I’m not going to lie, this issue opened with a dream sequence that really boggled my mind, before I realized it was just that– a dream. I won’t spoil it, but it was as if the New 52 hadn’t happened and for a moment, I felt hopeful that the seeds of returning the old continuity (or at least an amalgamation of that and the current one) was on its way. No such luck.
The majority of this issue consisted of a fight sequence between Orion and Superman, beautifully and brutally illustrated by Aaron Kuder.
We have reached the end of the mind-bending Hector Hammond storyline and both heroes, along with Wonder Woman are required to defeat the villain, but things may not be over yet.
There’s a reference to Doomsday on the first page of this issue and I think the fight between Superman and Orion strongly paid tribute to that, with it’s epic scope and huge panels.
The art in general is excellent! It was really beautiful, so I have no complaints or criticisms there. In terms of the writing, like I said I was confused by the opening (and the ending for that matter), but it eventually made sense (well, not the last part, but I’m sure it’s coming). For the most part the story was good. The dialogue bugged me a bit, not because it was necessarily bad, although Orion’s constant exclamations like “Highfather’s beard!” and “Firepits of Apokolips!” were kind of hokey. No, the problem is that neither Orion nor Wonder Woman speaks the same way they do over in her comic. These lacks of continuity have plagued the New 52 from the beginning, though so I guess that’s nothing new. Although you’d think with all the talk about editorial meddling at DC, you’d at least have tighter relations between books. All in all…
SUPERMAN #20
Written by Scott Lobdell
Art by Aaron Kuder
Cover by Kuder and Quintana
