Superman: Action Comics, Vol. 2: Leviathan Rising

Action Comics (2016)

by Brian Michael Bendis, Steve Epting (Illustrator)

The adventures of the Man of Steel continue in North America's longest-running comic book series, headlined by fan-favorite writer Brian Michael Bendis. Clark Kent dives deeper into his role as an investigative reporter, but will he uncover something so big and so dangerous that not even Superman will survive to break the story?

The terror organization Leviathan has transformed from a Batman menace to a global DC Universe threat, and Clark Kent is hot on their trail. But even Superman may be in for more than he bargained for as Leviathan undergoes a hostile takeover by a new, mysterious player. Someone has outmaneuvered the current leader, Talia al Ghul, along with the leaders of Kobra, the DEO and even the queen of the spy game, Amanda Waller herself. All bets are off as the players make themselves known in the universe-changing Leviathan event!

Collects Action Comics issues #1007-1011 and the Leviathan special.

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

184 pages, Hardcover

First published November 12, 2019

About the author

A comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim (including five Eisner Awards) and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For over eight years Bendis’s books have consistently sat in the top five best sellers on the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts.

Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.

Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.

Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.

Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.

Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.

He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

What, why, who, where, how is the Leviathan? The DC universe is about to be turned on its head, with Superman, Lois, Olsen, The Bat, Supergirl, Amanda Waller, Bones, Sam Lane and more, all way out of step with the irresistible force wrecking the world espionage organisations

The concept is great, but lacks the long-term planning and foreshadowing Bendis did for the likes of Secret Invasion and Dark Reign. There's a sense that it feels, that even with his gravitas, he, Bendis his trying to prove himself to DC, in so losing a lot of intrigue, subtlety, pacing... and significantly humour. It's an OK jam, but doesn't really feel like it has the golden Bendis touch.

On the other hand his Invisible Mafia are a sight for sore eyes, creating a criminal organisation fit for a world with a Man of Steel. Although for context, Bendis' Superman books, are already some of the best Superman books I've ever read. A Three Star (7.5 out of 12 rating) read.

2019 read

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

"There are people in our apartment waiting to kidnap me, Lois." -- Superman

"Who is trying to kidnap you, sweetie?" -- Lois Lane, asking as a reporter AND a wife

Although it would not really work as a standalone volume - potential readers should definitely peruse the predecessor Vol. 1: Invisible Mafia first - the solid follow-up Vol. 2: Leviathan Rising ratchets up the tension and conspiratorial nature of the on-going storyline like it's a suspenseful intrigue movie (such as The Parallax View or Three Days of the Condor) straight out of the post-Watergate era of the mid-1970's. Probably the best moments were Clark Kent and Lois Lane working in disguise and undercover - they are mild-mannered investigative reporters for The Daily Planet, after all - under their aliases 'Chaz' and 'Andi' in London, cracking wise with each other while getting in and out of danger. (I also appreciated the subsequent visual gag of an enthusiastic Lois Lane composing her newspaper article while adorned in a Wonder Twins t-shirt.). Then the volume concluded with a cliffhanger of sorts with a kidnapped Clark Kent having a Kryptonite necklace slung around his neck - how will he extricate himself without revealing his secret identity?

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blue explosions are taking out organisations like Kobra, the Department of Extranormal Operations (DEO) and Spyral. The only clue: the word “Leviathan” - but is Talia Al Ghul’s group really behind this, and who is that mysteriously menacing shadowy figure seemingly causing all of these ‘splosions? Superman and Lois are on the case!

So after reading the surprisingly decent Leviathan Rising Special last year I decided to give Bendis’ Action Comics another chance - and I’m glad I did because his second volume of Action is thankfully better than the first (though not by much).

Bendis abruptly abandons his Invisible Mafia/Red Cloud storyline from the first book (it only briefly gets a nod in the Leviathan Rising Special included at the end) in favour of this Leviathan storyline and to tie Action Comics into the separate Event Leviathan book. And I think it’s a wise choice as Leviathan is more interesting than the silly Invisible Mafia.

I generally liked how Bendis continued building tension about Leviathan while simultaneously showing us what the various characters are up to. So we see Jimmy investigating Kobra, Lois returning to the Daily Planet, what Director Bones is doing at the DEO, and so on. It was nice to see Adam Strange and The Question cameo too.

That said, not everything was that compelling. I’m not sure why Lois’ dad gets so much space given he’s a total flatline of a character and I don’t know about Superman and Lois’ alter-egos Chaz and Andi Donen but their jolly in London was dull. Amanda Waller is always tedious to read about and she doesn’t change that here - she’s as grim and dreary as ever.

Also, the pattern of the issues is fairly repetitive: focus on the characters then close on a big blue explosion. I kept waiting for some plot developments but what little there was didn’t move things forward much. That’s the problem with books that serve other books like events - all the big stuff has to happen in the main book and the supporting titles can only ever hint at things around the edges. It’s never very satisfying for the reader.

Still, there’s at least something on the villains in the Leviathan Rising special that closes out this volume along with a number of scenes with fun dialogue and Yanick Paquette’s excellent art throughout. Steve Epting’s art in the rest of the book is superb too - this book has wonderful visuals.

Superman: Action Comics, Volume 2: Leviathan Rising isn’t the most gripping or memorable Superman book you’ll read but it’s got fantastic art and enough good moments here and there to never be too boring. Here’s hoping Bendis’ Action Comics run continues to improve!

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leviathan is destroying all the secret agencies in the world. There's a lot hinted at but nothing is revealed. It left me frustrated. Each issue in this arc feels like it's just the same story repeated again and again. The storytelling is kind of obtuse. This volume is something of a letdown after how much I liked the first one. Steve Epting's art is its usual gorgeous self.

[Artemy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bendis somehow keeps upping his game, and while everything he’s done at DC so far has been pretty amazing, his run on Action is the best book he’s writing right now for my money. The second volume of Action builds up towards Event Leviathan coming this summer, and I couldn’t be more pumped for it if I tried. I mean, the dude brought Matt Fraction back to superhero comics! And yes, that Jimmy Olsen book is going to be wild and awesome, judging by the short story in Leviathan Special. And that Lois Lane book feels like something Greg Rucka was meant to write for years, and I absolutely can’t wait for it, too. And all of that is built around Bendis’s ridiculously good Action Comics. I can still hardly believe how good all of his comics output has become since he went DC exclusive, he’s basically responsible for all the good DC comics right now that aren’t written by Tom King. We truly live in the age of Bendissance, and I am so happy and grateful for it.

[Molly™☺ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is almost 200 pages of pure set up. There's nothing to wow me in this as I'm assuming Bendis has saved all of the good stuff for the next volume. I know that he can write good characters with fun dialogue and a compelling plot, but he doesn't show any of that here. Even if it is acting as a springboard for what's to come, Bendis could have tried to make it a good read on its own without being overly reliant on later installments that will hopefully make this look better in retrospect. Leviathan is okay as an antagonist, definitely superior to the Red Mist Goode woman who just stands around doing the bare minimum and is supposedly a big threat. Reminiscent of a filler arc in anime, this, as a standalone volume, is bland, pretty boring, oddly paced and overly long for the lack of payoff.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still having a blast with this run. All the government spy agencies, the secret ones and the known ones, are being targeted. Even the cults. They are being completely wiped out by a glowing blue light. The word is that Leviathan is behind it. But who is Leviathan and what is their goal? Bendis is cooking with this mystery he has going on and I’m here for it. Artwork is solid and the way Bendis is weaving this story together has been awesome so far. Looking for to the next volume.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes I feel I'm in my own world, because both Superman and Action comics continue to be a treat for me as a Supes fan.

We drift away from the mystery red cloud villain to the uprising of Leviathan. As pointed out in the volume, this is the Talia Leviathan. This was actually the original organization made to combat other organization. However, someone who is extremely powerful is outwitting pretty much every big superhero, including the more undercover agents like Amanda Waller. Will Superman be able to stop the rise of Leviathan, or will it be too late?

More of a sneaky and fun adventure starring husband and wife, Clark and Lois try to unravel the mystery of who this Leviathan is. However, soon into the hunt we see a lot of people close to them being hunted and some even killed or taken. All of this is captivating as we root for our hero, but with all his powers, Superman seems a step behind and that keeps it exciting. The ending is a nice build up the Leviathan event and I'm intrigued who the villain really is! A 4 out of 5.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

A group/person named Leviathan is intent on destroying the many intelligence agencies of the DCU (D.E.O, Spryal, Checkmate). I've haven't much cared for those agencies -- aside from the excellent Chase title from twenty years ago -- so here's hoping Bendis cleans them up and does something interesting with them. This volume is a decent start despite all the running around in circles, and I'm eager to dig into Event Leviathan next.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the beginning of both runs, Action Comics started with more promise than the Superman series but with these second volumes, the quality has switched. One of the biggest problems with this volume is the lack of engaging plotting. You can tell Bendis has a deep love for the character and lore and that’s really starting to shine in the Superman series but he can't seem to nail down a decent story with all the Leviathan stuff.

He has the makings of some potentially-epic cloak-and-dagger storytelling but everything's a bit too vague and weak development-wise to really be exciting. Characters are bland, like the uninteresting new villain Red Cloud and her undefinable powers, and Leviathan, whose identity I don't really care enough to be interested in.

I do love all the Daily Planet and espionage stuff, like the return of Clark Kent's British alter-ego Chaz. And any comic book featuring Amanda Waller doing Amanda Waller-shit has something going for it! This volume (and all of this Action Comics run) leads directly into Event Leviathan so keep that in mind.

[Rory Wilding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read his Man of Steel miniseries and the first volumes of both his Superman runs, Brian Michael Bendis has proven himself triumphant with Action Comics. As the better title, it’s doing what Bendis did in his best work back at Marvel, which is blending intimate character drama and a street-based investigative thriller that cleverly balances the dual personas of Clark Kent/Superman. Now that Clark is reunited with his beloved wife, this is the closest thing Bendis gets to doing a Lois & Clark story.

Starting the second arc that is building up to Bendis’ first DC event, Jimmy Olsen has been looking into the various organisations of the DC Universe. As the likes of Amanda Waller and General Sam Lane are being targeted by the criminal organisation Leviathan, which is now under a new leadership, the husband and wife duo of Lois and Clark go on a journey of espionage to uncover the truth.

Following the first volume, which was about investigating the streets of Metropolis, Bendis ups the stakes by going full-blown spy mode in the DC Universe with Lois, Clark and even Jimmy Olsen at the spotlight. Whilst Olsen works well as the comedic third wheel, Bendis nails the banter between Clark and Lois, which although is romantic, they are still butting heads; Lois in particular is more headstrong and is willing to put herself in danger to reach her goals. Seeing Lois and Jimmy function on their own, it makes me excited to read what Greg Rucka and Matt Fraction does with those characters’ respected solo titles.

As Bendis is better at writing down-to-earth stories as oppose the cosmic storytelling as proven with his history at Marvel, he certainly ups his game with many characters that are part of DC’s espionage world, such as Mister Bones who is now the director of the Department of Extranormal Operations. With other heroes thrown into the mix as the Question and Kate Spencer/Manhunter, Bendis is prepping them for Event Leviathan, as well as the masked presence of Leviathan himself.

As this Superman story involves a great deal of journalism and espionage, it would make sense to get Steve Epting to illustrate, based on his excellent work on the Image title Velvet. With an emphasis on dark shadows and blues – thanks to Brad Anderson’s colouring – Epting provides his distinct visuals that are perfect for the spy thriller, and meshing it with the OTT spectacle you get from a DC superhero comic, such as the Man of Steel gloriously flying through the high buildings and a few appearances of the new Fortress of Solitude that takes place in the Bermuda Triangle. Although there is a change of artist when we get to Superman: Leviathan Rising Special #1, Yanick Paquette continues to have the most dazzling artwork in recent DC history as he likes to do disorienting panel layouts to showcase Superman’s life-threatening issue with Kryptonite.

Whilst setting up his first event at DC, Bendis is also setting up the continuation of the Invisible Mafia from the first volume. Although I’m interested to see what he does with Event Leviathan, Bendis works best when he focuses the down-to-earth shenanigans involving the central husband and wife, with a touch of Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen thrown into the mix.

[Nate Deprey · Rating 4 out of 5]

What Bendis is doing with Superman totally works for me. Leviathan rising has a freshness born out of the author's deep understanding of continuiity and history that adds layer upon layer to these issues. What sets it apart for me is that Bendis pays as much or more attention to Louis Lane and Jimmy Olson as he does to the big guy and that grounds this story while also giving us a grounds eye view of the god like.

[Lashaan Balasingam · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can find my review on my blog by clicking here.

Ever since the acquisition of creator Brian Michael Bendis at DC Comics, he has been covering more grounds than anyone else has in the past with his myriad of ideas that see the day today, whether it is under his mantle or handled by other exciting creative teams. Besides his Wonder Comics line-up, one of his most important ongoing projects lies within his dominion of the Man of Steel titles: Superman and Action Comics. Developing original new lore for the character, he now teases his biggest project yet in the form of a conspiracy that will have repercussions across the DC Universe. Leave it to the world’s greatest journalists to uncover the truth before it’s too late.

What is Superman: Action Comics: Leviathan Rising about? Following the threat of the Invisible Cloud and the Invisible Mafia, Metropolis now plunges into a new crisis where underground agencies, from the Department of Extraordinary Operations (D.E.O.) to the Task Force X, are eliminated one after the other by an unknown threat. A conspiracy theory might be the answer sought by everyone but it is only known under one name and nothing more: Leviathan. Collecting Action Comics #1007-1011 and stories from Superman: Leviathan Rising Special #1, writer Brian Michael Bendis presents an enigmatic enemy who appears from the blue and only Superman to stand in its way.

Suspenseful, captivating, creative. Writer Brian Michael Bendis delivers a very carefully-paced story arc focused on teasing a powerful threat that has never shown his face before and utilizes the closely-intimate bond between Lois Lane, Clark Kent, and Jimmy Olsen to investigate the matter further. Carefully arranging the narrative to introduce old and new characters into Superman’s universe (e.g. Bones, Kate Spencer, or Amanda Waller), he brilliantly unravels little by little the objective of Leviathan without giving anything away too easily. Although the story doesn’t look to spill the beans here, it establishes the foundation necessary for Event Leviathan and allows the reader the indulge in the excellent chemistry between various characters as the crisis grows exponentially.

There’s very little that can be reproached as to what artists Steve Epting and Yanick Paquette accomplish in this volume. It is coherent in style and informative through details. The character designs are excellent and brilliantly captures each of the character’s persona through their behaviours and facial expressions. The colouring by Brad Anderson and Nathan Fairbairn is also adequate and speaks volumes on the atmosphere conveyed through the narrative. With darker shades, immense use of shadows, meticulous application of vibrant colours, it is possible to identify the deliberate wish to convey a darker, tenser, and much more sinister period with the development of this crisis that only has a name and no face.

The inclusion of the special issue at the end was a bit detrimental to the overall story arc’s suspense due to its minor spoilers regarding Event Leviathan but also because of its revelation of Leviathan as a villain without the surprise that should come with his introduction. While he still remains mysterious in his goals, this additional story could’ve benefited from a bit more discretion or could’ve simply been excluded from this volume. However, the story remains beneficial to the reader in terms of understanding what exactly he might be after and what might be coming to the DC Universe soon.

Superman: Action Comics: Leviathan Rising is a thrilling prelude unveiling a conspiracy theory that needs to be stopped before the world is taken over by an invisible threat.

Yours truly,

Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

When super-spy organisations around the world begin to fall one by one, Lois and Clark find themselves on the back foot - with Amanda Waller at their door, Lois' father in critical condition, and a new Leviathan on the rise, this doesn't look like a job for Superman, but he's going to do it anyway!

I don't understand how Bendis' Superman title can be so bad, and this can be so good. They're entirely different stories, focused on entirely different things, but they're written by the same guy, about the same character. It's just baffling.

This volume puts the Invisible Mafia on the backburner in favour of a prelude to Event Leviathan instead. There's something super funny about watching Superman and Lois trying to deal with a problem that's almost entirely out of their wheelhouse, going undercover with Spyral and dealing with Amanda Waller and Sam Lane instead of punching bad guys in the face.

Also included is a story from the Leviathan Rising one-shot, which fits in surprisingly well with the rest of the book. Superman gets kidnapped by Talia Al Ghul, only to run into the new Leviathan; it's a fairly straight forward premise, but there's a lot more meat on the bones than you might expect.

There are points where Bendis does seem to forget that Superman's the main character in favour of literally everyone else, and the BendisSpeak can go a tad overboard (everyone and their dog mentions that leaving Amanda Waller alone in the Fortress Of Solitude is a bad idea), but overall this is definitely one of Bendis' best showings at DC so far.

The artwork for all five issues of the main title is by Steve Epting, who needs no introduction. It just looks brilliant, and I still can't believe Bendis gets all these awesome artists all the time. Then Yanick Paquette pencils the Leviathan Rising Special, who's another one that needs no introduction. This is just a lovely book from page 1 to the end - even the variant cover gallery is perfect, since they're almost all Francis Manapul, for Christ's sake.

Action Comics is far and above Bendis' gem currently. This second volume sets up and expands on Event Leviathan in some fun ways, and looks gorgeous doing it. I'd recommend checking out Event Leviathan itself as well, since it's more of the same. Bendis does mysteries pretty damn well.

[Christian Zamora-Dahmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bendis keeps giving the same note over and over again: he establishes something but just won’t deliver! A whole arc just finished here and it barely works as a prelude of things to come. The pace is deadly slow and it looks like it will simply not reach any revealing point... just like this whole arc where we found out simply nothing.
I hope Bendis doesn’t play this same pace on the upcoming Legion book. I just couldn’t bare it.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good build up to the Bendis event that's coming this summer. Also cool seeing Superman do some undercover spy stuff. And the Epting art is nice.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basic plot: Spy agencies across the world are being destroyed and people are going missing, and a mysterious something called Laviathan seems to be behind it.

Conspiracies and mysteries. Waller and the Question. Secrets. This is a fantastic arc. Art is good and it was a page turner as far as plot. The characters were all doing what they do best, so the writing is on point.

I have 2 mild complaints. 1- the last arc left off at a place that needed finishing and this arc took off in a completely different direction, leaving me slightly confused. 2- This arc leaves me with a lot of questions. There was lots of hinting, but again no resolution. I know this is leading into the special crossover books, but still.

Frankly, any arc that involves the Question has my attention, and his presence here, however brief, has me I intrigued and looking forward to the Event Leviathan book.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Action Comics continues to be Bendis' better Superman book (and one of his stronger books to date). This one is a rip-roaring tale of an international menace, and Bendis has a lot of fun putting it into conflict with DC's many secret and not-so-secret organizations, creating an exciting story with strong continuity. The only problem is that there's a bit of an anticlimax, as the last issue starts crossing over with other titles (and leaving us confused about what's going on) before it non-ends.

[RND · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did. It kinda irks me when the pre-event book to a 6-issue event is 5 issues but here the conspiracy stuff just worked. It was exciting and it was tense but there was still time for some sweetness and humor (Chaz). I love how fast and chaotic things feel, and again, Bendis just seems re-invigorated with his move to DC and seems to have a great handle on these characters. Besides which, Epting's art is just *chef kissyfingers*. Very dramatic compositions, like when that creature just appears on the deck of the DEO as Strange arrived. It also feels, as events should, very much integrated with the rest of the DCU. Now I am excited for Event Leviathan.

[John Yelverton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story had all the panache of a silver age Superman story, and the build up to an event that looks absolutely amazing. I cannot wait to see what comes next as this book was amazingly good.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Estou acompanhando tanto as histórias da revista Superman quanto da revista Action Comics mensalmente na revista do Superman. Se o primeiro arco de Action Comics, a Máfia Invisível já havia me agradado mais que o primeiro arco de Superman, a Casa de El, este segundo arco, A Ascensão do Leviathan me agradou ainda mais. talvez seja o melhor trabalho de Brian Michael Bendis na DC Comics que li até então (não que eu tenha lido muitos). Isso porque lembra ele nas suas histórias do Demolidor ou de Jessica Jones, quando ele pega um título individual e insere toda a sua verve de conspirações e espionagens. Em A Ascensão do Leviatã, uma figura misteriosa de nome Leviatã está abduzindo todas as grandes organizações secretas do Universo DC, como a ARGUS, a Kobra e a Espiral, e parece que o motivo gira em torno de Amanda Waller, Sam Lane e o Superman. Então até mesmo Clark Kent e Lois Lane acabam se disfarçando para tentar desvendar a nova situação em que se encontram. Os desenhos de Steve Epting, célebre por sua passagem no Capitão América de Ed Brubaker completam a atmosfera noir de investigação detetivesca que a história pede. Muito bom.

[Adam Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Invisible Mafia from the previous collection gets sidelined for most of this book as Superman and Lois get on the trail of Leviathan. The conspiracy stuff gets interesting particularly when spooks like Amanda Waller and Director Bones end up wandering what the heck is going on. The story in the main issues of Action Comics has got great scope and is quite a treat to read.

That brings us to the Leviathan Special which is...not horrible but does really accentuate Bendis' greatest indulgences as a writer. There's a lot of talking and a very long dialogue between Leviathan and the woman running the Invisible Mafia. In addition in the story, we have a key plot point break in to resolve a key issue and are told that we need to get the hard cover edition of the book to understand what's going on.

Overall, the story is interesting, but I think the Special drags on to long and has too many Bendisisms that pad out its 40 page length. So if I could give half stars I'd give this 3.5 stars.

[Benjamin Kimble · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bendis continues to spin a reporter mystery in the second volume of his Action Comics. Bendis has a good grasp of mystery and suspense and I do like his writing here. Clandestine organizations are being attacked by something called Leviathan. Superman gets too close so they kidnap Clark Kent to get to him. What I don’t like is that this big terrifying organization that hates how everything is being does goes to the Invisible Mafia, which have essentially done nothing but talk, and says that they do things good. The set by Steve Epting is really good. He wouldn’t be my first pick for a Superman book but he surprised me. He worked especially well because this is a more grounded book with a grittier story. I think Bendis can cook something good here, I hope.

[Shaun Stanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Superman Action Comics Vol. 2 Leviathan Rising collects issues #1007-1011 and Leviathan Rising Special #1 written by Brian Michael Bendis with art by Steve Epting and Yanick Paquette.

The DC Universe’s secret societies are in danger when the mysterious Leviathan begins making plays eliminating other clandestine organizations.

This volume acts primarily as a set up for the Event Leviathan miniseries which I read years ago but remember very little of. As a result, this book felt more like a tease. It could have been easily condensed into 3 issues and as a result, feels very repetitive. I think it’s an intriguing story leaving Superman and Lois unsure who they can trust but it just wasn’t executed as tightly as Bendis’s usual work.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

You'd think the destruction of all the world's spy organizations would be...a bit more interesting. :-/
The only parts that were slightly intriguing were Jimmy's flashy experience at a Kobra rally and any time Amanda Waller was on the page. She's shifty, and I like it.
Other than that, not much gets answered here (we just hear about a lot of destruction -some we see on-page, but most is off page) cueing a wild goose chase to find whoever Leviathan is.
Also, Superman has a weird alter ego (via a Kryptonian amulet?!) named Chaz Donen, Agent 4565 of Spyral; a British dude with curly hair & a beard, because, why not?

This volume has few new/old characters, worthy of mentioning:
Kate Spencer (Manhunter) gets introduced, and we get to see Tiger for a few pages... Hi Tiger, bye Tiger! :(
Talia al Ghul, who was apparently Leviathan before this mess. *shrug*.
Loved her, "if you kill me my son will..." LOL <3
And...Alfred.
I am CONFUSED AS HELL how Alfred is in this. Where on the timeline does this take place?! I'm confused and heartbroken, and oh so hopeful! :(

3/2.5 stars. Again.

[Arianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes you just have to appreciate a writer for being good at their craft, even if they're not writing exactly what you want to read. So many simple elements being built together to create an amazing story that keeps you hooked from start to finish. The way the relationships and interactions between the characters are handled is amazing, especially the subtle tension between Lois and Clark that is overshadowed by their enormous love and respect for each other. I don't know if the resolution of this mystery is going to be equally satisfying, but I can appreciate the build-up regardless.

[Sans · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe it's because I took a five month break from this. Or maybe it really is that weird and confusing. Whatever the case is, I'm not enjoying this insanity anymore. This Leviathan event better pay out or someone needs to step on Bendis' ego and restrict how much he gets to write.

Also, why does he think Lois not knowing how to spell words is constantly funny? It was cute the first couple of times, but now it's just annoying and highlights his reliance on gimmicks.

[Lukas Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty interesting.

[Victor Casas · Rating 1 out of 5]

¿Realmente a la gente de Estados Unidos le gustan las historias de Bendis?
Creo que es de los peores tomos que he leído. Todo se siente demasiado acelerado en cuanto a cantidad de eventos y lento por el tiempo que perdemos en cosas que no son relevantes.

Esta historia mató cualquier interés que pude tener hacia el evento.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can't fight what you don't know exists.