This is the end of the arc but of course it's only the beginning for Superman. Morrison and company bring it all to a griping conclusion.

The Good

Knowing the end of this arc was a mixed bag. There were times early on I was extremely excited with the direction of the series. Unfortunately there were also elements of later parts that fell a little flat. Because of that, I was looking forward to end of the attack on Earth. Yet knowing the end was near meant the 'early days' of Superman might also be coming to a conclusion. I've said it before, I wasn't crazy about the jeans and t-shirt look but Grant Morrison and Rags Morales quickly made me love it.

In many ways, we already know how this story has to end. Obviously Metropolis has to survive, along with many of the 'stars' that were trapped in the bottled version. We also saw earlier that Superman manages to claim the ship for himself. Still, there were some pretty cool moments inside, seeing Superman become the hero Morrison has been molding him to be.

Now that Superman has faced this great threat, it appears the chip on his shoulder has gone away. We are now faced with a new Superman. Hopefully he'll retain some of his emotion and not be the flat and cold version we've seen in other "New 52" titles.

We have several artists working on this oversized issue and the key is to make note of the details on each page. There is plenty to see and definite clues to possible future plotlines. We'll have to wait and see how many of them play out since this story is still set in the past.

The Bad

I mentioned the different artists. There are four of them. Having multiple artists most likely made it easier to present an oversized story but also results in the noticeable change in art styles. It may not bother some but it's one of my pet peeves when it comes to comics.

There's also the fact that we know how a lot of this has to end. It some ways it made the issue almost feel rushed despite a tiny longing to see the end arrive. I am concerned for where the series will go next issue. Seeing a younger Superman in action (no pun intended) has been a blast. I am much more interested in seeing Morrison write the early days rather than have him do modern day adventures.

The Verdict

The first arc is over. What comes next? We've had a pretty good idea how this story has to end. That is one of the downfalls in telling a story set during Superman's early days while pretty much all the other "New 52" comics are set in the present. The ending almost feels rushed as suddenly we're witnessing the aftermath of it all. The stage has been set for Superman and now we're ready to see his adventures as a hero rather than a vigilante. Morrison brings it all together but it's the mix of four different artists in the book that drags it down a little. The adventures of young Superman may be over but we all know that Morrison has plenty more tricks up his sleeve. This has just been the appetizer for whatever he has planned.

I haven't read this arc, but something tells me that this "young superman" concept again is going to taste like a microwaved old dish.

Didn't like this issue and the next arc looks boring too. Have to say I'm dropping it now.

Yeah I agree. I've gotten to love the young, naive Clark. Things seem to be happening too fast. I would have loved Superman to stay in the t-shirt and jeans, still exploring his infant powers for a little longer. Now this has just turned into a full blown Superman book. He's got it all now. Quite a rushed, messy issue really.

@skaarason said:

this is the best comic currently from dc !!

Not reading Scott Snyders Batman then are you? :P

This was a good issue, I've never been a huge super man fan but action comics so far has been keeping me interested enough to keep buying it. Anyone know what that kryptonian/kryptonese stuff superman was saying toward the end, at least I assume it was kryptonian....

I've been loving Action Comics so far, so I don't see this changing that. I'm just bummed I can't go pick this up today. Goddamn work and school and music schedule.

@Funrush said:

@feargalr said:

@skaarason said:

this is the best comic currently from dc !!

Not reading Scott Snyders Batman then are you? :P

Or Geoff Johns's Aquaman?

Or David Finchs Batman: The Dark Knight?

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I kid I kid!

@feargalr said:

@skaarason said:

this is the best comic currently from dc !!

Not reading Scott Snyders Batman then are you? :P

Or Geoff Johns's Aquaman?

@Funrush: Or Animal Man or Swamp Thing

@Funrush said:

@feargalr said:

@skaarason said:

this is the best comic currently from dc !!

Not reading Scott Snyders Batman then are you? :P

Or Geoff Johns's Aquaman?

or Jeff Lemire's Animal-Man? :p

Does anyone else smell a certain imp in a derby coming up soon?

ok....yeah...I am not...liking what's happening. I was actually looking forward to a rag and tag clark kent but now he's full blown superman. Rushed. Fast. Emotionless. Cold. I just don't care. I'll stick to Batwoman, Batman, Aquaman, and I, Vampire.

liked the issue but the ending felt lil rushed n took some time to understand it(havta read the issues at least twice to understand what exactly GM is writing) i wasnt happy wit the fact that after he defeated brainiac n came bak to earth he can just fly?? why wasnt that explained more? i mean one super jump into space n now he can do everything?? very weird..enjoying action so far the story anyways not the way GM is wirting them.Bring on the next arc.

@Ultim8Roux: Yeah I picked up on that too.

I told myself month's ago I'd finish out this arc and then I was done with Action. I gotta admit I went into this issue pretty half hearted but found myself really enjoying it. I'm still planning on dropping the title, but I'm glad I picked up these initial 8 issues.

I TRULY HATED THE 4 ARTISTS/ISSUE. I totally dig Morales' art but in 8 issues Kubert filled in twice already, now 4 artists in one issue? seriously? And now i hear he's taking another break? And I'm sorry to say but Morrison's run isn't the strongest either. Loved the 1st 2-3 issues, that's it, I'm out.

This issue stanked.

Hmmm. I haven't read this issue yet. And after reading some of the online reviews (and especially seeing some of the inconsistent artwork contained within) I'm kind of afraid to. I had such high hopes that this would be one the best (if not THE best) Superman story arcs ever ... oh dear ... looks like I probably won't have to bother purchasing the collected edition.

This, Batman (Snyder's), Batman and Robin, Swamp thing and the Flash are the best of the new 52 in my opinion..... oh and Aquaman can join

@Supreme Marvel said:

I'm still certain that Clark's landlord is a 5th Dimensional Imp.

@slapz88 said:

When this arc started it was completely awesome and a totally unique and fresh idea to superman, but i believe that DC ruined the flow of this by adding those 2 filler issues right in the middle of the arc. I felt that they didn't have any place in this arc, they could have been after the main story and been perfectly fine until the next arc. O well, but thats the business of it i guess. This issue though felt really rushed. I was a little lost as to what was happening. I'm just glad the arc is over and lets bring in another to see if it has the same bang as the original two issue. Lets just hope morrison has something good in store for us.

Actually I've been hearing that people didn't really like the 2 filler issues, but take a look at the issues again. (BTW DC didnt ruin it, Morrison decided to put them in)

Firstly, it wasn't a filler issue, they were 2 incredibly compressed issues to show a quick view into the future and at the same time set up the storyline for the future as well.

We got to see that the little man is indeed the mastermind behind almost every criminal activity.

We got to see the Anti Superman Army and who it consist of. Namely, Nimrod, Kryptonite man and several others which would set the tone for the next few years and we can definitely expect finally a "rogues" group of villain for Superman. We should be expecting how the little man would somehow get more and more of the anti superman army against Kal and how he would assemble the team for a showdown.

We got to see the destruction of Krypton and also the phantom zone criminals including one which would escape and join the Anti Superman army.

We also got introduced to how Kryptonite affects supes in a diff way and how it actually also affect other humans.