Superman must face threats outside and inside of him!
This collected edition includes: Superman: Doomed #1-2, Action Comics #30-35 + Annual #3, Superman #30-31, Superman/Wonder Woman #7-12 + Annual #1, Batman/Superman #11, Supergirl #34-35, making an impressive number of 21 comic book issues for the storyline. Curiously the title of Justice League isn’t used on the event while the team appears during the story.
Creative Team:
Writers: Greg Pak, Charles Soule, Scott Lobdell & Tony Bedard
Illustrators: Aaron Kuder, Eddy Barrows, Ed Benes, Ken Lashey, Rafa Sandoval, Cameron Stewart, Tony S. Daniel, Karl Kerschl, Tom Derenick, Daniel Sampere, Jack Herbert, Scott Kolins, Paulo Siqueira, Pascal Alixe, Cliff Richards, Julius Gopez, Will Conrad, Thony Silas, Karl Moline, Szymon Kudranski, Cory Smith, Dave Bullock, Ian Churchill, Vicente Cifuentes, Norm Rapmund, Jonboy Meyers & Walden Wong
THIS IS A JOB FOR… DOOMSDAY?
Superman: Doomed is a big comic book event involving the character of Superman through an impressive number of 21 comic book issues collected them here in this edition. The story presents the battle against Doomsday, in the DC’s New52, but also several other menaces.
Doomsday has appeared before in several storylines and single shots, and it’s kinda confusing here in the DC’s New52 since Superman remember having faced Doomsday before, but he doesn’t recognize Cyborg Superman which was a pivotal character after the first encounter with Doomsday. Of course, the DC’s New52 is a comic book universe “born” after the events of Flashpoint therefore, some stories “merged”, some characters of other comic book universe were “inserted” and at the end, yes, all that it’s a big mess... who am I kidding?
When this Doomsday emerged from the ocean... ...the water boiled around him. The sand turned to black onix beneath its feet. Even the brick and Stone of the buildings on the island couldn’t mantain molecular cohesion. They simply fell apart. Whatever you fought before... was just a larva. It’s only now reaching its mature form.
Superman is the only one able to face Doomsday, now more than ever since the creature is bigger and more powerful than before, and while the battle has some complications, it isn’t too long, and the deadly creature is killed by the Man of Steel, however this death costs too much. Since, Doomsday liberates a virus in the form of a purple smoke that Superman inhalates to avoid anyone else would be hurt by it, and this brave action provokes that Superman got infected by this “Doomsday virus” and slowly he will be transformed into the creature but now being a fusion of the previous Doosmday abilities plus the vast list of powers of Superman, and a “Doomsday conscience” taking control of the actions of the altered body.
Doomsday was a threat that only Superman was able to beat before, but what happens when the threat of Doomsday is inside of Superman? Who will stop the threat now?
And the worse of all, is that Doomsday is only a tool for a bigger plan of Brainiac who is stating a battlefield in multiple scenarios with several forces and agents, some shown in plain sight, some hidden.
This new threat to Earth will need the help and collaboration of all available superheroes, along with some non-powered allies... and also several villains.
Superman: Doomed clearly is a new storyline, but also it’s a tribute to the story which impacts the world… The Death of Superman, therefore Steel, the Eradicator and Cyborg Superman appear in this new storyline. Oddly enough Superboy doesn’t appear, I am aware that I don’t manage what was the status of the character at the moment of this storyline but still is odd that he wouldn’t make at least a cameo.
Cyborg Superman has a terrible secret, which it was revealed in his one-shot issue during “the month of villains” of DC, and here it’s mentioned, but it’s a shame that such big and dangerous secret isn’t used on its full potential and making such improved character in my opinion as merely a field commander for Brainiac.
Steel aka John Henry Irons teams-up with Lana Lang, which her Electrical Engineer skills became pivotal to the development of the battle for the safety of Earth.
Batman takes control of the Fortress of Solitude and he has to make hard calls including sworn enemies of Superman into the efforts to protect Earth against Brainiac.
Wonder Woman (Superman’s love interest in DC’s New 52) who is also the current God of War (nothing less!) coordinates from the field the multiple battles.
And Superman has a too close for confort battle, inside of his own body, trying to keep in control the “Doomsday virus” that it’s transforming him into a monster.
That concept is a wonderful idea, but I have to admit that the creative team wasn’t willing to take many risks, and while Superman lose control several times, he never truly embraced the Doomsday factor causing something to regret, something to change the future status quo and/or something to provoke a lasting impact in the DC’s New52 universe.
I think that if instead of using Brainiac as the real big villain of this storyline, they could use Superman totally unleashed as a monster as the central menace in the storyline.
Still, Superman: Doomed is a very entertained reading, full of non-stop action, with very good artwork, full of colors, and definitely an excelllent option for Superman’s fans.