Reviewer : Tim Byrne
Story Title : N/A
Writer : Brian Azzarello
Pencils / Inks : Lee Bermejo
Inks : Mick Gray
Colorist : Dave Stewart
Letterer : Pat Brosseau
Editor : Will Dennis
Publisher : DC Comics
Unbelievable.
It is simply incredible.
I love 100 Bullets with all my being. After being promised the world for the run of Azzarello and Lee on Superman, I could only describe my feelings as bitterly disappointed.
Lex Luthor : Man of Steel is, quite simply, a revelation. Given an opportunity to tell Lex Luthor’s story, this could have been another series like Villains United seems to be : a fun romp delighting in how wonderfully evil the villains are, and how comically they are without scruples.
Azzarello has pulled the magic trick of the year by taking the primal force of Luthor’s intellect and motivation, and presented him as a man whose thoughts and beliefs appear perfectly possible, if not always to be condoned. The presentation of Superman as an inexorable and terrifying alien is one that quite simply doesn’t present itself normally, when we see Superman / Clark Kent with all his self-doubt and foibles.
For Lex, a self-made, driven, intellectually formidable man, Superman must embody all those insanely talented yet arrogant sporting gods that the smarter members of our universities loathe with every fibre of their being. The alien heritage of Superman can only make Lex’s bitterness by tempered by extreme caution and concern for his ‘fellow man’.
The other great trick of this mini is that it is not simply a vehicle for another perspective of Lex Luthor, but a story in its own right. Lex’s harnessing of ‘Hope’ is fascinating, as is the effect on his ongoing relationship with Mona.
The artwork is simply stunning. Both in the portrayals of Hope on splash pages, to the wonderfully shadowed and wrinkled depictions of Luthor throughout the story, I am absolutely awestruck at the beauty of these pictures.
I will go on the record now and say that this mini will be referred to for years to come as the handbook on how to write Lex Luthor.
