Review: Superman and the Authority #4
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Grant Morrison
Colors:Â Jordie Bellaire
Letters: Steve Wands
Artist: Mikel Janin
Reviewed by: Carl Bryan
Summary
“I’m talking about WarWorld Mr. Black. And we won’t be coming home until it’s free. Ladies…Gentlemen…Others…. Let’s Bring the Thunder!
Superman and the Authority #4 – Superman has put the Authority back together, but is the team ready for what’s next? Will the Man of Steel’s new super-group fall apart before they even begin?
The Ultra-Humanite has put together his own team of rogues designed to match the Authority fist for fist. This series comes to an explosive conclusion that will threaten to split the Man of Steel in half!
This new limited series helps launch an all-new Superman status quo, setting up story elements that reverberate across both Action Comics and Superman: Son of Kal-El in the months to come.
And not only is Superman putting together a superstar team, but it takes superstars to tell the tale: Grant Morrison (The Green Lantern, All-Star Superman) and Mikel JanĂn (Batman, Future State: Superman: Worlds of War)!
Positives
Grant Morrison takes the baton from Future State: Superman: Worlds of War #1 and finally gets us to the beginning of the assembling of the Authority. Can we say “Authority Assemble” or is that too Marvelish? Prequels are always a bit foreboding to me within the DC Universe in that we may or may not know the outcome of this story.
When we last saw the Future State of things, Superman was not doing well at all. I mean…in some comics he has not left Earth yet as he is preparing Jon to take his place and also bidding other heroes adieu. However, we also see a glimpse of Superman dying over and over again at the hands of Mongul on WarWorld.
Will Future State take place as we were left with the caveat that this may happen or may not. Who decides….are we going to have another phone DC to see if Robin dies again?
I like this version of Clark. However, how did he become so weak (in Superman terms)? Currently, he is still the same Superman in the other comics. But in this four-issue mini-series, he is so Reed Richards…. a bit of an elder if you will.
Positives 2.0
The switching of art gears is amazing in this book as you get the clean and pristine Fortress scenes where Superman’s costume stands out. The art is ice clear and the characters stand out. it is arguably the most graphic appealing comic now in terms of clean art.
Negatives Â
The timeline finally has Clark’s mission to WarWorld included. We see his entire team, but again, War Worlds doesn’t provide what happens to the other members of the Authority.  Why do we need a replacement team if the world has Jon and Kara? Some things are not adding up. I am giving a lot of leash here to the comic as the art is phenomenal and the writing is strong. As I am with the Batman titles…am I current or in the future? Future State scrambled a lot of eggs at DC, but I am willing to wait! But my patience is a bit thin…
Verdict
Buy this book. I mean…I have a lot of OPEN questions posed here in this review. However, the art is worth the price of admission. We get the Ultra-Humanite that can now inhabit Solomon Grundy as well as a plan to inhabit the Man of Steel himself. That Supermobile though….in the words of Jack Nicholson as the Joker…”Where does he get all those wonderful toys?”
