Superman: Unchained

[out of control]

I finished reading the recent second reprint of the Deluxe Edition tonight and couldn't find a proper thread to talk about it so i open this new thread about Superman: Unchained. It was a New 52 mini series. It was an ok read... I try to gather everything in my head right now. There was the machine secret government millitary organisation which was hell bent on killing Superman and it was led by General Lane. (Lois's father) and organisation's American government loyal alien called Wraith who had super powers like superman, but stronger.

There was this Asention terrorist organisation which was trying to end the world or something. They built something called earthstone which was a stolen techology from the machine organisation which was created by an equation which was given to the American Government by an alien race. Earthstones were somewhat like crystal shards which was used in fortress of solitude. There was Lex Luthor on the other hand who was trying to save the world and kill Superman, he made a plan to hit two birds with one stone and sent Superman to a suicide mission in the end and there was Superman's childhood memory flash backs. All of these factors togeter was overly complicated... So many things were happening at the same time in the story and i didn't enjoy this very much. Scott Snyder's New 52 Superman was young and still learning to properly use his super powers and you could immidiatly tell with his observations and precises conclutions about the stuations that he was also super smart. Jim Lee's art was great. I really liked Dustin Nguyen's art in epiloge part of every issue as well.

As far as i know DC killed off the young New 52 Superman in the end of New 52 era, he was around for a short time because of the poor sales and DC brought back the previous pre Flashpoint Older version of Superman who is married to Lois Lane and we still read that Superman's adventures today in 2024 in Action Comics and Superman titles. New 52 Superman and Lois Lane didn't even have a romantic relationship, they were just friends and New 52 Superman was dating to Wonder Woman as far as i know.

[Vordan]

Gorgeous Jim Lee art and cool fight scenes, a fun take on Sam Lane, but Wraith himself was a bore and Snyder seemed to lose interest by the end. If he’s doing an Ultimate Superman book then I hope he builds on what worked here and improves his weak points - which are mainly his seeming lack of interest in the wider Superman Mythos and need to bring Batman in.

[out of control]

Gorgeous Jim Lee art and cool fight scenes, a fun take on Sam Lane, but Wraith himself was a bore and Snyder seemed to lose interest by the end. If he’s doing an Ultimate Superman book then I hope he builds on what worked here and improves his weak points - which are mainly his seeming lack of interest in the wider Superman Mythos and need to bring Batman in.

Sam Lane was here in Superman: Unchained more like a poor guy's General Ross in Hulk, if you ask me. I can't complain about Batman because i am a Batman guy. lol

[Vordan]

Sam Lane was here in Superman: Unchained more like a poor guy's General Ross in Hulk, if you ask me. I can't complain about Batman because i am a Batman guy. lol

There’s plenty of similar characters at DC and Marvel. Saying “oh there’s a character like this at another company” is not a valid criticism imo. Superman benefits from having Sam Lane as an antagonistic general foe. Often Clark is cast as the stooge who bends the knee to anyone representing the Stars and Stripes. Seeing him in conflict with an Army General helps to push back against that characterization, which makes him more likable, the same way Captain America is respected for being willing to fight the American military as often as he represents it.

[out of control]

There’s plenty of similar characters at DC and Marvel. Saying “oh there’s a character like this at another company” is not a valid criticism imo. Superman benefits from having Sam Lane as an antagonistic general foe. Often Clark is cast as the stooge who bends the knee to anyone representing the Stars and Stripes. Seeing him in conflict with an Army General helps to push back against that characterization, which makes him more likable, the same way Captain America is respected for being willing to fight the American military as often as he represents it.

Yeah, DC and Marvel rip each other off on such a scale especially calling that ''answering each other'' that it doesn't matter who rips off who anymore because they are the same thing at this point. lol

[exile001]

I enjoyed it enough, but one of the things that stood out to me the most is that Snyder didn't seem the be writing New 52 Superman. It felt nebulously out of universe as a lost Pre-Flashpoint Supes story.

[Vordan]

I enjoyed it enough, but one of the things that stood out to me the most is that Snyder didn't seem the be writing New 52 Superman. It felt nebulously out of universe as a lost Pre-Flashpoint Supes story.

That was the intent. Unchained was supposed to be a more “classic” esque story to contrast with the main books. Think it would’ve been stronger if it starred a “classic” villain instead of an OC, but I understand it was Lee who wanted to create a new villain.