Superman #677

Everyone has commented on the way the two main Batman comics compliment each other since Dini and Morrison took over(Since, after all, Morrison made the distinction in the first place). Detective is about detecting, in a very down to earth Noir-ish fashion. Batman cover the grandiose superhero-ey side of Batman's life, along with deep examinations of his character.

I won't pretend to know what the Superman title was like before Robinson took over, Busiek's run and anything before that never interested me. But I'll be damned if you can't look at John's Action, and Robinson's Superman right now and see perfect compliments to one other. John's Action is about what the title says: Action! in a kind of blockbuster movie fashion. Now, in Superman this week, we get a quieter more subdued story that seeks to explore Superman's character and what he means to the DCU.

Even more astonishing is the way Robinson chooses to do so. Whereas, in Batman, Morrison tried to tell the story from Batman's own perspective, digging inside his mind and trying to extrapolate how he thinks, Robinson instead circles around Superman, taking a look at him from the perspective of three other characters: Krypto, his long time friend Hal Jordan, and Travis DuBarry, of the Metropolis Science Police.

Superman just makes Krypto happy, making Superman's whole purpose seem one dimensional: he does the thing that makes us happy. Hal, on the other hand can't help but think of how naive Superman is with his Boy Scout idealism. Travis, quite indignant of Superman, doesn't try to keep from the reader that Superman may in fact just be "too perfect" (so goes the most general of reasons fanboys ive for not caring about Superman); he makes other do-gooders like the Science Police redundant, and steals all the glory without even trying. Even still, Hal has to admit maybe his naivity is good thing; and despite all Travis dislike for him, when he (thinks he) sees Superman save a bunch of civilians from the toppling Daily Planet globe, hes "Yeah, I hate him. . .but that was cool".

Robinson is setting up something incredibly grand, and he's not shielding Superman from criticism: he's combating that very criticism. Why would someone want to read a story about Superman? Robinson is here to show us in his typical deliciously verbose prose. The art, I cannot see taking any points away from because it certainly captures the kind of grandeur you'd expect Superman to carry. Bravo Guedes.