Superman Unchained #8 – Review

By: Scott Snyder (story), Jim Lee (pencils), Scott Williams (inks), Alex Sinclair (colors)

The Story: Superman calls upon his inner Batman.

The Review: I take back what I said about finishing Wraith off with teamwork. Disappointing as it is that Bruce’s genius and Diana’s warrior prowess make no further contribution to the story, perhaps it’s for the best that Clark faces Wraith alone. As with any battle between Superman analogues, the conflict is ideological as well as physical; more than being about who’s stronger or has the kewlest grasp of his powers, this fight is about who took the correct course in life.

Obviously, the answer’s Clark, though Snyder perhaps takes a slight logical liberty to get there. Much of Clark’s triumph arises supposedly out of Wraith’s inexperience at fighting openly and without backup, but I find this hard to accept. It just seems hypocritical for Clark to looks down at Wraith’s military support when he’s got the support of the Justice League, who are basically an army unto themselves. It also seems ludicrous that Wraith’s decades in the military would somehow yield less fighting prowess than Clark. It’d be more credible for Clark to brag on the skills he learned through the League or by facing the most dangerous opponents in the universe on his own.

Still, Snyder makes a good point that between the two titans, Clark’s in the habit of working through problems himself. While Wraith’s pulling out every power trick in his bag (hinting at Clark’s abilities to come), Clark’s brain is going a mile a minute, using observation, environment, and a decent grasp on science to his advantage. Eventually, Clark’s tactics level the playing field, allowing him to show off a pretty wicked display of kung-fu, something you don’t see nearly often enough.*

And on the philosophical side of things, I think Clark wins out here, too, despite that all-too-familiar, annoying ring of self-righteous preachiness that comes through. “Your actions are Lane’s actions,” he concludes as he walks away from his beaten opponent. “Thoughtless on your part, and judged by no one.” There’s a subtle dig at centralized government in those lines. All along, General Lane has harangued and mocked Clark for trying to set himself above party/sovereign lines, to keep himself accountable to no one. But Clark’s arguing that his constant visibility does make him accountable—to everyone, not just the American government. An interesting, and I think correct, perspective.

The downside is all this takes up so much time that once Clark returns to the overarching mystery of Lois’ crystal, there’s only enough room for Lex Luthor to feed everyone the next scenario, which is intriguing, if a bit derivative. [Spoiler alert!] While Wraith is a loyal American himself, his presence on Earth was no accident, and neither are the technological goodies produced by his equation. Basically, the folk who sent him want it all, and with most of Lane’s toys out of commission, there’s only one man left for the job. The twist: Clark may have to give up his life for it, at least if he plays according to Luthor’s rules.

Lee’s still keeping it tight, the tightest I’ve seen his work in a very long time. With extraneous, scraggly lines at a minimum, there’s nothing in the way of your enjoying the pumped, showy look of his art. There are plenty of other artists drawing a good Superman right now, but no one revels in Clark’s post-relaunch youth the way Lee does. And Lee’s storytelling is quite respectable in this issue as well; the whole sequence of Clark and Wraith battling in the molten, dripping-hot core of the Earth has a steady rhythm and logical flow. Clark’s no Batman, but the man’s more than just an uppercut followed by a good left hook.

Conclusion: An issue that restores Superman’s reputation as a man of action, even if the pacing and message are a touch clunky.

Grade: B

– Minhquan Nguyen

Some Musings: * My dream is to see Clark do some Bruce Lee moves. I don’t care what the context is; I just want to see it.

– Among the many creative uses of his powers in this series, I think Clark heat-visioning his hands and using them as a makeshift radiator to unthaw Jimmy is probably my favorite.