The artworkfor this series has been extraordinary, and it is my hope that the art teamwill remain in place long after the current story arc concludes. Its like amerging of Neal Adams and George Perez, two of comics most capable and dynamicartists. Read Full Review

Between the Strange/Atom humor, the Kent wisdom, the Lois nod, and this cliffhanger, this was a tremendous issue. Thoroughly entertaining. Thanks to all involved! Read Full Review

The art by Reis is good as usual and he really know how to draw impactful scenes and make them work well. This is some great stuff. I'm happy in the direction it all seems to be going. Read Full Review

Ivan Reis' art continues to impress and he does an amazing job relaying the power of all of the characters, especially Superman and Zod. Read Full Review

Superman #5 delivers a definitive story about the Man of Steel, seeing him stripped of the support from his friends and family, forced to delve into what truly pushes him to be humanitys savior. This is one that any fan should absolutely not miss! Read Full Review

While this issue doesn't do much but add a character to the current story, it does make me optimistic for what Brian Michael Bendis plans on doing with the series going forward and it probably has one of the best moments that we've seen where the writer wants to show us that he knows the character...... Yeah, I've been getting tired of those moments, but this one really worked for me, not to mention that I really enjoyed the art that depicted it. Read Full Review

Superman #5 Keeps the action going with the great execution of making Zod the highlight of this issue, which should leave fans of the series excited to where it goes next. Read Full Review

Superman #5 does a lot of heavy lifting, continuing an already entertaining story and setting things up for the ending and beyond. A lot of the time in his career, these setup issues have been the most boring parts of the story, but Bendis and the art team work together to give this story the feel it needs to keep readers invested. A lot of readers arent completely on board with his Superman run yet, but showing them this book would go a long way to getting them into it. Read Full Review

This page-turner of an issue will definitely make fans curious to see what's next. Read Full Review

Though there are moments you do want things to move faster, I'm reminded of how things did used to move faster in older books from the 80s and before with lots of panels, exposition, and a rush about it through narration. Here, it's more of a show than tell but the tell is done well and the showcase of what's happening delivers all the right feelings to it. The scale is big, the heart is right, and the potential changes are intriguing in giving us a new galactic order that will make for a far more interesting shared universe to engage in. I'm really enjoying this run even as behind and infrequently as I get to it. Read Full Review

Superman #4 is easily Bendis' best issue of this title, although it still hasn't reached the character-driven heights of his Action Comics run. Read Full Review

Between Superman and Bendis' other Superman book, Action Comics, I have much preferred this title so far. I have my doubts about Bendis' direction for the Kent family, which is playing out in Action, but this book has so far proven to be a decent action-packed story, which is proving to be much more engaging than its sister title. Read Full Review

An issue that looks to set the stage for one seriously epic showdown! Read Full Review

SUPERMAN #5 may struggle in its pacing and overarching plot development, but its centralization on Zod and Superman's dynamic is undoubtedly its best aspect. Read Full Review

Superman is in an interesting place as the story is decent enough, but the lengthy wait between issues and for significant advancements is keeping it back from must-read status. Read Full Review

Brian Micheal Bendis hangs another solid issue of Superman on his belt. Strong characterizations and fantastic Ivan Reis art make this worth picking up, despite its somewhat lacking plot. Read Full Review

Armed with high drama and a lot of heart, Superman #5 is at the very least a great emotional read, if still a bit plodding plot-wise. Read Full Review

Great Issue

Thus far i believe Bendis's best writing was showcased in issue #4. Don't get it wrong, his writing in this issue is still spectacular, and it's shown through the amazing art of Ivan Reis. This issue is definitely a page turner, i had to catch myself and slow down to enjoy every panel.

I really enjoyed this and I'm very excited for Zod vs. Rogol Zaar!

"My name is Jeff"

Dru-Zod surely knows how to make an entrance. And his dream of a New Krypton? I like it.

As for the rest of the issue. Good dialogue, great story and great art, and a phenomenal couple of panels where Superman gets overcome with almost hellish rage, but one memory of a certain kind couple defuses all the anger.

Bendis knows what he's doing, he builds on what Jurgens did with Zod and the idea of an, probably uneasy, alliance between houses of El and Zod is intriguing.

Decent issue! A quick read. The Zod part came out of nowhere and wished they explained on that. The art work is very beautiful! Zod’s dream is definitely making me curious if we will see Zod trying to make that dream a reality.

This was perfectly average. Not much to say about it.

I didn't mind this issue, but 4 and 5 only needed to be one issue. All that happens is more fighting between Rogol and Supes, while Zod shows up to help his brethren out. Last issue was also just alot of fighting, and little plot progression.

I just do not care about this.

THE GOOD:

-Adam Strange needs to have a series written by Bendis. Needs.

-The scene where Clark sees the Kents is actually really cool. I liked it, maybe it was forced, but it was one of the most memorable parts of this issue.

THE BAD:

-This is the first time Ivan Reis has ever let me down as an artist, but the art in this issue was just bad. It detracted from the story and felt rushed.

-I didn't like the Zod storyline a whole lot. He kind of felt forced at times, and it just wasn't as interesting as the main story.

-They're kind of hinting Zaar wil have more depth later, but they need to get rid of this crappy villain. He is bringing the series down.

-I just wish more happened in this issue. Basically it tells the story of Zod arriving in the Phantom Zone, other than that, there's not much else that's super important.

-It's also not very memorable. I can already tell it will be the issue I remember the least when this story arc is done. more

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Superheroes for Hire - Nov 20, 2018

Don't go wishing Bendis onto another character. Let him burn out on Superman and make his new characters.

ohhaimark - Nov 20, 2018

Fair enough. I just found he wrote Adam Strange better in this series than Superman.

myconius - Nov 21, 2018

Bendis should go back to Marvel.

egonnn244 - Nov 23, 2018

I think he's good where he is.

ohhaimark - Nov 23, 2018

I've never really read his Marvel stuff, but I'm not a super huge fan of his Superman run thus far, especially the last few issues. Cover, his Jinxworld comic, however, is phenomenal.

myconius - Nov 23, 2018

some of his early Ultimate Spider-Man issues were ok. IMO he burned out pretty fast, and the series meandered thereafter. i didn't follow many other of his titles since i'm not all that much of a Marvel fan anymore.

ohhaimark - Nov 24, 2018

Some modern Marvel comics are pretty good. The Immortal Hulk, Iron Man, Fantastic Four, Captain America and Nick Spencer's Spider Man are three I'm really enjoying at the moment. But I am definitely a bigger DC fan. In the comic world at least… I have a feeling we're going to see history repeat itself and he will burn out quickly on his Superman run too. In fact, I think it's already starting… In my opinion at least.

myconius - Nov 24, 2018

i can definitely see history repeat itself. i was enjoying his MoS run at first, then it took a fast nosedive. ...i've always been more of a DC fan, though i've always had a soft spot for the classic Stan Lee/Steve Ditko Spider-Man. the 90's era of Spider-Man by David Michelinie & Mcfarlane/Lasen/Bagley was also a lot of fun!

ohhaimark - Nov 25, 2018

Yeah, I wasn't a fan of Man of Steel either. I've never really read any classic Spider-Man comics, just got into some recent runs, like Dan Slott's and Nick Spencer's. I'll have to check out some omnibuses of those runs if they have them. The comic that made me appreciate Marvel most was Marvels by Kurt Busiek.

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Once again this volume continues to deliver...
...great dissapointment.

tl;dr: Writing is about as bad as it can get for a comic book. bendis continues to hurt Superman and his family. Do not buy this issue, stay as far from it as you can. The art is decent enough but any enjoyment it can provide is outweighed by asinine writing.

Last issue's improvement to boring and uninteresting did not last, as this issue starts with a "vision" that does not actually function as anything other than a dream sequence. Bonus points to this scene for showing how the image teased as the reunion of the Superman family was a fake-out and showcases that this volume will always fail to deliver what fans ask for it.

The humor continues to be a hit-or-miss with Stormtrooper like aim, as it presents Adam Strange as nothing more than a bumbling fool, while generic alien warlord (rogol zaar) is still switching his characterization as often as a playing card in the hands of a magician. He can go from engaging Superman in a life-or-death battle to engaging him in casual conversation; his sole drive being the elimination of all Kryptonians makes this be mind boggling to say the least as well as his statement that he also plans to eliminate all Kryptonian life in the phantom zone while presumably surrounded by his army made up of exactly that.

However, this issue is marred even further as bendis commits his greatest fault against the entire Superman mythos within it. In this issue Superman decides he's had enough and that he will now KILL his enemies, stating he has the power to do so and no longer cares. That panel is an utter BETRAYAL of everything Superman stands for and simply put, the worst writing the character has had in modern times. Far from adding to the character it is diminishes him and is an offense to him and his history.

Even in The Death of Superman, when he realizes he must break his vow it is as a last resort and exhausting every single option available to him. Doomsday has also defeated every single hero that has come across him and Superman acknowledges that he will die in stopping his foe, but is prepared to make that sacrifice and go against his beliefs as anything short of that will not be enough. Showing him suddenly act out of anger and stating he can eliminate his enemies as if he were a boot against an ant does not even come close to meeting the dire circumstances as those of his first fight with Doomsday and no appearance of the Kents could ever hope to dimish how absolutely senseless and half-baked that portrayal was. That alone is why this issue deserves a negative score.

The sole point I am giving this issue is because for once we're seeing bendis write a character in a way that makes sense and actually seems fitting, Zod acted like Zod and I actually believe he would act as he does in the final pages of this book. But I would a damned fool if I were to have any expectation that the next issue would ever go above a 3/10 tops in what is easily the worse run of Action Comics in years.
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PeteRick - Nov 17, 2018

Man,now that i understand that superman ended on #45, i can read with no commitment whatsoever

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