Superman #40: Reboots, Crises, and Relaunches, Oh My!

In the aftermath of the DC K.O. event, Superman has disappeared. Now it’s up to Superman Prime to be the hero that Metropolis needs. Superman #40 concludes this Spring’s biggest comic event: Reign of the Superboys. Superman saved the world from Darkseid, but now Superman Prime is stuck in our timeline. The Justice League is not keen on trusting him, so he must prove that he can be redeemed and be the hero Metropolis needs. To do this, he must balance being Superman with being CK, his secret identity. After saving the day with his new love interest, Witchfire, Prime is pulled from the comics by Manchester Black. Can Prime stop Manchester Black from rewriting history? Or will he disappoint Lois Lane, Batman, Power Girl, the Justice League, the Teen Titans, you know, like, everyone he loves and cares about? All this and more in this marvelous issue of Superman by Joshua Williamson with art by the astounding Dan Mora.

This event has blown DC K.O. out of the water. This run of Superman has been excellent, and Joshua Williamson has done an exceptional job at tying everything from the DC Universe into this story. This arc has been incredibly fun, and I love whenever comics have a fourth-wall-breaking character. Prime starting his redemption arc and getting his own secret identity and love interest is fantastic. It seems like Prime is headed to getting his own issue #1, which is exciting. Witchfire is a welcome addition to this story, and it sets up a new Justice League Dark perfectly (HINT, HINT DC). I hope we get to continue to see magic users and supernatural DC characters in the future, because they are my favorite. The fourth-wall joke of Superman Prime falling in love with a magic user makes perfect sense for this fourth-wall-breaking character, and it just proves Williamson’s genius. Williamson’s genius is expanded on by his ability to add humorous commentary on things happening in comics. He brings it to the extreme with this issue, and helps to make Prime feel distinct from any other Superboy (has he earned the man?). If I had any complaints, it would be that I wish the issue was longer, because I can read this story all day. 

Dan Mora makes his triumphant return to the Superman pages, and I am eternally grateful.  He deserves all the praise in this issue, as he is able to keep his style distinct across genres. After seeing Mora’s work in this book, it’s hard to celebrate anything else. Dan Mora is universally loved, and it’s for a good reason: his art is stunning, and he is unbelievably talented. The artwork by Mora complements the story beautifully, with dynamic action sequences that leap off the page. This issue is fourth-wall-heavy, and Mora does an amazing job of conveying what is happening scene to scene. This issue is also full of beautiful splash pages that are so good I want to print them and frame them on my wall. This is an all-star creative team, and it feels like they are not holding back their talents at all with this arc.