REVIEW: The Man of Steel #3
It’s finally time to read Man Of Steel #3. Each and every issue so far has had a huge cliffhanger which has left me wanting more week by week. I’m sure that is the case for many more too!
Firstly, the cover is fantastic. I love the the colours, it really brings the issue to life. Not only that but I love that it combines the classic aspects of Superman’s origin and story (being blast to Earth from a destroyed Krypton) along with the latest story.
Rogol Zaar discovers The Fortress of Solitude and then destroys it, along with most of its contents, except one. With more fires across Metropolis Superman seeks help from Batman in finding their connection and identifying the causes. Superman discovers the wreckage and quickly realises what is missing as does Supergirl, as they come face to face with the culprit.
Although Superman thinks that Rogol is behind the fires and used them as a distraction, I think there is more going on here. We already know that there are two villains involved – Rogol and whoever took Lois & Jon, but there could be a third? It seems that Rogol has only just discovered Kal-El, and the fires started before that. But all of the disruption to him, to Metropolis and The Fortress, has clearly got to him. He is devastated, the artwork and narration as if the reader is in his head is so effective. As a huge Superman fan, it was almost hard to read because he was that distraught and emotional, it’s not everyday we see him that way. The fact that I’m sat in my living room and still have these feelings when reading a comic book, is a sign of a job well done – Bendis really captures emotions well within his writing.
Yet again, the artwork is perfect. It really livens up the issue and brings the story to life. Sadly, my favourite moment piece of art within the issue is when big blue finds his most prized possessio is missing. It’s hard to capture emotions in comic book artwork, but Reis nails it! You can see the dread and sorrow in Superman’s eyes, and you really feel for him.
With all of that said, we still don’t know what happened to Lois & Jon, but we are one step closer. Superman’s distress is clear as he suffers from frequent flashbacks and has throughout the series so far, not only that he is hiding it from those who are closest to him, why? But in those flashbacks we do see a little more each time. This time we see the ship of whoever took them, along with a silhouette. We know that the culprit is bald, and likes the colour green – so it’s either Brainiac or Lex Luthor! But what I want to know, is WHAT HAPPENED?!
Towards the end of the issue the action really steps up as Superman is attacked, but then annoyingly it is short-lived as we are left with yet another cliffhanger ahead of the next issue. Just as it gets really good, we are left wanting more! It’s not a bad thing, but I just cannot take the anticipation – bravo Bendis.
Now that we are halfway through the series, what do you all think of the mini-series so far?
