Superman: Action Comics, Vol. 5: The House of Kent

Action Comics (2016)

by Brian Michael Bendis, John Romita Jr. (Illustrator), Klaus Janson (Illustrator)

First, Metropolis was hit with the biggest ground battle in the history of the city and barely survived. On top of that, Leviathan threw down his gauntlet for the entire world to see, and Superman revealed the truth of his identity as Clark Kent. Now the city is in a state of shock-and Clark and Conner Kent need to figure out what’s next for them and the city they protect! Guest-starring Wonder Comics’ Young Justice in a unique crossover! Action Comics #1022-1028

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

184 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 2021

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

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Superman, Conner Kent, Jon Kent, Supergirl and Brainiac 5 take on the Invisible Mafia. The Red Cloud goes off the deep end to show she's tough. Eh, like most of Bendis's run, this was just OK. I did notice the first issue which Danny Miki inked looked significantly better than when long time JR Jr. inker, Klaus Janson, scrawls all over the page as if it's cave art. There were several times when I couldn't tell Superman and Jon Kent apart.

Read in single issues

[Artemy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Romita Jr.'s deteriorating art style notwithstanding, this was a really solid finale, especially the very last issue. Bendis wasn't as consistently excellent on Action Comics as he was on Superman proper, but it was still a mostly fun ride (not counting Event Leviathan, which was a big nothingburger). To have not even one but two solid ongoing Superman books for a few years was a blessing we as a comics community didn't deserve but desperately needed, and I can only hope Phillip Kennedy Johnson can keep the streak going.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. A solid close to Bendis’ run on Superman. This has Conner Kent who is a clone of Clark and Lex Luthor. Plus we get Jon coming back from the 31st century and Supergirl. The squad is ready to face off against Marisol Leona’s secret weapon, her partner Red Cloud and other tricks she had up her sleeve for Lois Lane. Plus the FBI raids the Daily Planet after Clark and Lois publish that she was the owner of the Dailey Planet and leader of the Invisible Mafia. Interesting angle Leone tried to work at the end and it was cool to see where she really came from. Curious to see what Phillip Kennedy Johnson does with the character next.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 1 out of 5]

After the atrocious ending to Bendis's Superman run, I hoped that his Action Comics, which had always been the stronger of the two books, would be better. Oh dear, was I wrong.

This final arc deals with the final takedown of Marisol Leone, the Red Cloud, and the Invisible Mafia. It takes seven issues to actually go anywhere, talking in circles for the first three or four before throwing in some Young Justice plots that didn't go anywhere in their own book just so Bendis can continue trotting out Conner Kent and pretending to know what to do with him. It all resolves itself, if you can call it that, with some punching, and a plot point from Matt Fraction's Jimmy Olsen book instead of anything Bendis could come up with.

I'll defend John Romita Jr. as much as I can, but this isn't his best Superman work at all. Everyone's got the same face (I know Clark, Jon, and Conner are related but seriously), and he relies too much on his JRJr tricks of speed lines instead of proper fight scenes, and lots of panels of people flying in place (although Brainiac 5 flies more like a bug on a windscreen than a person). The design for the Parasite monster near the end of the book is literally just a load of scribbles. It's all just...bad.

Utter dreck. Thank Rao this is over.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent end to a uneven action comics and Superman run. Didn't hate it like the rest of the internet. This one deals with the red cloud lady and supes and his family of supes including Connor deal with her. It's fun but not amazing and that's pretty much the entire run. Art is sometimes nice and other times shit.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ten or fifteen years on, Brian Michael Bendis' extremely decompressed storytelling just isn't as endearing as it used to be. This is about two issues or story (plus a coda) spread across five issues of never-ending battles.

Nonetheless, it's a good plot: the take-down of the Invisible Mafia (albeit with an unfortunate fridging, something that wasn't endearing even ten or fifteen or twenty years ago). Conner Kent gets properly reintegrated into the DC universe (though I still don't understand why Supes doesn't recognize him, as he's literally the Supes from the pre-FP universe, as is pointedly noted in this very story with the correct claims that Lois is from another dimension). And we get the whole Super family together (though I have no idea who this Kara is, as I thought she was some super-rebel malcontent in the New 52).

I guess DC continuity is still a horrific mess, huh?

[Keegan Schueler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid end to the bendis action comic run that is full of great action and characters but rushes a bit in the end.

[Christian Zamora-Dahmen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a new low on every aspect. Bendis, Romita Jr.
How did this even get published?

[Marco · Rating 1 out of 5]

Go home, Bendis. You're drunk.

[Rob Schamberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A warm, satisfying and action-packed ending to Bendis’ time on Superman. Romita Jr’s art was as dynamic as ever but also got across the humanity in a beautiful way. Good stuff!

[Alek Hill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am so disappointed in the Invisible Mafia!!

To me Volume 1 was spectacular. It had beautiful art by Ryan Sook, it had mystery, and it had inventive concepts. But then Volume 2 focused solely on Leviathan, Volume 3 lacked focus on what story was being told, and then Volume 4 was just a contradictory continuity mess that mashed together Leviathan and the Legion of Doom. So when we finally get back to the Invisible Mafia in Volume 5, it makes no sense!

Bendis never really showed us the inner workings of the Invisible Mafia or what Queen Pin Leone's plan was. It really seems that has Action Comics run had no plan at all. It seems pretty obvious with the ever changing character design of the character Whisper in every volume. Or how the "mysterious fires" seem to be a continuing problem in every volume even though the Invisible Mafia rube that was doing them was killed off in Vol. 1. Or how the concept of certain words or syntax not being allowed in the mafia was abandoned. Or just exactly what Robinson Goode's deal was.

In Vol. 1, Goode (Red Cloud) appears to be the meta-human apprentice of Leone. Why she wants kryptonite or why she tries to kill superman twice in broad daylight; when she's supposed to be an invisible enforcer is odd though.
In Vol. 2, its mainly just Leviathan.
In Vol. 3, it looks like Goode is losing control of her Red Cloud powers and when Luthor makes a play for the Invisible Mafia he "unlocks her full power" with a terrible character redesign; while also hinting at her true origins. Next thing we know she's announcing herself as a loud and public mafia boss.
So in Vol. 4, it appears that Goode is betraying Leone because maybe she has something to do with her condition? Nope. Just a Star Labs accident! But she does team up with Luthor and Leviathan to kill Superman. Only to "have a change of heart" because Superman believes she can choose a better path. But then we see her and Leone teaming up again?
And then in Vol. 5, she goes from the Invisible Mafia's cool headed second in command, to a xenophobic psycho, to a cold blooded murderer of a mayoral candidate, and then a punk who gets sucker punched into the Phantom Zone.

My final grievance being with the Queen Pin herself. I could never tell if Leone and Goode actually agreed on what kind of mafia they were running. Because there are numerous times when they'd be discussing how the "best way to fix their Superman problem" was to "double down on being invisible". And the next thing we see is Leone exposing herself to the Daily Planet or Red Cloud trying to kill someone Superman knows.
In the end Bendis builds up to the reveal that Leone is from another Earth in the Multiverse. Something hinted at in Vol. 1. But as to where or why she is on this particular Earth was apparently not important. Instead we get the watch the "House of Kent" battle a Parasite from another dimension for no reason. The ending letter of Leone to Goode is a nice example of what is wrong with this run. Leone blames Goode for the downfall of the Invisible Mafia. It was her eagerness to battle Superman that destroyed their hidden power over him. And just like how Bendis focused more on showing us Superman fighting something "he's never faced before", he focused less on what was really important. The invisible part of the Invisible Mafia.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

When you have a cover like it does, and a title like "The House of Kent", you know you are in for some Super-Family action. The one downside is the art. John Romita Jr is a legend in the comic art realm, but I fear he's either begun to slip, the addition of Klaus Janson wasn't a good match, or I'm just so used to seeing amazing artists that the old favs just don't work for me anymore... not sure.
The plot of this revolves around 3 points:
1) Conner Kent - The arrival of this alternate Superboy causes a lot of concern and research. His arrival is proof that the DCU has rebooted again, and there will be some inconsistencies here and there. It is determined that he is a clone of Clark and Lex merged together. At some point in the future, soon or really far off, he will lose his powers. AND he is currently going to stay with Ma and Pa Kent. (Did I forget about Pa Kent being alive again/still?)
2) The Invisible Mafia - This Volume sees the end of the fight against the group. Marisol Leone is revealed to not be from our Earth and Red Cloud elects to go to prison and reform her ways, instead of being left in the Phantom Zone. It's a lot of fighting, but not super satisfying.
3) The Daily Planet - Having been revealed to be owned by Invisible Mafia Boss Marisol Leone, the FBI is investigating the paper. Once their name is cleared, it is revealed that Jimmy Olsen now owns the paper, having inherited a huge fortune from Lex Luthor (long story, but has to deal with family heritage).

Overall, a really great story by Bendis. Looking forward to seeing the future for this title.
Recommend.

[Justin Partridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The fight for balance is frustrating but the duality of nature is how we know we are alive.”

“God, that is such a- a YOU thing to say.”

////////

“We need tomorrow’s stories.”

If anything, I really appreciate the ending of The Bendis Is Coming! Era going smaller instead of just blowing it all out. Though there is plenty of that for the list part.

And there is some definitely interesting things happening here. The Connor Kent of it all is great for me especially. I love me some Connor and seeing him get a lot of sweet and affecting moments, I really loved that.

I ALSO enjoyed SOMEONE finally picking at, this Superman and Lois being from another Earth! I think the twist of Marisol, leader of the Invisible Mafia, actually being from Earth-2 is a really neat idea and something I didn’t even consider until it actually happened.

JRJR still fucking rules. Don’t let anybody tell you any different.

I dunno. I just maybe wish this had a bit more punch? Or at least a more poignant end than the one I was expecting. I DID really love the last image being the desk motif and the “thank you” notes were really sweet, especially the Fraction one (who basically sets up the end of this in the pages of Jimmy Olsen and THAT is some good stuff).

#SuperSummer never dies! (Unless checkmate is really horrible).

[Chris Browning · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t really get the appeal of Superman. If I want a sort of noble, good hearted superhero I’ll go for Captain America because he’s got more opportunities for conflict and humour. Superman’s just good at everything and even his name is sort of sketchy “he’s a man but super” which I find kind of boring. That said, I like a LOT of Bendis’ work so thought this might be worth reading - having said that I like Grant Morrison even more and his Superman stuff was him at his most dense and least enjoyable. Thankfully Bendis seems to actually make the character someone I am interested in - mainly he’s innately nice but made interesting via his relationships to other people, which then brings out the varying levels of conflict necessary to enjoy a book like this. It’s not earth shattering stuff this, but it’s sort of the equivalent of Romita Jr’s art - not wildly complex but always reliably enjoyable. Even if I don’t understand any of the plots this resolves I was fully engaged and this is probably the first time I’ve even begun to appreciate the appeal of the character which is quite an achievement really

[Shaun Stanley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Superman Action Comics Vol. 5 The House of Kent collects issues 1022-1028 of the DC Comics series written by Brian Michael Bendis and art by John Romita Jr.

Superman, Superboy (Johnathan Kent), Superboy (Connor Kent), Supergirl, and Brainiac 5 team up to finally take down the Invisible Mafia.

This book goes out on such a strange whimper. All of the character development on Red Cloud is abandoned in this arc and the explanation of Leone’s origins just seems to be grasping at straws. My favorite issue in this arc is the epilogue dealing with the fallout of the Daily Planet’s new ownership and Connor Kent getting a new home and sense of belonging in his return to DC Canon.

This brings an end to Bendis’s run on Superman. Other than the Truth storyline, not much stands out. Invisible Mafia had promise but became an after thought after the whole Leviathan reveal and it never seemed to work well again after that. I think Bendis was juggling too many different books at one time and trying to cross storylines at any opportunity and it just became a mess. Simpler may have been better here.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basic plot: The Invisible Mafia and the Red Cloud have been exposed and now the entire Kent family works to bring the whole organization down.

It was cool to see so many characters and stories coming together to finish up the whole Invisible Mafia story. The character building was ok, if rushed. Sometimes it felt like the ends got tied up too neatly, too quickly, and sometimes they got dragged out. There was a LOT going on, with literally every character. The issue of Lois, Clark, and Jon not actually being from this Earth has come back up, and I was actually really surprised to see that little thread pop up. While I enjoyed the story, I will note that I hated the art. Romita Jr's art style is slapdash, weirdly angular, and generally unpleasant to look at. I don't think I will ever fully like a book he draws.

[Will Cooper · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hardly anything happens in most of this book. I usually enjoy Romita's art enough, but I think this volume convinced me he can't draw? He had a sketch at the end of the book for SPOILER BUT ALSO WHO CARES BECAUSE IT DOESN'T GO ANYWHERE Parasite 3.0 and it was literally just lines without form. I get it was a sketch, but give me a break.

As for plot, it's the most boring I've read! Connor is here and some people don't remember him and some do and multiverse Parasite pops out and they can't defeat him but then they do defeat him in one panel and then things are wrapped up. I guess.

[James Elkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven’t been wild about Bendis’ work on Action Comics. Much of his time on it seemed to be spent promoting his work elsewhere in the DC publishing schedule.

I’ve been sitting here trying to compose in a sentence or two everything I don’t like about “The House of Kent”, but really it’s about his whole run on Action Comics. It feels rushed. Not just this volume but Bendis’ entire time on Action.

[Voma Tron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story is not super wow-y, but this is the best i ever seen JRJ's artwork. Often he makes these rough and unfinished looking lines all over his characters, making them look like sketches done on a napkin or something. But here his style is really refined and a joy to look at. He really can draw quite nicely when he wants to, it seems!

[Mariano · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was WAY better than I expected after volume four's trainwreck. It's a good ending for Bendis pretty cool run. What I liked most about Action was the solid secondary cast and their interactions, and this delivers great on that front.

I don't like 21st century Jr Jr but that's ok, he will always be one of my top artists of all time anyway.

[Trevor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A much better finale for Bendis' Superman run than his last volume of the main Superman title. You can tell he's rushing to wrap up a story that he probably originally intended to spend more time on, but he does so in fun style, with all the House of Kent characters bouncing off each other with that typical great Bendis team-dialogue.

[Néstor Vargas · Rating 2 out of 5]

We had to wrap up the Invisible Mafia thing. The Red Cloud defeat felt underwhelming, with a solution that could have been used volumes ago. Bringing back Superboy can create some opportunities in the future.

P.S. Can someone remind me where we found out who the invisible mafia leader is? I remember reading it but forgot the specific issue.

[Kris Ritchie · Rating 3 out of 5]

So even though this suffered from some of the same problems as the last volume, it still somehow came together better?

2.5 rounded up, and I can't believe I am saying this but I am glad Bendis is leaving this title.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually liked this one a lot better than the rest of the Bendis era, mostly because it was nice to see BOTH Superboys, and Kara, and the Kents. The stuff at the Planet was genuinely entertaining. Boy do I hope that's the last of the Red Cloud though 🙄

[Teresa Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superman

DC Comic continue to provide a great selection of exciting to bring Stores to a new generation of young people, As always I would recommend all of the DC comics to everyone...

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Action Comics vol. 5

Great Superman book. The artwork was a little better this time around. House of Kent, big blue, Jon and Conner, and Super girl are in for the fight of their lives and won.

[Orión Rodríguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not a super high stakes story, but it is entertaining enough, and I love the Kent family's dynamic, so, even tho it isn't the biggest masterpiece, I like it.
The pacing was weird sometimes, tho.
Btw, I love Jon and Jon, DC, please give 'em a full series for each.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually kind of liked it, other than the one issue where everything goes topsy-turvy and you have to turn the page on its side, then upside down, etc. And I actually like the John Romita, Jr. artwork. Could it have been better? Sure, but what's here isn't so bad.

[Emmanuel Nevers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bendis finished his time with action comics really strong! This was my favorite story of his run on action comics.

[Emanuel Lopes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Um final decepcionante onde só se salvam as últimas duas edições, especialmente a última com aquele belíssimo momento em família dos Kents. Não vou sentir falta de Bendis.