Who is Muhammad X any way?
Jeph Loeb can write Batman and no one will argue that, but when he writes characters like Superman or Hulk, he can be hit or miss. His strongest writing is not found here in this comic. Geoff Johns is credited as a co-plotter and I feel bad that he is attached to this garbage.
This comic had some positive reasons to be written, like trying to define what makes a Hero and what makes an Icon. But the race thing is weak, it was powerful when Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams created John Stewart in 1971, but this is just weak now. Muhammad X would leave little impression on anyone that I don't think he has made an appearance in a comic since this one, I have not seen him in and according to comicvine and the other sources I checked to confirm this, he hasn't seen print again since the reprint in DC Comics Presents: Superman mini series. Even the combination of the name Muhammad (Which I am assuming a tribute to Ali) and X from Malcolm X is offensive to me and I am not even black.
This comic does have decent morals and tries to inspire the meaning of a hero, but I feel it comes up short. This is an example of why Superman comics don't sell as well as Batman or Green Lantern. Superman is a hard character to write and even good writers like Loeb and Johns can lose sight on how to write compelling Superman Stories.
Cheers!
- Silkcuts