Superman #19
Scheduled to arrive in stores: March 15, 2017
Cover date: May 2017
“Superman: Reborn” – Part 2: “Don’t Pass Go”
Writer: Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason
Penciller: Patrick Gleason
Inker: Mick Gray
Cover: Patrick Gleason & John Kalisz
Variant Cover: Gary Frank & Brad Anderson
Reviewed by: Adam Dechanel
Jon is helplessly floating around in Mxy’s strange limbo prison while Superman and Lois confront the imp himself.
He makes a comment about how Lois and Clark somehow are always destined to find one another but torments them with clues as to Jon.
The imp creates a giant tower filled with his signature zany style and tells them that Jon is at the top but to get to him Clark must sign an agreement. The bargain is if Superman can reach Jon Mxy will leave and everything goes back to normal, but if he fails Clark and Lois will be forgotten forever and stay imprisoned in the 5th dimension forever.
Jon meanwhile is approached by souls past that have found their way to the 5th dimension, two souls in particular approach him and lead him towards Lois and Clark.
A determined Lois and Clark meanwhile are fighting their way up the tower but an angry Mxy realizes he might lose and intervenes and tries to enforce amnesia of Superman.
Jon arrives and the two souls take shape exploding with energy until they take shape as two familiar faces and are ready to take Mxy on!
To Be Continued…
Story – 4: This is an amazing time to be a Superman fan, the stories of late have been fantastic.
The clues continue to roll in and escalate with every issue but as good as the stories are, and I get this takes place in the 5th dimension, but when did Jon get an energy fist?
Still I can ignore all the silliness and overlook that this issue is very thin on plot mainly because of the finale (I won’t spoil it). Tomasi and Gleason at least manage to get in as many clues as they possibly can to enhance the madness of Mxyzptlk’s games.
Is it a clue that Lois and Clark are always destined to find one another? Of course it is and a heavy handed hint at that, but I prefer to look at it with the romantic view that the two are destined to be soul mates no matter the incarnation. I know, and many of you do too by now as the tabloid sites have posted spoilers but let’s all sit back and enjoy the ride.
Art – 3: Gleason’s art is bursting with fun and he obviously enjoys hiding all the easter eggs in plain sight. I am not sure I like the design for Mxy, he is looking more Grinch-like than imp and doesn’t really look like his old self. Jon seems to have eyes that are increasing in size as the panels progress, I hope once the whole 5th dimension part of the story is over the art settles down a bit more.
Cover Art – 2: Mr Oz looks menacing but this is a pretty weak cover. With such off the wall content inside you would think there was something they could have picked to illustrate instead of something that doesn’t happen.
Variant Cover Art – 5: With Mxy revealed the cover suddenly takes on a new sinister turn and as he has returned with revenge in mind Gark Frank draws a mean Mxy! Clark is about to lose it all but wait that isn’t Clark… It’s New 52 Clark! With the art fully realised the cover takes on brand new meaning and comparing it to the main cover it’s definitely the more eye-catching of the two. Definitely one of Gary Frank’s best of the recent variant covers!
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I’m not sure how I feel about that ending. Is the implication that the two sets of “Lois and Clark”s are gonna merge? That feels a little too 90’s Hawkman for me. That said, the revelation that they were split from the true originals does help ease my discomfort with the notion. Maybe do it like this: Say the upcoming composite Superman and Lois’s origins are the New 52 ones, going up to Last Days, at which point they got thrown back in time ten years, and had to live life in secret, had a son, etc, and “grew up”… Read more »
I don’t know how all of this will end, but I think it’s starting to look clear where all of this is leading and what they’re trying to tie this to….AND IT’S PRETTY DAMN BRILLIANT.
I kinda feel like an idiot because the clues were all there from the beginning of Rebirth.
It’s an exciting time to be a Superman fan.
I wonder how long Steve Younis knew about this?
Silliness? Thin? Heavy-Handed? I beg to differ. 😉
Instead of a story of him splitting-going on for a year of issues then merging again-we’ve already had that for 5 years of the New 52. Although there are 2 supermen on Action 976 cover-the only conclusion i can draw is that they will merge. Also Superwoman 8 gives a lot more light on the New 52 Superman and Lois. i would advise reading it.
Just as long as New 52 superman does not return…
Well technically, he kind of already returned.
So basically the New52 Superman wasn’t a fake nor is the Post Convergence Superman the complete deal, I could see this development upsetting some fans. This could make a great moment or crash and burn depending on the execution.
Slightly off topic but I gotta say I definitely prefer Mxy’s first-appearance/STAS look to his standard design.
if you look at the 2 covers of Action 976 -the first one is the 2 superman side by side each in their own unique uniforms-then the next cover is a single superman with an amalgam of both costumes-seems obvious whats going to happen
If they are going to fuse them, I wish they had kept up the thread of older Clark’s powers declining as he got older, from “Lois and Clark.” Then, after fusion, his powers would be back to 100%. Same with his and Lois’s ages. 45 year old Lois shouldn’t have been able to pass for 30 year Lois (same goes for Clark, but that never came up). After fusion, they’d both be in young, healthy bodies again.
Just started collecting & reading the Rebirth series by purchasing back issues on Ebay. I also took out a subscription for future issues but I notice many other Superman comics. Do I stick with the comic I’ve committed to or supplement with ‘Action Comics’ Superman or ‘The Super-man’. Any of your thoughts would be helpful coming to a man of 46 who never read the comics but idolises ‘Superman The Movie’.
Thanks
“SUPERMAN” and “ACTION COMICS” are the main Superman books at the moment.
Their stories are generally separate but they’ll make references to each other and occasionally both books will intertwine during crossover events such as this “SUPERMAN REBORN” arc.
Thanks, is there a particular Action Comics number to start with. I have bought most of the Superman issues but dread to have to shell out lots of cash for perhaps 20 comics or more?
Start with “ACTION COMICS” #957 and anything after that.
I don’t know how extensive your knowledge is on the current state of the DC universe, so I don’t know how confused you’ll be after reading those books. But if your main focus is on REBIRTH, then 957 is a good start.
Also if money is an issue, trade paperbacks are also a good option if all you want to do is just read the story.
Just commenced issue 1 of Superman reading. This is all new to me at 46yrs old & after viewing Superman on large & small screen, comics seemed to fill the gaps of a Superman fix shall we say! Artwork good so far as is story. Am I ok just reading these comics? Am I missing out by bypassing Action Comics Superman? Is either one better?
Yes you will be missing out by skipping “ACTION COMICS” because the stories eventually interconnect. For instance, the review for the “SUPERMAN” comic above is a direct continuation from last week’s “ACTION COMICS”. So if you didn’t read it, you wouldn’t understand what was happening. I’ll use TV as an example. For instance you have CSI: Miami and you have CSI:NY. Both are two separate TV shows that you can watch individually. But occasionally you’ll have a crossover event where the shows are intertwined and you have to watch both of them to get the full story. That’s the case… Read more »
Last question, is Superman the same Superman in each comic franchise? Should I purchase back issues from comic 957 (which should be parallel with Superman issues I have back purchased)?
I presume ‘The Super-man’ is something else. I’ll be skint soon lol!
That’s a bit of a difficult question to answer right now especially with the current storyline going on in the comics. The short answer is yes, it’s the same Superman. Here’s the long answer, and I’m trying to condense it. Basically from the mid 1980’s to 2011, there was one Superman (we’ll call him SUPERMAN CLASSIC). Then in 2011, DC decided it wanted to start over with their universe and wiped out(almost) everything that happened before and they started over with Superman (We’ll call him NEW 52 SUPERMAN). If you want a comparison, it would be like the movies where… Read more »
Thank you supermanofsteel. This is the best explanation of current Superman comic reading. I am now not confused but my wife isn’t happy with all the back issues of Action Comics being bought! Thanks again for your help in this addictive side of Superman – comic collecting!
Trust me, you’ll have a LOT more questions after reading those books 🙂
Feel free to ask, I’ll try and answer as best as I could.
Loved this issue. Superman on the back foot with a mystery still lingering in the background.
They are going to pull a Dragon Ball Z fusion arn’t they……..