Superman: Leviathan Rising Special #1 (DC Universe)
Art by: Yanick Paquette, Mike Perkins, Steve Lieber
Written by: Marc Andreyko, Greg Rucka, Matt Fraction, Brian Michael Bendis
The Pitch:
Bendis starts to begin to consider bringing all his story lines to a head.
Is it Worth $9.99?
No. It’s a good comic, but not a good $10 comic. In fact, Batman: Last Knight On Earth sells for $5.99 and has almost double the page count. So, yeah, not even worth it in a pure penny per page angle.
SPOILER WARNING for Superman: Leviathan Rising Special #1
Well, It’s all been leading to this set up to build towards a finale that will be coming at some point. Bendis started seeding these characters and storylines when he began writing Superman in 2018, now almost a year later- these characters are just starting to meet and talk to each other. In fact, the villains spend the first and last 5 pages doing exactly that. That’s 10 pages of a 56 page book spent rehashing, bantering, and setting up stories that do not pay off in this issue. Skip them, they will be recapped without the hammy dialogue and odd jokes in later issues, I assure you.
With that out of the way, Bendis focus’s on the one thing he has been great at on his run: creating new and interesting villains! He of course does so again in Superman: Leviathan Rising Special #1.
PSYCH!! His baddies suck. But what he does kill as is the relationship between Lois and Clark. Their dialogue and history is heartfelt, real, and deeply engaging- and that’s what makes this issue work.
After the shitty villains chat (meant they are both shitty villains and have a shitty chat) Clark discovers people in his apt waiting to kidnap him. He goes to Lois and tells her he’s going to let them to get the scoop. She’s old hat at this and gives him some tips and the whole scene works and shines.
Plans Go Wrong in Special #1
Of course, the kidnapping goes wrong, as they are trying to set a trap for Superman using Clark as bait… with Kryptonite. This, too, works very well, with the art and panels giving a sickly movement to the scenes.
Lois gets a worried and checks things out for herself, and then calls the JLA who go out searching for Superman… except she wants to find Clark. A great moment, and a great way to flip the story on it’s head to showcase why Lois is a real reporter and can out sleuth wonder Woman and Batman, The world’s greatest detective.
There’s a Jimmy Olsen side story in there that’s pretty cute and entertaining and the resolution sort of ties into the villain thing, but not in a satisfying way.
Regardless, it’s these pages where Bendis shows his talent, but like his run at DC as a whole, it’s beautiful moments surrounded by storm that we seem to be getting.
