Review: Superman #16

Quick Summary

Pros: This ending is filled with plenty of action and suspense that will keep readers entertained. It also continues to build up the DC Universe while showing reverence to what came before it.

Cons: The ending happened very fast and parts were a little confusing.

Overall: This is a satisfying conclusion to what has so far been a very good story arc. Though not the best ending in some regards, it still manages to tell a very interesting story that serves to further expand the mystery of the current DC Universe. It also manages to tell a fun and exciting story while doing so.

Story

This entire story arc has been great so far and this conclusion really drives the entire thing home. Despite some hiccups and confusion in how exactly the ending happened, this issue proves to be another great installment in this series. Events established here are clearly going to have a much greater reach on the future of the DC Universe, solidifying this as both a great story to read and part of a greater mystery to be unraveled.

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This issue continues this arc’s trend of building on the legacy and the mystery that is the current DC Universe. The lasting ramifications from this story are that Superman is on great terms with the Justice League Incarnate, Superman and Kenan Kong have finally met, and Mr. Oz apparently now has Prophecy under his control. The most important detail here is obviously Mr. Oz’s involvement as it raises the stakes of whatever he is preparing. With Tim Drake, Doomsday, and now Prophecy under his control, fans have even more of a reason to wonder what exactly his plan is and how will these characters be a part of it.

Speaking of DC’s legacy, this story is doing a great job in regards to that as well. Rebirth was designed to be a way for DC to move into the future while still respecting what made them great in the past. This trend is established in this arc with numerous nods to Multiversity and other events. In this issue specifically, the reference to Flash’s death in Crisis on Infinite Earths was great and definitely served to continue this trend.

Above all though, this was a fun story and event to read. It get complex enough that fans could appreciate it but also stayed rooted in the action and suspense that makes comics fun. Who doesn’t want to see an army of Supermen slice some evil dude’s hand off? Despite this story’s deep multiversal references and complex attachments to the greater DC Universe, it stays true to being a good story to read, a mission in which it is clearly successful.

The worst part about this issue, and the arc as a whole, is how quickly the ending happened and the problems that this caused. Superman’s plan was in action as the rest of the Supermen were on their way, however Prophecy still had his captives under his control. However, suddenly all of the captured Supermen inexplicably have their powers back and are able to contribute to the attack. It is hard to tell if this power return was intentionally left ambiguous, so as to be revealed as the work of Mr. Oz later, or if there really is no explanation. Either way though, it made this portion of the story rather confusing and somewhat soured what was otherwise a very enjoyable ending.

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Art

The art in this entire series has been very consistently good; this issue is no exception. Once again, it may not be as nice as Ivan Reis’s work in Issue #14 but it still looks very good. Tony Daniel and Clay Mann are both great and the style that they use here looks very similar to how the rest of the arc has looked so far.

Continuity

This issue flows out of the story established in Superman #14 and continued in Superman #15, forming the end to a story arc meant to be a spiritual successor to the story established in Multiversity. So far most of the plotline has focused on the existence of the Multiverse and the various threats against it. This Multiverse seems to be the one created out of the wake of Infinite Crisis, as explained in 52. However the story behind the creation of the Justice League Incarnate starts in Final Crisis and is then continued in Multiversity. While none of these are completely necessary to understand this story, reading Multiversity is the best and most simple way to gain a background on what is going on.

• References are made, by Prophecy, that Superman is some sort of anomaly. This is first stated by Mr. Oz in DC Universe: Rebirth #1.
  • Mr. Oz himself also appears at the end of the story.
• Almost everything that happens with Red Racer, in this issue, is an homage to Crisis on Infinite Earths.