Review: Superman- The Final Days of Superman

Quick Summary

Pros: The main storyline is exciting and features a number of great surprises. Character interactions are well done and add in lots of emotion. The conclusion is touching and worthwhile. The entire collection looks good.

Cons: The first half of the book is a bit rough in some places. Readers need to have a bit of experience with Superman in order to fully appreciate much of the story.

Overall: The conclusion of this chapter in the story of Superman does not disappoint. This is a story filled with great moments from the Man of Steel and plenty of emotions to go with them. However, there are a few problems that prevent the book from being perfect, though not enough to do any serious harm. Overall, this is a collection for those who have read a fair share of New 52 Superman and want to see how his story ends.

Story

After a long road of trials and misfortunes, Superman: The Final Days of Superman tells the story of Superman’s end.  Writer Peter J. Tomasi brings in a number of elements from the Man of Steel’s past and present in order to create a book that is emotional and entertaining. Though there are a few problems in the book’s first half, the work is solid and satisfying overall. However, we would recommend readers go into this with some prior Superman experience, as many of the book’s positives require some backstory in order to fully appreciate.

(spoilers start here)

Right away, Tomasi forces both readers and Superman to accept the fact that Superman is dying and that there is nothing anyone can do about it. With this in mind, the Man of Steel begins to tie up loose ends throughout his life, including breaking the news to friends and finding his missing cousin.

These actions are paced slower than normal in order to make each goodbye feel more heartfelt and meaningful. For longtime Superman comic readers, this will be great as it gives the relationships a more satisfactory and realistic sendoff. However, those who haven’t been reading Superman might feel bored with the amount of time spent on Superman’s friends. This is somewhat of a theme throughout this collection, as the heavy emotions found here will be hard for readers to appreciate if this is their first Superman book.

This isn’t the book’s only problem though; it also struggles with developing excitement while telling these more emotional stories. Nearly every chapter has some random enemy attack Superman for vague reasons. These villains are underdeveloped and provide little more than a quick burst of action before disappearing completely. Distractions like these hurt my enjoyment of the work and take away from the more interesting aspects of the narrative.

Luckily, the second half of the collection is more focused and tells a story free of distraction. It follows Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman as they hunt down an energy being who believes himself to be the real Superman. The struggle against this villain is consistently entertaining and provides a unique and interesting focus for the book. Plus, appearances from Ulysses and the pre-New 52 Superman add layers to the story and are sure to get longtime readers even more invested in what is happening here.

The book concludes with Superman effectively sacrificing himself in order to stop the energy being. Though his death happens rather quickly and is completely expected, I still managed to find myself swept away by it. Superman’s goodbyes truly feel touching and heartfelt and bring an array of emotions to the forefront. In particular, Superman’s last words: “What a lucky man I was…” really got to me and made me sad to see this character pass. The last few pages truly manage to provide a satisfying end to a long journey.

(spoilers end here)

Art

In a story that relies heavily on emotions and character interactions, having good looking artwork is nearly essential. Wonky looking characters and faces would simply spoil serious moments and prevent readers from being able to enjoy the story. Luckily, the artwork throughout The Final Days of Superman is consistently above average. This is mostly because this collection features work from a number of great creators, including Paul Pelletier, Ed Benes, and Doug Mahnke. Each of these artists ensure that their chapters look great and at no point in time does the collection feel like it is lacking in the visual department.

In addition, the opening and closing issues, by Mikel Janin, look absolutely beautiful and are the prefect ways to bookend this saga. These issues highlight the book’s most emotional moments and somehow manage to make them feel even more gut-wrenching. It is likely that Janin’s more realistic art style is the cause of this, as seeing characters that look human makes it easier to sympathize with them. Either way, these issues look gorgeous and are placed exactly where they need to be.

Continuity

Superman: The Final Days of Superman is a crossover story arc taking place across the Superman, Batman/Superman, Action Comics, and Superman/Wonder Woman series. Since it includes all three of these series, it is preceded by whatever happened most recently in each one. However, The Final Days of Superman mostly just follows the events of Superman: Savage Dawn (Review) (Reading Order).

Every series involved in this crossover ends in this volume. However, Superman’s story is continued in Action Comics Vol. 1: Path of Doom (Review) and Superman Vol. 1: Son of Superman (Review). Also, Lois and Lana’s stories are continued in Superwoman Vol. 1: Who Killed Superwoman?. 

This volume also references stories from other comic books, detailed below:

• The collection begins by showing three events that have irreparably damaged Superman. These include:
  • Superman being imprisoned in Kryptonite back in Superman: Savage Dawn (Review) (Reading Order). This story could also be found in Action Comics Vol. 9: Last Rites.
  • Superman being thrown into the pits of Apokolips back in Justice League Vol. 7: Darkseid War Part 1 (Review).
  • Superman’s fight with Rao in Justice League: Power and Glory (Review).
• Tusk mentions someone taking his ivory. This happened in Batman and Robin Annual #2, now collected in Batman and Robin Vol. 5: The Big Burn.
• Batman says he brought Damian back from the dead. This happened in Batman and Robin Vol. 7: Robin Rises.
• Supergirl began to lose her powers at the very end of Supergirl Vol. 6: Crucible.
• Superman’s fight with Ulysses and the origin of his solar flair ability come from the end of Superman: The Men of Tomorrow (Review).
• The Superman seen at the end of this collection originally appeared in Convergence but his background in this universe is detailed in Superman: Lois and Clark (Review).