Superman Unchained #9 Review
It should be a comic book requirement that in the final issue of a story arc, the hero must face a situation that forces them to think about sacrificing themselves for the good of others. This is exactly what Superman must decide in the final issue of Superman Unchained. The question is, will Superman sacrifice himself in order to save the world, or will he find another way? Find out in Superman Unchained #9, the epic conclusion to Scott Snyder and Jim Lee’s Superman series.
Spoilers Ahead
#9 Let the Light In
The issue starts where #8 left off, with Superman accepting certain death in order to save humanity. Arming himself with Lex Luthor’s vial of solar fuel, Superman says his last goodbye to Lois Lane and heads towards the sun. Upon arrival, Superman is awestruck by the vast alien army before him. Unwilling to give up without a fight, Superman decides to wait to inject himself with the solar fuel.
After bashing and blasting his way through a chunk of the alien armada, Superman is shot by one of the alien ships. The blast robs Superman of his youth and inflicts severe atrophy on his muscles. An aged and withered Superman floats defeated in space, and upon realizing the only hope for mankind is Luthor’s solar fuel, he reaches for the vial and prepares to sacrifice himself. Severely injured, Superman is too weak to inject himself, and the vial floats away from him, symbolically representing the safety of Earth slipping through his grasp.
All hope seems lost as Wraith shows up ready to fulfill his promise of killing Superman. Superman makes one last lunge for the vial, but Wraith is able to grab it first. Superman looks away, awaiting his fate as Wraith stares meaningfully at the vial of solar fuel. Suddenly, Wraith injects himself with the contents of the vial and pushes Superman away from the fleet.
Wraith goes on to destroy the entire alien armada before exploding in a blaze of glory.
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As the issue closes, we find out that Superman recovers from the injuries he sustained and imprisons Luthor upon his return to Earth. Clark is back to his normal flirtatious self, and Lois is steadily informing the world one article at a time. The world of Superman is at peace.
Review
This story arc was very well done. I felt as if Snyder was able to incorporate the real life struggles of Clark Kent while not detracting from Superman and his struggles. Per usual, Jim Lee’s art was well done, but got a little line and shade-heavy at times. I felt as if this didn’t really detract from the work, but I will admit that if you read this series digitally using Comixology’s assisted view, it became more evident and distracting.
The story flowed well within each individual issue and transitioned from issue to issue nicely. Overall, Snyder and Lee stuck to traditional Superman roots while also incorporating a slightly darker overall feel for the series. I really enjoyed reading this arc and would highly recommend it. If you’re thinking about picking up a good Superman read in anticipation of the Dawn of Justice movie, go support your local comic books shop and check out Superman Unchained #1-9.