Superman #38 Review

Superman #38 is the highly anticipated final chapter in the Men of Tomorrow story arc, where our Man of Steel has a climactic battle with Ulysses. This issue is also significant for a number of other reasons: it’s the second to last issue of the series for writer Geoff Johns; Superman gets a new suit and a new power; John Romita, Jr. draws Batman; and Superman makes a startling revelation to someone close to him. After Superman #39, Eisner-winning writer Gene Luen Yang will take over.

Superman #38 starts off fast and hits hard. The latter half of the book is more focused on character work, but nonetheless, keeps the momentum going. This was definitely an issue worth waiting for, and the overall read felt extremely quick — it left me hungry for more.

Warning: Spoilers beyond this point

Super Quick Synopsis

Written by Geoff Johns / Pencils by John Romita, Jr. / Inked by Klaus Janson / Colored by Laura Martin / Cover by Klaus Janson, Laura Martin, John Romita, Jr.

Superman and Ulysses are at it hard … or moreso Ulysses because he’s angry at the destruction of his homeworld. At this point, Superman is just blocking and trying to not exasperate the situation. But the nice guy routine ends when Ulysses threatens the destruction of Earth. Superman lets out his heat vision and starts to turn the dial up. Suddenly, his whole body emits a giant energy blast — devastating the surrounding area, knocking out Ulysses and himself in the process.

Superman comes to consciousness inside the Batcave with Batman monitoring his vitals. Confused by what happened, Superman gets the low-down from Bats — heat vision was only a precursor to another ability, super flare. Superman was able to release all the stored energy in his cells in one giant blast. The downside to all of this is that he’s now depleted for the next twenty-four hours. Oh, and one more thing, his whole Kryptonian armor got destroyed. Come to think of it, he probably has the same tailor as the Hulk because the only piece left seems to be strategically burned down to shorts.

Ulysses is now kept in the same cell that housed Parasite. The same device used to strip Parasite’s energy is also being used on Ulysses to keep him in check. When his parents visit, they show unconditional love and support, regardless of what he’s done.

At the Daily Planet, Jimmy lets Clark in on a little secret: Jimmy gave away the billions of dollars his parents left him. He’s hoping that the money will help the refugees get a head start. Clark is proud of Jimmy’s decision, and lets him in on a secret of his own. As Jimmy takes a swig of water and turns, he sees Clark now as Superman in his new suit.

New Suit

Before this issue, we had a sneak peak at Superman wearing his new suit in flight. We noticed that many of the lines were gone, but didn’t know that his Kryptonian armor was completely destroyed. This new suit seems like an homage to the armor — cloth with details that try to mimic the look of his previous attire. Most of how it looks seem to be consistent with the preview except for the belt and collar.

The belt is missing the yellow oval buckle and is one continuous piece with some etched detailing where the buckle should be. If you inspect the collar closely, you’ll notice that it seems to have a hint of a notch. I know fans were happy to see the disappearance of the V-neck, but that motif may not be completely gone in this iteration.

Overall, there isn’t much change to the suit look-wise. Perhaps, in-story, the suit will now be more vulnerable to damage or be a different material.

Super Flare

This one seems to be more controversial than the new suit. For years, people have been complaining of Superman being overpowered, and now he gets another ability. I think after reading about the caveat of his super flare, I’m kind of on-board with this. Because he’s powered down to a regular human after its usage, it could make for some interesting storytelling. I’m not sure when he’ll use it again, but if he does, he better make sure he doesn’t need to do any superhuman feats for the next twenty-four hours.

Final Thoughts

Superman #38 was definitely a well-balanced issue in terms of character work and action. I’m not a huge fan of JR, Jr’s art, but that’s just personal preference. I’ve always been more of an Alex Ross guy, and, recently, a huge Ben Oliver fan. With that said, the art was conveyed well and the action was clean. JR, Jr.’s work is also good at showing key information even when there’s no dialogue or written exposition. Visually, you know what’s going on.

What I most appreciated about this issue was the ability for a new reader to step in without having read the previous issues or story arc. That’s a testament to Geoff Johns’s ability to write self-contained stories, even if they’re part of a series.

Superman #38 should be in the collection of any Superman fan. A quick, fun read that puts the Man of Steel on a new path.

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