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Superman: The Man of Steel (Collected Editions) #4
Superman: The Man of Steel, Vol. 4
The fourth collection featuring Superman tales from the 1980s, featuring SUPERMAN #7-8, ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #430-431, ACTION COMICS #590, 591, and LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #37-38! Superman encounters Rampage for the first time, has a rematch with Mammoth, contends with a mysterious Superboy, and more!
192 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1987
12 people are currently reading
192 people want to read
About the author
John Byrne
2,955 books359 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 - 30 of 39 reviews
August 29, 2021
SUPERMAN #7 ☆☆☆☆
ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #430 ☆☆☆☆
ACTION COMICS #590 ☆☆☆
LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #37 ☆☆☆ 1/2
SUPERMAN #8 ☆☆☆☆
ACTION COMICS #591 ☆☆☆☆☆
LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #38 ☆☆☆☆☆
ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #431 ☆
Another mixed bag of a volume, Byrne's artworks made even lamest of tales a decent and entertaining read, sadly other writers and artists involved were uninspired to say last for me.
Besides that the Superman/Legion of Super-Heroes crossover, with the fight between the Man of Steel and the Silver Age Superboy (not Superboy Prime) and Krypto, is just one of best stories ever from fans favourite canadian author/artist.
A touching and heartfelt tribute to Douglas Curtis "Curt" Swan, classic artist who drawn thousands of Superman tales and defined the look of the Last Son of Krypton for whole generations of readers to come.
September 10, 2019
Crisis changed things so that Superman never started off as Superboy. This caused a lot of problems with the Legion of Super-Heroes as Superboy was a longtime member. So was Supergirl who actually died during Crisis. John Byrne deals with this through some retcon involving the Time Trapper. It was unclear to me if this was the same Superboy who is referred to as Superboy Prime who shows up in Infinite Crisis. It's all well done. It also made me realize how much I miss this era of the Legion of Super-Heroes by Paul Levitz. I really loved that book before DC screwed it all up starting with Zero Hour.
May 17, 2018
When Crisis on Infinite Earths was first published it really pissed me off. I stopped reading/buying comic books because off it for nearly 15 years. So, I've never this chapter in Legion history. And I'm a huge Legion of Super-Heroes fan.
This book has the story that tells the end of Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes. Once a best-selling and very popular title that ran for nearly three decades, the fifties, sixties, seventies and eighties. Crisis gutted that because in the new post-Crisis timeline Superman never was Superboy. He never met the Legion.
The Legion has never really recovered from that blunder. They've faced reboot after recon after reboot after reboot after recon. I wonder if the Crisis folks knew how damaging their story would be in the long term to the Legion if they'd have still done what they'd done. Crisis also killed off Supergirl who was also a member of the Legion.
Vol. 4 is actually a fine book. It's the same quality of story as all the others before it. The story at the end where they actually kill off Superboy is particularly well done. It's a touching and very sad Legion story with a lot of weight.
I just wish Crisis had never done these two things. Editing out Superboy and his connection to the Legion and killing Supergirl. (And Krypto.)
This book has the story that tells the end of Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes. Once a best-selling and very popular title that ran for nearly three decades, the fifties, sixties, seventies and eighties. Crisis gutted that because in the new post-Crisis timeline Superman never was Superboy. He never met the Legion.
The Legion has never really recovered from that blunder. They've faced reboot after recon after reboot after reboot after recon. I wonder if the Crisis folks knew how damaging their story would be in the long term to the Legion if they'd have still done what they'd done. Crisis also killed off Supergirl who was also a member of the Legion.
Vol. 4 is actually a fine book. It's the same quality of story as all the others before it. The story at the end where they actually kill off Superboy is particularly well done. It's a touching and very sad Legion story with a lot of weight.
I just wish Crisis had never done these two things. Editing out Superboy and his connection to the Legion and killing Supergirl. (And Krypto.)
August 22, 2020
Llegado al cuarto tomo de esta maravillosa etapa, me doy cuenta de que disfruto más las historias de la revista "Superman" que de "Action Comics", porque en la primera tiene una estructura procedimental en la que el héroe enfrenta amenazas sobrenaturales onda X-Files, mientras que en la otra son más de acción (aunque entretenidas igual).
El dibujo sigue siendo increíble, no solo en el armado de viñetas sino en la imagen de Superman, quien transmite heroísmo y bondad en cada página.
El dibujo sigue siendo increíble, no solo en el armado de viñetas sino en la imagen de Superman, quien transmite heroísmo y bondad en cada página.
October 7, 2011
Yet another wonderful addition to this book series that re-imagines Superman's origins.
July 22, 2021
Rampage (Superman #7). One of the joys of post-Crisis Superman was the introduction of a whole cast of new characters, here including Kitty Faulkner, and her alterego Rampage. This issue also makes a fun usage of the new concept that Superman is a solar battery, but other than that, it's a lot of fighting [3+/5].
Homeward Bound (AoS #430). A somewhat ham-handed attempt to make Clark realize that he can live both his own life and Superman's. The Fearsome Five aren't particularly great foes here (which is a pity, because Wolfman used them extensively in Titans), and so the whole story comes across as pretty pedestrian [3/5].
Metal Men (Action #590). This team-up makes good use of the Metal Men, showing off their shape-changing powers while also setting up a future series, but otherwise is a dull fight against Chemo [3/5].
Superboy & The Legion of Superheroes (LoSH #37-38, Superman #8, Action #591). The first of a few retcons to protect the Legion of Superheroes from DC's constantly changing continuity — here, the loss of Superboy with the Crisis. This could have been a simple procedural, but Levitz knocks it out of the park by telling a final story of Superboy, and Byrne has some fun as well with some rare meetings (at the time) between the Legion and Superman ... and even Superboy and Superman in the Action Comics team-up [5/5].
Doctor Stratos (AoS #431). We get great character development for Clark, Cat, and (to a lesser extent) Lois, then we get a mindless fight against the elements taking up half the issue followed by a non-conclusive ending. Sigh. [2+/5].
Homeward Bound (AoS #430). A somewhat ham-handed attempt to make Clark realize that he can live both his own life and Superman's. The Fearsome Five aren't particularly great foes here (which is a pity, because Wolfman used them extensively in Titans), and so the whole story comes across as pretty pedestrian [3/5].
Metal Men (Action #590). This team-up makes good use of the Metal Men, showing off their shape-changing powers while also setting up a future series, but otherwise is a dull fight against Chemo [3/5].
Superboy & The Legion of Superheroes (LoSH #37-38, Superman #8, Action #591). The first of a few retcons to protect the Legion of Superheroes from DC's constantly changing continuity — here, the loss of Superboy with the Crisis. This could have been a simple procedural, but Levitz knocks it out of the park by telling a final story of Superboy, and Byrne has some fun as well with some rare meetings (at the time) between the Legion and Superman ... and even Superboy and Superman in the Action Comics team-up [5/5].
Doctor Stratos (AoS #431). We get great character development for Clark, Cat, and (to a lesser extent) Lois, then we get a mindless fight against the elements taking up half the issue followed by a non-conclusive ending. Sigh. [2+/5].
July 12, 2019
This is when the Crisis felt "real" for the Legion of Super-Heroes.
While it was the first major event and helped redefine its flagship characters for a new generation (such as Superman and Wonder Woman), some other books got seriously affected in order to fit within this new direction for the company.
It's no secret that one of the mandates of the Crisis was that Superman would be the ONLY Kryptonian alive and he would have never been Superboy, nor Supergirl. Just imagine what this could mean for the Legion, which was inspired by none other than Superboy when it first got started.
So, in order to move forward, the title had to do a bit of a rectonning and deconstruct its foundation.
Anyway, this is a sad farewell to what was and, while I liked it, I do understand why it was a breaking point for many. It undid the campy Superboy, it undid the campy Legion of yesteryear and left a lot of unanswered questions that no longer made sense within the new continuity.
While it was the first major event and helped redefine its flagship characters for a new generation (such as Superman and Wonder Woman), some other books got seriously affected in order to fit within this new direction for the company.
It's no secret that one of the mandates of the Crisis was that Superman would be the ONLY Kryptonian alive and he would have never been Superboy, nor Supergirl. Just imagine what this could mean for the Legion, which was inspired by none other than Superboy when it first got started.
So, in order to move forward, the title had to do a bit of a rectonning and deconstruct its foundation.
Anyway, this is a sad farewell to what was and, while I liked it, I do understand why it was a breaking point for many. It undid the campy Superboy, it undid the campy Legion of yesteryear and left a lot of unanswered questions that no longer made sense within the new continuity.
July 8, 2019
This is where the mirror starts to crack.
Enjoyable really. But it is brought down by continuity clean up and another lackluster new villain (did anyone really cared for bloodsport in the last volume? ).
The sins of the reboot come back to bite Byrne and DC, because as always they can't commit to a full reboot and that creates problems, Byrne did the best he could and run with it. Ordway is still one of the best Superman artists, the Action Comics team-ups are generally the most enjoyable.
Enough good stuff to make me read the next volume too.
Enjoyable really. But it is brought down by continuity clean up and another lackluster new villain (did anyone really cared for bloodsport in the last volume? ).
The sins of the reboot come back to bite Byrne and DC, because as always they can't commit to a full reboot and that creates problems, Byrne did the best he could and run with it. Ordway is still one of the best Superman artists, the Action Comics team-ups are generally the most enjoyable.
Enough good stuff to make me read the next volume too.
June 14, 2021
1st half was in line with everything else in this series but the Legion and Stratos part at the end dragged it down a bit.
October 30, 2024
I hate the Legion so I was never going to love this. Still, I found it very underwhelming compared to the previous volumes.
February 12, 2022
Too many heroes, not enough Superman.
August 23, 2012
I know I read the at least the first collection in this series. I may have read the second, I’m not really sure. But that was way back in 2005 I think, so I’m a bit fuzzy on what happen in those books. Thankfully it was the 1980’s and comics weren’t as continuity heavy as they are now. I was able to slip right into this collection without much trouble. That also has to do with the relatively simple nature of nearly every story in here: A science experiment goes awry, someone is turned into a monster, and then Superman has to battle it out with them. The most enjoyable thing about this collection was experiencing what comics were like a few years before I got into them. You really get a sense of how comics are a continually changing and growing thing.
There are a few good things worth pointing out. The story with Superboy and the Legion of Superheroes was very good. I’ve also had an interest in the Legion, but I’ve never read much with them in it. John Byrne’s art is always a plus. Although I found his art on Uncanny X-men seemed a lot tighter and denser. I’m not sure why that is since this was drawn shortly after, and even has the same inker. This collection also has some of the earliest work by Erik Larsen, which I didn’t know until I actually got the book. I’ve always been a fan of his and it was cool to see some of his stuff from when he first started.
There are a few good things worth pointing out. The story with Superboy and the Legion of Superheroes was very good. I’ve also had an interest in the Legion, but I’ve never read much with them in it. John Byrne’s art is always a plus. Although I found his art on Uncanny X-men seemed a lot tighter and denser. I’m not sure why that is since this was drawn shortly after, and even has the same inker. This collection also has some of the earliest work by Erik Larsen, which I didn’t know until I actually got the book. I’ve always been a fan of his and it was cool to see some of his stuff from when he first started.
March 21, 2018
Byrne does a ripping Superman! I like that Clark's powers clearly have limits - this is similar in tone to the action in the animated series, where Superman could be knocked around, beaten up and challenged quite frequently, but when push came to shove, he always had enough power left in the tank to get the job done.
The advantage of this series over the animated series is the heart displayed by the characters - little touches that Byrne uses throughout, including Superman thinking simple things like how can he move the battle away from bystanders, add to the character's heroism by displaying his vulnerability, his desire to be elsewhere, and his always conscious efforts to protect people.
Marv Wolfman's first chapter is a good one, spotlighting the false dichotomy between Clark Kent and Superman. Pa Kent puts it best that they're both the same man. Sometimes, the needs of one will take away from the life of the other, but things will balance out in the long run. The battle with the Fearsome Five was fun as well, although I thought Jerry Ordway's art was chunkier than his later, more refined Superman art. Wolfman's second chapter, with hideous Erik Larsen art, is a stinker though. I'm not sure if maybe he was playing it for laughs, but it's not very funny, the villain was remarkably lame and the ending was ludicrous.
Byrne did a nice story introducing Rampage, which put Superman in the spot of fighting a foe who could match his strength and might require lethal force. In the end, because he's Superman, creative and willing to risk himself, he finds another way. The Metal Men story was just okay - I've never really understood the appeal of the Metal Men, and I think that it required a bit of either familiarity with or affection for the characters.
The big epic in this book, Byrne and Levitz's Pocket Universe saga, was even better than I remembered. The Legion has discovered that Superboy never existed, so they set out to find out the truth behind their oldest friend's existence. Superman, of course, gets involved. The Time Trapper's scheming is particularly devious, and it was exciting to see a contrast between some of the pre- and post-Crisis Superman myths.
The advantage of this series over the animated series is the heart displayed by the characters - little touches that Byrne uses throughout, including Superman thinking simple things like how can he move the battle away from bystanders, add to the character's heroism by displaying his vulnerability, his desire to be elsewhere, and his always conscious efforts to protect people.
Marv Wolfman's first chapter is a good one, spotlighting the false dichotomy between Clark Kent and Superman. Pa Kent puts it best that they're both the same man. Sometimes, the needs of one will take away from the life of the other, but things will balance out in the long run. The battle with the Fearsome Five was fun as well, although I thought Jerry Ordway's art was chunkier than his later, more refined Superman art. Wolfman's second chapter, with hideous Erik Larsen art, is a stinker though. I'm not sure if maybe he was playing it for laughs, but it's not very funny, the villain was remarkably lame and the ending was ludicrous.
Byrne did a nice story introducing Rampage, which put Superman in the spot of fighting a foe who could match his strength and might require lethal force. In the end, because he's Superman, creative and willing to risk himself, he finds another way. The Metal Men story was just okay - I've never really understood the appeal of the Metal Men, and I think that it required a bit of either familiarity with or affection for the characters.
The big epic in this book, Byrne and Levitz's Pocket Universe saga, was even better than I remembered. The Legion has discovered that Superboy never existed, so they set out to find out the truth behind their oldest friend's existence. Superman, of course, gets involved. The Time Trapper's scheming is particularly devious, and it was exciting to see a contrast between some of the pre- and post-Crisis Superman myths.
December 25, 2025
Ok lets just get this started. The "Man of Steel" volume 4 is good like the rest of the collection. The introduction of new characters such as Rampage, Krypto and Superboy and many others all fall into this volume. I have read these books in succession so it is nice to see the mention of previous events and certain battles or conversations. Superman battles an energized gigantic female named Rampage (could it be Lois or even Cat?) he has an encounter with a slimy foe from the past. and we get to see the introduction of Superboy and his powerful pooch Krypto.
The story that everyone will be looking for in this book is the battle that pits Superman against Superboy. In my opinion that was probably the most interesting story of this volume and luckily it lasted for the equivalent of a couple of issues. That was definitely the most complex story arc that they had in volume 4.
By no means does it mean that this volume is any less entertaining for Superman fans than the past volumes. I say that because some battles just do not have to have a complex plot point to be entertaining. The best part of Superman battles is not always how much damage is created but how he is able to understand a foe's weakness after the battle has started and keep his mind level so that he can stop the danger before anyone is really in harm. I believe this volume illustrates that best in the earlier parts before the finale of Superboy and Superman.
You can't go wrong with a Byrne Superman story from the 80's.
The story that everyone will be looking for in this book is the battle that pits Superman against Superboy. In my opinion that was probably the most interesting story of this volume and luckily it lasted for the equivalent of a couple of issues. That was definitely the most complex story arc that they had in volume 4.
By no means does it mean that this volume is any less entertaining for Superman fans than the past volumes. I say that because some battles just do not have to have a complex plot point to be entertaining. The best part of Superman battles is not always how much damage is created but how he is able to understand a foe's weakness after the battle has started and keep his mind level so that he can stop the danger before anyone is really in harm. I believe this volume illustrates that best in the earlier parts before the finale of Superboy and Superman.
You can't go wrong with a Byrne Superman story from the 80's.
October 28, 2017
Tenía este trade hace un par de años, pero no lo había tocado por haber leído los cómics individuales hace mucho. Bastante irregular esta colección de historias de Superman luego del reboot de Byrne tras Crisis en Tierras Infinitas.
Lo mejor: El crossover de Superman con la Legión de Super-Héroes, donde se intenta explicar la presencia de Superboy en la Legión aún cuando luego de Crisis se estableció que Superman adoptó su identidad superheroica ya de adulto. Bastante feeling la historia: un Superman preguntándose si una vida como la del Superboy de la Legión quizás hubiera sido más agradable para el, una triste despedida a Superboy y al Krypto clásico, y además las bases para las historias del Universo de Bolsillo creado por el Time Trapper.
Me gustó: La historia con los Fearsome Five, con el dilema de Superman entre su vida como Clark Kent y como superhéroe. Además que el dibujo de Jerry Ordway es un clásico, aún con las quejas por la quijada de Superman.
Historias olvidables: Las de Rampage y los Metal Men (con un Chemo "kriptoniano").
Lo Peor: La última historia protagonizada por un tal Doctor Stratos que al final jura venganza por su derrota y... nunca más se supo de el en el universo DC. Horrible dibujo de Eric Larsen.
Le doy 4 estrellas por la aparición de la Legión :)
Lo mejor: El crossover de Superman con la Legión de Super-Héroes, donde se intenta explicar la presencia de Superboy en la Legión aún cuando luego de Crisis se estableció que Superman adoptó su identidad superheroica ya de adulto. Bastante feeling la historia: un Superman preguntándose si una vida como la del Superboy de la Legión quizás hubiera sido más agradable para el, una triste despedida a Superboy y al Krypto clásico, y además las bases para las historias del Universo de Bolsillo creado por el Time Trapper.
Me gustó: La historia con los Fearsome Five, con el dilema de Superman entre su vida como Clark Kent y como superhéroe. Además que el dibujo de Jerry Ordway es un clásico, aún con las quejas por la quijada de Superman.
Historias olvidables: Las de Rampage y los Metal Men (con un Chemo "kriptoniano").
Lo Peor: La última historia protagonizada por un tal Doctor Stratos que al final jura venganza por su derrota y... nunca más se supo de el en el universo DC. Horrible dibujo de Eric Larsen.
Le doy 4 estrellas por la aparición de la Legión :)
November 18, 2019
Like the third volume, the comics in this one just felt a bit more like "adventure of the week," rather than tales with ripple effects to later Superman canon. But that's okay. There's nothing wrong with "adventure of the week," and, honestly, modern comics could use more of that. Not every event needs to be something major--because that's not very realistic. I don't care how amazing your superheroes are, if there was an earth-shattering event happening as often as it seems in modern comics, the world would, eventually, actually end or be conquered or whatever. Just, statistically speaking, we would one day lose. So "adventure of the week" is just fine. It's fun--and there's nothing wrong with fun comics. That said, these particular ones just didn't happen to be my favorite. I don't really care about the Metal Men, and the Legion of Superheroes is probably my least favorite tangent of Superman. Still, I was surprised that they actually killed Superboy. The way they did it was actually pretty decent, with some nice emotion. (Even if it did feel like DC was simply house-cleaning so that this Superman, who was never Superboy, would make sense. When in doubt--pocket dimension!) All in all, this is still definitely a series worth reading. If you're a Superman fan, there is plenty to enjoy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 25, 2022
The art is really groovy but the writing of these 80's Superman titles was pretty bad. Sorry, but Marv Wolfman in the 80's at least I was not a fan of and John Byrne's strength really always will be as an artist. I was going to give this book a one or two stars but the art won out in the end. Also the Death of Superboy story line did end up being a little poignant. I'm guessing that is why this book is priced so high. I bought my used copy at a Half Price Books for a whopping $40. I know I paid too much but I was on a Superman kick at the time and I just had to have it. Now I'm not so much on a Superman kick and although I'll keep reading the books I come across (and the many unread books I have in my possession), I won't be out there spending big bucks on titles I don't have. This edition ends up w/an issue not related to the whole Superboy storyline about a weather controlling villain called Dr. Stratos which is of note because of the early Erik Larson art. That was cool to see. Maybe that's why this book is so highly valued? Anyway, not worth the high price tag it's going for.
July 6, 2024
Man, this is mostly sh*t! This is why I loathed DC so much growing up. Superboy? Superdog? The cheeseball Legion of Superheroes and the Metal Men? Marvel stomps any and all of these concepts. What had been a clean, cohesive reboot until this point has been derailed by the whole Crisis on Infinite Earths thing, which was an attempt to undo DC's lack of any real continuity(ies?) until that point. Even John Byrne, who at Marvel always did a great job at streamlining continuity, has a tough go at making this believable. Add in the craptastic artwork by a neophyte Erik Larsen in the last issue in the book and the insult to injury was complete. This book has it's moments, but they are few and far between.
July 22, 2025
Superman: The Man of Steel Vol. 4
Still embedding himself in Metropolis, Clark is shocked at how hard it is becoming to live his dual identities and fears that Clark Kent is being lost because of Superman. An encounter with the Fatal Five after he missed his parents' anniversary shows that Clark is becoming more capable of living his new lifestyle than even he realised.
The artwork is great and Byrne's post Crisis relaunch shows how well the writer grasped the triple identity of Clark, Kal-El and Superman.
Still embedding himself in Metropolis, Clark is shocked at how hard it is becoming to live his dual identities and fears that Clark Kent is being lost because of Superman. An encounter with the Fatal Five after he missed his parents' anniversary shows that Clark is becoming more capable of living his new lifestyle than even he realised.
The artwork is great and Byrne's post Crisis relaunch shows how well the writer grasped the triple identity of Clark, Kal-El and Superman.
January 14, 2019
John Byrne's mission to clean up the Superman universe continues and he does a lot with the mess he inherited. Here he delivers some great visuals with Rampage, Chemo, Time Trapper, and the Legion. The Superboy story is confusing but sadly it made some sense. Of course there are some corny elements being the late 80s. Overall, the book was decent.
November 5, 2025
Decent collection, writing is a mess but the storyline where Superman encounters Superboy and the Legion of Superheroes is great.
Unfortunately, I think I figured out why Byrne's writing is wearing on me. As his run on Superman goes on, he writes Superman (not Clark Kent) more and more like the Roger Moore James Bond; full of swagger and one liners.
Unfortunately, I think I figured out why Byrne's writing is wearing on me. As his run on Superman goes on, he writes Superman (not Clark Kent) more and more like the Roger Moore James Bond; full of swagger and one liners.
November 22, 2025
Muy interesante el lore de la Legión, no los conocía, sobre todo ver a Brainiac bueno, sabía que existía, pero no había visto nada de él, ironicamente es la primera aparición de Brainiac en los comics de Superman modernos.
Que bizarro como era el Superman de los 70s, estaba rotísimo, fue una época muy alocada (y mala) en DC.
Que bizarro como era el Superman de los 70s, estaba rotísimo, fue una época muy alocada (y mala) en DC.
March 5, 2022
This volume addresses one of the biggest impacts of Superman’s new history: what happens to the Legion of Super-Heroes if Superboy never existed? Along with other stories, this volume is a bunch of fun.
July 6, 2022
Mixed thing. Art is good and clean all the way through especially Byrne's bits. But stories lack the last kick to keep things totally interesting. And those kid versions of superheroes.... those are just stupid.
May 4, 2019
Great collection, I especially liked the "Death of Superboy" storyline.
August 3, 2020
Gems include 'Rampage!', the last pre-Crisis Superboy & Legion team-up, & the Kents' 49th anniversary
December 22, 2022
I'm actually enjoying Byrne's run a lot more than I expected, while the issues by Wolfman all feel like a chore to read.
May 5, 2025
Entertaining volume that deepens the Post-Crisis mythos by introducing characters like Krypto and Superboy as well as having Superman encounter new foes.
Superman battles the powerful Rampage, teams up with the Metal Men to stop Chemo, confronts a mysterious Superboy from the Legion's past, and faces Dr. Stratos' weather-control schemes, while Clark Kent navigates personal identity struggles and returns to Smallville.
It's a solid mix of action and character moments that continues to enhance Byrne's Superman run.
Superman battles the powerful Rampage, teams up with the Metal Men to stop Chemo, confronts a mysterious Superboy from the Legion's past, and faces Dr. Stratos' weather-control schemes, while Clark Kent navigates personal identity struggles and returns to Smallville.
It's a solid mix of action and character moments that continues to enhance Byrne's Superman run.
March 1, 2025
First read: Despite some of the dialogue consisting of the characters talking about bullshit science crap - I did enjoy this book and am contemplating buying Vol 1,2,3 and then re-reading this book….
Second read: I re-read this book after reading Volumes 1-3 and I did enjoy it a little more than I did the first time. However, it had the same problems I remembered and is definitely the weakest volume so far. I am hopeful the series improves in Volume 5.
Second read: I re-read this book after reading Volumes 1-3 and I did enjoy it a little more than I did the first time. However, it had the same problems I remembered and is definitely the weakest volume so far. I am hopeful the series improves in Volume 5.
July 26, 2012
Superman stories are always difficult to read because Superman is invincible pretty much. Superman stories dealing with continuity issues are difficult too, but this does a pretty good job of dealing with a tough issue. Namely, how do you explain Superboy's existence after Crisis on Infinite Earths? The answer: Pocket dimension! It's silly, but it's also comics from the 1980s. It is what it is.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews