Review: Action Comics Vol. 8- Truth
Quick Summary
Pros: The story here has plenty of action and heart. Superman’s lack of powers makes this an extremely grounded and down to Earth story, which is unique and interesting.
Cons: The book’s conclusion somewhat undoes the theme the rest of the book sets up. The conclusion is also a bit confusing.
Overall: This is a bold and imaginative take on Superman that allows him to face trials and challenges that he never would have been able to face before. This environment allows for a ton of fun action and meaningful character development. However, the ending is somewhat poor and causes the volume to lose its sense of greater meaning. Overall though, this is a book we would recommend to anyone looking for a unique and action packed take on Superman.
Story
Action Comics Vol. 8: Truth, by Greg Pak, is all about what happens when a depowered Superman is forced to face a world that knows his true identity. This is a Superman with no heat vision, no flight, and very limited strength, yet still tries to do his best. A situation like this creates a unique environment and allows several entertaining stories to be told that could not be told otherwise. However, the writing here falters a bit toward the end, causing themes to be lost in some places and confusion to be found in others. The end result is a collection that excels as an interesting story about Superman but stumbles in delivering a greater message.
(spoilers start here)
The start of this story is pretty much Superman at his lowest point. He is forced to trudge across the arctic because he cannot fly, his own Fortress of Solitude rejects him, and he is barely able to defeat the enemies who come to get him. Starting out the book like this was a great move by Pak. It shows readers how far the Man of Steel has sunk and how it is changing the very fabric of his belief system.
Then, Pak beings to build Superman back up. He shows how a depowered Superman can appreciate things that he has never ben able to before. In a way, it makes him seem more human than ever and allows readers to connect with him in a way they cannot do when he is at the top of his game. All of this is done in order to set up the main conflict in this book, which ends up being the most human problem this version of Superman has ever faced.
Upon returning to Metropolis, Superman discovers that most of the city does not want him around. The situation is so bad that armed soldiers are sent to break up a group of people holding a rally in support of Superman. The confrontation seen here is a wonderful way to show how incredibly difficult it is to hold a peaceful protest, especially in the face of those with too much power. This works thematically with Superman as a character and shows how he is able to give power to the powerless even when he is at his lowest.
However, the theme here does not stick as the story progresses. Instead, the story switches to Superman’s pursuit of Wrath, the book’s main villain, who plans on inciting wrath in all those who hold the emotion in their hearts. This villain is doing this because she fears what happens when an individual garners too much power. Thus, the narrative switches from a condemnation of absolute power to an unintentional sanction of it.
Conflicting messages are not the only problem with the book’s conclusion, the actual execution of the finale is also a bit confusing. Wrath’s powers are never really explained throughout this book, though, for the most part, this is only a minor problem. It evolves into a larger problem when Superman is somehow able to use her own power against her and simultaneously free all the people she has enslaved, all with very little explanation. The only real positive here is that the cliffhanger is very exciting and provides a wonderful segue into the next story arc.
(spoilers end here)
Art
In our review of the previous volume, Action Comics Vol. 7: Under the Skin (Review), we talked about how Aaron Kuder’s work was a poor fit for the subject material. His bold and bright style did not suit the dark nature of the story. However, his work is a far better fit for Action Comics Vol. 8: Truth.
Kuder’s bold and bright style works well in depicting places like Metropolis. The level of detail is great and gives unique concepts, like Kentville, a sense of life. This is important for the overall quality of the book and helps make it look a lot better. I am still not the biggest fan of Kuder’s artwork overall but had very few problems with it in this volume.
Continuity
Action Comics Vol. 8: Truth continues the story from Action Comics Vol. 7: Under the Skin (Review). Various elements from Superman Vol. 1: Before Truth (Review) are also relevant in this volume.
The story here continues in Action Comics Vol. 9: Last Rites.
This volume also references and continues the stories from other comic books, detailed below:
- The events of Superman Vol. 1: Before Truth (Review) are referenced multiple times. This includes the loss of Superman’s powers, the attack on Perry White, and the mechanisms of HORDR_Root .
- The Doomsday virus and the damage it caused Superman is brought up a few times. These events happened in Superman: Doomed (Review).
- Superman mentions saving someone from Brainiac twice. Though this specific rescue was not necessarily shown, the first Brainiac attack happened in Superman Vol. 1: Superman and the Men of Steel and the second happened in Superman: Doomed (Review).
- The news talks about Superman fighting the new Batman. This happened in Batman/Superman Vol. 5: Truth Hurts (Review).
- At his secret base, Superman reflects on numerous different events. These include:
- Ukur teaming up with Dawn Command Barbarians, which happened in Batman/Superman Vol. 5: Truth Hurts (Review).
- The government digging up Clark’s parents’ bodies, which happened in Superman/Wonder Woman Vol. 4: Dark Truth (Review).
- HORDR_Root’s attack, which happened in Superman Vol. 1: Before Truth (Review).
- Superman mentions fighting the Supremacists before. This was in Batman/Superman Vol. 5: Truth Hurts (Review).