Superman: The Rebirth Deluxe Edition, Book 3

Superman (2016) #5-6

by Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason (Illustrations)

The next set of adventures from Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason's Superman are collected here in hardcover for the first time ever!

Following the events of Black Dawn, Superman is thrust into the antimatter universe of Qward where his only hope is Sinestro, the former greatest of the Green Lanterns. Meanwhile, Lois Lane profiles Deathstroke the Terminator for the Daily Planet, and it could cost her her life! This leads Deathstroke to Metropolis, and he forces Superman to make an impossible choice--let the love of his life die or become a killer himself.

The stellar creative team of Peter J. Tomasi (Nightwing, Green Lantern) and Patrick Gleason (Green Lantern Corps, Batman & Robin) unite in this volume that asks the question: What scares Superman?

Collects Superman #27-36 and #39-41.

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels, Superman, Graphic Novels Comics

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 8, 2019

About the author

Peter J. Tomasi is an American comic book writer, best known for his work for DC Comics, such as Batman And Robin; Superman; Super Sons; Batman: Detective Comics; Green Lantern Corps; and Superman/Wonder Woman; as well as Batman: Arkham Knight; Brightest Day; Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors; Nightwing; Black Adam, and many more.

In the course of his staff career at DC Comics, Tomasi served as a group editor and ushered in new eras for Batman, Green Lantern, and the JSA, along with a host of special projects like Kingdom Come.

He is also the author of the creator-owned titles House Of Penance with artist Ian Bertram; Light Brigade with artist Peter Snejbjerg; The Mighty with Keith Champagne and Chris Samnee; and the critically acclaimed epic graphic novel The Bridge: How The Roeblings Connected Brooklyn To New York, illustrated by Sara DuVall and published by Abrams ComicArts.

In 2018 New York Times best-selling author Tomasi received the Inkpot Award for achievement in comics.

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is probably the weakest deluxe installment in the Superman Rebirth run. This is because during most of the first half of the issues in this book, Tomasi and Gleason are missing. After the first two cute Kent family road trip issues, guest writers are brought in. I assume it's because this was the time that Gleason and Tomasi were off writing the Super Sons spinoff. But the effect is a first half that feels pretty throwaway, with a silly story where Clark goes to the Antimatter universe to fight Sinestro and Parallax and a Deathstroke story that is completely inconsequential. It isn't until the 2nd half of the book where it feels like things get back on track, with a story that brings our characters back to the fiery world of Apokolips, continuing a long-running story that started all the way back in Justice League: The Darkseid War Saga Omnibus and Action Comics.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of this is quite boring and dull. I get that we want to have Superman teach his son about American history but does it have to be so boring? And 2 issues?! This also must be when Tomasi and Gleason started Supersons because the two just disappear for a few issues then and we get even more filler.

It picks up with the Imperious Lex storyline. Lex and Superman go to Apokolips. More of the kind of superman story I want.

[Richard Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s a bizarre two-part opener (“Declaration”) to this deluxe collection, one in which the Super Family take a road trip to visit icons of Americana. Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason take the opportunity to journey down a fairly didactic path about American history. It comes up later for them in their final issues, but here they take the well-worn “road trip” motif to attempt something akin to the leftist “realism” comics of the 1970s but instead it’s a reasonably conservative display of American exceptionalism. It’s a one-sided history of America too: white America, wartime American, and one that has an underlying message that’s a little too close to ending with “…great again.” Again: truly weird.

The rest of the volume has some more traditional stories. “A Moment Longer” is basically Superman v Parallax v Sinestro from writer Keith Champagne. A straightforward tale comes with wicked art from Doug Mahnke in particular, but it’s all over a little too quickly. Writer James Bonny and artist Tyler Kirkham give us the next two-parter, a Deathstroke story that focuses largely on Lois in danger. It’s a strong story that relies a little too heavily on the Big Blue acting as a deus ex machina, although that’s kind of the point I guess. The remainder of the volume is taken up with Gleason and Tomasi’s four-part “Imperious Rex,” finally wrapping up the uneasy alliance between Lex and Superman since the start of this run while giving new hope to Apokolips. The resolution on the alien planet is a pleasing one, defying to expectations, although where Lex is left emotionally at the end of this is disappointing. “The “Super Sons of Tomorrow” crossover is not included in this volume, but is available in a standalone trade.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A muddling volume of the Superman series by Peter J. Tomasi. Despite holding over some of the family charm of the previous two volumes this collection focuses on some very random smaller scope stories that do little to build on what has come before.

SPOILERS
Tomasi begins with the Kents traveling across America. This story arc does little beyond showcasing how "super" the Kent's are dealing with everyday Americans. After this arc comes two stories focused on Sinestro and Deathstroke which conclude after a few issues and leave few consequences for Superman.

The volume concludes with a Superman/Luthor "team up". As I was not familiar with Luthor or Darkseid's new status quo I found it somewhat confusing. Overall the volume feels a little stitched together rather than reading with an overarching story or anything major at stake.

[Spencer Paw · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5*

[Dave · Rating 1 out of 5]

Simply put this is an incredibly disjointed and mediocre collection of Superman stories. While Peter J. Tomasi is listed as the trade writer, this volume has a range of relatively obscure writers also contribute. I much prefer reading a narrative crafted by one writer and it seemed like each 2-3 issue story was essentially stand alone.

The first story arc is hands down one of the worst comic stories I have every read. The issues are extremely wordy with overly patriotic vomit for dialogue throughout. I'm not sure what value the storyline had at all. It was tedious, wordy and extremely corny. Subsequent story arcs fail to excite the imagination. Its disappointing to see all the potential of the first two volumes which so effectively established the Clark, Lois and Jon dynamic.

The family focused components of this volume are some of the only highlights and it's a shame they didnt get more attention. The Rebirth Superman series has lost a lot of my interest based on the highly acclaimed Bendis run that is currently ongoing. With the final volume looking to continue the disjointed mediocrity I'll probably just slog my way through it and move on.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had been enjoying this series until this volume quite a bit, this one gets off to a bad start with some intensely rose colored glasses looks at the USA’s past that seem very out of character for the Kents. After that we get some filler issues that really feel like the filler they are. Then it ends on a slightly higher note than the rest of the volume with a 4 part story dealing with Apokilips. The entire volume suffers from no consistency on the writing or art half of the equation.

[Erik]

3.5 still overrated I think but definitely worth reading, just a lot more uneven then I think people want to admit. The 2 part July 4th vacation story was annoying. Obviously I read Superman for wholesomeness but that was just contrived, ham fisted, and boring. The "filler" stuff was pretty fun. By far the best arc here was the 2 part suicide planet. I ADORED the ending with Clark and Jon talking about his view on god. Great stuff.

[Zack · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the best runs of superman, ever. However, this volume begins with some hard-core filler. Superman taking Jon on a road trip for a U.S. history lesson was super bloated and boring, and the Deathstroke arc wasn't much better. Imperial Lex is awesome though!

[Tshepiso · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This latest collection may just be (with one notable exception) my favourite stretch of comics in the Superman Rebirth run. This deluxe edition collects the stories Road Trip, Fear Itself, Breaking Point, and Imperius Lex and I really enjoyed them.

Unfortunately, this volume started off with a stinker. The first two issues Road Trip see the Kents on a whistle-stop tour of war memorials across the US. While I'm not opposed to themes being front and centre in a Superman story Tomasi beat the reader over the head with American pride. We're subjected to a series of poorly integrated history lectures that almost read like propaganda. The sanitization of US history was jarring and off-putting. From neglecting to mention the use of atom bombs on civilian populations when discussing Japan's surrender of WWII to the odd erasure of slavery in discussions of the Civil War the framing of Road Trip was a choice. In the end, it was a trite, poorly done series of lectures rather than an entertaining story and was thoroughly unpleasant to read.

Thankfully the following story A Minute Longer was a vast improvement. This story sees Superman face off against Parallax after a series of kidnappings of children of the Metropolis. Parallax's presence draws the attention of Sinestro who attempts to control the fear entity. This story was simple but satisfying. We see some solid exploration of Superman's deepest fears and his ultimate defeat of both Parallax and Sinestro with hope was well rendered.

Breaking Point was another well-done two-parter. After publishing an editorial on Deathstroke Lois is hunted by the mercenary. This all serves to test Superman's limits as the merc attempts to see just how far Clark would go to protect his family. While there's nothing particularly new or groundbreaking about Breaking Point's take on Superman and killing, newer Superman writer James Bonny kept Clark fantastically in character as he was pushed further and further closer to the line. I loved seeing Lois and Clark's relationship and his determination to save her while staying on that moral line. The dialogue, internal and external, was especially well rendered.

Finally, the deluxe edition ends with the four-part Imperious Lex arc. I'm genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed this story because historically longer more involved and space-related Superman stories have been a struggle for me to connect with. But, Imperius Lex for some reason compelled me. This story sees the people of Apokolips in shambles after the Darkseid War and in desperate need of their prophesized leader who they assumed to be Lex.

I think this story perfectly balanced its plot with superfamily elements. We see Clark, Lois and Jon on separate adventures that eventually intersect but were all equally entertaining. From BAMF Lois to Lex and Clark having the most intense bitter ex's energy I had a lot of fun with this story.

Overall, outside of two exceptionally bad issues at the start of this collection, I thoroughly enjoyed this latest set of Superman stories. Newer authors to the run Keith Champagne and James Bonny did an excellent job with the character. I can't wait to wrap up this run of Superman with the last deluxe edition.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art is strong throughout this book, but the stories are a bit of a mixed bag. The family vacation two-parter plays a little too saccharine and jingoistic, rather than the hopeful and inspirational I think the creators were aiming for, and the Deathstroke chapters are another fairly predictable riff on "Will Superman keep his vow not to kill, even if Lois's life is on the line?"

However, I enjoyed the Sinestro two-parter (particularly Superman's line about pitting his own will against Sinestro's) as a thin, but fast-moving and enjoyable adventure yarn that pits Superman against a foe he's rarely faced, and the "Imperious Lex" arc works wonderfully to showcase each member of the Superman family cast alone onto Apokolips, where they not only survive, but thrive (Lois joining the Female Furies and Jon leading a dog squad). I have NO IDEA what's going with the back story (Darkseid's dead and apparently Lex was ruling Apokolips before ditching the planet to head back to Earth?), but it's not really necessary knowledge. All I needed to know is that the various forces of Apokolips are at war with one another and Superman is drawn into the middle of it.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fair to say that while I didn't HAAAAATE it, it certainly was one of the more forgettable volumes of Super-Stories I can recall reading.

Oddly enough the cornball "Kent Family RVs Across America" storyline was actually...the most original?

Then it's all Sinestro / Parallax blah blah blah Deathstroke Deathstroke blah blah blah, Lex Luthor / Apokolips BLAH BLAH BLAH

When the best part of a Deluxe Edition is a variant cover you discover in the appendices, you know it's not A-grade material.

[Martinio · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t like the first stories in the beginning of the book but the story with Lex and the Super family on Apokalips was okay, even if it could have been executed much better for such an epic event and closure of the Darkseid War saga.

[Ming · Rating 3 out of 5]

I kinda wish there were more smaller stories like the holiday and the Deathstroke 2-parters, as opposed to intergalactic stuff. But oh well, it's all pretty decent.

[Benjamin Kimble · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the filler book of the rebirth deluxe editions starting with three different two issues filler arcs. The first of which is written by Tomasi and Gleason and shows the Superfamily going on a roadtrip to different American monuments and learning about history. It’s fine there’s nothing special but there are some nice family moments. The highlight is probably the Scott Godlewski art which has a fun, campy, casual feel to it. Then we have a mostly forgettable Sinestro arc written by Keith Champagne. Kids are being kidnapped and used by Parallax for something that I can’t even remember. The Doug Mahnke art was great in the first part, he’s such a wonderful creature artist and makes them look so grossly detailed. But then Tyler Kirkham took over and I’m not a fan of his art but I’ll get into that. Our last filler arc is a Deathstroke arc written by James Bonny. It focused on Lois being a journalist which I did like. But other than that it felt pointless and had a weird Amanda Waller ending that led to nothing. Tyler Kirkham was the artist on this arc and it showcased his weakness. I think he struggles with faces, eyes specifically, he makes Lois look so weirdly young and Clark doesn’t look as powerful as he should. Finally we get to Imperius Lex, an arc about Lex Luthor and Apokolips. Admittedly it felt more like an arc of Action Comics, but it was till the highlight of this volume. It’s time for Lex to return to Apokolips and fulfill the prophecy… that he lied about being a part of. It’s really good and shows Superman’s compassion even when on another planet. This arc featured Doug Mahnke on art and he did a great job with the dystopian world and characters of Apokolips. While this volume was weaker it was still fun.

[Néstor Vargas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still a solid run, I liked the small peak into the Lanterns world, Imperius Lex was interesting. Not my favorite volume so far but I enjoyed it. And I learned a bit of US history

[Hugo Emanuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This fourth volume is a bit of a mish-mash of different writers and artists, and its first-half consists mostly of smaller stories. While most of it are written by Tomasi and Gleason, there are a few fill-in issues by other creators that, while weaker, arent bad.
The final half improves significantly, with "Imperius Lex", which is a good story, if not one of Tomasi/Gleason's better works.
Overall, a decent volume that, despite being a few notches below the previous ones, is still enjoyable and a pretty good time.

[Jack Phoenix · Rating 3 out of 5]

This end to an epic but warm run on the Man of Steel will leave most fans satisfied and some craving more.