Review: Superman Unlimited #1

I am back from vacation and so catching up on reviews, the most prominent one being Superman Unlimited #1, written by Dan Slott with art by Rafael Alburquerque. This is the first newly titled,  planned monthly Superman book in a while and signals the beginning of the Summer of Superman, tied into the release of the upcoming movie. 

We have known from solicits for some time that Slott's plan was to have a storyline with an abundance of Kryptonite suddenly being on Earth. We saw what I thought was a prologue in the  FCBD DC All-In #1 book from Free Comic Book day. But it turns out that those 10 pages are reprinted here, the beginning of an over-sized first issue. So click that link to remind yourself about that story and the changes Slott is bringing to the supporting cast. 

I will remind people that this 'new status quo' of excessive Kryptonite can't last. So I think this is probably some backdoor re-imagining of the Kryptonite Nevermore storyline from the 70s. The facsimile of that story's first part, Superman #233, being recently released made me pause. The introduction of a new Edge family member is another nod given Morgan Edge first appeared in that earlier arc.

But I think Slott does an interesting thing with his first issue here. Yes, we see the giant Kryptonite meteor plummeting to Earth. And in the end, there is a lot of Green K on the ground. But the bulk of this issue is a sort of primer on Superman's history. Given pre-Crisis, Byrne's era, the New 52, Rebirth, and all the other soft reboots, it is hard to know what is and isn't canon. Slott gives us a decent timeline here and pulls from the Golden Age to the Donner films to give us this story. Hey, it's a number one and might be someone's first Superman story. Why not fill in some background?

Rafael Alburquerque's art just seems rougher than I remember it being in the past. There is sort of a lack of polish that I associate with his name. It is still solid art, especially given that story covers basically all of Superman's history. 

On to the book.

With Superman using all his strength and will to try and steer the huge Kryptonite meteor away from Earth,  he is overwhelmed with pain. His life literally flashes before his eyes.

From recalling Jor-El and Lara to first seeing Ma and Pa, we see his early life.

I like how Pa describes the ship as a basket, a nice nod to the 'Moses' analogy a lot of people bring to the Superman origin. 

With this knowledge, he becomes Superboy.

Love the blurry panel edges of the memory flashbacks, giving it a worn photo feel.

And, it is official!

Not only did Clark act as Superboy in Smallville, he also was a member of the Legion.

Nice touch having Superboy say that they inspired him, when historically it is usually voiced in the other way. 

Long Live the Legion!

Of course, as he grows older, it is time to leave Smallville for something bigger.

Amazing how the green shard and crystalline Fortress from the Donner Superman movies have wormed their way into comics.

Nice panel there, looking up at the shard to give it the 'weight' and prominence it warrents.

And then, suddenly, Superman is on the scene in Metropolis. The big story landed by Clark!

There is a lot to unpack here.

In the earliest stories, it was Clark landing the Superman story that got him the job at the Planet. We are talking stories from the Golden Age. So gone is the Lois naming him and Lois breaking the story. This is classic.

I don't know how I feel about this. I sort of like Lois breaking the story. This was the one piece of the retelling of the origin I paused at.

I did like that Superman was active in Metropolis before coming out, being called 'the Blue Blur' and other things. Shades of the Smallville  television show.

Lex is in his history obviously including wearing a Kryptonite ring. Does this mean we get the cancer Lex? The dying Lex? The clone Lex? This is shades of the Byrne era.

This might be my favorite panel of the book.

Of course, the Death of Superman is too big a story to not be part of the character's official history.

We get another homage to the Superman/Lois pieta panel. But I was really glad to see Alburquerque's take on the Reign of Superman posers.

It slides into the super-marriage and then Rebirth with Superman/Lois having Jon. 

Remember this was all while trying to move the giant Green K meteor.  The Kryptonite seems to explode.

And next we see Superman waking up in a hospital bed, having been in a coma for months. Months!
In that time J'onn posed as Superman and Clark. And the bulk of the Green K landed in El Caldero, who have become rich and powerful for having all the Kryptonite.

I'll need a bit more info about this country with its futuristic buildings glowing green.

Is the Kryptonite useful for anything other than Super-defense? How did they monetize it?

But is is now everywhere, curbing what the super-family can do. Conner and Kara are both injured and learning to deal with the new world.

If that was a full shirt on Supergirl, I'd be 100% sold on the costume. And again, this is a little rougher take on Kara than I have seen from Alburquerque in the past.

But how did Superman survive being pinned below tons of Green K?

Somehow he has changed.

The gold appearance reminds me a bit of All-Star Superman's ending but I don't know how that would be possible.  Since I think this might be a riff on Kryptonite Nevermore, is this some kind of 'Sand Superman' version of our hero?

So not a bad first issue with new characters, a focus on the new Daily Planet, new supporting characters, and this Kryptonite plot, Slott sets the stage nicely. And seeing the now 'true' Superman history with the Legion and other moments, made me smile.

Overall grade: B