Action Comics #1063: Superman’s Strangest Team-up

The Man of Steel is more human than once believed as we see one of his weaknesses is self-doubt and fear of failure. Action Comics #1063 (written by Jason Aaron with art by John Timms and colors by Rex Lokus) is the finale of the “I, Bizarro” storyline and chronicles Superman’s struggle to stop the Bizarro in his mind. This introspective issue finds the Man of Steel teaming up with a Bizzarro Joker to stop Bizzarro #1 in his mind and the magic he spread across Earth (now new HTRAE). Superman discovers that his own self-doubt and fears of failure are allowing Bizzarro to grow stronger in his mind. With the Joker helping him, he learns he must not let his mind be his greatest enemy.

It’s interesting to see Superman face a villain and a problem in a novel way. Aaron does a fantastic job of displaying the complexity of Superman’s character as he struggles to stop himself from becoming Bizarro. With almost perfect symbolism, Aaron captures why Bizarro is a compelling Superman villain- he represents the opposite of Superman and the thing he is most afraid to become. It’s the perfect take on a “Superman turns evil” storyline. Although this concept is astounding, the main setback with this issue is the pacing. The comic feels rushed and things happen so fast. The conflict resolution happens on one page and is completely in captions. The constant switching between the inside and outside of Superman’s mind also doesn’t help. That being said, the issue still has some fun moments as we see the interactions between Superman and Bizarro Joker. The two play off of each other well and spin the usual Superman-Batman team-up. In addition, the resolution to the conflict being through words and not fists is an enticing juxtaposition for a comic titled Action Comics.

The real star of this issue is the art. Timms and Lokus find a way of capturing Superman and Bizarro as similar, yet distinct characters. The two have created stunning panels and splash pages throughout this storyline and have helped to improve the quality of the book. Furthermore, the Bizarro Joker they have made fits the idea of being the only sane person left on Earth while staying true to the character. Their art alone makes this issue worth reading.