In regards to Superman, Tom King wants to have his cake and eat it too. On one hand, Superman has to be vulnerable to overcome how all-powerful he is. But on the other hand, King loves heroes that don’t stop no matter the odds—so Superman isn’t vulnerable to anything.
What else can be said? We’ve got an entire issue illustrating one point (Superman is perfect) and dialogue motifs repeated on every page. Have you been itching to go to the ER for a destroyed liver? Take a shot every time Superman says, “No, sir. I do not.”
Unlike this series, I won’t waste your time and I’ll wrap this up quick. This series has a fascinating premise: Superman must leave Earth to save one girl, because every life is important and no sacrifice is too great. So instead of using that premise and theme as a springboard to more complexity or excitement, King obsesses over the themes, using every page to keep saying the same things over and over and over. I love stories with thematic power. But not when they have nothing to say and only figure that out 100+ pages after. This series could be condensed into fifteen pages and even those would be underwhelming and tensionless.
Moving from Gotham to the outermost reaches of space, Andy Kubert does a fine job illustrating all the scale and scope here. Legions of spaceships, fist fights with hulking monsters, and space cafes are all given the adequate amount of detail and attention.
If you’ve enjoyed this meandering, rip-off series so far ($5 a pop, people, despite this already being released at Walmart), this will come across as profound to you. I wish I did, because after six issues, I don’t find Superman any more interesting than before. In fact, it makes me realize why so many people find him boring to begin with. Reader, if you haven’t read any or much of Up in the Sky—please save your money. Invest in Brain Michael Bendis’s stellar work on the character.
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