Originally Posted by
Tzigone
I liked it, but didn't think it was great. Haven't re-read, so forgive me if I end up mentioning issues that aren't technically part of the story, but just touch on it. Or misremember details.
The Justice League getting stomped on and Clark's fight worked for me. Poor Ted - like he said, completely forgotten in wake of the tragedy (well, not by Booster).
Yes, Superman was dead. That matters. The emotions around everyone accepting that were great. Heck, I liked the guy who was more concerned Doomsday wasn't dead.
After that, it's a lot more of a mixed bag. The funeral was okay. The kid's dad coming back didn't work for me.
Great intro for Superboy, who grew so much, and had such a nice journey. Steel was the one worthy of respect from the start, even if I found his backstory a bit not-good (evil lover).
I liked Lex. The emotional instability, the pettiness. The way he murdered his martial arts instructor because of how she made him feel. How very much he was not in control of his emotions or everything around him. He manipulated Supergirl pretty well (she did go fight eventually), but failed at manipulating Superboy due to unfortunate timing and that the boy had the attention span of gnat and another pretty girl showed up.
I wasn't into the war-dream and Jonathan pulling his soul back and stuff. The war part bored me, and the heavy religiosity isn't my thing, and more importantly it's yet again dad-is-important-and-mom-is-not. A recurring problem with Superman...with both dads and moms.
I did like some people believing in the wrong Superman, but I can't recall that it happened with anyone who knew him well (though I wouldn't swear it didn't), and that makes some sense.
I did not like the destruction of Coast City. Just not my thing.
Lastly, probably the weakest part to me, was Superman after he came back. In that outfit. With those weapons. It felt like they were going for badass!Superman, and it just seemed hokey, corny, out of character, or something. Don't really have the right words, but it just did not work for me, and I could not take it seriously.
For just a second, with Jimmy wondering if Clark could have been caught under debris like the kids, I wondered if he knew the secret. Of course, that didn't work with previous things even in that story - just so very pointed.
But I only read it a few years ago, and cannot know what it was like real-time and not knowing all the outcomes. I was bored by Cyborg Superman and Eradicator, because I already knew who they were, and bad guys bore me. Only the good guys reaction to them matters. I do think I would have been annoyed at how long it took to get Superman back, but only maybe not if I was only reading one title.