The Brian Michael Bendis era of Superman begins with this week’s The Man of Steel #1 and for once, it’s okay to believe the hype.
The Man of Steel #1
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils by Ivan Reis
Inks by Joe Prado
Colors by Alex Sinclair
Published by DC Comics
After months of build up and hype, Brian Michael Bendis has officially arrived in the DC Universe.
Oh sure. He wrote some pages in Action Comics #1000, but this is what everyone has really been looking forward to. The Man of Steel. The six-issue miniseries that DC is promising will reshape Clark Kent’s world and provide the beginnings of a story that will continue in the relaunched Superman and Action Comics #1001, both written by Bendis.
Of course, the last time DC published a six-issue miniseries titled The Man of Steel, it was by John Byrne and it actually did change almost everything about the character. New origin, new supporting cast, new relationships, new everything.
Bendis has said that this time, the changes won’t be as extreme. Everything that happened before still happened, with Bendis looking to more add some things to the tapestry that is Superman’s history that we didn’t know about before.
Which is all well and fine, but the bigger question is this: is Man of Steel #1 worth the time to read? Is the book any good?
The answer to that question is a resounding yes.
We’ll start with the art, since with Ivan Reis at the drawing board, you already knew it was going to be a beautiful looking comic. His Superman is heroic and majestic, just the way he’s supposed to be. Combined with the red shorts finally making a comeback and the character finally looks like Superman again. Say what you want but he never looked right to me in all the time since Jim Lee redesigned his suit as part of the New 52.
So yes, The Man of Steel #1 is a gorgeous book, just as you expected.
But what about the story?
Can Bendis write a decent Superman comic?
I’ll answer that question this way. If you have followed Bendis’ career, then you know that his style really doesn’t change all that much from title to title. His Avengers read just like his Guardians of the Galaxy, which read an awful lot like his Defenders, which read just like his X-Men.
In other words, Bendis has a style that while distinct in comics, doesn’t really change all that much no matter what title he may be working on.
The exception to that was Ultimate Spider-Man. His work on that book, first with Peter Parker and then Miles Morales, was leaps and bounds better than pretty much everything else he did. It was the only title where the reader achieved a real emotional connection with the hero, something Bendis never quite accomplished with all his other Marvel work, except for maybe Jessica Jones.
Well, after reading Man of Steel #1, I got that same feeling I got whenever I read a new issue of Ultimate Spider-Man.
That feeling that this Superman is someone I’m really going to come to care about and that I’m going to get very wrapped up in his life and that of his supporting cast very quickly.
It’s a feeling I haven’t felt while reading a Superman comic in far too long.
Now, this is just one issue, so I’m not getting too excited. There is plenty of time for Bendis to muck this up like he did the X-Men titles and for all the good feelings to be washed away with bad, predictable storytelling and an over reliance on snappy dialogue and banter.
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But in The Man of Steel #1, we get a great Superman story with solid characterization and incredible artwork. So we’re off to a great start.
I will be back for issue #2 next week. There is no greater compliment that I can think of than that.
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