The ending is just awesome. It's a splash page for the end but man, what a splash page. It perfectly sets up the last issue. Can Bendis pull off a classic? Right now, all signs point to yes. Read Full Review

This issue really does a great job of bringing the action and plot points to a head while ramping up the threat of Rogol Zaar. Great cameos from the Justice League and a great moment with Bruce giving Clark a vital piece of info that he needs. Read Full Review

An entertaining issue that perfectly sets up the finale. Read Full Review

This is another amazing issue. The battle between Superman and Rogol Zaar is epic. Bendis does the legwork to demonstrate Rogol's power prior to this sequence, which makes the results believable. In addition, Adam Hughes' art highlights this explosive story. He uses shadows, outlines, and shading to support the emotional tone of the book, which feels to be at a panic-level for the Kryptonites. Bendis does an amazing job of pulling Jor-El back into the Superman narrative and making the character feel useful. Read Full Review

Brian Michael Bendis has consistently kept the pace of this series. Every time you think you know what's coming next, Bendis takes a left turn. The result has been a complex and full bodied story. Read Full Review

Rogol Zaar is at least a formidable foe even if he hasn't fully lived up to the hype.Happily that's not the same sentiment with Bendis, who's early work on Superman and his supporting cast has been encouraging. Read Full Review

The sad truth is that readers still won't learn anything new about Rogol Zaal. His hatred for all things Kryptonian, and apparently anything in contact with them, is enough to warrant their demise by his hands. It makes for an exciting blockbuster of a comic. Every artist brings their own spin onto Bendis's words, especially Adam Hughes. His unique style bridges the world of dream and comic with an amazingly original look. Every panel captures a sense and wonder that comes just as clearly in the writing. The story does need to move forward, but if it looks and reads likeMan of Steel #5,let the Bendis Superman stories continue. Read Full Review

The Man Of Steel #5 continues this mini-series run of quality. Adam Hughes art is the MVP of the issue, and Bendis continues to balance the action and the drama perfectly, setting up things for the future without neglecting the main plot. Its not perfect, but The Man Of Steel #5 still soars. Read Full Review

Still, the story continues to build nicely to the final issue of the mini-series, and hopefully we'll get a conclusion of sorts to the three major story threads running through it (the threat of Zaar, the fate of Lois and Jon, and who's behind the mysterious fires in Metropolis). Read Full Review

There are neat parts to the Man of Steel series as a whole but I'm left wishing two different things; the first that it was about two issues less so that it was tighter and more engaging and the second that it had some consistent art teams with it. I like what Bendis is bringing to the character with his interpretation of it and the potential with the expansion here but it's six issues with everything still largely a mystery until the end. I'm curious when it comes to Zaar but at the same time I found myself a lot more interested in this issue in what Jon's story is and just how far they'll go with that. There's plenty to like here overall but it simply feels like it could have been better. Read Full Review

Enjoyed The Man of Steel #5? Let us know on Twitter @HeroesDirect! Read Full Review

A little bit of a step down from previous issues solely because it's a bit light on content (basically 3 things happen in the entire issue) but visuals and pitch-perfect character work more than make up for it, I'm really excited for the finale. Read Full Review

Brian Michael Bendis seems to have gotten his mojo back as he steers Superman into familiar, yet excitingly new territory and Kal-El will never be the same. It's not easy bringing fresh insight into a character that's 80 years old. But his take on the Man of Steel seems to be fresh and this story is leading the reader into innovative territory as Superman realizes that a cleansing is in order. Read Full Review

I still feel like the plot is being rushed overall. It seems that now would have been the perfect time to dive into Zaar's motives and background. However, what we get is a really cool continuation of the battle started in the previous issue. I don't think I'm invested in the character they've built so far. I find myself wondering after each issue, 'why is he doing all this?" Read Full Review

Man of Steel #5 is a return to quality after the subpar #4. The fight between Clark and Rogol Zaar is great, the dialogue remains solid, and the conflict provides some complex and engaging emotionality from the Man of Tomorrow. Hughes, Fabok, and Sinclair do some great work on the visuals too. This one earns a recommendation. Check it out. Read Full Review

But the men of the hour are Rogol Zaar and Superman, and while I love Superman, Rogol Zaar gave me one interesting speech way back at the beginning of the series. There are very clearly defined stakes. The action is quick paced. The plot is finally picking up. I have to admit that the final spread is tantalizing. The epic conclusion to the mini-series is next week and yet, I am more curious than I am anticipatory. Read Full Review

Im curiousto see how the story ends (assuming it ends). Will it be a complete,self-contained story (doubtful), or will it dovetail into other Superman titles?Or will we end up with some sort of non-ending built on the flimsy premise ofClarks mothers name being Martha? Tune in next week. Read Full Review

Bendis' main storyline in his introductory Superman story remains boring and uninspired, but almost everything else about this comic is able to keep it afloat. Read Full Review

The penultimate issue to the Man of Steel Miniseries is essentially filler and will leave you asking 'can we finish up now?' Read Full Review

By now, youve likely already decided if youre going to be reading Bendis Superman and Action Comics. Even though this story is quite coming together, the potential for the writers take on the character is apparent. Hopefully, even if The Man of Steel doesnt get it together in the end, it will leave us all with something to explore in future stories. Its just unfortunate that this is the most we can hope for from the series. If you still can, you should wait on this one. It will almost definitely be more effective in a collected edition,but we won't know until next weeks final issue if this story will offer us a satisfying ending to this exhausting tale. Read Full Review

The positives are great and the negatives are things I can look past for the time being. What matters write now is that Bendis is confirmed a good choice. Read Full Review

So some solid Supergirl moments, a decent internal monologue by Superman, and a good scene with Melody Moore stand out as positives. But Zaar's befuddling killing plans and a Lois/Jon scene that had me perplexed dragged this down a bit. Read Full Review

Bendis still has a fairly good handle on Superman, but he's rather inconsistent with the other characters in his writing and the fact that the story hasn't progressed that much more, combined with the fact that we still know so little about Rogol Zaar, makes this a disappointing and frustrating issue. Adam Hughes' art also plays a factor into the disappointment after delivering a good first half with the visuals but then a very noticeable drop in the second half. It's a shame the writing and art weren't better considering this is the second final issue of The Man of Steel. Read Full Review

The alleged solar flare from the end of the last issue turns out to be a red herring, and this issue continues to tread water to justify a sixth issue. Frankly, skipping this miniseries entirely and waiting for the regular Superman comics to commence in July seems like the smarter idea, the further we get along. Read Full Review

Man of Steel #5 is easily the weakest chapter of Bendis' weekly Superman debut, and the problem is both the writing style and the direction of the story at different points. Read Full Review

Man of Steel #5 fails to do anything but indicate that Superman might be in the wrong hands. Read Full Review

As much as I've enjoyed this series so far, The Man of Steel #5 did not advance that enjoyment. However, I can see some people liking this penultimate issue since it does set things up for a conclusion. Albeit, I don't think those that enjoyed it can ignore the unfinished artwork accompanied by the draggy story progression in this one. Read Full Review

In its weakest chapter yet, writer Brian Michael Bendis's The Man of Steel does not even have excellent art to fall back on. Read Full Review

Rogol Zaar does nothing for this book. The plotlines and mysteries do nothing to keep the story interesting. For what it was worth, it would have been easier just to trot doomsday out for another go at it, or make this a one shot comic than try to tide fans over a few months until the full-fledged Superman issues come out. If you made it this far, finish it and pray that it gets better. If you just picked this up and are confused, wait and get the trade. pass on this book. Read Full Review

The on-going subplot regarding what happened to Lois and Jonathan continues to drag on in the typical Bendis fashion, with no resolution in sight, though the artwork by Jason Fabok is fantastic. If this is what we are to expect from Superman comics from now on, the future is looking bleak for The Man of Tomorrow. Read Full Review

"The Justice League takes care of its own"

The plot slows down in this issue and story doesn't move forward very much.
Rogol Zaar beats Superman leaving him unconscious on the surface of the Moon while another fire rages in Metropolis. I really like this subplot about fires in the city. It shows that not every danger in the City of Tomorrow comes from aliens, big toy robots or bald guys in green power suits.
I must say that I never saw Adam Hughes work other than cover art. But I enjoyed his work here. Some of the panels looked a bit iffy, but I'm gonna let that slide because of the wonderful opening page with citizens of Kandor looking up at their impending doom and the way he drew Supergirl. She looked great.

My only real problem with this issue is the Flash and his portrayal. It felt a bit this way - "I have the Flash in this panel, I'm gonna give him some speech bubbles, but I'm not going to think too hard on what he is saying" and we end up with a bit idiotic speedster who talks dumb things. Now that I think about it, Snyder's Flash in Justice League suffers a bit form this too. more

While the storytelling remains consistent and engaging, I can't ignore the fact the art is getting worse and worse with every single issue. At this point, it looks like it was released at the stage of flat colors. It's pretty bad, although you can see spot some solid looking panels - if only they were colored and detailed properly...
One definitely good change I can say is, Kara finally started to act like a human, and gotten herself some believable personality. There's still a lot ahead of her to become a fleshed out character, but after reading this issue, I have some hopes.
Pretty good overall, but the art, oh, boy, it reminds me of few first issues of Silencer.

Interesting ideas, but too many art styles.

The continued strong characterization of Supes and Kara and a lot of good art make up for the glacial pacing, mishandling of most of the JLA, and whatever it is that's going on with Lois and Jon. This would have been better at four issues.

Underwhelmed

I scare 4 of Superman. remenber when Superman was a must see book

I am enjoying Superman's and Supergirl's characterisation here. And the artwork. That's pretty much it, as the story is quite stupid. The Jor-El's subplot, which was my most liked part of this book, took an incredibly wrong path, and I just cannot stand how both he and Jon are portrayed.

This issue is caca poo poo.

I would have given this a 3 or 4 but the ending was really good.

Some of the dialogue was painful to read, the art was a bit off at times also. Hopefully the last issue will step it up a bit.

Disappointing on all levels. So far, I an not really impressed by anything Bendis has brought to Superman, but I hope that changes. The sequence with Jon seemed extremely out of character. I was also really disappointed with the art by Adam Hughes. Typically I'm a big fan of his work, but it just wasn't very good in this issue.

SPOILERS:
Why would Rogol Zaar leave Superman alive? Why would he attempt to blow up Earth to rid the universe of Kryptonians when, ironically, it would kill everyone EXCEPT the super-powered Kryptonians? When did Jor-El go from being a genocidal maniac to being a reasonable grand-father? This issue makes no sense.

It was great to see the other DC heroes as rendered by an evolved Adam Hughes. And that's about all I have that's nice to say about this issue or this series. How does a writer so banal, so ordinary earn the name "The Great One?" I'll admit I've only read Bendis' DC work to date and it's a small sample size but so far, to me, there's no there there.

Every positive point I'm giving this review is for the art.

This series is complete garbage. Jurgens and Tomasi’s runs were special due to the family dynamic of Superman, Lois and Jon. It brought heart to those books. Bendis breaking up this family is totally out of character if you’ve been following the previous arcs. I think he doesn’’t know how to write Jon, so he got rid of him. Rogol Zaar is just a generic villain . I had Superman and Action on my pull list and I’ve already dropped them.

The worst fears about Bendis materialize in this issue in which pretty much nothing happens.
Superman is made to look surprisingly passive in his dealings amd fights with Rogol Zaar, whose whole quest for vengeance looks disjointed and vague. The backstory is not rich and powerful enough for him to be a compelling villain.
Writing Superman is not easy. He is made to look childish this issue, but the Justice League looks even worse subjected to Bendis signature chit chat.
The mystery around Jonathan’s fate is revealed as a gimmick to get rid of the character and let Bendis not tied down by a Superman dad.
I know Bendis was a big PR get for DC, but they have been overselling. How long has it been since Bendis had set the world on fire at Marvel? His X Men were awesome, but then his so run on Iron Man was beyond bad.
This stings, as the Superman books had been one of the big positive surprises of Rebirth. Let’s hope things get better. more

the art goes from OK to horrible depending on what page you're on.

the author seemingly hasn't read any previous work.

everything is just so BAD. at one point I think the writer is trolling us, asking the same questions that we all are. except the know the answer - because Bendis. !@#$

I'm sick of him already.

Entire reason why, Jon go with Jor El is stupid, We still don't know why Rogal hates Kryptonians.

d a d w h a t i s t h a t

This issue was not good. The possible reason why Jon is missing is not a good one. Jon's characterization is not a good one. Some of Clark's characterization isn't good. The possible reason why Lois is missing is not a good one. Supergirl's voice in this issue is not what I would describe as good. Flash's line? Really not good. What seems to be Rogol Zaar's plan and tactics? Also not good. There are other not good things in this issue, but those things were the worst. I like some of the art, but it has been taking a nosedive lately.