Review: The Man of Steel
Quick Summary
Pros: The volume has some great action and drama near the beginning. The entire volume does a solid job in introducing a new era in Superman’s life. The artwork is beautiful throughout this collection and features contributions from an impressive list of creators.
Cons: The conclusion to the main storyline is disappointing and leaves the entire storyline feeling lackluster.
Overall: This volume works as an intriguing prelude to a new Superman storyline. The storyline here introduces plenty of mysteries and leaves the door open for future development. It is also backed up by some great looking artwork. However, the storyline’s conclusion is lackluster and prevents the comic from standing that well on its own. In the end, this book is for fans looking to start reading Brian Michael Bendis’ Superman, not for fans looking for a solid, standalone volume.
Story
The Man of Steel marks the start of a new storyline for Superman and the entrance of acclaimed writer Brian Michael Bendis into the world of DC Comics. This volume introduces a lot to Superman’s world and gears up several intriguing new plotlines. This creates a series of great mysteries, some of which are explored here but many of which are saved for exploration in the next few volumes. Unfortunately, the actual narrative in this volume is pretty mixed, as a lackluster conclusion sours an otherwise interesting story. This creates a book that is just alright on its own but is far more worthwhile as an introduction to a new era in Superman history.
(spoilers start here)
The narrative in The Man of Steel starts out alright and manages to grab attention early on. From the start, action and tension are introduced through the appearance of an incredibly powerful alien and through a series of unexplained fires. Meanwhile, additional mysteries crop up involving the absence of Lois and Jon and the uncertainty of Krypton’s history. It creates a narrative where the reader is constantly being encouraged to read more while being treated to plenty of thrills along the way.
Unfortunately, the book’s conclusion sours both of the volume’s main storylines. The threat posed by the alien is neutralized by having Supergirl simply zap him into the Phantom Zone. Superman chastises her for this and states that it isn’t a “real” solution, yet doesn’t explain how he could justify the insane level of death and damage that occurred simply because he refused to use this option in the first place. Meanwhile, the mystery surrounding the absence of Lois and Jon is explained to be the work of Superman’s father, who they willingly went with in order for Jon to learn more about his powers. I mostly liked how this was done yet thought that the conclusion to this mystery made Superman’s reluctance to tell his coworkers seem ridiculous, as it would have made things easier for him all around. In the end, both narratives end on a somewhat disappointing note.
However, where The Man of Steel achieves its most significant successes is in the way it sets up for Brian Michael Bendis’ future work on Superman. The mystery behind Krypton’s destruction is still unclear and the mysterious alien’s role in this destruction is even more unclear. There are also lingering plotlines regarding Superman’s mental state, the appearance of a new villain within the Daily Planet, the future of a few supporting characters, and the eventual return of Lois and Jon. This volume introduces a lot in Superman’s life and ensures fans that there is still plenty to look forward to in the future.
(spoilers end here)
Art
Unlike the story, which bounces around a bit when it comes to quality, the artwork in this volume remains solid from start to finish. The Man of Steel gathers together an assortment of fantastic and talented artists and uses all of their work to create a beautiful book. Each chapter features contributions from at least one of these artists and all of these contributions look great. Specifically, I really enjoyed Jim Lee’s bombastic start to the collection, Ivan Reis’ realistic work on its first significant chapter, and the detail Evan Shaner put into one of the book’s more emotional moments. Plus, Jason Fabok’s work, which is featured throughout the book, is simply gorgeous and adds a sense of beautiful consistency to the book as a whole. The quality of artwork is high throughout this book and makes the entire read more worthwhile.
Continuity
The Man of Steel is a bridge between two eras in Superman’s life. It takes place after the events of Superman Vol. 7: Bizarroverse (Review) and Action Comics Vol. 5: Booster Shot (Review). However, it does not make many references to the events of these two volumes.
The story here directly continues across both Superman Vol. 1: The Unity Saga: Phantom Earth (Review) and Action Comics Vol. 1: Invisible Mafia (Review).
This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:
- Superboy’s (Reading Order) references to hanging out with Robin/Damian Wayne (Reading Order) refer to their time together as the Super Sons (Reading Order) team-up.
- Superman (Reading Order) discovered the secret behind his father’s reappearance in Superman: Action Comics: The Oz Effect (Review).
- Superboy was rejected by the Teen Titans (Reading Order) and discovered a secret about his future in the Super Sons of Tomorrow (Review) (Reading Order) event.