Review: Superman Vol. 3- Multiplicity

Quick Summary

Pros: The collection opens with some exciting exposition from Swamp Thing. The “Multiplicity” storyline features some great concepts and some high-stakes action. The volume closes with a neat horror story. The entire collection looks great visually.

Cons: The “Multiplicity” ending happens rather quickly and comes off as a bit anti-climactic.

Overall: The third volume of this series cranks up the action and drama by putting the fate of the entire universe at stake. This is a collection that emphasize Superman’s ability to take on threats that no other hero can, while also taking some time out for more reflective tales from the farm. Though the main storyline stumbles a bit at the end, it is still every bit as thrilling as one would hope it to be. This is a volume Superman readers need to pick up and a volume readers interested in DC Multiversal lore should consider as well.

Story

Superman Vol. 3: Multiplicity is an ambitious approach to a complex concept that pays dividends in the long run. Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason tell a story involving interdimensional travel, a multiversal doomsday prophet, and alternative versions of superheroes that manages to be incredibly exciting and surprisingly easy to understand. This is a great story where knowledge of Multiversity can help but is not necessary. This collection also starts and ends with chapters that are independent of this universe altering arc and stand just fine on their own. Overall, this is a huge success for the Superman series and for DC Comics as a whole.

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The volume starts out with what ends up feeling like a prelude to the “Multiplicity.” Swamp Thing approaches Superman and explains how his status as an abnormality is causing massive harm to the Earth itself. He attempts to fix the problem but Superman is resistant and the two end up battling for a moment. Though I typically don’t enjoy battles between heroes that are rooted in misunderstandings, this one works surprisingly well. The end result gives readers an entertaining bout of action and a cryptic level of exposition regarding this Superman’s status in the world.

From here, the “Multiplicity” storyline begins. Superman meets with the Justice League Incarnate and learns that a mysterious being, Prophecy, has been traveling the Multiverse capturing alternate versions of Superman. This is a high concept storyline with a number of strong ties to Multiversity, yet is written in a way that is very approachable for new readers.

This storyline also offers one of the most high-stakes adventures this version of Superman has been on recently. Instead of dealing with localized threats or various supervillains, Superman is forced to contend with a being of immeasurable power and unknown influence. It essentially takes all the pomp and circumstance typically reserved for huge crossover events and fits it into a rather short story arc.

The only problem here is that the ending comes on rather suddenly. All of a sudden, the Supermen get their powers back and take down Prophecy with little trouble. Considering how threatening this opponent was only pages earlier, his defeat seems a bit anti-climactic. It does not ruin the story as a whole but does manage to hurt it a bit.

This volume closes with a story about Jon that is unconnected to the rest of the volume. It is a creepy and ominous tale that has Jon and his friend Kathy search through the woods for a missing cow. Along the way, they are pursued by giant animals, mysterious fog, and a mysterious shadow figure. The entire chapter is an entertaining dive into horror that provides the series with a neat change of pace. It also ends on a cliffhanger that left me excited to find out what will happen in the future.

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Art

Despite consisting of work from a number of different artists, including Ivan Reis, Ryan Sook, Tony S. Daniel, Clay Mann, and more, the overall visual quality of Multiplicity is great. Each of these artists do a great job in depicting the characters form this story and give them a wonderful level of detail. Everything here has a very “classic” comic book feel to it that perfectly matches the combination of optimism and hope that the story is going for. It also helps that the different artists are primarily used to depict different worlds/universes, allowing the main story to maintain some level of consistency. Overall, this storyline looks great from beginning to end.

The collection’s other two chapters are done by Jorge Jimenez and Sebastián Fiumara. Jimenez opens the book with a beautiful chapter that excels in emphasizing the peaceful nature of Superman’s farmhouse home, while also reserving some more chaotic visuals for scenes involving Swamp Thing. Meanwhile, Fiumara closes the book with artwork that perfectly matches the horror theme that the final chapter is going for. Both artists do well in making the story better and ensure that this volume looks great all the way through.

Continuity

Superman Vol. 3: Multiplicity continues the story from Superman Vol. 2: Trials of the Super Son (Review). However, in many ways, most of this volume could be seen as a spiritual successor to Multiversity, which explains the origin behind the “Justice League Incarnate.”

The story here continues in Superman: Reborn.

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

• A quick flashback shows Superman’s meeting with a mysterious hooded man. This happened in DC Universe: Rebirth (Review).
  • DC Universe: Rebirth (Review) was also the place where this Superman was declared to be an abnormality, an issue that is brought up multiple times throughout this volume.
• The death of the previous Superman is mentioned. This death occurred in Superman: The Final Days of Superman (Review).
• This is the first time that Earth-14 has ever been shown, previously it was labeled as one of the “Unknown Worlds” in the Guidebook issue of Multiversity. Everything known about it, so far, is shown in this issue.
• The first Earth that the team visits, Earth-13, is home of an Earth with a Justice League heavily based in magic. Their overview is briefly given in the Guidebook issue of Multiversity but they have never been shown in action before this issue.
• Earths 10, 12, 16, and 18 are allow briefly shown in a montage where the Supermen approach their new recruits.
  • Earth-10 is an alternate Earth where Superman never landed in Kansas. Instead he landed in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. This lead to the creation of the Nazi Superman, Overman, who lead the Germans to victory in World War II. Earth-10 had previously been introduced in a small cameo in the last issue of the series 52. Since then, Overman played a large part in the event Final Crisis. After this, the world of Earth-10 and its current state were highlighted in the Mastermen issue of Multiversity.
  • Earth-12 is almost identical to the DC Animated Universe. This is the Earth that is featured in the Batman Beyond series of related works.
  • Earth-16 is a version of Earth that has achieved a near perfect peace. However, this has left the world, especially superheroes, with nothing to do. This Earth first appeared and was featured heavily in The Just issue of Multiversity.
  • Earth-18 is an Earth stuck in the wild west era of history. Not much has been shown of this Earth as it has only appeared in the Guidebook issue of Multiversity. However DC has stated that it is very similar to the Earth featured in the Justice Riders one-shot, now collected in DC Elseworlds: Justice League Vol. 1.
• Almost everything that happens with Red Racer is an homage to Crisis on Infinite Earths.