This issue was bad, to the surprise of no one.

What drags this issue down almost single-handedly is the conflict with Mongul. The reason for this is how in this same run he was a villain Superman was able to defeat in a single punch, without this foe even being able to finish his intro speech. Yet we are now expected to believe that Mongul is not just able to withstand Superman’s attacks, but in fact is able to toss him around; all of this with the United Planets’ forces attacking him at the same time.

So which is it? Is Mongul an actual threat or is he a chump Superman can just blow through? Because this inconsistency is just bewildering, more so when it’s IN THE SAME RUN. There’s not even a hint of an explanation to state why this villain can now take a punch.

The B-story on Earth, I get what they are going for but it’s piss-poor execution. I find it ridiculous that people would immediately jump into thinking Superman is an unfit representative for Earth when they’ve barely found out about the “united planets” and have no grasp of what they are, but I mean it’s a low effort way to shoe-horn a story.

Also, Lana Lang already knew who Superman so the “dramatic moment” of her saying she would confront him has no real gravitas to it. In fact it actually is surprising she was not mentioned before because if anyone would support him it’s her.


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All of these people are so annoying. They'd have to set up those suicide safety nets at the Daily Star building. There's so much fucking wrong with this issue. It genuinely annoys the shit out of me. First, Mongul. This is the same fucking run where Superman beats Mongul in, like, a second. And now suddenly no one can stop him? Maybe choose a villain Superman didn't one punch earlier, Bendis. That's forced as fuck. Now... The annoying Daily Star shit. I like how it's okay if Superman is a reporter because he's Superman and also he doesn't report on everything he does. That's sound logic right there. He's the exception because he is. Fuck off with that. And then, that same excuse can't be used for the United Planets shit? Why not? If we're okay with using bullshit fallacies to argue why Superman being Superman absolves him, why is there a limit to that? And what the fuck does the Daily Star know about it anyway?? Oh, and does literally everyone know where Lois Lane is "hiding"? What the fuck is the point in her being in hiding if she's constantly spotted with Superman and anyone can find her? This issue, man. So motherfucking annoying. more

Nice to know the impromptu group that banded together in Justice League Odyssey are now official leaguers.

Also it’s great that Hawkman, Shazam, and Cyborg were all able to reverse their current condition to be present in this momentous occasion. I mean even Harley, an anti-hero at best and someone who is in no way a member of any League also showed up, that’s really something. r/>
Honestly the only section about this title that made sense was Batman and Wonder Woman’s interaction. Even Lex’s “big reveal” seems underwhelming and something that will not have as much an impact as they teased it will.

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Brian Bendis needs to be taken off the Superman titles immediately as he just doesn't understand the characters within the series. He writes them in such a way that they are unlikable. To start with Pa Kent, he has him swear in front of his teenage son which is out of character that originally had mid western christian values that would result in Superman's ultra optimistic and moralistic view if the world. The book then goes on to make Lois Lane so unlikable you're wondering why Superman or anyone would put up with her smugness. The book then takes a look at Superman himself as a student in an attempt to make him relatable I suppose but this take is completely off base with the established character. It was almost as if I was reading the words of Miles Gonzalo Morales in the body of a teenage Superman. You remember him? He was the character that Bendis created that no one paid money to read about. So in short this is a failure of a book, save your money. more

Line your bird cage with this maxi series.

This miniseries is going nowhere fast.

The art is good, but dialogue and story drag this issue through the sewer. Is Bendis trying to write the character of Lois Lane as unlikable? I don't know what else to say besides that this isn't Superman.

Bendis pats himself on the back for his own story, then tacks on a few pages of Mongol fight when that fizzles out.

Poop.

Superman being smug that “Clark Kent” was such a good disguise, that’s new. Not a fan of it.

Suddenly Mongul is a threat? Really? The guy Superman took out with a single punch a couple issues back because he just “needed to punch something” is now somehow able to not only threaten the fledgling United Planets but also defeat Superman. I don’t buy it, it’s either one or the other, not both.

I cringed at a few moments of the scene in the Planet discussing Superman’s employment status and found the interaction with Trish Q to just feel inauthentic.

Dialogue has improved a bit in that while not memorable in the least this time around it was a particular chore to read through. Can’t say it’s good.

The art was the best thing about this issue, no questions asked. more

Art is good, the writing style is crap, the character of Lois is written to be simply unlikable. Really no reason for these events to happen. None, so just a silly story all around. SJW Bendis is just going to crap all over your favorite character because that's just what he does.

This book might have some value if you were reading it in the lavatory and you found yourself short of toilet paper. Other than that it's pretty much useless, save your money.

No, this is stupid, you guys. First, the Twitter handles and the fanfiction pandering is insignificant, but still really dumb. Second, why the hell would the emotionless people start a counter-protest to the emotional ones? These "emotionless motherfuckers" as our heroine eloquently puts it are not emotionless. Now, either that's the big twist at the end of this series, or the writer and artist don't understand what emotionless means. Either way, making this the main crux of your story is really dumb. Because, if it's not a twist, you're just a shitty writer. If it is a twist, it's so obvious that the reader never believes in the lie you've crafted to create said twist. This is not good. Don't @ me, as the kids and N.K. "hip" Jemisin would say. more

The art is well done, the story is "meh". Honestly why not just call this story issue # 13,14,15?
So now we'll have a Season 2 Green Lantern #1 which takes away from the #1 issue that came out a year ago. The numbering is there for a reason and it isn't to boost sales with bogus #1 issues.

Get rid of Bendis. All he does is try to inflate the importance and impact of his own bullshit. Stop with Leviathan. It sucked and was a failure, much like his entire run on the Super books. As for JrJr, I really like a lot of his art from Marvel but his DC works is absolute trash. Stop putting him on books. Seriously. It’s bad. Now, JrJr and Bendis together? There is nothing redeemable about this issue. more

This seems to be the opposite of the Superman book right now. For me, Superman started off really bad and boring and now has become decently readable. Action Comics started off slightly readable and now has gotten really bad and boring. This is probably the worst Superman book Bendis has written. It's boring, it's confusing with continuity, makes little sense when you think about it, and overall who cares about Leviathan. The art is also pretty bad, I don't think JRJR can draw Superman stories well, I think his Marvel work is much better. There aren't a lot of redeeming qualities for this book. more

Somehow tech built by the Manhunters, which were replaced by the Green Lanterns, is somehow a match for the Legion of Doom who have been empowered by cosmic forces?
...I don’t know even know what to say.

Leviathan also went from a separate faction trying to establish its own mandate to a generic “supervillain” group. Great.

Lex stating that the “event leviathan�� impressed him made me cringe, because if that’s true that is a very low bar to impress the guy.

Red cloud’s participation in the plan they make is laughable, because I doubt this villain will ever be anything of note and her part is something anyone else within that team could do (and far better).

Nothing in this issue is worth even remembering. Skip it completely. more

Rarely I see a comic with no redeeming qualities. Last time it probably was King's Knightmares trainwrck of an arc. Usually you get something of value for the money - most of the time decent art, sometimes decent story, (very) occasssionally both. But this... this is awful. Everything about this comic is awful. Plot, dialogues, art, all with no exception horrendously bad. If it was an indie book, or something niche, I wouldn't be that displeased and frustrated. But this is, supposedly, one of DC's flagship titles. If the house is willing to release something like this, with no effort nor talent put into, nowadays, I have a really bad gut feeling about what's to come in the future.
Avoid like the plague, vote with your wallet - if you refuse to support that kind of abominable trash with your money, DC may not feel confident to release more of its kind. Buy a good comic instead, donate those 4$ to charity, get youself some games on GOG, find a discounted novel, or I don't know, do anything with this money, because anything is better than this issue. more

Prelude:
Bendis. Action Comics. Bad. Let's go.

The Rare:
Nothing at all.

The Usual:
Rubbish art.

Bendis-speak.

"The Event Leviathan"

Continuity.

Leviathan Island.

It's boring as hell.

Conclusion:
Thank god it's over.

Hey Kids!
Do you want to read as story with everything you haven't enjoyed over the last year? Well then, do I have the comic book for you! That's right this book gives you three, count them THREE villains that no that no one wanted to read about in one book! Leviathan, Red Cloud, and Apex Lex. All of them interacting with each other in a nonsensical and mashed up story with aspects of how "Woke" to social issues the author is. Not only that but you won't even have to be bothered with seeing Superman in this issue as he's only in the book for 3 pages despite being the main character!
Ok, seriously this book really did suck. I have nothing positive to say about this book. I can't stand the opening format and the @ boxes. Bendis you're just horrible, you should have never been allowed to come anywhere near the flagship that is the Superman titles. more

Socialistic overtones on page 4 gives this book an automatic zero. Then there is the 8 pages pictures with no words sequence that drives the book into the negative scoring realm. Save your money, garbage book that could be good if not weighted down by the authors poor choices. 0/10 score

A 5 page scene with the fire chief?Superman endorsing political candidates? No thanks.

There isn't really that much to be positive about this book. The cover art is laughably bad...Have a look at his head and his trunks look like they are 3 sizes too big for him. How that was green lighted by anyone is beyond me. Then you have the annoying @ style writing for the 1st bit of the book. OH I get it, it's hip, it's current, we're making a Twitter reference. #Stupid #DistractingFromStory. The we move into the origin story of Red Cloud which no one asked to know about but were provided with anyways. Suffice to say her origin story is pretty unimaginative making use of the old labertory accident results in super powers cliche. From there the book features the return of another character that was shoehorned into the book Fire Chief Moore, who wants to run for Mayor and have Superman's endorsement...WHICH at this point Clark reveals to her his secret identity for the weakest reason EVER ! On top of that he promises to endorse her! So now Superman is interfering in politics without even knowing who her opponent is or what they would represent! So in one issue Bendis has completely changed the nature of the character and written him in such a way he is unintelligent. To top it off at the end of the book is the return of the flop villain Leviathan. To be honest, I didn't really care about at the end of the mini-series. So over all this book is a complete failure from start to finsih. more