By Garrett Hanneken
With the announcement that Brian Michael Bendis will be writing the forthcoming Superman titles starting with The Man of Steel, I would say most people wanted to check out The Man of Steel first before diving into his Superman or Action Comics. The reason being, so people can get a taste as to how Bendis will handle Superman. Now that The Man of Steel has ended, fans will either feel a need to continue with Bendis’ Superman, feel let down, or feel indifferent about everything. With that said, I would have to go with the latter.
This issue serves as a conclusion to everything, but it is a conclusion that still leaves things unexplored. Sure, it answers what happened with Lois and Jon, what happened to Rogol Zaar, and what the cause of the mysterious fires was, but it still ends on a cliffhanger. If anything, The Man of Steel is simply a prelude to Bendis’ upcoming Superman titles, and because of this, the comic didn’t feel as important as it could have been.
First and foremost, the art by Jason Fabok did not disappoint. The action sequences to the sentimental moments were expressed with detail and care. Taking the battle from the Earth’s core to outer space, it all accounted for an epic showdown between Superman and Rogol Zaar.
The way the battle was depicted was great and Bendis spent the time to showcase this, but it may have ended a bit abruptly. Which is how I felt about each storyline that progressed in this title. The flashback sequence involving Jon and Lois was wrapped up, but I still wasn’t buying Lois’ reason to go travel with Jor-El, and the mysterious fires were explained, but it served as the story’s main cliffhanger. Everything was solved and accounted for in a way, but it all led up to more questions than answers so to speak.
Now, this is where fans may want to continue with Bendis’ Superman because they want answers. However, I am not entirely sure I want to continue. I was still intrigued by the ideas that were presented, but at the end of the issue, I wanted more out of it. Bendis may be saving a lot more for his Superman and Action Comics titles which is more than likely the reason and I may check out those before totally giving up on this new era for Superman.
Like I said before, some fans may want to continue reading Bendis’ Superman after reading this issue since it sets up several factors that still need answering. However, some fans may feel indifferent or cheated about the events that folded out since this issue serves as nothing but a cliffhanger. All in all, The Man of Steel is a prelude for Superman and Action Comics, a prelude that caught my interest but could have done more.
Score: 3/5
The Man of Steel #6
DC Comics