What would happen if Superman went crazy?

It’s an idea that has always floating in our mind at some point. With a man that has so much power and acts like a god; there has to be some worry that he would turn insane. I’m not talking about villains because the Lex Luthor type is always around with Superman like stories. But to normal civilians and other superheroes; the idea of Superman going insane has to be constantly be thought of. Mark Waid is showing just exactly what could happen if such a thing were to happen.

The starting point of this series really confused me at first. We don’t see a natural progression of this Plutonian going insane and basically turn evil. He’s already killing his teammates, supervillains, innocent people, destroying cities; just basically causing mass carnage. As the reader we get random and little nuggets to suggest how this man went from pure hero to pure villain. It’s all the type of ideas again with Superman; how a secret identity would go wrong, or being a sidekick could screw you over, or just trying to trust the man gets you into hot water. Clearly this man has had mental problems ever since he came into this planet. It keeps the character interesting and menacing but never knowning what truly set him over the top is what keeps me liking this villain.

What we’re left is the seemingly aftermath of the rage. People are trying to pick up the peices and think of a way to kill this man before he does anything worse. Although the characters are not the best concepts in the world; Mark Waid does a great job making us know the background of this universe in flashbacks. In fact I would say this is the best thing Mark Waid has done since 52. Of course a lot of people have been saying that; cause Waid definitely hit a bit of a low point when that weekly series took him out of his game. Just the ‘holy shit’ moments alone in this series makes me want to come back for more. Waid knows how to write a Superman character and you can definitely tell this idea has been floating in his head for awhile. If the issues afterwards are just as great as this beginning (and conor’s pick for issue #7 confirms it) then I am all for more of this story.

I don’t know what the big deal is with the hate for Peter Krause. It’s not that I find this to be the best art ever in a comic, but for some reason he isn’t getting his dues as often as he should. His best talent for this title seems to be his layouts. He definitely knows how to create a scene and make it unique for the audience. Two moments in this issue that totally shows what I’m talking about. Issue #3 beginning of two people helping the Plutonian fetish problem and the final issue’s ending of the Plutonian making his new ‘base’ you could say. Those were the best things about this issue and I don’t think they would be as cool as they were if it wasn’t for Krause’s layouts. Just the poses he does for issue 3’s segment or how the Plutonian throws the rocks onto Singapore is really eye catching. Again it might seem standard for a Superman veteran reader; but there are touches in this comic that makes it a different class of comic.

It’s amazing how this series went from virtually unknown to major superstar in a little over half a year. Maybe it helps that the man who writes this comic is the same man who runs the company who publishes it (Boom!). In hindsight it really is fantastic ideas and writing by Waid; and great artwork by Krause that totally makes this standout from the rest of the indie scene. I am worried, like some, who think this as an ongoing is going to be hard to do. Cause having this Plutonian either keep being dominate or the heroes winning the battle will get old or boring. However, what I’ve read so far is more then enough for me to get excited about the rest of this series run. If you have yet to try this series, then just think of another high praise review for a fantastic new series.