Saturday, August 17, 2019

Scott's Take: Superman Vol 1: The Unity Saga: Phantom Earth by Brian Michael Bendis


Superman Vol 1: The Unity Saga: Phantom Earth by Brian Michael Bendis is a spinoff from the miniseries Man of Steel. The main things one needs to know from Man of Steel are spoilers, but you need to know them before reading this book. One such deal is the fact that Lois and Superboy, aka Jonathan Kent, left with Jor-El, Superman’s father (who is now alive as he was brought back by a cosmic god to test Superman so that they would remain safe. Another is the fact that the miniseries introduced a new villain called Rogal Zar who was an alien that claimed he killed Krypton and everyone on it. Rogal Zar destroyed the Fortress of Solitude, destroyed Kandour killing everyone in it, and wanted to kill everyone on Earth. Ultimately Superman and Supergirl were able to defeat him by throwing him into the Phantom Zone.  Supergirl then left to investigate Rogal Zar’s claims and what really happened to Krypton. Superman sent Krypto along with her to protect her on her space trip. This leaves Superman alone on Earth and since the communication device he had to talk to Lois and the others was destroyed, he has no way to know if his family is safe or where they are. He is alone.

Superman Vol 1: The Unity Saga: Phantom Earth helps establish the new status quo for Superman in that he misses his family and has to create a new headquarters to replace the Fortress of Solitude. He has to do that while dealing with problems that only he can handle. One such problem is that the Earth was thrown into the Phantom Zone and the people of Earth are being poisoned by the atmosphere of the Phantom Zone. The bigger problem is that Rogal Zar has taken control of the Phantom Zone which housed the worst criminal Krpyton ever faced. Now, Rogal Zar is marshalling them under his leadership and in intends to use them to kill everyone on Earth. Luckily Superman has help in the form of various members of The Justice League such as The Flash, Martian Manhunter, The Atom, and more.

Overall the action is impressive and the story is pretty good. There are scenes that struck me as funny though I am not sure they are actually intended to be funny. For example, the scene where Batman reports he is too busy throwing up from the poison air came across as funny to me.

At times the dialogue seems a little off. For example, in a scene where Superman confesses to his son that he has a love/ hate relationship with Batman, Superboy says that it is just like his relationship with Lois. There are two ways to take the scene depending on how you wish to read the dialogue. Clearly, one way would be to see it as that Superman likes Batman in a romantic way and Superboy is asking his Dad if he is gay. I don’t think the writer intended that, but the way the dialogue is written, one could easily come up with that belief.

Bendis has a good understanding of Superman, however I still don’t think Rogal Zar is that great of a new villain for Superman’s Rogues Gallery. The author tries to hype him up. This is especially true in regards to how strong and smart he is and yet the grand attack plan is to lead a cavalry of flying charging monsters at the Earth while Superman stands in front of the charge. Rogal Zar is supposed to be considered stronger than almost any foe Superman has faced, but considering what Superman has faced in the past, it is hard to understand why he would be scared of Rogal Zar. It is also hard to understand why Superman tries to be merciful to him throughout it all despite the fact that Rogal Zar has threatened to kill his son and wife. In the previous stories where Superman’s family has been threatened, Superman has not responded this gently. The fact that Superman bends over backward to be merciful somewhat diminishes the idea that Rogal Zar is a match for him.

Despite these flaws, Superman Vol 1: The Unity Saga: Phantom Earth by Brian Michael Bendis is enjoyable and a good place to start reading Superman. One should probably read Man of Steel first, but one could start here easily enough.



Superman Vol 1: The Unity Saga: Phantom Earth
Brian Michael Bendis
DC Comics
March 2019
ISBN# 978-1-4012-8819-8
Hardback (also available in paperback and digital formats)
168 Pages  
$24.99

Material supplied by the good folks of the Dallas Public Library System. My copy came from the Dallas West Branch.

Scott A. Tipple ©2019

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