Comic Book Review: Superman #691

Written by James Robinson

Art by Renato Guedes and José Wilson Magalhães

Plot: General Lane’s plan of manipulating the man of steel and tricking the world into fearing him and all Kryptonians has finally taken its course. Mirabai, Metallo and Reactron have framed Supergirl, Nightwing and Flamebird, further enforcing the world’s fear of Kryptonians. Superman, now looked upon as a traitor to the world with all that has happen, has very dim days ahead of him. The future of The Man of Steel now resembles that of Spider-man, a hero who is viewed as a public enemy. Now with the world putting all their trust into Lane’s protection, he can now mold the world into an alien-free zone.

My Thoughts: I always say the best chapter in a story is the one where everything goes wrong for the good guys. Firstly, we have Mon-El beaten and bloodied by Metallo who disguised himself as Nightwing, and Supergirl seems to be missing along with Nightwing and Flamebird. And Superman, who has done everything he can to stop Ral-Dar from killing the president, walks into a trap set by General Lane to make it look like Superman has been involved with all the terrible events that have occurred lately. Now the world fears Superman and all Kryptonians.

How do I describe the emotions floating through this issue? Superman feared by all, his cousin missing, and Lois Lane who will most likely be forbidden to have anything to do with the Man of Steel, James Robinson decided to throw as many curveballs at Superman as possible. Superman is of course welcome on New Krypton which he does not consider his home, and his home does not want him back.

I do, however, take issue with using magic as a way of keeping Superman at bay. General Lane thinks he is safe when making his new base of operations on Mirabai’s magical home world, where Superman is at his weakest. It seems magic is always used to solve any problem, whether good or bad. I was a bit disappointed with this ending and was hoping for something new and fresh. But this is me hoping for too much I guess.

I’m beginning to wonder, with all the legal issues surrounding the Superman franchise right now, if DC is trying to prepare for the worse in the event they lose all rights to Superman.

James Robinson makes a great commentary on the effect that the media seems to have on people as a whole. Lies can go such a long way as long as people are scared enough to believe them. General Lane is one of the more diabolical characters that have come around in the DC universe.

The art by Guedes and Magalhães is wonderful. At times the characters seem to stiff for me, but the overall look of the book is beautifully colored and drawn.

Overall, a great book. Most definitely within the top 5 for this month.

4 out of 5 stars.

Next Month: Superman #691

Tragedy strikes in the aftermath of "Codename: Patriot" as Metropolis buries one of its own! And with a man down, the Science Police are on their own to stop a cadre of Super-Villains from stealing a formerly common commodity that has suddenly become rarer than gold!