A fantastic, emotional ride that unlike issue 4, manages to balance a compelling origin story, and moving the plot forward in the present day.

Welcome to the Oblivion Bar where the first round is on me and the pretzels are free! Be warned: like the pickled eggs at the bar, this issue is going to get SPOILED rotten.

Man of Steel was very straightforward this week, which can be a great thing. Why? Because we get answers..... maybe not to everything but some things... definitely. I still want to know who visited Clark, Lois, and Jon. I still want to know where Lois and Jon are in all of this. But, we get action and a well done, interesting story moving forward. Now why don’t we fly on in?

The first thing that I liked about this issue was the cover. I normally don’t talk about them because they don’t say much about the story. Sure, the cover normally has the most fantastic art BUT this cover reveals, in words, that Rogol is responsible for killing Krypton. We wondered before if there was a connection and it turns out that answer is yes. We assumed as much but now I feel Bendis is telling us directly.

Next, we move on to what appears to be present day. Rogol looks bruised, burned, and worn like a cheap work flannel. He lands like a meteor from space and proceeds to the Fortress of Solitude. He breaks in, destroys Kelex, and “I think” takes Kandor. I say “I think” because I’m not sure if he destroyed it or not.

Meanwhile, Superman’s checking out more of the fires in a Metropolis and invites Batman to help investigate. Side note: I loved Bendis’ short take on Batman. He seemed like an actual Detective. He seemed smart. I know it was just an appetizer of sorts but it wasn’t too bad. Lately, I’ve realized how much I miss the Detective version of Batman. I don’t miss the “I’m Batman!” or “can take down 80 super villains at once Batman”. Just solving crimes Batman. Simple Batman.

Anyway, Superman takes off because he can hear alarms going off at the Fortress. However, he arrives too late. Kara also arrives because she hears the noises too. They realize Kandor is gone/ destroyed (not sure) and they go to get their own lives in order. They don’t know who did this but they want to make sure the people they love are safe before they go off fighting and tracking this person down.

We flashback in time “I think” to see someone getting out of a ship in the Kent’s apartment. The person could be anyone. They are bald from the looks of it but their head is in the shadows so we can’t tell. It could be a Luthor, or a Brainac, or maybe someone from the Council we saw in the beginning of the series. But it doesn’t look like Rogol to me.

We jump back to the present and Clark follows the individual to Metropolis and scans his apartment to check if everything is ok. This is important to me and helps me place the time situation a bit better. Clark scanned the Daily Planet and saw Perry and Jimmy BUT in his apartment he saw no one. Jon and Lois are gone. So, I’m taking this as the present. I’m also assuming that the alien/ person who arrives in their apartment takes them away. That’s just my guess right now.

But out from nowhere, a blast of fire or energy comes at Superman encompassing him and giving us a taste of Rogol’s abilities. Superman says the fire fights against him and won’t dissipate. I took this as the fire is unique and possibly an ability of Rogols. On the last page, we see Rogol wielding and axe that is glowing like the fire that attacked Superman. My guess is that the fire comes from the axe. We end the issue with Supergirl arriving Zinkand Metropolis to help out and both Clark and Kara are there to fight.

This issue gave us great action, put the characters in jeopardy, showed us some of the abilities of this villain, and dropped us into the heart of what’s to come. I have been enjoying the progression of the story so far. Maybe it’s because it’s weekly and not monthly BUT I feel like he’s giving us just enough each issue. I may need more per issue if it’s a monthly release. The art is fantastic and the story is again moving along nicely. I love the cameos because they are just enough that still makes this a Superman story and not a team up event.

I want to know more about Lois and Jon but I think Bendis is trying to write them out for a reason.... just for a bit to get Superman back to his classic feel. I love both those characters but I’ve been enjoying is take so far and I’m excited to see where it goes. Great start Bendis. Superman fans need to be reading this and non-Superman fans can hop on board at the beginning and feel like their apart of the group. Excellent job so far and I’m excited to read more.

If you like what you heard, love talking all types of comics, and are interested in joining a comic chat group, hit me up at dispatchdcu@gmail.com or @dispatchdcu on twitter. Catch you all later! Peace more