Superman/Wonder Woman #2: Beware The Phantom Zone

 

While I have not been a fan of writer Charles Soule’s recent Swamp Thing run, I have to say that I am very impressed with his work thus far on Superman/Wonder Woman. I had low expectations for this series, but these two issues have surprised me. Soule is, in a way, doing for Superman what Scott Snyder is doing for Batman. Soule is redirecting certain areas in the origin for the Man of Steel. It’s not as direct an origin reboot as Zero Year, but it is affecting Superman’s New 52 history.

First and foremost is the relationship between Superman and Wonder Woman. This isn’t your father’s Superman anymore. He’s not the lovesick puppy of Lois Lane. Superman is moving up to the big time. Second, Soule is reintroducing Doomsday. In the New 52, Doomsday was a monster, one that encompassed death, but he never actually killed Superman. How does one get Doomsday back into the fold with the same kind of force as before? Third is the Phantom Zone, which is about to dump another horrible part of Superman’s past into his lap. General Zod.

Superman/Wonder Woman #2 addresses all those issues, while still setting up the relationship between the two icons. Doomsday arrives on a ship, out of nowhere. How does Soule introduce Doomsday with shock and awe? By having him beat the piss out of Wonder Woman before vanishing. After describing her attacker to Superman, Wonder Woman is whisked to the Fortress of Solitude and shown Doomsday blundering through the Phantom Zone. How is this possible? If Doomsday is in the Phantom Zone, then how did put the smackdown on Wonder Woman?

Turns out the walls of the Phantom Zone are failing, which is allowing momentary escapes for the prisoners. As Superman contemplates whether or not the Zone walls could fall permanently, General Zod lands in the desert, and man, is he pissed off. Between all of this, Soule writes a meeting between Superman and Apollo that could go down as one of the coolest moments in Superman’s history. I found myself literally cheering during the scene.

Tony S. Daniel is stepping up to some next-level work with his art. Never a slouch, Superman/Wonder Woman could be the best work Daniel has done thus far. The weight of his line work is staggering, everything happening has a true gravitas to it. Combining his detail work, the weight of his character sketches, and Daniel’s ease at creating movement, Superman/Wonder Woman takes on a cinematic scope to it. Kudos to inker Batt and Sandu Florea for the outstanding inks, and Tomeu Morey for his color work.

Superman/Wonder Woman is a prime example of how to write these icons. Soule and Daniel have knocked this one out of the park.

(4.5 Story, 4.5 Art)

TRENDING


X