Superman: Secret Origin #6

September 6, 2010

Title: The End

Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils: Gary Frank
Inks: John Sibal
Colorist: Brad Anderson
Letterer: Steve Wands
Cover: Gary Frank
Editor: Matt Idelson
Publisher: DC Comics

The latest retelling of Superman’s origin comes to a fantastic conclusion this month. Sam Lane’s troops are sent in to back up Metallo as he faces off with the Man of Steel on the streets of Metropolis, and if that wasn’t enough, Lane has a bombshell to drop on his daughter Lois – this “Superman” she’s become so enamored of is actually an alien. Who knew?

While I don’t know if there was really a need to re-tell Superman’s origin again (this is at least the third ground-floor retelling in my lifetime), I can’t deny that this was a good retelling. Geoff Johns’s interpretation not just of Superman, but of the rest of the cast, helps to bring them much more in-line with the versions we’ve seen in the Superman comics over the past few years. The Lex Luthor and Sam Lane bits in particular would have fit in very well with the recently-wrapped War of the Supermen series – shame, really, that this book was delayed. It would have been a good companion piece to that storyline.

Man, Gary Frank is one of the best artists ever to draw this characters. His Superman, of course, is intentionally evocative of Christopher Reeve, but he also does good work with the rest of the cast. Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane aren’t intended to look like any actors that I can think of, but they have a look that fits in with his Superman very well. Lex Luthor, on the other hand, just looks insane, and that’s perfect for the character.

This has been a fine retelling of Superman’s beginnings. Now, hopefully, DC will really use this opportunity to look forward.

Rating: 9/10