Knight Terrors: Superman #2 Review

    

   

Written by: Joshua Williamson
Art by: Tom Reilly
Colors by: Nathan Fairbairn
Letters by: Ariana Maher
Cover art by: Gleb Melnikov
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: August 15, 2023

Knight Terrors: Superman #2 finds Superman joining Supergirl and Lois in the nightmare realm to learn a valuable life lesson. Meanwhile, Aquaman and Mera solve the riddle of the nightmare wave.
Is It Good?

Knight Terrors: Superman #2y Joshua Williamson is one of the few tie-ins that have a meaningful connection to the main Knight Terrors arc. That's a positive, so on that point, it's worth picking up. However, the connection made in this issue works only so long as you don't think about it too much because if you do, it turns into a significant plot hole.



When last we left Superman, he was trapped in the Nightmare Realm, fighting one threat after another until he joined forces with Supergirl, who punched through her nightmares to join her cousin. Now, the Super-Team (and Lois) join forces to arrive at a very special lesson about living for today while learning from the past. In the waking world, Aquaman and the Aqua family figure out how Insomnia puts everyone to sleep and create a cure.

What's the big secret about the Nightmare Wave?

[SPOILERS AHEAD]

It's created by sound. The Aqua family is immune because underwater life pressure-strengthened Atlantean eardrums over time to make them immune.

Is that a good answer? It's as good as any, but it leads to certain problems. Why aren't deaf people immune to the Nightmare Wave? Why did the Nightmare Wave affect Superman and other non-human supers with alien ears? If it was just a matter of sound, a whole swath of Earth residents would be immune. Williamson gets a B for effort but a D on execution.

[END SPOILERS]

What's great about this comic? Knight Terrors: Superman #2 is a tie-in that feels like it matters to the main story, which puts it head and shoulders above almost all the other tie-ins. Williamson's handle on the Super-family dynamics is great. And the Nightmare Wave resolution gives the overall event some badly needed momentum.

What's not so great about this comic? The Nightmare Wave solution answers one question by opening a plot hole, leading you to conclude Williamson didn't think it through. Mera's condescending attitude toward drylanders in a crisis is a bit over the top. And why on Earth is Jackson Hyde carrying baby Andy Curry around in the middle of a crisis?!?

How's the art? The art is consistent with Tom Reilly's style, which may or may not work for all readers. By design, Reilly's style has a retro, comic strip feel, and I'm not sure it works for this type of story. It's fine for what it is, but Reilly's style may be an acquired taste.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces:

Knight Terrors: Superman #2 works as a tie-in that matters by telling a Superman-centric story with development that affects the main Knight Terrors arc. That said, the major development answers questions by creating plot holes, and Tom Reilly's art doesn't quite suit the nightmare aesthetic.

6.5/10