About Heroes

This Review was Submitted by knightwingbk:
Writers: Various
Artists: Various

21 comics. The Return of Superman took 21 comics to complete. The trade for this story looks massive, enormous, and daunting, it reflects the story inside of it. It took me a long time to read this, not because it wasn't good, but because I did not have enough time to read it in 2-3 sittings. Some times I read a couple issues at a time, other times one issue at a time, but each time I wanted to read more. I wanted to get to the part where Superman came back. And I did, and he came back (as if you didn't know).

The story picks up where World Without a Superman left off. Four men appear in Metropolis at roughly the same time, all more or less claiming they are Superman. We see the first appearances of these men, and then get an issue exploring them after that. Each Superman title takes one of the four Supermen and follows them. At some points it feels like an old movie serial, where you have to wait to follow the adventures of your favorite imposter. Most of these Supermen are developed well, and it takes about 3 comics each before the larger story comes into focus. The least developed of these 4 is the Cyborg Superman, but only because he takes such a large role at the end as the main villain. After this slow build, things kick up about half-way in the book, as Mongul appears and Coast City is destroyed.

Superman comes back, powerless, and takes Steel with him to Coast City to stop the Cyborg imposter. Somehow, they do and everything is a-ok. Go read the book if you want spoilers. I thought this was a good read. Not only is it more bang for you buck (only $20) but it is also a lot of fun. I liked reading the Steel and Superboy issues the most. Steel has the heart of Superman, his spirit, and his story focused on bringing weapons he helped design off the streets. Superboy's story is fun because he is young and naive and we get to laugh as we see all of these media moguls try and take advantage of him. The Last Son of Krypton (Visor-man) is kind of a cold, violent Superman, but his story is interesting because he learns to be more compassionate, and more like Superman through his encounters with Lois, Guy Gardner, and the victims he saves. He comes through in the end for Superman, acting like the real Superman, and thus his arc is satisfyingly complete.

This read a lot better than The Death of Superman or World Without a Superman, mainly because it was four stories in one larger one. There are some slower bits, but they are forgivable because most of these 21 issues are grand comics. Even without Clark Kent, Superman has never been more interesting here, than with how do heroes honor his legacy, which is a major theme in the book. It is not necessary to read the other two books before this one, you will still enjoy it just as much, but they do add some layers to Lois' character, that you wouldn't get with reading this book by itself. A great story, A.