Superman #3
Written by: George Perez
Penciled by: Nicola Scott
Inked by: Trevor Scott
Colored by: Brian Buccellato, Brett Smith & Blond
Lettering by: Carlos M. Mangual
Published by: DC
Cover Price: $2.99
Note: This review is for the digital version of the comic available from DC Comics on Comixology
Sorry for the late reviews this week. I was out of town since last Wednesday. Hope you guys had a great Thanksgiving!
Summary (contains spoilers): The comic starts with some narration talking about the first time the world saw Superman. We are given a real quick history of this version of Superman. That ties in nicely to the events of Action Comics, including teasing what happens in Action Comics #4 (Superman Vs The Collector of Worlds).This narration plays over images of Clark Kent visiting his parents’ graves.
This narration is revealed to be part of a supposedly balanced documentary about Superman, which seems to be a bit of a hatchet job, blaming Superman for the deaths that happened when the fire creature attacked in Superman #1. Lois in her new position seems inclined to spike the documentary.
Lois and Perry are looking for Clark, who was supposed to be helping a reporter named Heather Kelly on a feature she was doing about middle class housing. Clark lost track of time, and flies off as Superman to get there. It is clear that Clark is suffering some kind of mental trauma over the last few weeks:
Meanwhile, Heather Kelly starts to experience massive chills, and ends up turning into a giant ice creature. Superman ends up flying through the ice storm, which seems to be turning people and everything else into ice. Superman realizes that the heart of the storm is his old apartment building, and when he sees the creature, he realizes that it looks like Heather. She’s speaking in the same alien language as the creatures from the last two issues.
He quickly realizes that the real Heather is on the ground in a stasis field. He breaks the connection between Heather and the creature, hitting her with a blast of heat vision. He’s not sure what will happen to Heather or the creature.
In the end, Superman is able to reverse what happens, but Heather has vanished. Superman thinks he might have killed her, but there is no body. We see that Heather has joined out with the hosts of the first two creatures, and all have the same thing on their mind:
Review: The craziest part of Superman for me is that George Perez still managed to get a full story done in one in this comic, even after an extensive sequence of flashbacks to start the issue and give us some perspective on how much Superman has changed since Action Comics and Justice League. It takes up 6 pages of the comic. Any other comic that has done this in the last few years has skimped on the main story, but not Superman. And this issue wasn’t even extra sized like the first issue.
Much like the first issue, the real highlight here is the villain. Just like the fire creature in the first issue, this issue features an ice creature. Again, the art and style on this villain was spectacular.
I did think that Superman did have a much easier time against this creature than the creatures from the first two issues, but that really is a nitpick. It’s Superman, he’s supposed to kick ass. And this creature did present a whole different morale dilemma for Superman. Did he kill an innocent woman just to save his friends and his city? The reader in the end knows he didn’t, but poor Supes thinks he might have.
I am really curious what’s up with Clark. I just assumed this was a new version of Superman, supposed to be much more alien, but it’s clear from Perry and Lois’s reaction than Superman seems to be going through a lot of things. I assume it’s about much more than just the changes at the Daily Bugle. This is really shaping up to be a curious mystery.
I am also amazed how consistent the art was with a different artist on the helm. Jesus Merino did a great job with the first two issues, and Nicola Scott really stepped it up to a whole new level in this issue. . I especially liked the way she drew Clark Kent at his parents’ graves. The emotion in that scene was actual tangible.
Superman is another Relaunch book that I just can’t say enough good things about. Each issue gives you a good complete story building up to a bigger mystery, and the art has been flawless. It’s a shame Perez is only sticking around for a few issues, but with Giffen and Dan Jurgens on deck, it’s safe to assume Superman will continue being an awesome comic.
Final Score: 9.0 – Unlike pretty much any comic out there, each issue of Superman gives you a complete story. And all part of a much bigger picture. This really is the perfect comic for me.
