. He claims that this is a place where humanity can have a brighter future, one free poverty, fear, and internet video ads that can't be skipped or muted. It's an enticing offer that's very different from the usual, "I'm strong enough to bench press a planet so do as I say," type deal. Naturally, it's an offer many people embrace like a Black Friday sale.

It's a powerful concept and one that puts Ulysses at odds with Superman in a way that goes beyond a typical Zod-style clash. These two men are very similar in terms of their powers and their desire to help humanity. The primary difference is that Superman believes mankind has a future worth saving. Ulysses does not. Maybe Superman missed the recent uproar over Kim Kardashian, but it's a profound difference that tests Superman's entire purpose.

Initially, Superman comes off as the unreasonable one. He doesn't think Ulysses is right to just broadcast this glorified infomercial to the whole world, offering them a planetary get-out-of-jail-free card. There might be some merit to that argument, but Ulysses resists the urge to channel his inner Lex Luthor. He makes clear that he's not forcing this on anyone. He's not threatening anyone. He's just giving people a choice. And for anyone who's behind on their mortgage or just happens to be a New York Jets fan, that's a pretty enticing choice.

It's the kind of struggle that could test Superman's underlying philosophy of how and why he does what he does. There's so much merit to what Ulysses is doing. He's almost more heroic than Superman on some levels. Unfortunately, this is not the struggle that unfolds. While he doesn't become another Zod or Lex Luthor overtly, he does imply that he's interested in their fan club.

This is where the struggle becomes vague yet predictable. When Superman confronts Ulysses and his parents, he essentially just Hulks out. There's no real debate. There's no test. There is a super-powered fight, but it's nothing that hasn't already been seen in the Man of Steel movie. But what makes it too predictable is Ulysses himself, going from someone who just has a different approach to saving humanity to someone whose willing to throw people in a meat grinder if it serves his goal.

There are still aspects to Ulysses' plan that haven't been revealed, but his quick reversion to a proto-Zod takes away from what was such a compelling concept. Superman #36 put Superman in an uncomfortable position where he had to confront some uncomfortable truths about his principles. Then, like a kid getting a snow day before mid-terms, he ends up not having to confront anything. It turns into just another struggle against a Superman wannabe gone bad. Ulysses' offer is still a viable concept, but now somebody else will have to steal it to see if it could work.

Final Score: 6 out of 10