Within the pages of Superman of Metropolis #1, Lewis " through the simple use of a dialog box " makes it very clear what DC has in store. While the events of Dark Nights: Death Metal have changed the very foundation of the DC Universe, Future State is here to take the reigns and move DC forward. New multiverses. New possibilities. New realities. Read Full Review

I was never a huge Superman fan. Ive always felt that he was someone better suited for the villain's life and seemed to be underwhelming at times. Over that past year or so, Ive been diving into more Superman books and having more conversations on Superman and I can feel my opinion of Kryptons favorite son changing a bit. Sean Lewis does a great job in aiding that opinion change. His take on Superman was superb and we can only hope he has more Kryptonian tales to tell. Read Full Review

The Superman story proves a warmup for two very entertaining backup stories that will make Superman of Metropolis worth following. If the main feature improves, this could be a standout Future State title. Read Full Review

When all is said and done Future State: Superman of Metropolis #1 delivers an interesting start to its story. While it slams the gas on the plot a bit hard, requiring the reader to take in a lot of backstories, I would say it is overall worth it. Read Full Review

The imagery in the main story was vibrant and full of energy. There were some great visual moments throughout and the action was great. The Miracle Man story art was a little too subdued. It lacked any visual flair that would have made it fun or engrossing. The Guardian story art was fine. There was a lot of energy to the action, but that's about it. Read Full Review

An interesting new format elevates the entire package in an experimental take on Metropolis's protector. Read Full Review

Future State: Superman of Metropolis #1 is a decent read but doesn't quite have the excitement I was hoping for. As an arc for an ongoing series, it'd all be very interesting but as a two issue story it feels like we're dropped into something well underway. Read Full Review

Would I recommend? I'm on the fence but yes, just. There's definitely scope for improvement as the story develops, and there's enough to keep some people happy, but is it the game changing success DC want and need? Read Full Review

There is some clever social commentary mixed in here, but overall this and the main story don't fully connect. Unlike the other Future State stories, I'm not quite seeing how this feels like Metropolis yet. Read Full Review

Future State: Superman of Metropolis #1 is pretty OK. It started shaky and it gets better as it goes. The best parts, as previously mentioned are about the aftermath of Jon's actions. That is such a great idea. The stories do not follow a straight line, so folks need to buy the other Future State Superman book to find out what happens. Pretty good sales tactics DC. I am all in for this ride. Read Full Review

The art is all pretty stellar in this and compliments the different stories being told here... I just wish I was a bigger fan of those stories. I feel lost in this future world, which may be the point right off the bat, but the concepts and ideas being presented here just didn't hit for me and I wish we would have had a better look at this future world instead of the better look at a shrunken domed Metropolis. Read Full Review

Across these three tales, the art is the strongest component of each with de Landro and Louise producing some dynamic pages that stand out the most through the combination of minimalist linework and sharp coloring. It would certainly be interesting to see how they could render Metropolis on a larger story after 'Future State' comes to an end. Read Full Review

A mixed bag of an issue, but there's some solid ground work in the stories it presents. Read Full Review

If anything, the disappointment with 'Superman of Metropolis' is that these great ideas can only be explored in this issue and the next. If this was the first issue of a new Superman series, I think I would be a lot more complimentary. But it isn't. And for a miniseries' opening, I can't help but be let down. Read Full Review

Only the boldest Super-Fans need apply. Read Full Review

Let's just say, again, I am glad this isn't the title for long. Read Full Review

Back in the 90's Marvel and DC comics mashed up their characters and told stories in a combined "Amalgam" Universe. The comics were all One-Shots and the most standout aspect of the mashup besides the characters themselves was the illusion that the Amalgam universe was longrunning and had a long-established history.

This is my third "Future State" review and I'm starting to see a lot of similarities between this event and the Amalgam Universe. The main difference I'm seeing between the two universes is that the stories aren't one-shot and that there appears to be a push to integrate some of these characters and concepts into the mainline DC Universe. Superman of Metropolis feels the most like an Amalgam comic in how the stories are presented.

Superman of Metropolis is another 3 in 1 comic book. All three stories touch on the situation in Metropolis and the presentation is similar to what was done in "The Next Batman". The main story features Jonathan Kent in his role as Superman. The backup stories feature new incarnations of Mister Miracle and The Guardian respectively.

It's next to impossible to discuss the backup stories without spoiling the main plot point of the issue. How much you enjoy this series will be tied to how much you're willing to accept Jon's decision making in the issue. In my opinion, it's pretty dumb and hurts the overall narrative.

We learn immediately that Lex Luthor has been exiled and Lexcorp has been supplanted by Andrej Trojan and Trojan Solutions. Trojan Solutions has been combining human DNA with Nanotechnology and supporters of the initiative have declared Metropolis "The Free Republic of Metropolis". This is clearly a succession scenario and forces the hand of the United States Government as they begin clashing with the citizens of Metropolis.

The Nanotech is called "Braincells" and is created from remnants of Brainiac after he was shut down. Long story short, the people of Metropolis have been integrated with Brainiac technology. I got serious Mass Effect 3 vibes when reading this issue and was wondering if this scenario was what Bioware was going for in that game when It was released.

The Miltary moves in to destroy "Brain Cells" which would put the people integrated with the technology at risk. In order to protect the people, Jon uses Brainiac's technology to shrink down the City and bottle it in the "Fortress of Solitude". This puts Jon in direct conflict with the Military and Supergirl. It also becomes clear that Jonathan may be playing into the hands of outside forces that he's not aware of.

The setup for Superman of Metropolis is actually pretty cool. It's standard futuristic sci-fi stuff. The problem is that Jon unilaterally deciding to shrink Metropolis and its population against their will essentially makes them prisoners. It's a fascistic move and would frame Jonathan as a villain depending on who's telling the story. I'm not sure how anyone can see his decision as the right one objectively.

The art direction for the issue is fantastic. I especially loved the updated designs for Jon and Supergirl in the comic and hope they carry forward beyond Future State. The action is also pretty dynamic and although I have an issue with the script everything else about the story looks great. I look forward to seeing more from John Timms as he's a talent I haven't seen before.

In addition to my gripes with the script, the backup stories aren't much to write home about. Not much information is given about the New Guardian and Mister Miracle aside from the fact that they are also trapped in the bottled city of Metropolis and doing their best to maintain order. The art for these segments ranges from bland to meh. It seems that these backup stories were done to justify the $5.99 cover price. I appreciate more bang for the buck but I would have been satisfied with the main story for $3.99. The other obvious thing is that the characters of Guardian and Miracle have been race-swapped. The characters are pretty bland in this issue. Hopefully, this changes as the stories are fleshed out.

This issue only works if you understand and agree with Jon's decision. I'm assuming that the situation will be fleshed out more as Future state rolls on but as it stands Superman of Metropolis #1 is a pretty comic but it has problems under the hood that should have been caught at the concept stage.

Rating: 7/10 more

I thought the lead story wasn't bad (except for Brain Cells), but I didn't care for the backups at all.

The backups are better than the main story, but as with all the Future State titles I've read so far, the hyper-compressed pace is just too fast for the stories they're trying to tell. I feel like I could have really liked this one if it had some breathing room.

Superman of Metropolis #1 is finally here, bringing us the start of the Future State event. This issue is comprised of three separate tales that chronicle our beloved characters re-imagined for a different time yet in the most familiar of settings. In this case, Metropolis.

Superman of Metropolis #1 thrusts the reader 10 years into the future and straight into the action as the United States Military clashes with a large-sum of augmented citizens. Those citizens have been upgraded with corrupt Nanotechnology courtesy of a rogue Artificial Intelligence. Only one man stands between Metropolis and impending doom, none other than Superman himself Jonathan Kent.

Writer Sean Lewis does a fantastic job of informing the reader of all that has recently transpired in this newly established universe in such a short space of time. Its easy to feel lost or overwhelmed considering the magnitude of this event, however Sean Lewis honors the past just enough to cultivate an exciting vision of the future that is anchored in Superman lore.

Like with classic else-world tales of yesteryear, Future State appears to feature familiar characters in unfamiliar settings and scenarios. This is definitely the case regarding Jonathan and Kara (Supergirl). Both of these beloved characters feel familiar yet they have certainly both grown and matured. These two feel more like contemporaries now rather than a niece and nephew. Kara seems to carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders and this must play into Clark’s absence on Earth.

Jonathan stepping into his fathers shoes is of course natural progression, however in this issue it feels as though Jonathan has fully embraced the weight of the symbol emblazoned on his chest, but has forgotten to revel in the hope it can inspire.

Both Kara and Jonathan look fantastic in their redesigned costumes. Superman looks to be honoring his roots as Superboy as well as that of Conner before him as he adopts the no cape look. Kara has opted for a collar similar to that of her cousin from the new 52 era. This makes her look infinitely more regal and much more imposing than what we are used to seeing. Kara certainly looks to have stepped up in her cousins absence.

Writer Sean Lewis has created a rather interesting character by the name of Andrej Trojan who owns Trojan Solutions. Trojan doesn’t appear in the issue himself though his exploits in this timeline are chronicled and are sure to be felt moving forward. The main villain who does appear in this issue is also rather interesting and has fascinating ties to a certain Superman rogue from the past. The creative team don’t make a secret of this which I feel may have been a missed opportunity.

The real highlight of Superman Of Metropolis #1 is the artwork by John Timms and Gabe Eltaeb. John Timms who worked most recently on Young Justice has created the most incredible artwork for this issue. Every page is full of intricacy but on the grandest of stages. The combat and destruction is just awe-inspiring. Every turn of the pages feels like a Hollywood blockbuster. Gabe Eltaeb’s colours fill ever panel with so much depth and atmosphere. Our characters truly feel like they move from one habitat to the other as the environment shifts around them according to colour and tone.

Sean Lewis has done a wonderful job of crafting and cultivating a brand new era that feels new and exciting yet enveloped in the familiar. Jonathan’s dialogue in particular is the anchor that takes you back to familiar territory. I love to hear so much of Clark resonate from his son. This works in perfect contrast to the main antagonist of the issue whose dialogue is very cold and calculating. These two make for perfect adversaries.


The second story within Superman Of Metropolis #1 is titled ‘The Metropolis Menagerie’ and follows Mister Miracle as he protects Metropolis in yet another time. I won’t go into any more detail on this as I feel it isn’t Superman focused in the slightest, however the second story does have some ties and shows us a different perspective on the events of the first story.

Jimmy Olsen and Guardian find themselves in a predicament as Metropolis is bottled and her people begin to riot against their former saviour – Superman. In Clark’s 10 year absence it is so wholesome to see a very matured Jimmy still have that same amount of hope that his hero is going to come back. I would love to explore more on what has been going on in Jimmy’s life for his personality to change so much.

Writer Sean Lewis has done a great job of capturing all sides of this situation, I love that this had it’s own story that could truly focus and explore the repercussions of what Superman has done. The artwork is awesome too, the first half is by Cully Hamner and the latter by Michael Avon Oeming. The artwork is excellent in this story and I have to say the change is seamless and as described in the issue really showcases Metropolis in a darker light. The colours by Laura Martin helps add to this effect as Metropolis is drenched in shadows and silhouettes for the most part of the issue.

I for one cannot wait to read the next installment of Superman of Metropolis. We are certainly off to a great start. I am so excited to see whats next for the Superman family and Metropolis in the coming weeks. more

" Kandor technology. Re-appropriated, the old is new again."

Not a terrible story, but does it matter. I know DC claims Future State will carry over, and I'm not opposed to Jon taking the mantle, but the way this first issue ran, it was tough to get through. The art was well done. Not necessarily underwhelmed but to quote the Office, "Im simply whelmed". I mean its not BMB..........

The first and second story were ok, the third one got off the rails. I really don't get the hate for Jonathan as Superman. So it's okay for Yara Flor to be Wonder Woman, it's okay for Tim Fox to be Batman, two characters that have absolutely nothing in common with the main characters but it's not okay for HIS SON to wear the mantle of Superman? That makes zero sense.

I'm already exhausted by these.

Extremely dumb first story, the other two were so-so. The art is the standout thing in all of those.

My relationship with DC is starting to decay I think. Future State as a whole now seems like such a corporate push. Feels even more corporate than New 52 was. This Superman book was as generic as Superman books go. Jon doesn't feel like his own character at all in this book, you could have replaced him with Clark and it would have been the exact same book. Also, with the amount of times Braniac has attacked Metropolis, you'd think it would have been incinerated to the ground by now, but here he is again to attack Metropolis once more! And guess what, Metropolis is gonna be shrunken down, oh wow! All of these ideas are so cookie cutter and boiler plate. The only Future State book that should be taken seriously so far is Wonder Woman, which truly feels like a different direction in tone, character, and story. I hope that the upcoming future state books will change my mind, but if these were the big guns that DC decided to start Future State with, I may have to switch to Marvel full time only on my pull list. more

Its name is Brain Cells? *sigh* fine... I still don't understand why shrinking Metropolis was necessary...

The Guardian story was painfully boring and read like something from a 90s dollar bin.

This took me forever to get through. Mostly because the Superman story is so painfully bad that I was very close to just checking out of Superman until March. The back ups are fine. The Mister Miracle one is probably the best story here, but it's not amazing or anything. It just engages the reader slightly better than the Guardian story. This one is a real dud for me. No thanks.

Now this comic is just dreadful, by far one of the worst titles Future State has to offer so far, and let me remind you the bar isn't very high to begin with. What a boring, nonsensical and pitiful attempt to pass the Superman mantle to Jon. It would be funny if it wasn't s sad, because after what Brian Michael Bendis did to Supes, I thought it'd be hard for DC to keep things comparably bad. And yet here we are.

Neither of the three stories featured in this book felt passable to me. They're the epitomes of futility. They exist, but why exactly, that I don't know. They tell stories, but I don't know what they want to tell exactly, if at all.
Bottomline, they seem to exist to waste resources, since other than that they accomplish nothing. more