Superman #20

Superman battles Mongul as things get complicated on Earth in Superman #20, by writer Brian Michael Bendis, artist Ivan Reis, inkers Joe Prado and Oclair Albert, colorists Alex Sinclair and Jeremiah Skipper, and letterer Dave Sharpe. Bendis splits this issue between some great action sequences and some rather interesting drama on Earth.

At the offices of the Daily Star, one of the reporters remarks how unfair it is that Superman is a reporter. Meanwhile, Superman comes to and attacks Mongul. The two tussle a bit, but Mongul gets some separation and kills the Dominator delegation. Back on Earth, the Daily Star reporters keep talking about the Superman’s revelation before one of them opens an e-mail. The e-mail shows a video of the beginning of the United Planets, with Superman saying he represents Earth. It’s revealed that Lana Lang works at the Star and she wants to talk to her old friend. Back in space, Superman and Mongul keep fighting, and Mongul is able to kill more of the delegates before the Tamaraneans call in reinforcements. Back on Earth, Lois is blindsided by Bethany Snow of the Daily Star, who asks her when Superman declared himself King of Earth.

Bringing the Daily Star into this storyline is actually pretty inspired. Clark Kent being Superman does open a whole can of worms for the other reporters of Metropolis. Is it fair that he makes the news and reports on it? Does him having powers give him an advantage over them? One of the reporters shares a story about how Superman caught a plane before it crashed down on her and others in the city, but never wrote a story about it, showing that Kent didn’t always write stories about his Superman shenanigans, but it’s still a very valid question. How ethical is it that he’s been reporting on himself for years? Having Lana Lang work at the Star also opens things up for an interesting confrontation between former friends down the line.

Meanwhile, Superman figures out why Mongul attacked the UP. It wasn’t just because he wants to conquer them, although that’s definitely a part of it. The other part of it was to make them distrust Superman. He kills delegates with Superman right there, unable to do anything to stop him. It’s a power move. It shows how powerful he is and how powerless Superman is by comparison. Mongul is a conqueror and sometimes conquering is about more than physically dominating a foe- it’s also about psychologically dominating them.

Ivan Reis is in his element on this issue. Reis excels at drawing fight scenes and the ones in this issue are classic Reis. However, he also does a great job on the character stuff with the Daily Star reporters as well. His character acting really shines through in these pages, showing how well balanced he is.

Superman #20 is a lot of fun. Bendis gets the right mix of action and drama in this one. He even gets in one of his best jokes ever- the Daily Star editor jokes that everyone at the Daily Planet worked there, a deep cut reference to how in the Golden Age, Clark, Lois, Perry, and Jimmy were all employees of the Star before the Daily Planet even existed. Reis’s artwork makes the whole thing sing. While this still very much feels like two different stories, they’re both entertaining.

Grade: B+