Superman #4 Review: ‘Man of Steel’ Done Right
Check out Our Review [WITH SPOILERS] of Superman #4!
Writers: Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason
Penciller: Patrick Gleason
Inker: Mick Gray Colorist: John Kalisz
I’ve talked about this before, but it bears repeating- the character of Jon Kent should not be working. Look at the film Superman Returns. Fandom went bugnuts when it was revealed that Clark and Lois had a kid. Superman having a son became a ‘jumping the shark’-like, verboten possibility in the Superman mythos.
Yet Jon Kent is here, and he is probably the best new character of 2016. Heck man, Jon Kent might be the character find of the decade (other than Kamala Khan, of course). There’s something about this kid, something classical and new that makes him a piece of the DCU that feels right. The legend of Jon Kent grows in Superman #4 as creators Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason present a struggle for survival between Jon Kent, Superman, Lois and the reborn Eradicator.
Superman #4 feels like the film Man of Steel done right. The Eradicator is motivated by the same thing that motivated the latest cinematic General Zod- the need to restore Krypton to life. Eradicator is scary and feels like a palpable threat so when Jon Kent dons his cape for the first time and steps up to Zod in order to aid Superman, well, it is a glorious moment that speaks to everything that is right about superhero comics.
The only knock on Superman #4 is that the pacing gets a little fuzzy. In the middle of the issue, Tomasi and Gleason reintroduce the classic Superman supporting character Bibbo. Remember that dude? Salty sea dog type of guy that owns a bar and is Superman’s number one fan? Yeah, somehow the battle with Eradicator spills over into Bibbo’s bar but the narrative of the issue does not make it clear how that happened. It kind of left the second act of the comic confusing and distracting but that’s a minor quibble when compared with the intensity of the rest of the issue.
Then there’s the art. Wow, awesome stuff from Gleason as his artistic rendition of Jon Kent is so going to inform the rest of the DC artists as Jon Kent’s legend grows. And grow it well, because DC and Superman #4 has done the impossible and gave fandom a character it already rejected- the son of Superman. Good show all around.