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SUPERMAN: UNCHAINED #1

When thirteen satellites fall from the sky in one day, the logical suspect is Lex Luthor—even though he’s still locked up in prison! But a stranger question remains: If Superman didn’t stop the last satellite from falling, who did? There’s a mystery hidden where even Superman can’t see it—Can The Man of Steel drag a decades-old secret into the light?

Don’t miss the debut of this red-hot new series from two of comics’ brightest superstars: SCOTT SNYDER and JIM LEE!

This debut issue also includes a bonus two-sided, tipped-in poster measuring 11.6875” x 18.875” that is part of the reading experience and can be easily removed for display!

Story by Scott Snyder
Art by Jim Lee, Scott Williams, & Dustin Nguyen
Cover by Jim Lee & Scott Williams

Price: $4.99
iFanboy Community Pick of the Week Percentage: 10.5%

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Comments

  1. Avatar photo ghostmann says:
    June 10, 2013 at 2:12 pm

    I can’t wait to see the story that Snyder was able to tale out of Jim Lee’s drawings – cause you know, that’s how it works with Mr. Lee, he draws some shit, you write a story around that shit.

    Seriously though I’m hoping for the best here, if anyone can do it it’s Scott Snyder.

    Oh, and I guess I better buy two copies since I gotta remove that Bonus Two-Sided Tipped-in Poster measuring 11.6875″ x 18.875″ and display it!

    😉

    • Avatar photo ghostmann says:
      June 10, 2013 at 2:13 pm

      tale = tell

    • Avatar photo KillTheG1mp says:
      June 10, 2013 at 3:21 pm

      Same! My LCS is hosting a 75 years of Superman sale this saturday and they’re giving out a free Superman Unchained #1 comic to every customer who buys more than 50$ on that day. Guess I’ll have an extra-copy to rip out the poster and hang it on the wall next to my Man of Steel movie poster hehe!

  2. Avatar photo WheelHands says:
    June 10, 2013 at 2:25 pm

    Alright, you two. Impress me.

  3. Avatar photo microwave25 says:
    June 10, 2013 at 2:37 pm

    I refuse to pay 4.99 for a 32 page comics, poster be damned. This title is just completely taking advantage of the reader.

    • Avatar photo hanson724 says:
      June 10, 2013 at 3:02 pm

      Wow… I was wondering if they raised the price cause its a 1st issue and has Snyder and Lees name on it or has more pages but nooooo they add a poster…a frickin’ poster. I don’t read digital( that might change when my new ipad 4 arrives) but they should at least add a digital copy for that price. $5 bucks “is just completely taking advantage of the reader.”

    • Avatar photo cosmo says:
      June 10, 2013 at 11:28 pm

      Wait, it’s 4.99 just for a lousy poster? Yeah, sorry Snyder, but I’m definitely skipping out on this one . . .

    • Avatar photo deepspacesamurai says:
      June 11, 2013 at 9:42 am

      If you think this is a rip off, stay away from anything Marvel.

    • Avatar photo cosmo says:
      June 11, 2013 at 7:16 pm

      @deepspacesamari: all my Marvel titles are 2.99, except for Guardians which, honestly, I’m hanging around for Gaiman’s entrance at this point.

    • Avatar photo DenverDave says:
      June 12, 2013 at 9:11 am

      I’m out, for a lot of reasons, but something tells me they won’t miss my $5.

  4. Avatar photo GunnerAsh says:
    June 10, 2013 at 2:43 pm

    Haters will be out in force for this but screw them, in Snyder we trust and Lee draws the best Superman ever in my opinion (say what you want about ‘For Tomorrow”s story, but Superman has never looked better). I can’t wait for this, finally a Superman book to get excited about since Morrison’s Action run finished (and even that wasn’t as great as expected).

    • Avatar photo ghostmann says:
      June 10, 2013 at 4:08 pm

      I’m not trying to be a hater, I just still have a bad taste in my mouth from Lee’s Justice League. I also took a look at the so called “preview” for this comic (2 pages worth) and it was pretty much some splash pages with Snyder’s words in some boxes pasted around the edges of Lee’s drawings (albeit pretty drawings). And yeah, I know it was just two pages out the 32, but still, it worries me. I really want this series to be good – Superman needs a good series right now.

  5. Avatar photo saiyanzzrage says:
    June 10, 2013 at 2:47 pm

    never really read supes all that much, pretty much the only arc ive ever read was death of superman (when I first started reading comics)

    I tried to get into Morrison’s Action, but had to drop it after 3-4 issues because it just wasnt for me

    Been trying to get into Superman, so hopefully this is it..the creative team is insane!

    • Avatar photo illusivex says:
      June 11, 2013 at 1:12 am

      I don’t like Morrison either, It was good for about 5 issues or so, and went straight to hell. He left Action Comics on #18.

      Andy Diggle + Tony Daniel took over on #19. Good jumping on point if you wanted to hop back on.

    • Avatar photo monsterduc1000 says:
      June 11, 2013 at 1:01 pm

      Diggle left, Daniel ruined it even further…

  6. BPgunny says:
    June 10, 2013 at 2:54 pm

    To anyone calling the title of this series derivative, please follow this link:

    http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?456811-Superman-Unchained-1989!!!!&p=17158741#post17158741

  7. Avatar photo seanxxo says:
    June 10, 2013 at 2:56 pm

    If I have to pay 4.99 for a digital copy I’ll be so mad (ill still be dumb enough to buy it though)

  8. Avatar photo misterckent says:
    June 10, 2013 at 2:59 pm

    I’ll read this. Looking forward to a great story!

  9. Avatar photo Scarlet-Batman says:
    June 10, 2013 at 3:13 pm

    I WANT TO OWN THIS BOOK NOW!

    In Snyder we trust!

  10. Avatar photo BCDX97 says:
    June 10, 2013 at 4:26 pm

    So instead of 3.99 for 20 pages, which is too damn much, this is 4.99 for 20 pages and a poster?

    Is this DC’s first step in taking on the Marvel pricing model which caused me to drop a ton of Marvel books? Is this the beginning of the end for my collecting DC books? Is this the beginning of the end for my love of comics?

    I have nothing but bad feelings about this book.. Maybe it will somehow be great – but the Justice League issues that Jim Lee drew bored me. His art is very pretty but dull.

    We shall see.

    • Avatar photo Will Magnus says:
      June 10, 2013 at 4:40 pm

      Superman Unchained is 32 pages for $5. In comparison to DC’s average comic, you get an additional 12 pages for a $2 increase (…and the added bonus of a pull-out poster – which, if I understand correctly, nulls the the readability of the comic once you pull it out…you may have to buy two 🙂

    • Avatar photo BCDX97 says:
      June 10, 2013 at 7:31 pm

      So it’s 32 pages with no ads?

  11. Avatar photo Will Magnus says:
    June 10, 2013 at 4:33 pm

    If a comic book company wanted to exploit the hype surrounding the biggest movie of the year, what would that look like?

  12. Janja says:
    June 10, 2013 at 4:41 pm

    Is there gonna be a crossover with Django?

  13. Avatar photo ghostmann says:
    June 10, 2013 at 6:10 pm

    Think I’m gonna throw on Van Halen’s “Unchained” while I’m reading this one on Wednesday….

    “Woo-hoo! Take a look at this!
    Hey man, that suit is you!
    Whoo-whee! You’ll get some leg tonight for sure!
    Tell us how you do! Hoo hoo hoo!
    (Come on Dave, gimme a break)
    Hey hey hey hey! One break, comin’ up!

    Change, ain’t nothin’ stays the same
    Unchained, yeah ya hit the ground runnin’
    Changed, ain’t nothin’ stays the same
    Unchained, yeah ya hit the ground runnin'”

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maQjttazW6Q

  14. sheldon-kerr says:
    June 10, 2013 at 6:13 pm

    I am really looking forward to this book. I haven’t seen much of Jim Lee’s work but I really like Scott Snyder’s writing. Any idea how many variant covers this is shipping with? 10 maybe? 15?

    Also, like others have said, the question is do I spend another $5 on a second copy or not pull the poster out? I’m leaning toward leaving the poster inside….

  15. Avatar photo sitara119 says:
    June 10, 2013 at 8:26 pm

    So excited to have Jim Lee on a book for a year.
    Oh yeah, and that Snyder guy’s pretty good too, I guess. 😉

  16. Avatar photo CaseyJustice says:
    June 10, 2013 at 9:14 pm

    I don’t care about Snyder.

    I don’t care about Lee.

    I don’t care about posters, $5 or whatever movie might be coming out this week.

    I want a Superman book worthy of Superman. I hope that this is it.

  17. Avatar photo TheNextChampion says:
    June 10, 2013 at 9:43 pm

    I must admit I am not a huge fan of Jim Lee. I see the talent and he does have a presence in the history of comics. But he’s never been a guy I go ‘wow’ when I see him on a book.

    But hey this is Scott Snyder doing Superman which seems like it took forever for this to happen. So how can I complain?

  18. Avatar photo cosmo says:
    June 10, 2013 at 11:34 pm

    When this was originally announced, I said, “yes, definitely, very curious to see how Snyder writes Superman,” but not so sure now. I have very little room in my budget for new series, and honestly, I’d rather support Snyder’s The Wake. Plus, if future issues are going to be 3.99 for a regular length story, I’m saying definitely saying no. Still, I am curious about it . . .

  19. Avatar photo illusivex says:
    June 11, 2013 at 1:23 am

    Snyder, the writer of The Court of Owls + Lee, the artist from Batman Hush (Superman is in there a bit) = awesomeness

    Although, I was a bit let down with the ending of Snyder’s “Death of the Family,” and thought Lee’s storyboarding in Justice League was a bit confusing. Eh, nobody’s perfect. So I hope it all works out for the best.

  20. Avatar photo mguy77 says:
    June 11, 2013 at 10:08 am

    Synder Batman & American Vampire + Jim Lee Superman For Tomorrow = you have my attention & I preordered my copy at a great discount.

    Bring on the good stuff!

    Matthew

  21. Avatar photo Hawkboy says:
    June 11, 2013 at 2:19 pm

    I will get this because I want to like it… but I hate Jim Lee’s Superman. It just doesn’t look right (Course the fact I hate the new 52 Superman’s hair and costume might have something to do with my Jim Lee dislike)

  22. Avatar photo adrianrigter says:
    June 11, 2013 at 2:29 pm

    First Sups issue for me since Morrison’s Action. Fingers crossed.

  23. Avatar photo APoetSomeday says:
    June 11, 2013 at 4:47 pm

    I’m gutted that this is gonna cost £4.30 (British money). I didn’t expect it to cost that much.

    I don’t think I want to pay that much for a comic book.

    I was so excited for this and now I’m just deflated.

    • Avatar photo consafo80 (@consafo80) says:
      June 11, 2013 at 6:28 pm

      At Forbidden Planet a $4.99 book is only £3.50. (I don’t work for Forbidden Planet by the way I just get my comics there)

    • Avatar photo APoetSomeday says:
      June 11, 2013 at 6:58 pm

      Consafo80 – You’ve just made me a very happy man.

      I get my books from the Forbidden Planet as well (except that my GF and I refer to it as ‘The Daily Planet’ because I spend so much time there). That’s great news, mate.

  24. Avatar photo mgriffith says:
    June 11, 2013 at 7:33 pm

    Not thrilled by the poster gimmick thingy, not thrilled by the price, but hopeful for this title.

  25. Avatar photo k5blazer says:
    June 12, 2013 at 1:45 am

    Not thrilled by this. Just read it and to me it was yet another Jim Lee ego fest. He got on Justice League with Johns and the book didnt get good until he left. Now Snyder. It seems that he only deigns to work when he gets the top tier writers. But he isnt holding up his end for me. The poster gimmick was foul.

  26. Avatar photo CaseyJustice says:
    June 12, 2013 at 1:54 pm

    Really enjoyed this. Great character work on Superman (and, more importantly, Clark) and his supporting cast. Great action, interesting mystery, and it just… felt like Superman. Looking forward to more.

    But yeah, the poster was a little annoying…

  27. Avatar photo mrmarky says:
    June 12, 2013 at 2:26 pm

    Really liked this. It really felt like a good ole, superman story. Excited about this series.

    Please though, no more fold out pages like that…soooo annoying!

  28. Avatar photo phess1">phess1 says:
    June 12, 2013 at 3:41 pm

    I still love Jim Lee and I really don’t care if you judge me for it.

  29. Avatar photo TonyyyG says:
    June 12, 2013 at 3:50 pm

    Not sure how i feel about this. I want to like it so bad….that slight twist at the end has me on board for the next issue for sure though

  30. Avatar photo RoiVampire says:
    June 12, 2013 at 4:00 pm

    Just for funsies i checked the price of this on the DC app. $4.99 digitally, which is weird because, i might be wrong here, but i don’t think it can come with a poster that way

  31. Avatar photo TomiH says:
    June 12, 2013 at 4:05 pm

    So is that DCnU’s Nuclear Man?

    Unfortunately, I thought everything was fairly uninteresting in this issue, outside of Lex, who’s always fun to read.

  32. Avatar photo Scarlet-Batman says:
    June 12, 2013 at 6:40 pm

    I dunno how I feel about this.

    On the one hand, it was well written and well crafted. On the other hand, it felt like Jim Lee was drawing. I don’t usually have an issue with that but something about the art just threw me off. I can’t put my finger on it either.

    I like the idea of the poster, I just wash it wasn’t physically attached to the comic.

    Story 5/5
    Art: 4/5

  33. Avatar photo kingjoeg says:
    June 12, 2013 at 8:31 pm

    Good…but not great. Interested in this second superman, but it didn’t do anything to hook me yet. I think a good book hooks you in a emotional or personal identity way, where you find life lessons or similarities between yourself and the characters. For me this book hasn’t done any of those things yet.

  34. Avatar photo sitara119 says:
    June 12, 2013 at 8:44 pm

    Awesome. Jim Lee’s pencils are amazing and I think Snyder has a firm grasp on the characterization of of Big Blue. It’s gonna be a good year for Superman and his fans.

  35. Avatar photo BradLWoods3 says:
    June 12, 2013 at 8:56 pm

    The question for me… did it live up to the hype? I had been disappointed by both “Superman” and “Action Comics” since the New 52 began. Only recently was I pleased with “Action” and that was because of Tony Daniel. But off in the horizon was a beacon of hope… a combination of writer and artist worthy of the Man of Steel. This was pretty much what I expected, and that’s a good thing! Sure, Snyder can be a bit too wordy at times, but by the next page there’s a new twist and our interests our piqued again. Lee’s artwork is, of course, a joy to behold. The story raised a lot of questions that I can’t wait to find out the answers to. The foldout poster was unnecessary but a fun bonus. One of my favorite parts of the whole book was actually the interview with Snyder and Lee. I look forward to hanging out with Clark, Jimmy, and Lois for months to come! Oh, and that guy with the big red “S” on his chest, too.

    • Avatar photo seanxxo says:
      June 12, 2013 at 10:04 pm

      I loved this too. I agree that Snyder can be wordy, but for me he does it in a way where it doesn’t feel boring or pointless.
      Also the foldout of Clark flying into the satellite looked fantastic.

  36. Avatar photo player1 says:
    June 12, 2013 at 9:32 pm

    Thinking of getting something at retail again.

    This could be that book.

  37. Avatar photo TheNextChampion says:
    June 12, 2013 at 11:34 pm

    Really didn’t enjoy this.

    Thought Lee’s art was rough in a lot of places. It wasn’t even that he had a ton of inkers to help him either which is troubling. Things just looked to sketchy or not even finished in some places. That and people were mostly posing for the panels and not have fluidity to their motions. Finally you have that totally stupid idea of having a poster, which has story to it, in the very beginning of the issue. You want a poster for purchasing this? Fine, go right ahead. Just don’t make it part of the story! Who does that?

    That and the story doesn’t interest me. I don’t think it’s Snyder fully because this new take on Superman in the New 52 is just plain boring. I hate to say that about Sups but in this case it’s true. Nothing about Superman in this new era interests me and I just don’t care what the story is. I feel like I’m bashing this thing to death but it’s not terrible….Just not what I was expecting. This will be more of a trade wait for me.

    2/5

  38. Avatar photo GunnerAsh says:
    June 13, 2013 at 4:07 am

    Loved it, everything I wanted from the team. Snyder seems to grasp the character well. Total opposite to Bruce but Snyder can write both by the looks of it. Can’t wait for the next issue. 5/5

  39. Avatar photo BCDX97 says:
    June 13, 2013 at 2:32 pm

    The jacked up price on this book has had a bad effect on me – not only do I not want this, or Batman/Superman, or the other books DC will be jacking up to 3.99 soon – but I’m also dropping several DC titles from my pull list this week. So rather than getting an extra buck or two from me this week, DC is going to be getting a lot less bucks from me every week. By the time that 3.99 Villains month comes around I might be done – so congrats DC for driving me away like Marvel!

    • Avatar photo RoiVampire says:
      June 13, 2013 at 6:16 pm

      I feel the same way man. I was excited about this until i saw the price and then found out it was because of a poster. I even looked online at the DC app and it’s still $4.99. No poster and still the same price. Just weird man.

  40. Avatar photo cubman987 says:
    June 14, 2013 at 12:45 am

    I enjoyed this but I have to say, the poster thing was just weird and annoying, the way it was inserted made it so I was afraid I was going to tear it trying to read one of the word boxes. That is not something I would care to see in any future comics.

  41. Avatar photo GL01942 says:
    June 14, 2013 at 3:47 am

    I really enjoyed the story and liked the art work. But I was constantly thinking I’d like to see how Capullo would’ve drawn it. I like Lee’s style, but for me Capullo’s style just has more character.

  42. Avatar photo slickman83 says:
    June 14, 2013 at 4:54 am

    I was so psyched for this series to start and I will give it a couple more issues to gain some traction but god I was disappointed. The story was mediocre and the art! Where was Jim Lee? I love that guy’s art, this was some flat and lifeless work from someone who I don’t recognise.

  43. muddi900 says:
    June 14, 2013 at 9:47 am

    There are Panels where the perspective is broken, where one part of an objects points one place and another to another point. Jim Lee’s reputation as a penciler and all-around nice guy is well deserved, but most of this book is filled some of his worst work.

    Also the villain is Nuclear Man, from Quest for Peace. I have never seen the film, maybe it wasn’t as awful as everyone says.

    • Avatar photo APoetSomeday says:
      June 16, 2013 at 8:05 pm

      Jim Lee really is a nice guy. I was lucky enough to meet him once at a ComicCon here in the UK. This was right around the time he was doing ‘Batman: Hush’ with Jeph Loeb. I seem to remember shaking his hand (though that may be just wishful thinking on my part) and I got him to sign one of my ‘X-Men: The Art of Jim Lee’ books with Gambit on the cover. He looked at it for all of a couple of seconds, scribbled on my book and went back to sketching Batman for some lucky bugger with more money than me as I thanked him. He was very busy, but I still got very strong ‘nice guy’ vibes from him. He wasn’t hurried or dismissive, just busy, but I really felt like he had time for each and every one who queued up to see him (even if it wasn’t a lot). I’d love to meet him again some day.

      On a side note, my friend Dave declined to meet Jim Lee so he could get a signed 8×10 of Holly from TV’s ‘Red Dwarf’. He went with Holly, I went with Jim Lee. Norman (the fella who played Holly) didn’t believe that my pal’s name was Dave! lol

      On another note, I enjoyed the art on this issue, but felt that the story was a little bit undercooked. I like Mr. Snyder, but I don’t think he’s a great first issue guy. His stuff usually requires a bit of patience while it builds to a crescendo.

  44. Avatar photo consafo80 (@consafo80) says:
    June 14, 2013 at 11:46 am

    Overall I liked it but the poster’s just annoying. The backup was a bit shit as well and don’t like that there linking Perrys binoculars to the kid from the begining. Just seems too much of a stretch to me.

    Bonus points for having no adverts though. If the other issues are only 20 pages but with no adverts I’d happily pay an extra dollar (70 pence in England)

  45. Avatar photo DepthsOfTheArctic says:
    June 16, 2013 at 4:39 pm

    This comic was ok, though I myself was a little more happy with the free issue of All-Star Superman. Man, that comic is awesome! 🙂

    • Avatar photo APoetSomeday says:
      July 2, 2013 at 8:20 am

      Yes, yes it is.

      I gave that free one to my Dad (I already have the trade). My Dad grew up on Silver Age Superman stories – and he loved it! He wants to read the rest of it now.

  46. Avatar photo KillTheG1mp says:
    June 17, 2013 at 10:09 am

    Loved this first issue, it’s what I expected to read for a Superman book and Snyder didn’t disappoint. Jim Lee’s art was alright, but not his best in my opinion, though the space sequence at the beginning of this issue was awesome and felt “powerful”. Didn’t like the backup though, as I got confused for a huge second about “Jim” Olsen’s sex… In Jim Lee’s part he looks like a man but in the backup I thought “it” was a girl all of a sudden!

    All in all, that’s what I want from a Superman book! Good job Scott, you delivered!

  47. Avatar photo smo5000 says:
    June 21, 2013 at 11:21 am

    An alright first issue, way too light on story development for the pricepoint. I was hoping I could read the dialogue on the poster without having to remove it but it kinda did that on its own anyway.

    Anyway, what was revealed is interesting and I will be getting #2, I just hope they dont waste pages with another “5.2 questions” interview, that really could’ve been done on ifanboy or CBR and we could’ve got a bit more plot for the $5.

    • Avatar photo IthoSapien says:
      June 21, 2013 at 11:40 am

      I hate to pile on to your disappointment, but that interview was actually also in the Superman FCBD issue so it was pretty redundant.

  48. Avatar photo player1 says:
    June 27, 2013 at 1:58 pm

    This, like much of Jim Lee’s work, is going to look stellar in the Absolute version.

    At least at that size, I’ll be more amenable to reading all that exposition.

    That’s a lot of words, son.

    And I’ve got to take the poster out of the book to enjoy it a part of the story.

    Because it’s covered with yet more words.

    But it doesn’t look like the font is any larger…

    At $4.99? No, and thank you.

    When the public library buys the Absolute version, then I’ll be sure to check it out.

    I’m sure it will be stunning, and all those words and that portfolio-grade art will have room to breathe.

    I look forward to that day, but I’m in no hurry…

  49. Avatar photo daningotham says:
    July 6, 2013 at 11:41 am

    Not a bad issue. I was glad I was able to see the poster without having to actually pull it out of the book as I didn’t want to tear it out. This will be my only issue of the series though. I might pick it up in trade format someday.

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