Superman: Space Age #3 – Mark Russell, Writer; Michael Allred, Artist; Laura Allred, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: It’s been over six months since the second issue of this epic trilogy, which means the entire thing calls for a reveal. I thought the first two issues were among the finest DC comics since Kingdom Come and The New Frontier, which meant this final issue had an enormous barrier to meet in order to finish the story. Does it pull it off? I’d say yes… almost completely. This is a Mark Russell comic, and maybe the finest of his career. I said that the first two issues largely eschewed his pointed political commentary, instead making a more subtle point about how to make the world a better place. This issue definitely has some more of his trademark angry satire about the state of the world and how we got here, primarily in the character of Lex Luthor.
But hanging over the entire plot is the ticking clock that has been set up from the start—Crisis on Infinite Earths is coming for this world, per Pariah’s warning, and this world and everyone in it will be consumed. Brainiac offered a twisted way out, but the Justice League fought back and Hal Jordan paid the ultimate price. Now, John Stewart has taken his place on an expanded and much more ambitious League, but Superman still feels he isn’t doing enough. He makes a fateful decision—just as Lex Luthor is finally able to flex his influence enough to get out of prison and attempt to take back the world from Superman’s influence. Luthor is hilariously over the top at points, but Russell does a great job of showing how for some people, having everything still won’t be enough.
The only area where I have to knock off a few points on this finale is the Batman subplot, which introduces a more tragic version of the Joker that seems to indict Bruce Wayne—giving him a Tony Stark-esque tragic story. It’s an extended and grim subplot that takes up a lot of space in an issue that has to bring a close to one of the most fascinating alternate universes I’ve ever seen. The visit from Pariah in the beginning raises the stakes, and then the last twenty pages take us on a wild journey as Superman pulls off the ultimate feat and makes an unfathomable sacrifice to ensure his world lives on. This issue had a few more hiccups than the previous two as Russell brought it in for a landing, but the whole story will go down as an all-time classic.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
