Written by: Dan Jurgens
Art by: Jaime Mendoza, Doug Manhke
Published by: DC Comics
The Superman Reborn story line comes to an end, but larger Rebirth questions remain.
Dan Jurgens completed the story here, and while most of it was adequately told, there were a lot of bits that felt forced and somewhat predictable. There were some good moments, but this was without a doubt the weakest chapter in this arc. There were some fun moments, especially with Jon. However, most of the story simply teases things to come. There’s no problem with this, but unfortunately the payoff is not great. Everything ends very conveniently, and in a story that was built on intrigue that’s a shame.
Jon’s scenes were fun, and his genuine fear was conveyed well. There were, unfortunately, a couple of awkwardly written moments between him and his parents. Oz’ scenes were interesting as he was confused by the resolution. Instead of the book ending the way it did, it could have given us a little more, especially considering the revelations that we already got.
The art here is done by Jamie Mendoza and Doug Mahnke. For the most part ,the book is great at at conveying confusion, but there are moments that feel a bit rushed. The parts with Oz are again handled quite well, as the veil of mystery is shrouding both him and the environment that he is in.
Superman Reborn has sort of fizzled out at the end a little bit, and it’s a shame as it was a really strong story. The resolution between Superman and the main villain sort of ended in the last issue, and this one felt like more of an epilogue more than a true end. Especially knowing how the story was going to end, as it really had no other way to go, it would have been better if they threw another wrench in there.
Overall Superman Reborn was a fun story as a whole, and even though it ended up not being as essential as some other Superman stories, it did have some interesting moments especially with the Rebirth mystery. It did taper off at the end though, and instead of having a memorable ending, it did seem a bit cliché. But no one will be really disappointed with this story if you are a fan of Big Blue.
