Deron Generally
Deron Generally
The Man of Steel #4
DC Comics
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by Kevin Maguire and Jason Fabok
Colors by Alex Sinclair
Letters by Josh Reed
Rogol Zaar has made his first move. He’s slaughtered the people of Kandor, destroyed the Fortress of Solitude and has decided to make his way to Metropolis. Both Clark and Kara are furious, but Clark is trying to keep his cool in order to assess the situation. His assessment is the best part of the fight as he gives the reader insight into how he prepares for an executes a fight. It’s a great piece of writing that fleshes out an aspect of the character that is rarely shown. As he finds possible weakness in Zaar’s attack, the scene shifts to another one of the mysteries of this storyline.
We finally get to see the event that led to the disappearance of Lois and Jon. It’s a moment that many will say they saw coming and they wouldn’t be wrong, but it is handled in an interesting way that doesn’t diminish the moment or take away from the overall narrative. What happens next puts Clark and everyone else on edge as Zaar escapes after giving Clark information that he didn’t have before and more questions about the destruction of Krypton.
This issue definitely moves the story along and begins to answer some of the big mysteries that have formed as well as start new ones. There were some issues with the pacing of this issue in how slow it seemed to move after the interlude with Clark recalling the events that led to Lois and Jon going missing. All of the action and tension that had been building since the beginning of the issue went away and was replaced by exposition that could have been more effective if it were seen rather than told. The end does a good job of redeeming that lull and bringing back the tension, but I would have liked to have some of the flashback aftermath trimmed and the end play out longer for more dramatic effect.
