Superman #4 REVIEW - The Eradicator battle continues

When we last left the Last "Full" Son of Krypton, he was still busy fighting the Eradicator and attempting to keep it from killing his half-human, half-Kryptonian son Jon in an attempt to purify him of his human DNA in efforts to rebuild Krypton, apparently with the deceased souls of the planet also inhabiting the Eradicator's form. 

That battle rages on in this issue as Jon struggles with his true nature and his desire to help his dad fight the Eradicator while struggling with the balance of being both human and Kryptonian, a reality that his mother Lois helps him try to figure out in this story that really has taken a dramatically action-packed turn since the end of Issue #2. It's not that this isn't a welcome change of pace as any action involving Superman is certain to be on a grand and glorious scale, it's just very different from the smaller scale, family oriented story that it seemed we were going to get in the first two issues of this series. 

To be fair, this is the first Superman arc I have read since Superman: Doomsday and I've only read that, The Death of Superman and Funeral For a Friend total as far as Superman arcs go, so this level of action and pace doesn't bother me one bit and isn't out of the norm for what I have read before, but I also don't know how different this is for readers that have read more or all of Superman's arcs right through the New 52 run into now. To me it feels a lot like that 90's Superman era and I said that in the last issue review, and that's even more apparent in this issue, especially with the return of a certain character that I won't give away for anyone that hasn't read the issue yet. 

Right now in DC Rebirth, there's a few Superman stories going on when you consider the Action Comics arc, Justice League and also New Superman with Kenan Kong in the title role, so it's easy to somewhat get lost in the shuffle of what exactly the character is doing if you are trying to keep up with the whole Rebirth line right off the bat, but right now this Superman series aside from being a strong throwback to 90's era Superman action and stories is clearly a father-son story between Clark and Jon as both deal with their place in the world in different ways, Clark as a "new" Superman to this world and Jon as the child of two worlds, struggling to reconcile them both at the same time, a problem that Clark has always had, but never quite had to deal with from his son's half-human angle. 

At this point, the Eradicator is a plot device villain, as he should be, to further the story between Clark and Jon along and it's a solid one at that so far. We're treated some great art from Patrick Gleason and solid writing from Peter Tomasi even if he's mining the 90's for some throwback angles. It's a welcome sight I would think from what I've heard from fans that weren't too keen on the New 52 direction with Superman and many other heroes. 

5 out of 5 - DC UNIVERSE REBIRTH - SUPERMAN #4

This series runs twice a month, next issue due out August 17. 

Superman #3 REVIEW - The trip to 90's era Superman continues for Clark Kent

Between this Superman run of DC Rebirth and the current Rebirth arc in Action Comics, it's clear that Superman is one of the characters receiving a major boost from the Rebirth movement. So many of his classic elements from the 90's era have come back to life in this run and it's never more apparent than in Superman #3. 

On a family trip to the Fortress of Solitude, Clark, Lois and Jon discover that The Eradicator has returned and is looking to rebuild Krypton using the genome of Clark's son, the current Superboy, John by absorbing him and eradicating the human part of his genome, considered corrupted. 

This current Superman run has been an emotional family story, tracking the journey of Jon as he adjusts to his powers and living with his father being Superman. The same thing is happening in Action Comics right now, but that is taking a different turn with the Doomsday revisited plot line, so a lot of the family dynamic storyline and emotional beats are coming in this series, and #3 is full of them for certain. 

At first, I wasn't sure how to process this Superman series because despite some solid action here and there, it really has been a family-centric story surrounding Jon and his relationship with Clark and his essential training to be a superhero. I didn't think that it was a boring story, but compared to other series in DC Rebirth right now, it was definitely one of the more cerebral titles right now. 

In retrospect, that's a great thing because it's getting back to the core elements of Superman and his character that we all enjoyed pre-New 52. While I never read New 52, I've read a number of Superman trade paperbacks from the 90's, including The Death of Superman and this current series really feels like a callback to those stories, not just in characters that reappear like Eradicator or Krypto, but also because of the art style harkening back to that time and the ultimate heart of these stories at their core. 

The best part of this series though, is that it doesn't reboot anything, which is of course DC's entire point with Rebirth. The past is not forgotten or erased and the New 52 is very much acknowledged, but now these characters get to return to their essence with that "New 52 knowledge" in their arsenal to help them out. This is especially the case for Superman, who is facing so much of his past from the 90's at once in this series and in Action Comics. 

Longtime fans of Superman have certainly got to be enjoying this run, and after reviewing it further, so am I, being a longtime fan that only read some trade paperbacks here and there. This is one of the stronger DC Rebirth series' to read for sure right now. 

5 out of 5 stars - DC UNIVERSE REBIRTH: Superman #3

This series runs biweekly, next issue due out August 3rd. 

FROM THE PULL LIST: New Superman #1 (DC REBIRTH)

It has been the summer of DC Rebirth taking over the comic book world and this week comes a new title, somewhat under the radar, with New Super-Man #1, offering a fresh international take on the next "Man of Steel."

This latest iteration of the all-powerful superhero is a young Chinese boy named Kenan Kong, who finds himself thrust into the life of being a hero when he unwittingly saves a classmate from the clutches of a super villain that terrorizes China's business elite. After his act of heroism gains the attention of the media, including reporter Laney Lan (yep, intentionally on the nose for sure), he is targeted by a shadowy organization that appears to have bigger plans in store for him. 

The first thing that came to mind when reading this book is how topically appropriate the release is. One of the more talked about controversies in film and TV this year has been the "whitewashing" of movies and TV characters that were of Asian descent in the original work, like Finn Jones playing Marvel's Danny Rand in Iron Fist, or more publicly Scarlett Johansson playing The Major in the live action version of Ghost in the Shell set for release next year. Many celebrities in the Asian community have been outspoken about the lack of opportunities and options for Asian or Asian-American characters in stories. 

New Super-Man #1, while not a movie or TV show, feels like a response to the whitewashing phenomenon. The book is written very well by Gene Luen Yang and aside from the Laney Lan/Lois Lane coincidental, takes a decisively original approach to a Chinese Superman, giving Kenan Kong an origin that's unique and not on the nose. Kenan Kong is not your prototype hero and in the first few pages, you question whether he is capable of being a hero at all due to his bullying of the classmate he eventually saves. It's not until the middle part of the book that you realize where his angst comes from and why his childhood has been a bit rocky. 

The fact that Kenan Kong has a rockier childhood is enough to separate him from the traditional Superman narrative, adding to the fact that he is also not an alien, but a human being endowed with the powers of Superman in the wake of his death. For what purpose he has those powers has yet to be determined, but if the end of the book and the title of Issue #2 is any indication, it will be a very intriguing and fresh take on the DC Universe from a Justice League standpoint. 

I like seeing new takes on classic heroes, especially when they involve a minority twist. I wasn't reading comics when Miles Morales became Spider-Man, but I am very much looking forward to Riri Williams as Iron Man this fall, and now I can add this series to my list of "Culturally Enriching reboots." 

I give Yang a lot of credit too for wanting to tell a different, more internationally ethnic version of Superman's story. It doesn't replace the original at all, nor should it and it appropriately connects itself to the fate of the original at the end of Superman #52, just before the beginning of DC Universe Rebirth. Right now, we've got a multiverse Superman joining the Justice League, Lex Luthor as Superman and now a Chinese Superman. I'll read them all, but this one is so far my favorite because of how intriguing it's going to be to see where they go with the story. 

One quick cultural note that I like: In the book, words in blue text are spoken in English while everything else is spoken in Mandarin, so even though you are reading it all in English, Yang makes it a point to remind you that they are NOT speaking English except for a few words. It's almost like we are reading a subtitled Chinese comic. I love that touch. 

This looks like a series that fans of re-imaginations and also Asian culture will appreciate. The idea of China creating its own Superman to fight crime is awesome and making Kenan Kong an imperfect character to ultimately make him more relatable and to do away with the "God" metaphor just for a bit is refreshing. I'm looking forward to more in this series as DC is just continuing to do well with the Rebirth line. 

5 out of 5 stars - DC UNIVERSE REBIRTH: New Super-Man #1

This is a monthly series, next issue due out August 10th.