Superman: The Warworld Saga

Superman: Action Comics (Infinite Frontier) #1-3

by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Simon Spurrier, Daniel Sampere (Artist)

After learning of an enslaved race with mysterious ties to Krypton, Superman and the Authority leave earth and travel across the galaxy to liberate Warworld. Think it’s that simple? Think again.

With Superman captured on Warworld and banished to the lower catacombs, he’ll need to team up with other enslaved gladiators to turn the hordes of Warworld against their masters. As the Warworld Saga reaches a breaking point, battle lines are drawn between the two towering forces at odds: Mongul and Superman.

Which heroes will survive the conflict and what will be the fate of the citizens of Warworld?

This volume collects the full Warworld Saga: Action Comics #1030-1046, Action Comics 2021 Annual, Action Comics 2022 Annual, Batman/Superman: Authority Special #1, Future State: Superman: House of El #1, Future State: Superman: Worlds of War #1-2, Superman: Warworld Apocalypse #1

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels, Superman, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics, Superheroes

728 pages, Paperback

First published November 14, 2023

About the author

Phillip Kennedy Johnson earned a Master of Music degree from the University of North Texas, where he served as Teaching Fellow for the Department of Jazz Studies, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Eastern Kentucky University. SFC Johnson has performed with the Lexington Philharmonic, Dallas Opera, Washington Symphonic Brass, and the Moscow Ballet, and was a member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra from 2004 to 2005. SFC Johnson remains active as a composer, arranger, teacher, and clinician, and also enjoys a second career as a writer of comics and graphic novels. His work has been published by DC Comics, Marvel Comics, BOOM! Studios, and more.

Reviews

[Gabriel · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.25/5

I enjoyed a lot of the first half and was hooked with each issue, but the second half really fell off for me. I enjoyed Superman wanting to help and choosing to intervene with government issues and taking matters into his own hands. Him going to warworld with his group was great as well, but I felt like things oddly moved too fast.

You know, I think after the Midnighter issue, everything just seemed like a chore to read. Which sucks because I enjoy the Authority and I was having a great time with the book. It just feels like there wasn't many stakes and there wasn't a clear cut time frame of how long Clark was in warworld. Mongol seemed threatening initially, but then we get the terrible trope of "no...don't kill him just yet" multiple times and it became a drag to read, in my opinion. I also was not fan of the art for when Clark was on warworld, so that ruined my experience too. Having just read The Authority by Ellis, I also was not much of a fan of the team and their characterization here.

The backup stories at the end weren't interesting at all and I honestly just stopped reading them.

I can see why some would enjoy this, but I was left with wanting more. I don't have much else to say other than that I wish I had more fun with this and that I'm ready to move on.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Been meaning to read this for awhile. Figured this was the best time after going thru Jurgens, Tomasi and Bendis’ runs on the character. This was good. Superman discovers there is an ancient people from Krypton enslaved on Warworld. Supes ain’t going for that so he wants to go there and try to help them. Justice League can’t go with him so he puts together his own team. I didn’t know who any of these people were but it was cool to get to know them a little bit. PKJ does a good job showing off the hope the Superman personifies during this story. Superman inspires the enslaved people to rise up which leads to some great battles on Warworld. Things did look bleak for a minute there. It was great to watch this all unfold. I had a lot of fun with this one. All the artists did great including Federici who I loved on PKJ’s Last God. Recommended.

[Ali Haji · Rating 3 out of 5]

While nice and full of amazing scenes and having a fantastic story in Warworld, let’s say I found issues with the pacing and an issue enjoying some issues (ba dum tss).

It’s a solid 4 stars if we only count the meat of the story, but the fat around the meat has stood in the way of me savoring this meal.

[Rumi Bossche · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am in a Superman mood lately, never really got into the character until quite recently. I have no read a couple super books (no pun intended) in a row. Superman For All Seasons and Superman by Tomasi both really glorious ! And now my third amazing one with Superman The War World Saga. A really nicely priced compendium i spend 25 on, great value i think ! Its a big chunker and i devoured it. Phillip Kennedy Johnson peaked my interesed with his Alien run and his The Fellspyre Chronicles both really good. And now id like to add this Supes run to it. An alien space ship crash lands on earth and it begins an epic event. The artwork all over is excellent and a joy to watch, and the story, a very long one is fast, action packed and a great new take on Superman. This run is very recomended!

[Javier X · Rating 3 out of 5]

It saddens me to rate this with a 7/10 but the second half is a chore to read and also all the Future State issues at the end and some tie ins doesn’t help with the flow of the story and there’s some loose ends when the story finishes.

The art was also kinda inconsistent, and it felt like the story was stretched, maybe if the whole event was more self contained in 6-7 issues it would have been better.

[Viktor Logi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty fun!

Basically Planet Hulk but with Superman!

Overall it's very fun,
there is a lot going on because it's sort of a stitch of a lot of different comic runs but in this collected volume it flows quite naturally.

Superman is de-powered and has to rely on actual fighting skills while also refusing to kill anyone.

I enjoyed the idea that he brings along people on his mission to liberate Warworld and pretty much fucks their lifes up.

The art, by all the artists that are involved is great! It changes fairly often but never feels too jarring or like a tonal shift, it all works very well!

My main gripe was the ending. Without going into spoilers, the ending of The Warworld Saga is not the ending of this book.
There is a random side adventure at the end, with characters that I have never seen or heard of and a conflict completely unrelated to Warworld, it felt unneccesary and out of place.

Plus the ending deals with a whole chunk of comic book continuity that I am completely unaware of.
Events are talked about that feel as if they came from nowhere!

But all in all this was a great time! Despite being 700 pages I brushed through it in 3 days!

4☆ Well worth a read!

[Derek Santiago · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tenía mis dudas sobre este cómic, específicamente porque la primera mitad no me generaba un HYPE a cómo me lo vendían. Sin embargo la segunda parte, dónde ya es Warworld Saga me pareció increíble.

Un cómic al estilo de las películas de Gladiador o El último samurai, dónde el protagonista hace una rebelión contra un gobierno opresor y lleno de esclavitud. Si bien me gusta que también muestran las diferencias de crianza de Mongul y Superman, como sus infancias los forjaron.

Lo que más me encantó fue el final, como es que a pesar de todo, a pesar del personaje ya tener hijos, la súper familia y mil aliados. La primera persona que ve al llegar a la tierra es a Lois Lane, cómo si siempre se tratara de ellos dos y nada más. Muy padre todo

[M Caesar · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's basically old hat to break a character down to their very basics and build them back up in comics, but man does PKJ make it work here. Superman assembles an entire team (which isn't collected here but is in superman and the authority by grant morrison) to complement his weaknesses mostly made up of deep cuts, then goes to warworld guns blazing ready to liberate it. There's a certain parallel to the naivete of the past few wars in the US "They'll greet us as liberators and join us!" but it turns out Mongul's psychological conditioning and abuse of an entire planet was so deep that they genuinely didn't want to be liberated from bondage. What follows is a sword and planet take on Superman and friends where they fight as slaves in arenas by day while at night research and talk to people to help free their minds so they can free themselves. It's incredible and one of the best runs on Action in a long while.

[Erik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simultaneously the Superman story I've been waiting for and also the one I didn't know I needed. I always wanted to revisit and do more with Warworld. What I didn't expect was Superman having a full Conan inspired look that I feel in love with immediately, massive space opera vibes, expanding and deepening Jack Kirbys Fourth World lore in MASSIVE ways, and perhaps most interestingly, returning Superman to the base theme of his initial inception by Siegel and Shuster: That being a Moses analog from Space. This Jewish connection is far more fitting than the repeated more recent attempts of lining up Superman with jesus.

Oh, and my gods THE ART here. The designs and aesthetic are good by themselves but almost every panel also bursts with genius. Absolutely fabulous stuff.

So in case you couldn't tell I really loved this. Easily one of my favorite Superman stories ever.

[Sam J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

First third is great but feels like Johnson starts treading water by the midway point and runs out of things for Supes to actually do on Warworld until the final issue. Nothing is ever outright bad - Characters like Orphan and Darling are really cool and all the Daniel Sampere art is phenomenal but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t bored with the premise halfway through.

I love the rest of PKJ’s run so this is a worthwhile read if only to better familiarize yourself with Otho and Osul.

[Silvere · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great Superman epic, Phillip Kennedy Johnson's run on Action Comics re-ignited my interest in The Man of Steel. The Warworld Saga is a wonderful story of hope and compassion filled with amazing action sequences.

[Hugo Emanuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading so much praise for The Warworld Saga, I started reading it with very high expectations.

They were thoroughly met.

Its a fantastic story. Extremely imaginitive, be it in plot, world-building and approach to a 80 plus years old character, while adhering to its personality traits and what's expected of her.
The story is also very deftly paced, enabling great and deep character interactions in midst of an action adventure packed saga, in which the characterizations are very on point.

The artwork by Daniel Sampere and Riccardo Federicci is stunning to behold.

Its definetly one of the best Superman stories I've ever read, and merits the praise it gets.
It was almost a 10/10 affair for me. There were, however, a few shortcomings towards its end that made me knock my rating down a peg - mostly the overcomplicated and easily avoidable connections to the Source Wall (which kind of comprimised its pace), and the drop in the quality of the artwork in its later chapters.

Its still a very solid 9/10 saga for me. Really glad we were treated to such an amazing Superman story.

[Brandon Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a Superman epic that is larger than almost any I have read. It’s pretty similar to Planet Hulk, but one of the major wrinkles here is that Superman has a crew stranded with him on Warworld. The characters mostly come from Grant Morrison’s Superman and the Authority, and I do recommend reading that first. Each member of the team has a pretty substantial arc, which helps add to the scale of the story. The art is strong throughout, but the highlight is the frequent appearance of Riccardo Federici’s incredibly rendered pages, who really helps bring the Conan fantasy vibes.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars, I guess? I don't really understand the pure, caffinated hype this story has gotten, other than cultural amnesia? I mean, this is basically the original Superman Exile story, except longer and done in the style of Kurt Busiek's Conan comics. Or it's basically that Justice League episode, except Mongul doesn't have Eric Robert's cool voice. Or it's basically Planet Hulk except... um, well, I'm sure there's some "except" in there.

Look, it read like a pretty basic Superman story to me, with a whole lot of been-there, done-that. If this is your first comic like this, you're probably gonna love it. But I left disappointed. Don't @ me, I'm not on most social media apps.

Also, when did Manchester Black become adult Quinten Quire?

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superman is at his best when he's used as a beacon of hope. With that said, this is Superman at his best. The pencils felt a little inconsistent in quality, but the story is strong and compelling. Definitely worth my while.

[Liam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was kinda fun. A sort of Superman / Conan / Gladiator mashup. Not as good as it sounds unfortunately, but still fun.

[Ben Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an awesome Superman story that should be read by anyone who doesn’t like Superman. It starts as a well-written and beautifully drawn but mostly standard Superman and Justice League story about a perceived alien invasion, but it gradually ramps up in scope and stakes before Superman leaves Earth for Warworld to save a long-lost Kryptonian survivors colony from slavery.

What follows is a really heartfelt tale about Superman trying to save people who don’t want to be saved, who have been brainwashed with propaganda to love their chains, dealing with allies who cross sides or want to take more violent paths to winning the battle. Through his own goodness, Superman has to inspire rebellion even as his own physical strength is waning.

It’s not the most original story, in that it follows a similar plot as Ridley Scott’s Gladiator. Great hero is enslaved and forced to fight in a gladiator tournament, he doesn’t want to fight but does and convinces his fellow slaves to rise up. It’s not the story but the way it’s told that’s so great. It’s about how compassion and caring for others isn’t a weakness but the greatest strength of all. I read each major section in chunks with breaks in between just because this is such a long saga, but it’s worth it.

I didn’t read Superman and the Authority so I was a little lost at first with that team and what was going on with Superman. To my understanding, there was some disagreement between Grant Morrison and DC about that story which left PK Johnson with a depowered, older Superman. I don’t think that the one Superman/Batman issue included gives enough context for who the Authority are and their relationships with one another.

One minor miss with this book is its reliance on a few previous uncollected stories to inform where the characters are at the beginning. We also see very little of what happened to Jon Kent before this story to make him so worried about his father, and him being the main Superman on Earth while Clark was away, but that’s comics. You just have to roll with it and read that collection later if you want the full story. If I was reading at the time, I definitely would have enjoyed watching their stories unfold in parallel month to month. But as it is, I’m not sure I would recommend this to a brand new reader.

Another miss for me with this book is the Future State issues in the back. It’s anticlimactic to witness the very satisfying conclusion of this saga play out only to get some confusing issues that present a non-canonical look at a future where Superman never came back…. Or at least I think that’s what was happening? There are scenes of Superman and Mongol on Warworld in these that imply he’s being held there forever which either didn’t happen or are placed way after they happened. They’re fun issues and I get that they’re related, but it’s just plain confusing to put these at the back of a collection like this, it really doesn’t serve the main story. Same with the other stories about Superman’s descendants fighting on the Moon… it’s all good fun cape action but why is it here?

[Gerry Sacco · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never finished a collection this big, so quickly. Tomasi's Superman Rebirth Omnibus comes close, but this really was something special.

This was recommended by so many people on Reddit, that I had to read it. I was not disappointed. I'm going to give it two dings, but then everything else will be positive. First, at one point the art does legitimately drop off, but, it does come back with a vengeance with Mikel Janin, one of the current premier artists. The second ding, this should have been a hardcover, it deserved it.

Ok, story. I think this cements Phillip Kennedy Johnson as one of the top Superman writers. Up there with Waid, Morrison, Loeb, and for me Tomasi. He just gets the character. And for him, taking away Superman's powers isn't a detriment, it enhances who he is.

The vast majority of this book has insane art, beautiful work spanning multiple styles. The story feels big, and hefty, but is easy to follow (calling you out Dark Knights Metal). And the very human moments in it, were extremely touching. I cried twice while reading this collection.

This isn't just a special comic. This is a special book. A war saga, hope, redemption, love. This is special.

Some quotes I liked:

"Little things grow big in the blink of an eye. You only get one shot to help them grow the right way... being special is easy for you, but some people go their whole lives never knowing what thats like. So if you can help them feel that, if you can guide people to find what's amazing about themselves, well that's the power to change the world."


"There's God knows how many living slaves down there, and he stops to cry over one nameless corpse. I'll never understand it."
"I'd like to."
"Eh?"
"I'd like to know what that's like... to care so much about everyone."

[Vaughn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fantastic read, and one of the best Superman stories that I've come across.

Superman learns that there is an offshoot race of Kryptonian's that are alive, but captured on a torturous planet called Warworld, ruled by the tyrant Mongul. Superman then vows to travel to Warworld without returning until he's freed all the slaves.

Phillip Kennedy Johnson does some great world-building for Warworld. How the world is run, it's history, it's culture and philosophy. Superman not only has to free the slaves, but he needs to also make them WANT to be freed, due to the slaves being brought up in a cruel world filled with propaganda. Where benevolent and compassionate acts are seen to be weak, while cruelty and survival are seen to be strong and moral.

If that isn't challenging enough, Warworld is filled with red sun energy, so when Superman arrives on Warworld, he loses his powers. What results is an epic story of a gladiatorial Superman against seemingly impossible odds, bringing hope to the hopeless and refusing to back down just because he's the underdog.

Superman stories which highlight his hope and his fighting against all odds tend to be the best stories in my opinion. Superman states that we shouldn't always only fight when we have the upper hand, or when we're cheered for it. In this book, Superman fights against the impossible with the world hating him, however he never loses hope and starts to inspire others to do the same. That is the perfect theme for a Superman epic.

[Benjamin Kimble · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the greatest Superman stories ever told. I don’t say that lightly. Phillip Kennedy Johnson is a master writer. In it Superman finds out that there is a splinter group of Kryptonians called Phaelosians who had left the planet years before and are still alive. The big problem is that they are trapped on Warworld under the oppressive rule of Mongul. Superman forms a team and they go on a quest to rescue them. Things don’t go to plan and they get trapped in the arena on Warworld forced to fight to survive. But Superman refuses to kill, he fights to defend and to inspire hope. The time on Warworld is an epic fantasy story like Superman meets Conan. It’s really something special. Daniel Sampere provided the art for the beginning of this story and he’s got a very powerful style that suits Superman so well. Riccardo Federici provided the art for a lot of the later stuff and he has such an amazing dark fantasy style. He’s not an artist I would’ve picked for Superman but it works so well with this story. Another thing that was super cool is that PKJ sets up a storyline about Olgrun and the first world. Olgrun is an old god, the first in fact, and he was split into pieces because of his power and evil. This is a story PKJ is building through multiple DC titles and it’s an epic that I love seeing unfold. What makes this story great is an understanding of Superman that not every writer has these days (see: Bendis, New 52). PKJ takes it back to the story of Moses that Segiel and Shuster were inspired by with Superman coming to free his enslaved people. He uses the original mission statement of being the champion of the oppressed from Action Comics #1. This is a writer who knows his comics history. He even changes up the popular motto into just being truth and justice. When I finished Warworld Apocalypse I set the book down and went: “wow, he just finished Superman.” I don’t know how anyone continues to tell Superman stories after that. This is a perfect comic.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read a few smaller collections of the Warworld Saga, and I didn't care for it. But I see others seemed to really enjoy it, so I borrowed this book from the library - maybe reading it all in one big chunk would help the pacing and story flow, I thought.

Nope. The prelude stuff is still pretty fun and compelling, but once Clark and co. hit Warworld, this book is a slog. It reads like they decided it needed to take X number of issues, and then they drew it out that long, no matter how many tangents or retreads that required. This story might've worked at half its actual length. The artwork was a mixed bag, although the muddy coloring definitely started to wear thin as well.

Note: I didn't read the Future State chapters at the end. My interest in this book and this scenario was completely shot.

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

A great premise (“Superman meets Gladiator”) gets spoiled by an abundance of unnecessary characters, a rushed ending, and art that rapidly drops in quality throughout the series. The planet of Warworld, with its brutal culture and mysterious foes, provides an incredible backdrop for a Superman adventure. Unfortunately, Superman himself frequently takes a backseat to the team of antiheroes he brings on this adventure with him, none of whom are well-defined or particularly interesting. Furthermore, the story follows too many competing plot threads and, even worse, abruptly abandons most of them right before the finish line. Perhaps most disappointing of all, Superman exists mostly as an idea in this story, with Big Blue serving more as an inspirational force than as a compelling character.

[Dallas Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What more could you possibly want from a Superman arc?? READ IT!!!
This story will have a long life of an amazing legacy for a lot of reasons that I'd plead for you to read and find out yourself!

The Superman aesthetic of this book made me not want to hop on it for quite some time, but I regret not hopping on immediately. Superman facing a "Planet Hulk" situation was way more deep and full of fascination than I was ready for!

The Authority are utilized really well and are a constantly enjoyable supporting cast!

This collection is the premium way to experience all of these stories that you will not want to miss!

[London Heady · Rating 5 out of 5]

The world is dark. The odds are horrible. Eldritch monsters lurk around every corner. Brother is against brother and kindness has been ultimately snuffed out.

But Superman appears. To provide us solace. To give us hope. And to be inspired by us.

Warworld Saga is incredible. I loved it. I love the writing for Superman but I also feel like there was so much in this for its secondary characters, and even some pretty interesting Mongul stuff. This was my first big introduction to that character, and it was super engaging.

A lot of great dialogue, but the issue from Future State where we get to read one of Clark Kent's articles made me sob.

[Wombo Combo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the best Superman comic I've read in a while. I love this sci fi direction for the character and I think the setting really helped highlight what makes Superman special as a character. I do think the prologue arc is good, but a little long, while I think the middle Warworld Saga arc could've used a bit of breathing room. The Warworld Revolution arc is really nice though
All in all, it does have it's flaws, but this is the kind of Superman story I'd like to see more of. I think a lot of traditional superhero comics like Superman, Green Lantern, and X-Men work better when they lean into the science fiction elements instead of the superhero sheen placed over them.

[Stephen Coyle]

Pretty good! Could have done without some of the tie-in stories as they just dragged out a story which to me already feels overly long on its own (this is the first graphic novel I've ever read that looks like an Argos catalogue).
Honestly I enjoyed the start of this more than the rest. Clark's decision to leave Earth to liberate a planet of slaves from an oppressive tyrant, and the conflict that decision brings with his teammates, family, etc. made for a much more compelling read than the later Planet Hulk stuff.

[C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like you simply can't call yourself a superhero until you've had an arc where you had to fight as a gladiator on a savage alien planet.
But that might just be a me thing.
Picking up 'Superman and the Authority' left off, Phillip Kennefy Johnson weaves a fast moving pulpy action adventure with a gnarly 'Fury Road' streak. There's sone rich character stuff going on under the hood that I love and a truly fleshed out cast of characters. It's very action heavy, but I actually enjoyed that.
This comic also goes a long way to prove that Mongal is one of Superman's more underrated villains.

[Bardo 彡 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es definitivamente mi historia favorita de Superman. Tiene todo lo que lo hace el epítome de los superhéroes. Nunca pierde la esperanza, aunque todo lo demás parezca estar perdido. Y esa esperanza es tan fuerte que contagia todo a su alrededor. Es simplemente magnífico. Phillip Kennedy Johnson tiene toda mi atención ahora. Por otro lado, y no menos importante, el arte es hermoso. Sampere y Federici, los TKM!!!

[DayDay · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best Superman story in ages. PKJ understands the character to a TEE. This story has substance in every issue. And the way he described warworld along with the amazing artwork of Riccardo Federici & David Lapham felt like an EPIC FANTASY. Even with elements of scifi & fantasy mixed in here, you'll get message here of who Superman is. The man will stop at nothing to save the people that he loves. He has such a huge heart and will stop at nothing until everyone is safe. SO well done.

[Mark Wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not much of a Superman fan, but I really enjoyed this. It’s a wonderful story of a powerless Superman who fights to free slaves from Mongul, and Superman sacrifices everything in his life to do it. The ending was a bit messy, or this would have received 5 stars. It’s too bad too, because the. Rest of the book was phenomenal!