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Superman: The Man of Steel (New Editions)
Superman: The Man of Steel Vol. 4
A bold new reimagining of the life and times of the Man of Steel, crafted by legendary comics writer and artist John Byrne—the history of the Last Son of Krypton would never be the same!
Some of Superman's greatest adventures featuring favorites like Wonder Woman, Batman, Supergirl, the Doom Patrol, and more!
In this collection, meet Supergirl and learn who she is and what secrets her powers hold! And Superman and the Doom Patrol must find a way to protect Smallville! There's even a visit to Krypton! This volume contains Superman #16-22; Adventures of Superman #439-444; Action Comics #598-600; Superman Annual #2.
Some of Superman's greatest adventures featuring favorites like Wonder Woman, Batman, Supergirl, the Doom Patrol, and more!
In this collection, meet Supergirl and learn who she is and what secrets her powers hold! And Superman and the Doom Patrol must find a way to protect Smallville! There's even a visit to Krypton! This volume contains Superman #16-22; Adventures of Superman #439-444; Action Comics #598-600; Superman Annual #2.
519 pages, Hardcover
Published January 21, 2022
17 people are currently reading
112 people want to read
About the author
John Byrne
2,965 books363 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
John Lindley Byrne is a British-born Canadian-American author and artist of comic books. Since the mid-1970s, Byrne has worked on nearly every major American superhero.
Byrne's better-known work has been on Marvel Comics' X-Men and Fantastic Four and the 1986 relaunch of DC Comics’ Superman franchise. Coming into the comics profession exclusively as a penciler, Byrne began co-plotting the X-Men comics during his tenure on them, and launched his writing career in earnest with Fantastic Four (where he also started inking his own pencils). During the 1990s he produced a number of creator-owned works, including Next Men and Danger Unlimited. He also wrote the first issues of Mike Mignola's Hellboy series and produced a number of Star Trek comics for IDW Publishing.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
John Lindley Byrne is a British-born Canadian-American author and artist of comic books. Since the mid-1970s, Byrne has worked on nearly every major American superhero.
Byrne's better-known work has been on Marvel Comics' X-Men and Fantastic Four and the 1986 relaunch of DC Comics’ Superman franchise. Coming into the comics profession exclusively as a penciler, Byrne began co-plotting the X-Men comics during his tenure on them, and launched his writing career in earnest with Fantastic Four (where he also started inking his own pencils). During the 1990s he produced a number of creator-owned works, including Next Men and Danger Unlimited. He also wrote the first issues of Mike Mignola's Hellboy series and produced a number of Star Trek comics for IDW Publishing.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 30, 2022
Superman: The Man of Steel Volume 4 collects Superman #16-22, Adventures of Superman #439-444, Action Comics #598-600, Superman Annual #2 and Doom Patrol #10.
This is Johnny Redbeard's swan song as the Superman architect and he goes out with a bang. Superman takes on his feelings for Wonder Woman, Darkseid with Wonder Woman, Silver Banshee, Braniac, Metallo, The Kryptonoid, and evil Kryptonians. The Newsboy Legion, The Guardian, and Supergirl (in a way) are reintroduced to the Superman mythos. Also, Superman meets Jimmy Olsen's hot young mom.
John Byrne and Jerry Ordway are the headliners on this on both writing and art, with Paul Kupperberg and Roger Stern handling what's left of the writing chores. The rest of the art team are heavy hitters like Ross Andru, Ron Frenz, Dick Giordano, Erik Larsen, Mike Mignola, Georeg Perez, Curt Swan, and Kurt Schaffenberger with more inkers than you can shake a stick at.
Despite it being the end of his run, nothing Byrne did felt phoned in to me. Superman dealing with the Phantom Zone Kryptonians in shocking fashion had an impact on him for years to come. A lot of threads were wrapped up but there were still plenty to tug at by the end of the run. The surface had barely been scratched of the Superman-Lois romance and Roger Stern brought in a slew of Kirby creations for future use in the final issue of this volume. Braniac was just getting off the ground and Luthor's Kryptonite poisoning had only taken a hand.
John Byrne steered the ship for a damn fine Superman run. While there are parts that are very much of their time, it's a timeless collection of Superman tales for the most part. Four out of five stars.
This is Johnny Redbeard's swan song as the Superman architect and he goes out with a bang. Superman takes on his feelings for Wonder Woman, Darkseid with Wonder Woman, Silver Banshee, Braniac, Metallo, The Kryptonoid, and evil Kryptonians. The Newsboy Legion, The Guardian, and Supergirl (in a way) are reintroduced to the Superman mythos. Also, Superman meets Jimmy Olsen's hot young mom.
John Byrne and Jerry Ordway are the headliners on this on both writing and art, with Paul Kupperberg and Roger Stern handling what's left of the writing chores. The rest of the art team are heavy hitters like Ross Andru, Ron Frenz, Dick Giordano, Erik Larsen, Mike Mignola, Georeg Perez, Curt Swan, and Kurt Schaffenberger with more inkers than you can shake a stick at.
Despite it being the end of his run, nothing Byrne did felt phoned in to me. Superman dealing with the Phantom Zone Kryptonians in shocking fashion had an impact on him for years to come. A lot of threads were wrapped up but there were still plenty to tug at by the end of the run. The surface had barely been scratched of the Superman-Lois romance and Roger Stern brought in a slew of Kirby creations for future use in the final issue of this volume. Braniac was just getting off the ground and Luthor's Kryptonite poisoning had only taken a hand.
John Byrne steered the ship for a damn fine Superman run. While there are parts that are very much of their time, it's a timeless collection of Superman tales for the most part. Four out of five stars.
June 16, 2022
Byrne's last volume certainly continues to show off the post-Crisis flavor of Superman, but other than the Supergirl saga that ends it, it's largely forgettable due to its focus on single-issue stories (and the move away from new Luthor, one of the most interesting elements of post-Crisis. But we do end with that Supergirl saga, which would determine the focus of Superman for the next year.
Checkmate (Action 598). Pretty much a teaser for Checkmate, but it's a good teaser that makes me want to revisit the series in trade paperbacks! A nice post-crisis introduction [4+/5].
Prankster (Superman 16). The reinvention of the Prankster as a failed TV comedian gives him some new depth, but otherwise his schtick of jokes and pranks remains very Silver Age [3+/5].
Superbot (AoS 439+440). This starts off with a great little story with a Silver Age vibe, as a Super'bot mysteriously appears thinking its Superman. Add in a lot of supporting cast members, and you get a superior story. The follow-up issue is then all subplot, revealing not just the origins of the 'bot but also filling out a lot of other ongoing story. AoS was often the best comic of this era, and these issues demonstrate why. [5/5].
Metal Men (Action 599). Maybe the first take on a Kryptonian Metal Man? Certainly doesn't seem fresh now. And Byrne's take on Luthor in this issue is remarkably stale too. This isn't the clever business man, but instead a gloating megalomaniac who should have been thrown into jail afterward [2+/5].
Silver Banshee Returns (Superman 17). I applaud Byrne for introducing new villains to the Superman mythology, and this Irish-focused villain is perhaps no weirder than the Bronze Age demons that Superman faced, but handing off the finale of the fight to someone we've never seen before drags the comic down, even if it extends Silver Banshee's mythology [3/5].
Wonder Woman (Action 600). The finale to Superman in Action (for now) brings us an attempted romance between Diana and Clark and an attempted assault upon Olympus by Darkseid. They were both interesting twists that wouldn't have been considered pre-Crisis, and so were probably very exciting at the time, even if they seem more staid now. As for the rest of the stories: seeing Lois' reaction to the "romance" is terrific, then we get an interesting view of future problems for Lex, and the rest is a prelude to the next Superman issue ... [4/5].
Return to Krypton (Superman 18). This story has a great science-fiction beginning, with the radiation from Krypton's destruction arriving on Earth, and then Superman getting his first view of the dead planet. But from there it descends into a hallucination, and then the Kryptonite problems seems offhandedly dealt with. A definite misfire [2+/5].
Mxy (AoS 441). Byrne made some good changes to Mxy, such as putting him on a 90-day timer and mixing up how he gets sent home, the latter of which shows up for the first time here. But this Mxy issue is still a dull fight, even it's interrupted by any number of subplots [3/5].
Power Play (Superman 19 + AoS 442). Some aliens (kinda) come to Earth and suck away Superman's powers (kinda) until they're overpowered and defeated (somehow). A somewhat dull main story in large part because the antagonists are entirely two-dimensional. Perhaps all the heroes showing up to help was more interesting in these early post-Crisis years? Fortunately, there are subplots about Luthor and the new Supergirl that keep things slightly interesting [3/5].
Doom Patrol (DP + Superman 20). Another crossover showing off the state of the early post-Crisis universe, this time with the New Doom Patrol, a short time before Grant Morrison took over. This crossover has a lot of neat elements, such as the return of Metallo as part of Byrne's ongoing continuity for the Superman titles and the increasing mystery of the new Supergirl. Beyond that: it's a decently interesting fight [3+/5].
Hostage Crisis (AoS 443). A weird story by Ordway. Probably it tries to lean on pulp themes, but this combination of the Middle-east, terrorism, and aliens from another dimension is just plain weird ... and runs a little long [3/5].
The Supergirl Saga (SM 21-22 + AoS 444). Byrne's Superman too often focused on one-off stories that didn't take good advantage of the serialized form. It's great that he ended his run on one of the most carefully serialized arcs: not only a three-parter, but one that builds on the famous Death-of-Superboy arc in the Legion of Superheroes. It's a nice expansion that tells us the story of what happens to a world when the heroes abandon it, and it of course sets us on the road to Exile [4+/5].
The Cadmus Project (SM A #2). The post-Crisis return of the Cadmus Project is well done, with its generational use of the Newsboy Legion and their adult counterparts. There's so much great material here, both reiteration Kirby's work of the 70s and expanding it into the new Superboy and more [4/5].
Private Lives: Love's Labor (SM A #2). A great little story about Maggie & Turpin. If we'd only had more of this! [5/5].
Checkmate (Action 598). Pretty much a teaser for Checkmate, but it's a good teaser that makes me want to revisit the series in trade paperbacks! A nice post-crisis introduction [4+/5].
Prankster (Superman 16). The reinvention of the Prankster as a failed TV comedian gives him some new depth, but otherwise his schtick of jokes and pranks remains very Silver Age [3+/5].
Superbot (AoS 439+440). This starts off with a great little story with a Silver Age vibe, as a Super'bot mysteriously appears thinking its Superman. Add in a lot of supporting cast members, and you get a superior story. The follow-up issue is then all subplot, revealing not just the origins of the 'bot but also filling out a lot of other ongoing story. AoS was often the best comic of this era, and these issues demonstrate why. [5/5].
Metal Men (Action 599). Maybe the first take on a Kryptonian Metal Man? Certainly doesn't seem fresh now. And Byrne's take on Luthor in this issue is remarkably stale too. This isn't the clever business man, but instead a gloating megalomaniac who should have been thrown into jail afterward [2+/5].
Silver Banshee Returns (Superman 17). I applaud Byrne for introducing new villains to the Superman mythology, and this Irish-focused villain is perhaps no weirder than the Bronze Age demons that Superman faced, but handing off the finale of the fight to someone we've never seen before drags the comic down, even if it extends Silver Banshee's mythology [3/5].
Wonder Woman (Action 600). The finale to Superman in Action (for now) brings us an attempted romance between Diana and Clark and an attempted assault upon Olympus by Darkseid. They were both interesting twists that wouldn't have been considered pre-Crisis, and so were probably very exciting at the time, even if they seem more staid now. As for the rest of the stories: seeing Lois' reaction to the "romance" is terrific, then we get an interesting view of future problems for Lex, and the rest is a prelude to the next Superman issue ... [4/5].
Return to Krypton (Superman 18). This story has a great science-fiction beginning, with the radiation from Krypton's destruction arriving on Earth, and then Superman getting his first view of the dead planet. But from there it descends into a hallucination, and then the Kryptonite problems seems offhandedly dealt with. A definite misfire [2+/5].
Mxy (AoS 441). Byrne made some good changes to Mxy, such as putting him on a 90-day timer and mixing up how he gets sent home, the latter of which shows up for the first time here. But this Mxy issue is still a dull fight, even it's interrupted by any number of subplots [3/5].
Power Play (Superman 19 + AoS 442). Some aliens (kinda) come to Earth and suck away Superman's powers (kinda) until they're overpowered and defeated (somehow). A somewhat dull main story in large part because the antagonists are entirely two-dimensional. Perhaps all the heroes showing up to help was more interesting in these early post-Crisis years? Fortunately, there are subplots about Luthor and the new Supergirl that keep things slightly interesting [3/5].
Doom Patrol (DP + Superman 20). Another crossover showing off the state of the early post-Crisis universe, this time with the New Doom Patrol, a short time before Grant Morrison took over. This crossover has a lot of neat elements, such as the return of Metallo as part of Byrne's ongoing continuity for the Superman titles and the increasing mystery of the new Supergirl. Beyond that: it's a decently interesting fight [3+/5].
Hostage Crisis (AoS 443). A weird story by Ordway. Probably it tries to lean on pulp themes, but this combination of the Middle-east, terrorism, and aliens from another dimension is just plain weird ... and runs a little long [3/5].
The Supergirl Saga (SM 21-22 + AoS 444). Byrne's Superman too often focused on one-off stories that didn't take good advantage of the serialized form. It's great that he ended his run on one of the most carefully serialized arcs: not only a three-parter, but one that builds on the famous Death-of-Superboy arc in the Legion of Superheroes. It's a nice expansion that tells us the story of what happens to a world when the heroes abandon it, and it of course sets us on the road to Exile [4+/5].
The Cadmus Project (SM A #2). The post-Crisis return of the Cadmus Project is well done, with its generational use of the Newsboy Legion and their adult counterparts. There's so much great material here, both reiteration Kirby's work of the 70s and expanding it into the new Superboy and more [4/5].
Private Lives: Love's Labor (SM A #2). A great little story about Maggie & Turpin. If we'd only had more of this! [5/5].
July 29, 2022
The weakest of the 4 volumes.
I do want to state this isn't a bad volume by any means. It's just a weaker one. The art still holds very well. We still get some great moments, especially with Clark trying to deal with some of his own people when Supergirl returns. Those arcs are solid as well as dealing with just the everyday stuff like with Jimmy Olsen. Even the Checkmate issue was solid.
But the rest? Pretty meh in every aspect. Most stories drag on or feel pointless. None of them really resonated with me. I didn't care about Power Player storyline, Return to Krypton was interesting enough but then went trippy and lost all interest in the entire plot. Doom Patrol lacked any sort of edge, and Hostage Crisis was just meh.
Yeah, this just didn't hold a candle to volume 1, 2, or even 3. A 2.5 out of 5. I'll bump it to 3 just for the art alone.
I do want to state this isn't a bad volume by any means. It's just a weaker one. The art still holds very well. We still get some great moments, especially with Clark trying to deal with some of his own people when Supergirl returns. Those arcs are solid as well as dealing with just the everyday stuff like with Jimmy Olsen. Even the Checkmate issue was solid.
But the rest? Pretty meh in every aspect. Most stories drag on or feel pointless. None of them really resonated with me. I didn't care about Power Player storyline, Return to Krypton was interesting enough but then went trippy and lost all interest in the entire plot. Doom Patrol lacked any sort of edge, and Hostage Crisis was just meh.
Yeah, this just didn't hold a candle to volume 1, 2, or even 3. A 2.5 out of 5. I'll bump it to 3 just for the art alone.
March 29, 2024
I was very pleased with this final volume in John Byrne's run on Superman. The quality went way up compared to the last one.
There were a ton of fun crossovers as well as legitimate character development of Clark, Lois, and Jimmy, among other side characters. The highlights that I loved were the issues with Hawkman and Hawkwoman, exploring the Krypton remains, as well as the Supergirl arc and the Cadmus story with Guardian. Tons of fun, and back to the quality of the first two volumes for the most part.
There were a ton of fun crossovers as well as legitimate character development of Clark, Lois, and Jimmy, among other side characters. The highlights that I loved were the issues with Hawkman and Hawkwoman, exploring the Krypton remains, as well as the Supergirl arc and the Cadmus story with Guardian. Tons of fun, and back to the quality of the first two volumes for the most part.
November 20, 2025
Vol 4 rating: 7/10
Whole Series rating: 7.5/10
As for this final volume of the John Byrne era of Superman, I felt as though it ended strong enough. To me, the quality of issues in volumes 2 and 3 had dipped and it was a slog to get through with certain issues that really did not provide anything substantial to the mythos of Superman/Clark. But Volume 4 felt nearly as strong as Volume 1, excluding a handful of issues. In this, you start to see small pieces of development of Clark and Lois' relationship to the point where you wish Clark would actually ask out Lois or reveal his identity. Lex Luthor is still doing everything he can to take down Superman, but you see how this is costing him his body. You also get things like the beginning of Supergirl Post-Crisis and that entire arc was very interesting and entertaining. This ends with Superman doing something he has never done before and knowing that things won't be the same. A good collection that, for the most part, adds to the mythos of this character and explore some villains that were introduced earlier in the series.
As for the whole series, I very much appreciate what Byrne did for Superman, even if I wasn't a fan the entire ride. I will say, I believe that 1/4th of this run could probably be skipped because it didn't do anything for Superman and those issues were average at best. I love seeing that Clark and Lois don't just date after a few months of knowing each other, I really like how Byrne focuses on Superman understanding that he is a man that is kind. A man that saves animals. A hero that while very strong, he isn't OP. I see a lot of this run in the film Superman (2025) and that was a pleasure to read. While I don't think this run was necessarily anything amazing, it builds a lot of Superman's early years. My main critique is that I WISH the pacing was better and I wish that they wouldn't have hooked you with something super interesting in Clark's life and then not bring it up or continue it for another like 3 issues. I see a lot recommend this run to read, but I don't think I'd agree, at least for Modern readers. If you are more of a casual reader or used to modern day comics, I'm not entirely sure if I'd recommend this since it can be very slow and a lot of issues can be very cheesy.
Good time, despite the flaws.
Whole Series rating: 7.5/10
As for this final volume of the John Byrne era of Superman, I felt as though it ended strong enough. To me, the quality of issues in volumes 2 and 3 had dipped and it was a slog to get through with certain issues that really did not provide anything substantial to the mythos of Superman/Clark. But Volume 4 felt nearly as strong as Volume 1, excluding a handful of issues. In this, you start to see small pieces of development of Clark and Lois' relationship to the point where you wish Clark would actually ask out Lois or reveal his identity. Lex Luthor is still doing everything he can to take down Superman, but you see how this is costing him his body. You also get things like the beginning of Supergirl Post-Crisis and that entire arc was very interesting and entertaining. This ends with Superman doing something he has never done before and knowing that things won't be the same. A good collection that, for the most part, adds to the mythos of this character and explore some villains that were introduced earlier in the series.
As for the whole series, I very much appreciate what Byrne did for Superman, even if I wasn't a fan the entire ride. I will say, I believe that 1/4th of this run could probably be skipped because it didn't do anything for Superman and those issues were average at best. I love seeing that Clark and Lois don't just date after a few months of knowing each other, I really like how Byrne focuses on Superman understanding that he is a man that is kind. A man that saves animals. A hero that while very strong, he isn't OP. I see a lot of this run in the film Superman (2025) and that was a pleasure to read. While I don't think this run was necessarily anything amazing, it builds a lot of Superman's early years. My main critique is that I WISH the pacing was better and I wish that they wouldn't have hooked you with something super interesting in Clark's life and then not bring it up or continue it for another like 3 issues. I see a lot recommend this run to read, but I don't think I'd agree, at least for Modern readers. If you are more of a casual reader or used to modern day comics, I'm not entirely sure if I'd recommend this since it can be very slow and a lot of issues can be very cheesy.
Good time, despite the flaws.
June 30, 2022
John Byrne pays off his Superman run with a controversial finale. That said, I've never been as strict about "never, ever killing" as other Superman fans. But if you're going to cross that line, it has to have consequences and this story has huge consequences (the outline of which Byrne provided, even if he didn't stick around to deliver it). Fun stories (except that clunker by Ordway and Statema) and great art.
April 11, 2022
Byrne’s revamp of Superman got me back into comics in 1986. I loved his run and was disappointed when he left. At the time, I didn’t buy the Wolfman/Ordway issues because I wasn’t a fan of Ordway’s art — still not. So this collection is some of the first I’ve seen of these.
It’s fun to revisit, but the run was entirely too short.
It’s fun to revisit, but the run was entirely too short.
February 11, 2024
This is a review for the entire John Byrne era, not just this volume.
Look... I appreciate what John Byrne did for the Superman mythos. The Man of Steel miniseries is perfectly enjoyable in its own way, and I'm grateful that it cleaned up Superman continuity a bit for the modern age. But Byrne's actual ongoing run (alongside Marv Wolfman and others) is just a slog. He never commits to any particular plotline. Every subplot runs at a glacial pace, popping up for one or two pages at random in every issue. The main plots are dreadfully generic and cliche. This is in that weird, brief era when Superman was freed from the chains of the Silver Age, but hadn't been elevated to his fullest potential by writers like Joe Kelly, Kurt Busiek, Jeph Loeb, Grant Morrison, or even Mark Millar. Because of that it's... pretty rough. There's just nothing to get attached to. Every once in a while there's a fun story, but it's surrounded by forgettable filler, mindless action, and a truly offensive amount of intrusive expositional thought bubbles. You can't even enjoy the first appearances (Post-Crisis) of several Superman villains on their own, because they're buried in irrelevant and uninteresting subplots. Tell me, who seriously cares about Jerry White? Or Cat Grant? Gangbuster? The Circle? The Manhunters? The voodoo killer? Brainiac?
Oh what's that? You DO care about Brainiac? You fool. You absolute idiot. When I said "Brainiac", you probably thought I was talking about the genocidal, planet-destroying, city-bottling, body-swapping, alien robot who is among Superman's greatest foes. No, silly. I'm obviously talking about the short, fat, mentally unstable illusionist with psychic powers who may or may not be possessed by the distant extraterrestrial dismembodied consciousness of Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Comic. You know. Brainiac. The iconic Brainiac. Everyone's favorite. What were you expecting? Thanks John.
Do I even need to mention the story where Superman and Barda are brainwashed by an alien named Sleez into filming a porno? That's a real thing that happens.
Oh, and the worst part of this run? Byrne doesn't even finish any of his own plotlines! To see the conclusions to any of the subplots contained in the four Man of Steel Omnibuses, you'll have to check out "Superman: The Exile and Other Stories Omnibus", where Roger Stern and Jerry Orway clean up Byrne's mess and try to resolve it all (and it's actually better, incidentally). This series really just isn't worth your time. There are so many better Superman runs (like the woefully underrated "City of Tomorrow" era). Hell, even the Man of Steel miniseries, the only thing here with any substantial value, has been made completely obsolete by MULTIPLE superior origin comics like Birthright and Secret Origin.
In conclusion, only read this for the historical value. You won't find anything in these volumes that hasn't been done better elsewhere. Superman is a difficult character to write, and I don't envy any writer tasked with doing a long run with him, but I can only judge what's in front of me. And it's just not worth the time.
Look... I appreciate what John Byrne did for the Superman mythos. The Man of Steel miniseries is perfectly enjoyable in its own way, and I'm grateful that it cleaned up Superman continuity a bit for the modern age. But Byrne's actual ongoing run (alongside Marv Wolfman and others) is just a slog. He never commits to any particular plotline. Every subplot runs at a glacial pace, popping up for one or two pages at random in every issue. The main plots are dreadfully generic and cliche. This is in that weird, brief era when Superman was freed from the chains of the Silver Age, but hadn't been elevated to his fullest potential by writers like Joe Kelly, Kurt Busiek, Jeph Loeb, Grant Morrison, or even Mark Millar. Because of that it's... pretty rough. There's just nothing to get attached to. Every once in a while there's a fun story, but it's surrounded by forgettable filler, mindless action, and a truly offensive amount of intrusive expositional thought bubbles. You can't even enjoy the first appearances (Post-Crisis) of several Superman villains on their own, because they're buried in irrelevant and uninteresting subplots. Tell me, who seriously cares about Jerry White? Or Cat Grant? Gangbuster? The Circle? The Manhunters? The voodoo killer? Brainiac?
Oh what's that? You DO care about Brainiac? You fool. You absolute idiot. When I said "Brainiac", you probably thought I was talking about the genocidal, planet-destroying, city-bottling, body-swapping, alien robot who is among Superman's greatest foes. No, silly. I'm obviously talking about the short, fat, mentally unstable illusionist with psychic powers who may or may not be possessed by the distant extraterrestrial dismembodied consciousness of Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Comic. You know. Brainiac. The iconic Brainiac. Everyone's favorite. What were you expecting? Thanks John.
Do I even need to mention the story where Superman and Barda are brainwashed by an alien named Sleez into filming a porno? That's a real thing that happens.
Oh, and the worst part of this run? Byrne doesn't even finish any of his own plotlines! To see the conclusions to any of the subplots contained in the four Man of Steel Omnibuses, you'll have to check out "Superman: The Exile and Other Stories Omnibus", where Roger Stern and Jerry Orway clean up Byrne's mess and try to resolve it all (and it's actually better, incidentally). This series really just isn't worth your time. There are so many better Superman runs (like the woefully underrated "City of Tomorrow" era). Hell, even the Man of Steel miniseries, the only thing here with any substantial value, has been made completely obsolete by MULTIPLE superior origin comics like Birthright and Secret Origin.
In conclusion, only read this for the historical value. You won't find anything in these volumes that hasn't been done better elsewhere. Superman is a difficult character to write, and I don't envy any writer tasked with doing a long run with him, but I can only judge what's in front of me. And it's just not worth the time.
October 30, 2023
Byrne moves the ball forward on every front. There's careful introduction of new characters, there's reuse of earlier plot lines, and there's always a teaser for the next issue that makes the book hard to put down. Unfortunately, there's also a lot of flashbacks, exposition, dream sequences, robot duplicates, etc. to make sure there are no real stakes. I was all excited for the return of the Silver Banshee, for instance, but the plot resolution involves another entirely new character and everyone just kind of shrugging their shoulders.
Sometimes a reuse of Kirby's Fourth World goes really well - the Wonder Woman crossover where Darkseid attacks Olympus is wonderful. Sometimes it goes really poorly - the Cadmus Project keeps all the cheese and none of the heart.
Sometimes a reuse of Kirby's Fourth World goes really well - the Wonder Woman crossover where Darkseid attacks Olympus is wonderful. Sometimes it goes really poorly - the Cadmus Project keeps all the cheese and none of the heart.
May 21, 2025
This was a pretty great collection of superman stories, especially enjoyed the annual that pulled in the newsboy legion but that was a fantastic introduction to supergirl and such a welcome surprise for what I know is to come. I included more details on the issues included in this volume:
Action Comics #598 - 4/5
Superman #16 - 4/5
Adventures of Superman #439 - 3/5
Action comics #599 - 3/5
Superman #17 - 3/5
Adventures of Superman #440 - 4/5
Action Comics #600 - 4/5
Superman #18 - 4/5
Adventures of Superman #441 - 4/5
Superman #19 - 4/5
Adventures of Superman #442 - 4/5
Superman #20 - 4/5
Adventures of Superman #443 - 3/5
Superman #21 - 4/5
Adventures of Superman #444 - 4/5
Superman #22 - 4/5
Superman Annual #2 - 4/5
Action Comics #598 - 4/5
Superman #16 - 4/5
Adventures of Superman #439 - 3/5
Action comics #599 - 3/5
Superman #17 - 3/5
Adventures of Superman #440 - 4/5
Action Comics #600 - 4/5
Superman #18 - 4/5
Adventures of Superman #441 - 4/5
Superman #19 - 4/5
Adventures of Superman #442 - 4/5
Superman #20 - 4/5
Adventures of Superman #443 - 3/5
Superman #21 - 4/5
Adventures of Superman #444 - 4/5
Superman #22 - 4/5
Superman Annual #2 - 4/5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 5, 2023
A lot of great stories in this 4th volume. My favorite volume after the 1st one.
Wonder Woman, Metallo, Legion of Doom, Project Cadmus, a SuperGirl and many others. And some new civilization and parallel universe too. The storyline and their respective setting are grandiose and complex. It ends with Superman taking a drastic action. I wish the next issues were collected too as many sub-plots are still in the middle.
Wonder Woman, Metallo, Legion of Doom, Project Cadmus, a SuperGirl and many others. And some new civilization and parallel universe too. The storyline and their respective setting are grandiose and complex. It ends with Superman taking a drastic action. I wish the next issues were collected too as many sub-plots are still in the middle.
August 13, 2023
My least fave of the 4 volumes. Although there's some good stuff in here, it's a little...unfocused. We get weird interdimensional shit a little too often, ancient aliens, Superboy shit, all that. There's a lot of infill of story here to make the stories work, so we spend a lot of pages on these wild backstories that make me feel like, "Why can't we be there for THAT part?" All the good action happened like thousands of years ago or in some other dimension or something.
May 31, 2024
I won't lie, I really started getting burnt out on this as I was going along. Issues just started bleeding together while moving at a glacial pace and I lost interest to the point where I just skimmed the last 10ish issues. Maybe I just need a break from Superman for a while, I'll try to hop back in when those "Superman: The Exile" and "Triangle Era" Omnibuses come out.
October 3, 2025
A definitively John Byrne ending.
It’s still fantastic, I love Byrne’s handling of just everything surrounding Superman's character, especially the thing that gets shown in the cover (not saying cause spoilers)
But it also feels like his book cause he just abruptly cuts it off once he starts introducing some awesome stuff.
It’s still fantastic, I love Byrne’s handling of just everything surrounding Superman's character, especially the thing that gets shown in the cover (not saying cause spoilers)
But it also feels like his book cause he just abruptly cuts it off once he starts introducing some awesome stuff.
November 11, 2024
This last volume was definitely better than the 2nd and 3rd volume for me but vol 1 is still the best volume out of the bunch. Decent read, I enjoyed the issues with Supergirl and the legion of super heroes
February 21, 2025
It took me a little bit to slug through this final chapter of the John Byrne run. I liked the Cadmus story was my favorite. I ended up flipping the Doom Patrol which was unreadable in my opinion. I give it 3.5 stars rounded up.
January 11, 2024
Another great set of Superman stories. Will there be more?
February 21, 2024
One of the most defining Superman stories you could ever read.
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