Tears of regret.
This was a heartwarming through rushed conclusion to Tom
Taylor’s run on the title he made his own, with Brian Bucalletto coming in next
issue.
When Injustice Gods Among Us the video game was first
announced as having a comic book tie-in, most of us were willing to dismiss it
in the same way the Arkham tie-ins have failed – it was mostly filler that
didn’t help the universe grow.
And Injustice’s premise of a dictator Superman leading the
Justice League over the Earth felt a little too on-the-nose for a comic book
series.
But lo and behold, Tom made the title a must have. His grasp
of classic DCU interactions and comic timing managed to outgrow the dystopian
nature of the book.
It wasn’t perfect, mostly due to the game’s premise leading it
on – but Tom superseded the game in a way I didn’t believe was possible.
The artwork team, especially Bruce Redondo, was exceptional
given it was mostly a weekly series.
SPOILERS FOLLOW…………….
Last issue, Superman was put in a deep sleep through a powerful
spell hand-delivered by Batman.
One of my favorite episodes of Timm’s Justice League was
‘The Man Who had Everything’ (as well as the Alan Moore original) – it really
showcased what Superman wanted in life, and despite what he was put through, he
didn’t snap.
This is a different Superman with a different head space.
The kind-hearted tolerant one is a relic of the past.
It’s interesting to see what this Superman would have
wanted, and it’s heartbreaking that it actually ends up ultimately being a good
world. But all we can see is a man refusing to take responsibility for what he
did (killing his family) and instead putting everything on someone who didn’t
do anything (Batman not killing the Joker).
Now we can get into semantics as to the ethical stand here
for the Joker’s existence despite his brutal acts but the fact that in this
dreamworld, Superman saving Lois and his child at the last moment and then
making Bruce break his oath to never kill by actually going through with
killing the Joker was an eye-opener.
The fact that Superman secretly hopes that Bruce had pulled
the kill trigger instead of him, even if Lois wasn’t dead, shows that the Clark of the present time has totally forgotten what he
and the Justice League stood for.
It does take a welcome turn later, as Superman visits an
incarcerated Bruce (who gave himself up after killing the Joker) and then
continues in a positive light as we see the different stages of Lara Kent’s
growth into a superhuman.
The fact that she can finally do something Superman never
could – she is a child of both worlds, instead of just being a refugee on one,
is not lost on Tom. She represents what Superman’s blind spot is. That, despite
all the pretence of him being human, he really isn’t one, and is thus inadequate
at understanding humanity’s problems.
The final scenes where Lara unites the world to move to a
better future is an illusion to satisfy Superman’s beliefs that what he is
doing is right, and this is his coping mechanism for making everyone accept it
as good.
Fittingly enough that this issue ends with Lois calling
Kal-El ‘Smallville’, a nickname that stretches back to his domestic and rural
roots, because this is the moment we realize Clark Kent is dead.
Superman is dead. Long live Superman.
SPOILERS END……………….
Tom Taylor leaves on a high and heartwarming note thanks to
a solid story and some great imagery.
His run on this title (I really think he deserves it being
called Taylor’s
Injustice series) has been nothing sort of excellent. The ability to combine a
dystopian premise with such well thought out character studies of an extensive
DC cast has been a welcome feature of his writing.
Hoping Brian can continue to keep this series this good. As Clark says, everything does slip away….
So, I’m giving this 8.5 out of 10
+A character study of Superman in his current state
+Surprisingly heartwarming story
+Great artwork
-Good filler, but still filler
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