Review: Superman Vol. 7- Bizarroverse

Quick Summary

Pros: The main storyline has a few solid moments and introduces some great new characters. The volume’s shorter stories are fantastic and one works as a worthwhile conclusion to the series as a whole. The volume’s artwork is beautiful and perfectly suits the story.

Cons: The main storyline ends up just being average.

Overall: This collection offers plenty to longtime fans of the series. It handles Superman and Superboy wonderfully, contains some well-written emotion, and delivers a satisfying end to the series. The main storyline has a few problems that prevent it from standing out quite as nicely, but the individual stories alongside it easily make up for this shortcoming. This volume will be alright for most readers but will particularly appeal to readers who have been with this series since it began and are looking forward to seeing how it ends.

Story

Superman Vol. 7: Bizarroverse, by Patrick Gleason and Peter Tomasi, has a few problems but is generally an entertaining collection. The positives here come from well-written moments that emphasize what is possible in a story about Superman and his family. These moments also capitalize on the history of this series and bring this comic to a satisfying close. The biggest negative is that the volume’s main storyline, an adventure in the Bizarroverse, is just average. Overall though, this is still a worthwhile comic and a great close to a wonderful series.

(spoilers start here)

The main storyline in Bizarroverse is the titular Bizarroverse arc. This storyline has plenty of action and suspense, as Superman and Bizarro fight each other and the world of Htrae falls apart. However, the story’s biggest positives come from the plight of Boyzarro, which mirrors the damage caused by real-world family problems, and the inclusion of Robzarro, who adds some great comedy to the mix.

Unfortunately, this storyline also has some negatives that balance out the positives. The plethora of characters involved in the story on Htrae clutters the narrative and takes away from the deeply personal struggle within the Bizarro-Superman-family. In addition, the abundant use of Bizarro-speak gets frustrating after a while. These flaws do not fully take away from the storyline but they do manage to dilute its appeal.

Outside of this, Bizarroverse also contains several chapters that detail short but powerful individual stories. The first is a retrospective look at Superman’s history that beautifully depicts what he has meant to the real-world over time. The next is a heartwarming and emotionally satisfying conclusion to the series as a whole, which brings numerous story arcs to a close and gives some resolution to most of the characters. Finally, the volume’s closing story is another heartwarming adventure that revisits Captain Storm’s plight on Dinosaur Island. All of these stories are great on their own but they are far better with a knowledge of what has happened across this series and a general appreciation of Superman.

(spoilers end here)

Art

The artwork in Bizarroverse is one of the most consistently positive aspects of the collection. Patrick Gleason’s visuals are as beautiful as they always are but, here, have several chapter where they really get a chance to show off what makes them great. The opening story is a wonderfully creative trip through Superman’s history, with visuals that dramatically shift styles in order to reflect the artistic styles of different time periods. The art in the main storyline makes the Bizarroverse feel as wacky and wild as it should and also presents great interpretations of Boyzarro and Robzarro. Finally, Gleason’s last chapter with the series closes the comic with the lighthearted and uplifting visuals that helped make it so memorable in the first place. In addition to all of this, single chapters from Doug Mahnke and Scott Godlewski look beautiful on their own. All in all, the visuals in this book are fantastic and make this an even better read.

Continuity

Superman Vol. 7: Bizarroverse continues the story from Superman Vol. 6: Imperius Lex (Review).

This Superman series ends with this volume. The general story continues in The Man of Steel (Review) miniseries and a new Superman series begins with Superman Vol. 1: The Unity Saga.

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• The “Never-Ending Battle” story from this collection includes a ton of references to Superman’s past.
  • The first page shows Superman in his first ever costume, from Action Comics #1.
  • The second page shows the first evolution of Superman’s symbol. This change took place in Action Comics #7.
  • The third page gives Superman’s shield a black background. This change was first made in the 1940s Superman cartoon series.
  • The fourth page is a direct reference to “The Midget Menace”, a story from Superman #102.
  • The fifth page is a reference to the 1951 “Superman and the Mole-Men” film starring George Reeves. (big thanks to colonyofcells for this catch!)
  • The sixth page shows Superman being burned by a dragon in order to save Lois Lane. This page looks almost identical to the cover of Superman #142 from 1961. (big thanks to colonyofcells for this catch!)
  • The seventh page has Superman fighting other Supermen. This is a callback to Action Comics #418 from 1972. (big thanks to colonyofcells for this catch!)
  • The eighth page shows Superman being struck by lightning. This is a direct reference to when the same thing happens in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.
  • The ninth page shows Superman fighting Silver Banshee, who first appeared in Action Comics #595.
  • The tenth page shows Superman, Superboy, and John Henry Irons fighting Mongul in the “Return of Superman” storyline. His hair and costume have changed because he had recently “died” and needed to spend a long period of time in a regeneration matrix.
  • The eleventh page shows Superman imprisoned in the Phantom Zone by Jax-Ur and Mala. This happened in the two part “Blasts From the Past” episode from Superman: the Animated Series.
  • The twelfth page is a direct reference to the Kingdom Come comic.
  • The thirteenth page shows four different incarnations Superman has gone through since the entire DC Universe was rebooted in Flashpoint (Review) (Reading Order).
    • The furthest is the reintroduced version of Superman who first appears in Superman Vol. 1: What Price Tomorrow? (Review).
    • The next one is the pre-Flashpoint Superman who goes on adventures in the Superman: Lois and Clark (Review) series.
    • The third is the same Superman as the second but is now wearing his costume from Action Comics Vol. 1: Path of Doom (Review).
    • The final is the current Superman, a fusion of the first and second versions. This fusion happened in Superman: Reborn (Review) (Reading Order).
• The adventure on Dinosaur Island continues a story from DC: The New Frontier.