Use The Force-d, Bendis
Written By: Brian Michael Bendis
Art By: Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Oclair Albert, Alex Sinclair, Wes Abbott
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: August 28, 2019
Release Date: August 28, 2019
Maybe, just maybe this will be the issue of Superman where we finally learn something about Rogol Zaar or maybe he's just go away and never return....... which would also be acceptable at this point. Either way, we had Superman and Jor-El go to the destroyed remnants of where Krypton used to be in the previous issue so let's jump into this one and see what Superman's pappy's plan is. Let's check it out.
The battle begins anew between the House of El and Rogol Zaar, General Zod and Jax-Ur, but now that Jor-El has led his enemies to the graveyard of Krypton....... Well, General Zod has had enough playing with the destroyer of his world. Really though, this is just here to end things abruptly and to move the story into a new direction without ever finishing what we already had started........ which happens in Action Comics as well. I'm really wondering when Brian Michael Bendis is going to add any progression to anything that doesn't come off out of nowhere or just simply out of character because nothing in this issue feels natural.
Remember a couple of issues ago when the Khunds, Thanagarians and Trillium Collective were battling Jor-El? Well I guess that was supposed to tell us that the entire Universe is in turmoil and that nobody likes anyone because that seems to be the case this issue and all it takes is for Superman to make a speech after Jon Kent says "United Nations" for everyone in the Universe to get on board...... Well, that and the Legion of Super-Heroes showing up and saying...... "yeah...... that." As much as I don't like Rogol Zaar, there was a revelation for one panel concerning him until he was whisked away to a Thanagarian lock-up so that we could deal with this forced turmoil in the Universe bit and now I wonder when we'll get back to that or if Rogol Zaar will mean anything by the end of all this. I'm just really fed up with the Superman books coming out right now because neither one is really doing anything that doesn't feel forced or just drawn out.
All in all, the art in this issue is a mixed bag for me because while I love Ivan Reis, it feels like some of the pages felt rushed and not up to snuff with what we usually get out of the artist, but even with that, rushed Ivan Reis is still usually good Ivan Reis. The story is the biggest problem with this book because it obviously has to get to the Legion of Super-Heroes ending and to do that it just pushes everything that we were dealing with to the side while creating a problem out of nowhere to get to the conclusion we have and it just seems really lazy and uninspired. I want to like a Superman book right now but Brian Michael Bendis is making it really hard for that to happen.
Bits and Pieces:
While the art seems to slip at times in my mind, it's still the highlight of this really forced issue where Brian Michael Bendis has one idea in mind and he'll jam whatever he needs in or out to get there, leaving everything we've been dealing with for months now feeling pointless.
5/10
I had such hopes for this arc when it started. Now all I want is for it to end.
ReplyDeleteNothing makes sense in regards to everyone wanting war with Supermans grandpa and people always popping in and out of space. Thanagar popping in and Deus Ex Machinaing the fight.
Also, if there ever was an arc that should have been Kara-centric this is it. It started well with her hunt for truth. Then it all fall apart. She and Zod with family should have been speaking for Krypton. Instead they are whisked to the background because Superman - a man with as much claim to Krypton as I have to Finland (I was finnish for a few days of my life before my parents changed my citizenship. I would never claim to speak for Finland).
But why stop there. Let's completely rewrite the Legions founding reasons (again) and let Jon magically unite the warring factions where his suggestion works because the Legion shows up, but that is something that only would have happened if his speech had worked from the beginning.
I wish I could say I say something better on the horizon, but now comes the year of the villain where they will infect your favorite characters and make them horrible. Yay...
Bendis just seems to want to stall things out to extend the story whether it hurts it or not, not to mention after a year he still doesn't seem to know these characters and feels like his job is accomplished in a book if he shows Superman's powers once. Somehow though, Superman still feels like less of a mess than Action Comics to me.
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