What a joke, I mean they already did this same thing before in a story also called 'Truth', so to treat this as new ground is ridiculous.

Dialogue is more bearable than past issues but 'bendis-speak' continues to be as irksome as it has always been. Some moments played out well enough, others were borderline nonsensical; the entirety of the panels that occur in Thanagar are asinine. The humor is also, as always, off the mark.

Lois is incredibly out of character, but she's already broken Superman's confidence by sharing his identity without his knowledge in Event Leviathan. In the previous 'Truth' storyline she was the one to share this news and it led to Superman becoming a fugitive; Lois is acting more like this when it was an entirely different one at the time.


While it could be interesting to see what happens from here, keeping hopes and expectations low would go a LONG way. more

IN SHORT: A fantastic issue of Superman...bringing the various "Bendis-verse" storylines to a head and setting the stage for some fascinating tales to come.

STORY: Brian Michael Bendis has FINALLY tied the different story arcs from his different books into one climactic moment -- the announcement by Superman revealing that he and Clark Kent are one and the same. We've seen this build up through the Unity Saga stories with Jor-El and Jonathan Kent playing their roles, and then with Event Leviathan with the looming threat of all secrets being revealed (and who has a bigger secret in the DC Universe than Superman?). This, of course, played out in Action where the new Daily Planet owner and new writers tried to get to the bottom of the Clark Kent/Lois Lane relationship...and, finally, Superman itself where our hero worked through his grief and trauma for the last few issues. This culminated with a fun exchange with Adam Strange at the United Planets scene at the beginning of this book.

Superman #18 is an event book where the "event" of the media event where he makes the announcement is impressive, but the real story is in the reveal. Superman making time to privately inform Daily Planet editor Perry White - with a masterful, silent panel sequence - and Jimmy Olsen (I'll spare you the spoiler...but it's pitch perfect Jimmy) prior to the big event was in keeping with his character. Lastly, he visits Lois Lane for one last moment of validation before the reveal. Any spouse who's ready to make a big, life changing move knows the feeling.

But then the fun really happens. The media whispers about the nature of the event were fun, but even more fun was poring over the two-page spread of DC characters watching the announcement in real time. Some were excited (Supergirl, most of the Justice League...but Wonder Woman is NOT pleased), some were thoughtful (Mera, Batman and Robin), some were proud (the Daily Planet team), some clearly were taking it in and recalibrating their view of Superman (the villains). And, of course, the many, many people he helped put in prison decide to riot.

And then there's Lex Luthor. Our evil genius was caught flat-footed, and his Legion of Doom compadres were in the room with him when he found out. The combination of surprise and recrimination against Luthor -- not to mention the seeds of doubt sewn at how the mighty Luthor could have blown this one -- finish the book with a flourish. Luthor is NOT pleased, and someone's clearly going to pay.

ART: Ivan Reis is a good artist, drawing a fine Superman and a crisp clear image of the DC Universe characters. His isn't an overly stylistic pen, which is good for this book as it lets us focus on the story. Sometimes, simpler is better.

BIGGER PICTURE: The "Superman reveals his true identity" story has been done before, and some say that it's stupid to do it again. I say, "Who cares if it was done before?" Bendis has reset a number of clocks on the Superman titles, and it's new to this environment.

More important to me is: 1. Was the story told well, and 2. Does this give us a firm path forward? In both cases, I give an enthusiastic YES.

There is little reason to avoid dragging a story arc out on an ongoing title...and Bendis has stretched some stories farther than necessary during his time on the Super-books. Not here. He's been leading up to this moment for some time, and it hit with all the force that it deserves.

Lastly, the reaction shots during and after the reveal event are the gold of this book. Bendis has been on record (He talks at length about this in the Word Balloon podcast) as saying that the simple act of stripping away the secret identity after all of these years is a treasure trove of stories waiting to be told, and he's right. What will Wonder Woman do/say? How will Perry White handle having Superman on his staff? What will Red Cloud, Leviathan and Superman's more traditional rogues gallery do with this information to make Superman's life hell? And...WHAT ABOUT LUTHOR?

I reserve my 10 scores for the best of the best...generationally great books. As a single, 20-plus page issue a comic book, Superman #18 is in that mix. Truthfully, I can't think of a single thing I would have done differently, so it's intellectually dishonest to give it anything but a 10.

I will enjoy watching history look fondly on this effort from Bendis, Reis, the supporting team and DC Comics. This was GREAT. more

A fantastic issue. I don't get what people's problem is. Clark's identity is becoming meaningless now that Leviathan has come. Governments, some villians and heroes already know who he is. Lois has been a solid support to Clark along the way telling if he needs a breather he can take it. Her reveal to Jimmy was the right thing, because after Perry he was going to Jimmy straight and tell him anyway, he didn't go to work and he was his oldest friend which made her feel guilty. Bendis hit the right notes. Only problem is Clark didn't pick up the phone when she called to inform him that she was doing it. Bendis rarely allows them a good heart-to-heart talk. more

A pretty solid issue. I loved the little snippets of Perry getting emotional and Jimmy laughing at Clark. Lois did try to tell Clark that she was going to inform Jimmy, but he was busy with Perry, and knowing that Jimmy's been her close and much longer friend, it is fitting that Lois informs him as she knew he would react very emotionally, and especially not to keep lies with the bad fate of Jor-El due to his secrets and Jon growing up but Clark not having enough time with him. I don't know why some people are complaining that Lois told him first, especially as she did try to discuss it with Clark. And no Lois didn't reveal Clark's secret identity during Event Leviathan or betray his trust. She told her dad during "Leviathan Rises" arc, and she only did it so they could reconcile and he could stop his hate for Superman who didn't feel betrayed in any way. Why would she betray Superman when she was angry at Amanda Waller for betraying Superman's trust.

It's fitting that Jimmy be playful with Clark instead of crying. Knowing that she's been supportive of her husband despite her loss also warmed the heart. Although I do feel she hasn't been represented how she should be, Bendis rarely gives them private time and they rarely have time to focus on each other with their hectic lives and so many villains out for them, and Lois has been mostly been reduced to occasional appearances. Some would be questioning the logic, but given how some villains especially Leviathan and government agencies already know who he is, it's not a bad decision. We already know though Metropolis will be attacked anyway by Legion of Doom, so his identity reveal likely won't matter for now. more