Superman Vs. Meshi #2 // Review
He was THE original super hero. He’s legendary. He’s ridiculously powerful. The world wept when he died, even though everyone knew that he’d be back the next year. He’s been through countless crises and saved numerous worlds numerous times. Now, he faces the greatest threat ever: mild disappointment. Clark has another adventure in Japan in Superman Vs. Meshi #2. Writer Satoshi Miyagawa and artist Kai Kitago deliver one of the weirdest Superman stories that’s ever made it to page and panel. (And...y’know...with Superman, that’s kind of saying A LOT.) Superman gets the manga treatment in a satisfyingly weird story.
Clark Kent can’t have the hamburger that he’d wanted for lunch. So, he goes to Japan and orders food from a Japanese fast food place. And he likes it. That’s it. That’s the story. Really. There isn’t anything more to it than that. (Okay...there’s the problem of him NOT being able to read the menu and struggling with trying to order beef instead of pork...but that’s...that’s it.) There’s nothing more than that. And...perhaps because of this, it’s one of the single most memorable Superman stories...in a while. It’s a unique story that would only ever work for Superman.
Superman has a lot of weird and obscure powers that have presented themselves over the years. Rarely has his ability to...instantly overcome disappointment ever been presented as a power. It’s possible that it’s never been addressed before. That’s a new one. Miyagawa takes a PROFOUNDLY mundane idea and stages it in a way that feels incredibly novel by virtue of the fact that it’s Superman who is experiencing...mild disappointment and then changing his plans. He wants to eat a hamburger, but he can’t, so he goes to Japan to get a bowl of beef. That’s it.
Kitago fuses epic superhero action with casual manga silliness in a way that feels like it’s almost trying to be weird. Clark comes across as a perfectly nice everyman who just happens to look really, really familiar. Superman has eaten on the comics page...probably a lot, but it’s probably never been the central conflict of a story before this. Kitago manages to engage the reader with it on a pleasantly deep level while maintaining some distance from anything approaching seriousness. It’s a delicate balance, and it’s possible that Kitago occasionally goes over the edge of silliness, but it’s a fun issue anyway.
Manga and traditional American comic books don’t always mix that well. The two distinct aesthetics can clash horribly. Manga adaptations of American superheroes are a rather hit-or-miss proposition, but Miyagawa and Kitago manage something totally bizarre with the second issue in this series. Are they taking the character seriously? No. They’re not. But they’re not exactly spoofing him, either. There’s deep respect for Superman and who he is. They’re just choosing to look at something that isn’t traditionally seen in comics and running with it. Superman gets hungry. He gets disappointed. And he deals with it. Sometimes, that’s all you need.
