Superman: Exile

Superman Post-Crisis #old 10

by Roger Stern, Jerry Ordway, George Pérez

Overwhelmed by guilt for breaking his own oath against killing, Superman exiles himself from Earth and begins a journey of isolation and desolation. But while serving the sentence of his personal banishment in the vastness of space, the Man of Steel learns that he cannot run from himself. In this introspective tale of remorse and rebirth, Superman faces off against the evil of the Eradicator for the first time, learns new secrets about the history of Krypton and takes on the alien behemoth Mongul on his gladiator planet Warworld.

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

304 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1989

About the author

Roger Stern is an American comic book author and novelist.

Reviews

[Molly™☺ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice character piece that, apart from feeling a little slow and dated at times, provides one of the better characterisations for the Man of Steel. It's a story about self-imposed punishment and the journey that goes along with that, from shame to acceptance. One that may work better on a re-read, I'll definitely be picking this up again and giving it another go in the future.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really cool look into a man who's broken up over the fact he did something against his morals.

Superman had killed Zod and his crew when he had the chance to. They were monsters, killing thousands, and when they were depowered, Superman decided to get rid of them for good. In doing so, his guilt eats at him and slowly he begins to lose it. So he decides to travel through space to find his calling, and in doing so creates some great stories of a man trying to find himself again.

There's a lot to like here. Superman helping other aliens, him visiting isolated planets to see if he wants to be alone forever, coming in contact with new lifeforms, some trying to eat him. Eventually we get to Mongul and Warworld, and kind of like the recent event with Warworld in action comics, it's solid but overstays its welcome at time. But overall this was a great look into the mind of Superman just trying to find himself again and be the best he could be.

A 4 out of 5.

[Víctor Segovia · Rating 5 out of 5]

no soy un gran seguidor del Hombre de Acero, pero está historia tiene mucho a su favor para enganchar a cualquier persona que la lea; ya sea lector de vieja data o personas que quieren conocer otras facetas del personaje.
Simplemente es espectacular todo el guión (a pesar de que deja alguna que otra cosa abierta) y quizás lo más importante e interesante es que muestra una faceta nunca vista del Hombre de Acero y como la culpa y el remordimiento son fantasmaa que también azotan al increíble Hombre del Mañana.
No es una lectura fácil, es bastante densa y profunda con contadas escenas de acción y que pueden aburrir a cualquiera que sólo sé interese en el arte secuencial por la acción.

[John Yelverton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is, hands down, one of the worst Superman books ever written.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

After killing an alternate General Zod and his cronies in a pocket universe, Superman goes into exile in space for killing.

While wandering around with a small teleportation device and oxygen mask, he goes on series of misadventures, and eventually must face the mighty Mongul and Warworld.

The storyline is quite different from others, which makes the risks quite rewarding. Superman is vulnerable, and so is everyone on Earth as villains close in with the Man of Steel's absence.

Its not perfect, but a very good read.

[Greg Peterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting look at how Superman deals with his direct action that lead to the deaths of three villains. Also I was surprised to see a planet hulk esq arena story line way before that comic. 3 stars for being good not great and some writing was still over explained elements as was often the case during this time. Also beard supes is best supes!

[Dallas Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superman having a mental meltdown, worried he's not good enough to keep his loved ones safe, and feeling all around unworthy is a fascinating set up for a story!

Superman has been an embodiment of Hope for near a century, this exploration of him at his lowest is rarely touched on like this. This book really captures looking at your life with regret and guilt for the things you've done or were not able to do. Can he find peace in space or give himself the exhile he believes he deserves?

This story is such an excellent example of Grant Morrison's explanation as Superman as the everyman who goes through all the problems we do, just on a grander scale. Example: he doesn't just walk his dog, he walks his dog around a solar system (No Krypto in this, just an example).

For those who are not sold on the exploration of regret and depression with the Man of Steel, fear not for one of Superman's greatest foes arrives for the first time in this Post-Crisis continuity! It's spectacular and climactic, a fantastic iteration that one of Superman's most recent epics clearly took a lot of inspiration from too!

This whole book is full of top artists and authors giving their all!
Don't miss this!

[Sophia · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first, I thought I was going to get something very similar to the Hulk: Crossroads storyline.
I’m glad it quickly went in a different direction.

The more comics you read, the more you question how much thought Supes took when he was planning this endeavour. He had no way to refuel his oxygen nor any way to repair it.

He was also using technology he was not familiar with and so got himself in precarious situations he barely managed to get out of.

I did like how we were still checking in with the other characters and got a Lex Luthor storyline, showing off his business intelligence and willingness to be less than legal to get his way.

I think my favourite bit was when Superman was on Warworld and fighting against Mongul. Maybe that's just because I love those episodes from the animated Justice League show.

I found the backstory of the Eradicator and the Cleric to be a little odd. Not sure we really needed that, to be honest.

I did like that there was some connection made with the new item and a previous story; Matrix having some sort of connection to the Eradicator (which connected the extra-dimensional being with Superman). Although, I did find that particular conclusion a little bitter.

The epilogues were not included in this CE, so I read them separately. Here are the links:
Superman V2 #34
Adventures of Superman #457
Action Comics #644

Overall, I didn't mind this storyline as it took Superman out of his status quo. But besides a reinvigorated Supes who has more appreciation for his home, at the end of the day, there wasn't really anything that will come from this story.
Besides a brief story with the Eradicator (that turns into a person??)

[Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it a bit more than I thought I might at first. I liked to see Superman having adventures in space. I've always dug the sci-fi/space travel aspects of the Superman mythos. I liked the religious back-story of Krypton as told by the "cleric." The gladiator story on Prison Planet & War World was alright and I also liked the fact that this story was used again in the 90's Superman cartoons. The story of Morgan Edge & his Intergang machinations was cool too w/Lex Luthor taking a bit of back seat to most of the action. I wonder whatever happened to Matrix playing Clark Kent. She was able to pull a fast one on the good people of Metropolis. Overall a good Superman TPB which I was able to get for pretty cheap at an HPB.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, the stories here certainly don't hold up but the art definitely does. George Perez, Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, Kerry Gammill, and others all illustrate what I think of when I think of Superman. There were some terrific action scenes depicted. Legendary stuff. The plot for the main story is fine but it should have more depressing. Superman should have wallowed in his guilt more. The subplots at home should have also been lessened to give Superman more panels in space. Overall, its always fun to look back but better here to just look and maybe skip the dialogue.

[C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I *like* this comic.
I don't *love* this comic.
This story works best when its Superman on his self imposed exile in space, trying to outrun his guilt over killing Zod and worrying that he's become dangerous. Its quite effective storytelling and shows a side to the character i love.
When this story is at its worst? It's bogged down in lore that was current to the comic in a way that males you feel like you skipped a few chapters. It's not that it doesn't make sense, its that some of the creative decisions from this era of Superman are straight up bad.

[Zachary King · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of this book didn't do it for me - random space adventures have never been my thing in the superhero genre - but the second half of the book includes Mongul, a deep dive into Kryptonian mythology, and an appearance from Darkseid. Very strong finale! Pretty important chapter in the early days of post-Crisis Superman, so this one is recommended for fans and completists.

[Pochodnia fandomu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superman sam się wygnał w kosmos po zabiciu Generała Zoda z kieszonkowego wymiaru i tutaj mamy dużo angstu z tego powodu, podróże w kosmosie, poznajemy część historii Kryptonu, Superman staje się gladiatorem.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good example of Comics By Committee, this trade tells the aftermath of the fairly infamous story where Superman kills. Unable to deal with the ramifications, he leaves his adopted home to figure out what to do next. It becomes a journey of self-discovery amongst the stars as he learns more about his heritage in a most surprising fashion. Back on Earth, his friends and family try to cope with his absence while the plans of his enemies creep nefariously onward. The artwork is fairly consistent throughout, and the removal of so many of the usual Superman comic tropes gives room for rewarding risks to be taken with Supes. Not reinventing the wheel (it'd be very hard for a Superman story to do that, for obvious reasons) but definitely a good solid read.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a big story full of psycho-babble, Superman decides he is too dangerous to stay on Earth and heads out into space to get his act together.
Along the way he tries farming, encounters a past foe and ends up becoming a gladiator in a space arena.

The story that was his reason for leaving I thought was weak, but the 'Exile' part with all it's adventure in space was a fun read.