Are You Not Entertained?
Jeremy Adams
Let's jump to the year 2030 and find out what's been going on with Superman..... or, the way that this book plays out, let's find out what's been going on with Shilo Norman, Midnighter, and a new Black Racer while getting a very small amount of actual Superman. There's a lot of book here but is there a lot of story? Let's jump into this issue and see what Worlds of War has in store for us. Let's check it out.
For our initial Superman story in this big oversized book, we see that Smallville is a tourist trap for Superman fans and a magnet for those who have turned him into a cult. Yeah, things are weird since Superman disappeared and everyone has their theories about who he was and where he's gone and you're going to get every single theory in this story while getting as little Superman as you can. That being said, I'm sure there are going to be those that find this bit inspirational about who Superman is to them but for a two-issue series, I just wanted to get to the story not how everyone feels about something that I don't really know anything about.
Beyond Superman though, we have three more stories that connect to what our Man of Steel is facing while he's a forced gladiator on Warworld and that's Shilo Norman boom tubing there for absolutely no reason and not really doing much of anything besides for trying not to die. There's a very brief connection to the Shilo Norman story and the next Midnighter story but the connection is forced and doesn't make much sense but we find Midnighter discovering a connection between Warworld and Trojan Solutions....... and maybe someone a little closer to home for him. Finally, we see the new Black Racer and you get so little of this character and who she is and how she became what she is that it really doesn't matter in the long run, you just have to know that it's taking place on Warworld..... how can a book be so long and give us so little?
All in all, this is a bloated book that doesn't do much in the way of telling a story and barely gives you any Superman at all, and where that might be fine for some as long as they get a heaping portion of characters in the backups...... that too falls short in my mind because while I was interested in seeing Midnighter again, he's just thrust into an adventure that simply shows him kicking ass and taking names but not having a real idea about what he's really doing, while also limiting him by taking away the fight computer in his brain. Shilo Norman is about the same in that he's just thrust into a situation he doesn't fully understand and the Black Racer while interesting and seems to know what she's doing, doesn't lend itself to allowing the reader to know exactly what she's up to or who she is. The art is fine throughout but for how much this book is and for all the characters involved, especially the Man of Steel himself, I would have liked for this to actually tell a story since it is only a two-part series.
Bits and Pieces:
While the art is strong throughout all of the four stories in this over-sized book, the stories are pretty lacking all around. There's barely any Superman in the Superman story, Shilo Norman has no idea what he's doing in his story, Midnighter is fighting the good fight for a cause he doesn't fully understand, and the new Black Racer..... Well, she's doing stuff that we don't fully understand. I had high hopes for this book but it was pretty disappointing since I barely got any kind of real info out of it.
Thank you for the review. Of all the Future State books, this Superman book is the one I was genuinely excited to read, and it's the most disappointing title. Phillip Kennedy Johnson wants to show how inspirational Superman is but forgets to actually tell a freaking story. Instead of getting an epic book where Superman fights through Mongul's brutal gladiatorial games, we get a cultish fan club meeting where a young black girl shows up arguing with them and telling them they don't really know what makes Superman special. What a waste of time.
ReplyDeleteThe backup stories weren't all that better especially the Black Racer story. The writer Jeremy Adams is clearly unfamiliar with the character and trying to create his own version. The Black Racer is the New Gods' male grim reaper and the idea of him being trapped on Warworld fighting through Mongul's hordes and defenses to escape sounds amazing. Instead we got the dull and uninspired story we got. At this point, I give up on Future State.