Superman Action
Comics Vol 1: Invisible Mafia by Brian Michael Bendis is a spin off from the Man of
Steel miniseries also by this author. Superman is dealing with the
gossip at work about why is wife left while dealing with the fact someone is
setting fires across Metropolis. This is the work of a new group of villains
called the Invisible Mafia. Their plan had been to get away with stuff while
working by not drawing attention.
Instead, they have
been dropping bodies because of the actions of “Red Cloud.” She is a meta-human
who is young, arrogant, and believes she is powerful and smart enough to hang
with Superman. She thinks she can fight and beat Superman because she can turn
into a red toxic cloud. She also now has the attention of Lex Luthor.
This means Red
Cloud and her origination, Invisible Mafia, have the attention of the two
powerful people of Metropolis. Before now, neither dealt with them because they
never noticed and never cared about them. They now do. Instead of leaving town,
they double down on the stupid and start covering up what they are doing. That
just makes their situation worse.
In addition to the
great artwork, there are a lot of little jokes throughout the story. One
example is when as Superman investigates a crime; his clue is that a bad guy
who is bald did it. Some he checks his multi-page catalog listing of bald bad
guy villains and does so with this oh so serious look on his face. Another
funny moment is when he is question one criminal who claims he barely knows the
other criminal he is with. The other guy shouts out about how the two are
cousins.
A lot of new
characters are introduced in this book and most of them will most likely be ignored
by future writers because there just not that interesting and kind of stupid.
One of the better parts of this story is Perry White, the Daily Planet Editor, who
points out why people are stupid throughout the read. This is especially true
in regards to the rumors the Invisible Mafia is trying to spread about
Superman. They are pushing the story that Superman killed somebody though
Superman has a perfect and very public alibi. At the time in question, Superman
along with several other heroes, were fighting an alien invasion in Seattle and
the whole deal was broadcast on live television. This was going on at the same
time he supposedly was killing a low level criminal. Instead of killing Lex
Luthor, Darkseid, Brainaic, and other powerful villians, he allegedly killed
some random low level criminal. Yeah that makes sense… Lol.
This story is a good place to start for new readers and is fairly
enjoyable. Red Cloud has the ability to turn in to a toxic red cloud and she
thinks she can beat Superman who is busy shattering asteroids and stops an alien
invasion from space. She seriously over estimates her abilities. What does not
work so well is the fact that Lois makes some questionable parenting decisions
that Superman is very cool with for some reason. While I can’t go into it
without giving spoilers, it is clear to this reader that she is a pretty bad
parent.
Despite the flaws, Superman
Action Comics Vol 1: Invisible Mafia by Brian Michael Bendis is a funny
story with original villains and interesting plot. This Superman story is not
the best, but it is enjoyable and fun.
Superman Action Comics Vol 1: Invisible Mafia
Brian Michael Bendis
DC Comics
April 2019
ISBN# 978-1-4012-8872-3
Hardback (also available in
paperback and digital formats)
160 Pages
$24.99
Material supplied
by the good folks of the Dallas Public Library System. My copy came from the Dallas
Martin Luther King JR Branch.
Scott A. Tipple
©2019
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