REVIEW: Superman Unlimited #7
Superman Unlimited #7, “This Looks Like A Job For…”, catches us up with the other Superman in the DCU, Jon Kent. Not only does the story take into consideration the events of his time with The Secret Six, it also pays tribute to the first Superman feature film. Turns out there’s big things happening in Smallville and it’s up to Jon Kent, not Superman, to get to the bottom of it all.
The standard cover is by Rafael Albuquerque and Marcelo Maiolo. Teasing way more tension and horror than the story reveals, it’s still a great depiction of how people tend to react to the unknown. That’s not to say there isn’t a mystery to uncover that could potentially lead to disaster, but it’s nothing John Henry, Lana, and Jon can’t handle.
Daniel Sampere and Tomeu Morey’s variant is a beautiful image of Superman (Clark) and Krypto enjoying a relaxing flight together. There’s really not much more to say as Sampere & Morey’s art is just as fantastic as usual and it’s always a treat to see their cover work.
The variant by Freddie E. Williams II is a great visual metaphor to the overall theme of this series. President Castilho of El Caldero invokes his nickname of Kryptonite King as he sits on a Kryptonite throne. Superman, struggling to get a grasp on his situation as a couple of Krypto-Knights stand ready for action, is in an involuntary kneeling pose at the throne’s base. It may not be the best situation for Superman, but is indomitable spirit is definitely on display.
There’s two more great variants by Guillem March and Nimit Malavia to keep an eye out for as well.
Lucas Meyer and Colorist Marcelo Maiolo handle the interior art. The visuals this issue are simply fantastic. This one kind of has it all; action, humor, drama, and a splash of teen angst. Jon’s feelings of aimlessness and loss of purpose are on full display and to see his body language change to something more hopeful throughout the story is a delight. The fight sequences are fun and in the context of the plot they’re also fairly light hearted in the best of ways. All in all, the book is visually appealing and heightens the mood perfectly.
Dan Slott gets some dialogue assistance from Jeremy Adams and is lettered by Dave Sharpe for ‘Superman Unlimited’ #7. This issue works great as a stand alone while still being relevant to the overarching plot. Picking up from last issue where we saw Jon arriving at Steelworks, the story begins with them testing some new anti-kryptonite tech. From there it quickly becomes a day-in-the-life perspective of Jon as he’s coping with the fallout of his time in The Secret Six and his abrupt breakup with Jay. To that end, Lois challenges Jon to dig up and write a news story without using his powers in order to help him reconnect with the people around him. He begrudgingly accepts and almost instantly comes across a string of disappearances that have gone mostly unnoticed. It’s from this point we get an abridged version of Superman’s first feature film, “Superman and the Mole Men”. The whole story flows well and refers back to early pages on several occasions making it a delightful read as a fun, low stakes mystery adventure.
(9/10) The use of “Superman and the Mole Men” plot elevated my enjoyment of Superman Unlimited #7 a great deal. That being said, given the epically high major stakes playing out in the majority of DC comics at the moment, it was also just nice to have a fun little adventure with a satisfying ending.
