Superman # 15
Bendis closes out The Unity Saga in Superman #15, by writer Brian Michael Bendis, artists Ivan Reis, Brandon Peterson, and Evan "Doc" Shaner, inkers Joe Prado and Oclair Albert, colorist Alex Sinclair, and letterer Dave Sharpe. It's a good enough story, tying up a lot of Bendis' plot threads into a neat little bow, but it still has a few issues.
Adam Strange and Superman have a chat about Rogol Zaar and the Legion of Superheroes. The story cuts between Strange and Superman in the present. And the events of the day before with the Legion and the rest of the galaxy's powers. As they move towards the formation of the United Planets. They all vote unanimously to join together, and Superboy announces that today will forever be known as Unity Day. In the present, Adam Strange lets Superman know what the fledgling UP council has decided as Jor-El's fate. Zod and his family leave to form a New Krypton and Superman and company head back to Earth.
On the surface, there's a lot to like about this issue. The scenes with the Legion are classic Bendis, a bunch of talking heads making humorous comments. But it never feels as out of place as it sometimes does when he uses this technique. The Legion showed up a bit early for their historic opportunity to see the formation of the UP. And their reactions to that fact are pretty great. Bendis closes out the Rogol Zaar and Jor-El plotlines in a neat fashion, giving readers a little clue as to their previous relationship. Jor-El's fate and Superman's reaction to it are perfectly bittersweet. Jor-El hasn't been the best person since he came back. He is, however, Superman's father, so there's a connection. But Superman also knows that deep down he deserves some kind of punishment. The fate itself is both and wonderfully done. He even reconciles Zod and Superman to an extent, which is actually a pretty cool idea. Zod has always been about the restoration of Krypton, and while his methods are extreme, he's not some evil, cackling villain. Given a better way, he would gladly take the peaceful option and not keep going after Superman and Earth. Bendis gets this in a way that a lot of other writers haven't. Looking back on previous issues of this story, and how much he's had Zod and Superman work together. It's safe to say he's been foreshadowing this moment for a while.
That said, there are some quibbles with the comic. The fact that everyone goes along with the UP idea after being at each other's throats not long before with no reservations at all seems a little forced. There is no talk of reparations or anything like that. For what readers were told in previous issues was a massive war that brewing across the galaxy. This might be the sort of thing that Bendis will come back at some point, but the seeds could have and probably should have been planted here. The Legion showing up just kind of feels like an attempt to bring them back to readers' minds without really doing anything with them. Their whole thing is entertaining, and the Legion is a great concept. But they have little to no bearing on the story and seem to just pop up to remind everyone that Bendis is writing their upcoming book. He puts off Superboy's decision about joining the Legion, which is understandable but also kind of ruins the point of having them there. It's reasonable that Jon would want to go home and see his family and friends instead of running off to the 31st century immediately. He could still make a choice, though, since it's pretty obvious what's going to happen.
The art by Ivan Reis and company is pretty good. Peterson gets to draw the page showing Jor-El's fate and, like everything else he's done on this book, blows it out of the water. Shaner draws the next page showing Krypton exploding, and it's pretty lovely as well. As far as Reis' art goes, there are also a lot of places where his art is very strong, with excellent detail and composition. Alex Sinclair's colors really help a lot of the scenes in this book. He goes dark for the talk between Superman and Adam Strange, underlying the tone of their conversation. While everything with the Legion and the vote for the UP and beyond is light and bright. Helping to emphasize the hopeful and cheerful tone of the affair.
Superman #15 puts Bendis' first big Superman story to bed in a beautiful fashion. The Unity Saga has been a long story, jumping around a lot and weaving multiple threads together. It hasn't always been successful; some parts of the story have definitely been stronger than others, but overall, it's been pretty entertaining. This issue has some problems, but they're minor and can be remedied elsewhere, much like the story it's closing out. The art is mostly fantastic, except in a few places where Reis' detail gets a little light. This isn't a great comic, nor is The Unity Saga a great story. They're not going to go down in history as must-reads. However, the issue and the story it closes out have shown readers what Bendis can do on Superman and in that respect, they're pretty good. In the past, Bendis has had a definite problem in making big, action-packed, slightly cosmic stories work. He slips into his familiar writing habits, and it sometimes makes things feel drawn out and boring. The Unity Saga is a long story, but it doesn't really feel drawn out because it's kept moving along. And redefined where the story was doing and what it was about. Sure, some parts weren't as great as others, much like this issue, but overall, it's an entertaining story, and this conclusion serves as a microcosm for it. Some parts of it aren't great as others, but it's definitely fun and helps to tie things up in a neat fashion.
