Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by Szymon Kudranski
Published by DC Comics
This issue is a tie in to both the Leviathan and Year of the Villain events!
There’s a lot going on in this issue and not all of it is cohesive.
Brian Michael Bendis throws a lot into this issue but barely gives the reader a chance to catch up. It becomes a tad frustrating and confusing at times.
The opening scene in the book is Perry White coming face to face with Marisol Leone. They introduce themselves to each other. They make some typical small talk.
Then, the topic of discussion turns over to who Leviathan might be. It then gets deeper and deeper. Leone grills Perry White and is pretty brutal about it.
It’s a strong opening for sure and throws the reader completely off guard.
We then see a scene where Superman fights a big monster in S.T.A.R. Labs. He wins, of course, but that sets the rest of the plot in motion.
Clark Kent writes an article on the events that happened in the lab. Perry White then comes along to talk to Clark about something mysterious.
Perry tells Clark that Marisol Leone wants to speak with him. Clark gamely goes along and meets up with her. They have a conversation. That conversation is cut short and we get a scene with some villains. Then, we see Clark talking with Lois about what happened in the meeting with Marisol. Bendis writes around the most interesting part of the story and it does feels a little cheap and a bit heavy on the exposition. He told us what happened and didn’t necessarily show us.
By the end we see Superman meet up with Naomi. At this point I just threw my hands up and let the issue end. It feels so incredibly forced that I just couldn’t stand it at all.
The art is fantastic. It really elevates this book immensely. The story though is all over the place.
Bendis is at his best when he focuses on one thing and doesn’t go off track. Here, he is incredibly off track and it makes for a hard read.
RATING: C+
