Superman #2
Reviewed by: Robbie Rowe
Rating: 4 of 5
Superman #2
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Ivan Reis
When someone is trapped, what do they do? Do they run, wherever they can, or
hide, as much as possible? Do they panic, call for help that will not come – or do
they fight? This is a problem Superman finds himself facing, as the entire Earth is somehow trapped inside the Phantom Zone.
How they might escape isn’t the priority for him right now, as he’s more focused on keeping as many people alive as he can, only later moving onto trying to figure out how or who could and would’ve done something on this large of a scale. The art here is some of the most amazing that I’ve seen in a comic, really, really is.
Ivan Reis shows some of the most amazing things in the far past, in a war
between two alien races, one of which Hawkman belongs to and the other
Starfire belongs to. Then, he continues this with far brighter, more pleasing
colours for me, when Superman’s flying throughout the Phantom Zone, his new
Fortress of Solitude and when we’re greeted by a familiar face from the early 80s, as well as one Clark won’t be so happy to see.
He’s not alone in his efforts, as the Flash’s raced to his aid, while Wonder
Woman’s in London doing her best and Martian Manhunter is keeping the team’s psychic link open. One of my few criticisms of the issue was the dialogue for Flash, as it’s Barry underneath the Crimson Cowl and a lot of things he says aren’t what he’d usually say, while his hair isn’t blond, but red instead. I feel this colouring mistake wasn’t a mistake, but was purposeful, as it’s done too consistently to have been accidental.
As usual, Brian Bendis has got Superman’s voice down about perfectly. He feels
hopeful, kind, humane and optimistic, while also being very much human in how he feels about the planet’s daily struggles. With this kind of humanity,
hopefulness and compassion, I hope Brian keeps writing Superman for a long
while. I was only slightly annoyed when the issue ended, as I wanted to see what
happened next and felt there was more to this story – hopefully it won’t be too
long until issue 3!