A Battle of Minds With Superman's Legacy As the Chessboard
The Good: The bright cover is a direct contrast to the dark cover of the beginning of the story, and the background is the same '90's 3D rendering that I think really captures the 'beyond current comprehension' aspect of this far flung future. Since this issue takes place in the future Metropolis, the cover is glistening, radiant, and uplifting. Superman himself has a few extra shadows, making him look slightly creepy due to his slightly increased realism. This reflects the citizen's viewpoint of him as a Bizarro.
The first image of Superman in the future is one very classic pose, a heroic one, simple and succinct. His arms are spread a bit wide, equally prepared to battle a threat or reach to a threatened child. The light shines right from where his iconic logo would be. All in all he looks very iconic and heroic, which works well with the future citizen's perceptions of him,
We see how much more unified this Metropolis is. It's truly a melting pot that shines a beacon of what America is supposed to be about. Everyone has logos that blend their favorite heroes, and of course Superman is greeted by far flung Lex Luthor and Jimmy Olson. Luthor taking the form of..... OH MY GOD IS THAT TROLLFACE? And Olson as an attractive female mayor. Superman's supporting cast has been transformed, but still remain recognizable. It really helps the idea of this entire story, that Superheroes are like gods, iconic enough to outlast all time.
The design of fashion and technology continues to not overdo itself. Everything is all about Tessaracts and Headnets, but the fashion or architechture isn't stupidly weird just for the sake of looking futuristic. It's actually pragmatic, but with designs that reflect the advancement of the technology used to create them.
Superman is given a challenge that relfects the subtle simplicity to this complex future. And for foes in a competition for sport, they do a great job at being tough oponents that Superman can clearly defeat, but do a great job showcasing his abilities. And furthermore, I love how Solaris subverts the usual trope occuring in these types of situations. Instead of making it so that "The seemingly friendly exhibition is suddenly deadly!", he makes it so that Superman appears to be the one taking things too seriously. His plan, like this future, is so ineniously subtle, weaving mistrust into the public without overtly alerting Superman. Solaris is truly an impressive foe, and thus far not one who falls into the flaw-creating tropes supervillains normally do.
Everyone is special, so nobody is special. Human advancement has reached the point that the gods of our time is now the norm of this time. EVERYONE has superpowers that easily outclass most of the heroes of the present. But Superman is able to handle them all with ease because by haivng their powers as an everyday occasion, they have taken them for granted. They never have to push themselves to their limits, they're just ordinary people. Even so, Negative Gorilla Queen is a pretty impressive sounding foe.
In the end, Superman is able to use various parts of his eternal legends to his advantage in the beginning of the quest to clear his name.
We get another indication of just how futuristic this future is. The Metal Men, some of the single most advanced robots in the DCU, are severely outdated by this point in time.
The Bad: This issue is a little dialogue heavy, and it occasionally crowds up some of the action.
Solaris' ability to make himself completely invisible to absolutely everything makes him come across as a somewhat forced kind of cheesily overpowered villain.
In Conclusion: 4.5/5
After a phenomenal startoff, DC One Million is still in a strong beginning, with a villain who doesn't use the traditional supervillain playbook. He tries to use Superman's legacy as a weapon against him, but Superman fight back with the same weapon. All in all it also still continues the great subtle nature of the amazing incomprehensible nature of the 853rd Century.