Superman: Birthright #2 Review

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Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

Reviewer: John Babos
Story Title: Heart of Darkness

Written by: Mark Waid
Penciled by: Leinil Francis Lu
Inked by: Gerry Alanguilan
Colored by: Dave McCaig
Lettered by: Comicraft
Editor: Dan Raspler and Eddie Berganza
Publisher: DC Comics

Mark Waid knows continuity.

Mark Waid strives to tell great stories.

Mark Waid won’t let his fondess for history hinder him from crafting a great story.

However, most of all, after actually having read DC’s Superman: Birthright #1 and #2, I can also emphatically say that….

Mark Waid knows Superman.

In DC’s first significant retooling of the Superman mythology – since comics’ great John Byrne’s 1986 much-loved and much-maligned Man of Steel (MOS) mini-series – Mark Waid seems to have been tasked with reinterpreting the Man of Steel for a new generation – particularly Smallville TV show aficionados.

I don’t say this disparagingly.

Birthright #2

Like the first issue, which seemed to reestablish a modern day Krypton more similar to the emotional and vibrant pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985) Krypton, than the stoic and cold post-Crisis established by the MOS (1986) mini-series, issue #2 continues with the mythology-retooling.

SPOILER

Waid really captures the essence of the heroic heart of the character. However it is with the material things – like reinventing Clark as a vegeterian and making him out to seem like part of the anti-cappuccino crowd – that I was irked.

However, the significant continuity retcons – like Clarks’ ability to “see” people’s auras, as revealed in issue #2 – are areas that I will reserve significant comment on until this maxi-series comes to a close – this could all just be a dream… maybe. We’re only two issues into a twelve issue maxi-series after all.

I don’t think I’m revealing too much when I affirm that Clark does not don the Superman costume in this issue either, as its a story that focuses on SuperMAN before he became an icon.

End of SPOILER

With this issue, Waid continues his plan to literally make Superman more of a citizen of the world. As a struggling journalist, he’s in the thick of political unrest in the middle of Africa – and learning about the power and importance of symbols to boot (…I think you can see where this going).

This is a very human story about our world’s most recognizable alien.

What can I say about the art team? While no words would really do penciller Leinil Lu ‘s work justice, I’ll give you one anyway: gorgoeus. His pencils are well complimented by inker Gerry Alanguilan, and colorist Dave McCaig is really an unsung hero here. WOW.

News from Wizardworld

Superman Editor Eddie Breganza and writer Mark Waid continued to dodge specifics on the rebirth of Superman, per their comments at Wizardworld Chicago, this past Friday (August 8th).

Newsarama reported the following:

When asked about the multiple versions of Krypton (given the version in Birthright versus that seen in John Byrne’s Man of Steel, editor Eddie Berganza asked, “Are you enjoying it [Birthright]?” When the person asking the question replied with a “yes,” Berganza and Waid said, “There you go.”

The events shown in Birthright will begin to resonate throughout the current titles involving Superman, as Superman/Batman #1 refers to Birthright elements. Waid admonished attendees not to worry about seemingly disparate events in his series, adding that there is an answer for why Lex Luthor was in Smallville and no one knew about it until now.

Ulimately…

This Ultimate Superman mini-series gets an “A” effort, but continuity was not part of the scoring criteria.

This mini-series is getting fans talking and caring about Supermans in way that they haven’t for years.In the tradition of MOS, it may be remember in mixed terms – fans will either really like this series or really hate it.

In the end, putting continuity issues to the side, for the moment, the essence of Superman is captured in Birthright. It’s worth picking up to see what all the hullabaloo is about, at the very least.

If you can find Birthright#2 on the shelves, pick it up. It’s a visual treat, and a very human story to boot, similar to the much sought-after issue #1.

John is a long-time pop culture fan, comics historian, and blogger. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief at Comics Nexus. Prior to being EIC he has produced several column series including DEMYTHIFY, NEAR MINT MEMORIES and the ONE FAN'S TRIALS at the Nexus plus a stint at Bleeding Cool producing the COMICS REALISM column. As BabosScribe, John is active on his twitter account, his facebook page, his instagram feed and welcomes any and all feedback. Bring it on!