Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Final Crisis Superman Beyond #1 of 2
DC Comics
Morrison, Mahnke, Alamy

I’m torn with this issue. On the one hand I knew what I was getting into with reading a Final Crisis tie-in, not having read Final Crisis Main. However, I hit the jackpot with Rogues’ Revenge and Requiem as I thought they were among the best comics of the year. Being the big Superman fan that I am and with the added gimmick of 3D how could I not push my luck a third time? I should have walked away from the craps table because this issue confused the hell out of me.

Let me begin by saying the 3D scenes were outstanding. I don’t know how they did it, but I found the 3D to excellent on every single page it was used. The cover looks awesome, the double page splash of the multiple universes I could stare for an hour and not get my fill from it. The 3D art is just simply amazing. However, you need a story too to get a good grade on your geek goggle report card.

The issue opens simply enough with Clark at Lois’ bed side. She is dying and he is keeping her alive with his infrared massage. A woman shows up and convinces Clark to leave to help her save the multiverse. She tells him she will stop time to prevent Lois from dying and that when he is successful in helping her she will make sure Lois is cured. Superman goes.


Final Crisis Superman Beyond #1 (of 2)

There are so many problems with this in this issue I am dizzy. Clark doesn’t even ask this woman her name. Clark doesn’t recruit someone to watch over Lois like Supergirl or Batman or Green Lantern. I have a huge problem with Clark leaving. It’s against everything he would do. He doesn’t even ask her how she would be cured until he walks away from the bed! He doesn’t just fly off head first. Sure, Final Crisis may sew some of this stuff up but reading just this issue I wouldn’t know about it.

We then find out the mystery woman has recruited other Supermen from other universes. I don’t know any of these incarnations of these characters, but I found them to be pretty cool. I liked this concept, sure it might not be new, but it was new to me and I thought it was clever.

Eventually they end up in limbo and then the story fell apart for me. There was some book with endless amounts of pages occupying endless amounts of time that they were trying to read and then steal. Character names were being thrown around that weren’t present that I didn’t know and things started blowing up. There was some weird narrator from above talking about Magnification. Turns out the mystery woman was a vampire. I mean this story lost me in a major way in the last eight pages.

Some of the items within the last few pages didn’t even make sense based on what was presented within the story. Superman comments that they cant touch each other or else both parties would die, yet he touches Captain Marvel and all that happens is that he turns into little Billy. Also, Superman’s monologue comments about going to limbo and is that what happens when we die. Hello, Superman actually did die already. He can probably answer that.

Look, I wanted to love this story. I expected to love it, but this story was totally wrong for me. Maybe if I were reading Final Crisis I would get it and be totally happy. Maybe I wouldn’t, but this story doesn’t make me want to a) read Final Crisis or b) read the second issue for this series or c) want to read another tie in to the series.

For all I know this story may be awesome, but if every fan of Superman (or of much of the DC U for that matter) can’t read this and “get it” then who exactly would this be targeting? I’m not sure who I can recommend to this title to. I would think only Final Crisis fans will be into it, but I’m not sure. I would check it out for the 3D images though if you can find for cheaper than the $4.50 cover price. Proceed with caution on this one. Mad props on the 3-D magic.

2 out of 5 geek goggles