The Man of Steel 5: Finding Your Potential

Get the Penultimate Issue!

Man of Steel, Part 5

Creative Team

Brian Michael Bendis - Writer; Adam Hughes & Jason Fabok (pp 8-11) - Artists; Adam Hughes & Alex Sinclair (pp 8-11) - Colors; Josh Reed - Letters;  Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Sinclair - Cover; Jessica Chen - Associate Editor;  Michael Cotton - Editor; Brian Cunningham - Group Editor; Superman Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster; Superboy Created by Jerry Siegel; Supergirl Based on the Characters Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster; By Special Arrangement With the Jerry Siegel Family

DC Comics' Solicitation

Beaten by Rogol Zaar, his city burning at the hands of an unknown arsonist and the secret of what happened to Lois and Jon drawing closer to revelation—even Superman feels powerless against all that stands before him.

Finding Your Potential

As in Man of Steel #4, we continue to get a trickling of answers to the mysteries being set up throughout the series.  Here we learn what Rogol Zaar's endgame is as well as what Jor-El wanted with Jon.  At this point, I believe the current threat of Rogol Zaar is what it seems to be, but I am still skeptical about Jor-El's motivations (if that is even really him).

The issue begins with Superman flying Rogol Zaar to the moon, where they have a massive fight.  Superman is badly beaten and is left for dead.  Fortunately, Supergirl finds him and brings him to a medical facility where he can recover and brainstorm answers.  Finally at the very end of the issue, after hearing all sorts of theories from his friends, he goes to the Earth's core, where he finds Rogol Zaar, about to swing away with his battle ax.  When he told Superman that the Kryptonians had to be cleansed, he means that in order to ensure his intended ends, Earth must be destroyed!  His hatred runs so deep that no one should be allowed to survive.

Meanwhile, the mystery of Lois and Jon's disappearance is a little clearer after we learn that Jor-El intends to take Jon on a journey through the cosmos to discover his full potential.  He claims that he is being denied this potential by staying on Earth and not being adequately prepared by Clark and Lois.  Both parents tell Jor-El no, but Jon decides to disobey them and go with his grandfather.  The last couple of panels in this story line lead us to believe that Jon and Jor-El are gone.

I am not necessarily buying that this is truly Jor-El, Father to Kal-El.  We have seen this man before, during "The Oz Effect" arc where it is revealed that he was the mysterious Mr. Oz who had been working in the background since DC Rebirth kicked off in 2016.  Ever since the reveal, this character has never really seemed like the Jor-El we have known from Superman's classic origin story.  That does not necessarily mean it isn't him, but something just seems off.  I am not sure Jor-El would be so cold as to rip Jon out of his home in order to teach him.  If this proposition is true, it could be a great experience, but you would think the Last Father of Krypton would have a bit more empathy for his Son's family.

That all being said, I do not blame Jon for deciding to go.  The promises made by his supposed grandfather offer a great deal.  From his perspective, it is a chance of a lifetime that will only make him stronger in terms of powers and personality.  Likewise, we are intended to do great things through our God who gives us strength.  In John 15:16, Jesus says,
"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you."
We have been chosen to be God's friends and children.  He calls us to love each other, and that he will give us what we need.  Unlike the mysterious claims of Jor-El, we can rely on this promise from our Savior!

What did you think of this issue?  I would love to talk about it with you.  You can comment below, or find me @behindthecapes on Twitter, or by liking the Behind the Capes Facebook page.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Superman 40: Science v Religion

Image
"The Last Days Part One" Story - James Robinson,  Pencils - Doug Mahnke,  Inks - Jaime, Mendoza & Scott Hanna,  Colors - Wil Quintana,  Letters - Rob Leigh,  Cover - Viktor Bogdanovic with Mike Spicer,  Variant - Jonboy Meyers,  Associate Editor - Jessica Chen,  Editor - Paul Kaminski Initial Reaction I am a bit conflicted about this issue.  There are some very strong character beats for both Superman and his son Jon, especially in the beginning.  However, the book makes some choices near the end that seem uncharacteristic of the Big Blue Boy Scout.  Let's dig in. The Story We open our story in the Fortress of Solitude, with Superman searching for Jon.  He is wanting to show him a holographic simulation of the destruction of Krypton in remembrance of the anniversary of the day it exploded.  This is a great father and son moment, with Superman being touched by the fact Jon calls it his home planet.  Mu...
Read more

Superman 41: Hope Will Prevail

Image
The Last Days:  Part Two Story - James Robinson, Artist - Ed Benes, Colorist - Dinei Ribeiro, Letterer - Rob Leigh, Cover - Viktor Bogdanovic with Mike Spicer, Associate Editor - Jessica Chen, Editor, Paul Kaminski Initial Reactions I am still conflicted about this story.  The inhabitants of Galymayne are shown in a more sympathetic light, and we even see that this planet's destiny is more like Krypton than what we initially thought.  In the end, there was some really good "Superman" moments in this issue, but the tail end of this book left me disappointed. The Story Our story opens up with Superman and Jon battling the inhabitants of Galymayne.  Then we flash back to Superman, Jon, and their lone ally Klain (the only scientist on the planet) frantically making their way to his lab.  Klain is sure that the militia is already there, ready to take them in.  The readers are reminded that Galymayne is full of religious zealots.  In fact, we lear...
Read more

Aquaman 36: Taking Down a Tyrant

Image
Get your digital copy here to get the full story! "The Assassination of King Rath" Creative Team:    Dan Abnett - Writer, Riccardo Federici - Artist. Sunny Gho - Colorist, Steve Wands - Letterer, Stjepan Sejic - Cover, Andrea Shea - Assistant Editor, Alex Antone - Editor, Brian Cunningham - Group Editor, Aquaman Created by Paul Norris DC Comics' Solicitation:    "Aquaman and the resistance hatch a new plan to assassinate King Rath and end the Atlantean Civil War! But even with a double agent strategically placed inside Rath’s inner circle, the resistance may not stand a chance, as Rath’s new magical abilities make him more lethal—and unstable—than ever before!" Taking Down a Tyrant This issue revolves around two central themes, the morality of assassinating a tyrant as well as what it means to be consumed by evil. The latter is something we have wrestled with for a few issues now, and it seems like the author is really building this as a central p...
Read more