So Much For Warworld
Written By: Brian Michael Bendis
Art By: Kevin Maguire, Alex Sinclair, Dave Sharpe
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: June 16, 2020
It's time to finish out The Truth and what it means for Superman to not only reveal his identity to the world but to also declare himself an ambassador of Earth for the United Federation of Planets. If that wasn't enough....... and it really hasn't been, we also have Mongul mucking about and Superman doing whatever he can to stop him from attacking Earth. Let's jump into this issue and see if anything great has come from Clark taking off the glasses or if this just ends with a whimper instead of a bang. Let's check it out.
As we saw at the end of the previous issue, Cameron Chase, formerly of the DEO and now an agent of the FBI has come to the Kent home to talk to Lois and Clark about this whole "King of Earth" thing that the Daily Star is running with and out of that meeting...... which Clark is absent for, we get that the people are cool with Superman repping them, but no matter what he does going forward...... he just can't screw up. Yeah, no pressure there. Really though, this whole interaction with Cameron Chase and Lois feels odd for how it's represented and even how Lois tells Clark about it later, but I have to say that it doesn't feel as odd as Superman's battle with Mongul.
While Mongul was beating Superman to a pulp in the previous issue, here it seems that Superman can not only hold his own, but can also make the once-mighty Warworld look like it's nothing in the process, which you can say that Superman had plenty of motivation to do, what with its collision course for Earth, but it just feels like overpowered Superman being able to just do whatever he wants and that's a bit disappointing for how strong this Mongul seemed to be, not to mention that it places story before Superman: Villains, where we saw Mongul's son kill his father and take up the role of Mongul, which I thought was the reason that this Mongul we're currently dealing with was so strong, but apparently it's just another day of Monguls usurping their father, even though Superman utterly destroyed Warworld. Beyond that though, there isn't much to this issue besides for getting the United Federation of Planets back on track, which is simply done with a quick speech and ultimately, this Superman title continues to feel unimpressive.
All in all, the art in this issue is great throughout, but the big problem is that the stakes of the book have been completely taken out, where Superman can simply Super his way to the conclusion out of nowhere and right all the wrongs that have happened with a quick speech and a skimpy tunic. Not only that but all of the ramifications of Clark revealing himself to the world and the world finding out that he has claimed himself their spokesperson comes down to....... "don't screw up". It just leaves a lot to be desired and feels like we just ran out of story and needed things to end as quick as possible. Hopefully, things can pick up going forward because what we've been given lately is all a bit of a disappointment.
Bits and Pieces:
While this issue looks great and you get a big old fight between Superman and Mongul, the resolution just comes out of nowhere and leaves me wondering what happened to the stakes that were set up previously. I'm still not a fan of Bendis' dialog and the majority of his ideas for Superman, but there is some stuff in this that can put a smile on your face, but ultimately things just come to a flat end and it's a bit disappointing.
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: June 16, 2020
It's time to finish out The Truth and what it means for Superman to not only reveal his identity to the world but to also declare himself an ambassador of Earth for the United Federation of Planets. If that wasn't enough....... and it really hasn't been, we also have Mongul mucking about and Superman doing whatever he can to stop him from attacking Earth. Let's jump into this issue and see if anything great has come from Clark taking off the glasses or if this just ends with a whimper instead of a bang. Let's check it out.
As we saw at the end of the previous issue, Cameron Chase, formerly of the DEO and now an agent of the FBI has come to the Kent home to talk to Lois and Clark about this whole "King of Earth" thing that the Daily Star is running with and out of that meeting...... which Clark is absent for, we get that the people are cool with Superman repping them, but no matter what he does going forward...... he just can't screw up. Yeah, no pressure there. Really though, this whole interaction with Cameron Chase and Lois feels odd for how it's represented and even how Lois tells Clark about it later, but I have to say that it doesn't feel as odd as Superman's battle with Mongul.
While Mongul was beating Superman to a pulp in the previous issue, here it seems that Superman can not only hold his own, but can also make the once-mighty Warworld look like it's nothing in the process, which you can say that Superman had plenty of motivation to do, what with its collision course for Earth, but it just feels like overpowered Superman being able to just do whatever he wants and that's a bit disappointing for how strong this Mongul seemed to be, not to mention that it places story before Superman: Villains, where we saw Mongul's son kill his father and take up the role of Mongul, which I thought was the reason that this Mongul we're currently dealing with was so strong, but apparently it's just another day of Monguls usurping their father, even though Superman utterly destroyed Warworld. Beyond that though, there isn't much to this issue besides for getting the United Federation of Planets back on track, which is simply done with a quick speech and ultimately, this Superman title continues to feel unimpressive.
Watch our Superman #22 Video Review
Bits and Pieces:
While this issue looks great and you get a big old fight between Superman and Mongul, the resolution just comes out of nowhere and leaves me wondering what happened to the stakes that were set up previously. I'm still not a fan of Bendis' dialog and the majority of his ideas for Superman, but there is some stuff in this that can put a smile on your face, but ultimately things just come to a flat end and it's a bit disappointing.
6/10
Thank you for the review, Eric. And you're not alone, I thought that was Mongul's son too, trying to make his big entrance by killing the would-be founders of the United Planets. But Bendis. Worse he set up the idea himself and doesn't capitalize on it. Honestly, Mongul is a super villain who should be THE Space Emperor, the Commodus of the Universe. He should be Superman's major Space Opera villain, and instead he's just his punching bag. What a waste. At least the book looks good.
ReplyDeleteFor the most part all of DC's books look good, but it's the writing and the lack of any real progression that keeps them from being great. I mean, Bendis making Clark reveal his secret is huge as something new...... or at least kind of new for the character but all we're doing with it is newspaper gossip bullshit.
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