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shieldbearer's review
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
2.0
From a technical standpoint, I can't really say there's anything wrong with the plot or the character development. All of my problems with this book stem from the fact that it's an inferior retelling of Kirby's Fourth World Saga, except centered on Superman and done in such a way that it really kinda ruins the characterization of everyone involved. Literally everyone. If you're a Superman fan, you might like this a lot more than I did. If you're a Fourth World fan however, unless you really, really want to see some good interaction between Orion and Lightray, it's probably best you steer clear. Their friendship being intact is maybe the only characterization choice that isn't completely off base.
Ultimately, I'd give it a three except the ableism around Scott's character arc knocks it down another star.
Ultimately, I'd give it a three except the ableism around Scott's character arc knocks it down another star.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, Murder, Torture, Violence, and Xenophobia
Minor: Child death
Ableism- sheesh. Scott Free loses the use of his legs, and then proceeds to act like that makes him only part a person, then sells out everyone else for a chance to use Metron's Mobius chair. Violence- superhero combat and people dying on page. Not gory, but as it's a comic it's visually depicted. Blood- not a gorefest, but there's blood shown when characters die on page. Torture- Superman is tortured on page, but it's very tame, and most of the visuals involve his escape. Grief- in addition to grieving New Genesis, there's a couple short scenes where Orion grieves High-father, and another where he grieves Lightray. It's not a heavy narrative theme, but it's present. Emotional Abuse- Superman, Scott Free, and Barda are all raised on Apokalips and brainwashed to live in service of Darkseid. Death of parent- Orion's adult father Izaya/Highfather dies peacefully on page. Murder- Lightray, Metron, and other unnamed characters are killed on page. Xenophobia- discrimination against the "bugs" of New Genesis is a plot point, but a very minor one with the characters changing their ways and the protagonist admitting he was wrong with no attempt to excuse himself. Child Death- one of the Forever People is killed on-page. They do not look like a minor but if you know the characters, you know.
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