Review: New Super-Man Vol. 3- Equilibrium

Quick Summary

Pros: The main storyline is still exciting and has great moments from all of the characters. The book’s conclusion wraps things up nicely but leaves room for more adventures in the future. The series continues to address Chinese culture in a way that is constantly interesting.

Cons: The impetus behind a few moments feels inorganic. The artwork isn’t as nice as before.

Overall: The third volume of New Super-Man solidifies this series as an incredibly entertaining comic book journey. It reads well on its own and is able to express a ton of positives and only a few negatives. However, it also works as an end to the comic’s current narrative, bringing some storylines to a close and opening others up for more. Anyone who has read this series should read this book, and anyone who hasn’t should consider going back to read the first volume in order to get to this point.

Story

New Super-Man Vol. 3: Equilibrium, by Gene Luen Yang, is exactly what readers could hope for from the conclusion to this era of this series. The volume has all of the fantastic action, character development, and meaning that each of its predecessors contained. It manages to detail a captivating narrative while also working in themes about person growth and aspects of Chinese culture. Then, the final chapters bring many of the current plot points to a conclusion, giving fans a satisfactory wrap up in the present while ensuring that there are still stories to be told in the future. All in all, this is another great volume that delivers on nearly everything one could ask of it.

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Equilibrium contains the exciting conclusion to the narrative that has been developing over the past two volumes. It has the Justice League China go head to head with Superman Zero, which is a satisfying battle on its own. Then, it ups the ante even further by having them face off against the true threat, a physical manifestation of the principle of Yang. The resulting conflict is even more exciting and far more meaningful, allowing for some great character growth and for the narrative of the entire series to progress.

This allows Equilibrium to work as a nearly perfect transition into the next stage of the Chinese Justice League’s lifecycle. It wraps up much of the mystery and complexity surrounding Kenan’s personal story and the status of his parents. It also has him completing broader goals set by the series, such as living up to the ideals he was recently taught and reaching the full height of his power. In addition, the romance around Wonder-Woman and Bat-man is finally addressed in a way that feels significant. By the end of this comic, each character has less baggage and is more ready to take on the future than ever before.

In addition, Equilibrium, once again, sees Gene Luen Yang expertly address the complex social and political situation surrounding China and its people. On one side of things, this volume chastises autocracy and power, keeping in line with the government criticism brought up in the previous volumes. It is a less direct but still effective approach to an issue that is hard to fully grasp. On the other side, this volume brings up mistreatment of Asian nations, like China, by Europe and America. This ranges from the literal plundering of historical treasures to the racism present in various forms of media. All of these topics help give readers a more accurate picture of China and the struggles the nation and culture are going through.

The only problem with Equilibrium is the way in which the narrative occasionally moves in inorganic ways in order to push the story forward or capture a specific scene. New Super-Man’s fight against a makeshift Doomsday leads to a solid homage to The Death of Superman but it happens so quickly that the moment itself barely feels significant. In a similar way, the fight against the Justice League just feels like an artificial way to generate some conflict. This isn’t a huge problem throughout the collection but it does create moments that hurt the flow of the story.

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Art

The artwork in Equilibrium is alright but not as pleasant as its predecessors. The opening few chapters, from Billy Tan, are as good as before. They properly depict the excitement and power of these characters, which helps make their conflict and adventure feel as entertaining as it should. However, later issues, by artists like Brent Peeples, don’t look quite as nice. The characters don’t look quite as crisp as before and the structure of some pages is messier. In the end, the positives and negatives here balance each other out and create a collection that is neither impressive nor disappointing when it comes to visuals. 

Continuity

New Super-Man Vol. 3: Equilibrium continues the story from New Super-Man Vol. 2: Coming to America (Review).

The story here is continued in New Super-Man and the Justice League of China (Review).

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• Feng Rongpei’s fight against Bat-Man is a reference to Batman #497, collected in Batman: Knightfall Vol. 1.
• A fight between Deathstroke and Superman is mentioned. This is likely a reference to Justice League vs. Suicide Squad (Review) (Reading Order).
• New Super-Man mentions meeting Superman. This happened in Superman #16, collected in Superman Vol. 3: Multiplicity (Review).
• New Super-Man’s final fight with Superman Zero is a clear reference to Superman #75, a part of The Death of Superman.
• Most of the trip to the “very beginning” is a reference to Detective Comics #1.
• New Super-Man’s change in costume is a reference to Superman’s change in costume from Action Comics #689, part of the Reign of the Supermen story arc.