The Man of Steel #4

Amongst all the changes and big news surrounding DC's comics and movies right now, I hope that Bendis and Superman will stay constant for awhile. Read Full Review

And then? After that? The regular series starts! And man, I can't wait for that. Read Full Review

The ending is very abrupt, which was probably the intent. That would be more of a problem if the next issue wasn't coming in seven days. I'm enjoying this mini series and Bendis is crafting it in a way that the story doesn't feel stretched out. I'm ready to see where he takes us on this ride next week. Read Full Review

Bendis does a marvelous job pulling together multiple themes from his previous issues to make this story feel connected. Read Full Review

Bendis has, in just 4 issues, placed his mark indelibly upon this title. It remains to be seen how he will handle a long run on Superman, but he is off to a respectable start. Read Full Review

One of Bendis' strengths as a writer is knowing how to build tension in the story, and there's a lot of that in evidence here - and I really like the way he writes Superman, as a smart, caring hero. Read Full Review

This mini-series never ceases to amaze me nor does the work produced by the art teams that have worked on it. Read Full Review

Loving The Man of Steel as much as we are? Let us know on Twitter @HeroesDirect! Read Full Review

Man of Steel finally hits its stride as issue four sees Superman and Rogol Zaar finally collide. Having both hero and villain in the same city finally balances the uneven feeling of previous issues. Read Full Review

So far Brian Bendis has succeeded in creating a Superman miniseries that is fun for all varieties of Superman fans, despite some detractors I've heard overwhelmingly positive things, it even passed the crabby comic store person test, my buddy at Arcane Comics in Seattle who usually hates everything has even said it's pretty good, which is a test not many books pass. Read Full Review

While this miniseries still feels a bit too decompressed for my tastes when you get down to it, Man of Steel is providing a good look at how Bendis views the character, his role in the scheme of things, and how he applies his abilities to the challenges at hand. Read Full Review

There are some persistent hiccups that need to be ironed out, but I'm still intrigued by everything Bendis is doing here, and I'm excited to see how the final third of this series plays out. Read Full Review

Man of Steel (2018-) #4 brings the action and suspense! Brian Michael Bendis' story will not disappoint, as it leaves the reader with an agonizing cliffhanger, sure to bring them back for the fifth issue. Read Full Review

In The Man of Steel #4, writer Brian Michael Bendis's decompressed style of storytelling finally catches up with the events of Action Comics #1000, which he and Jim Lee presented back in April. That alone makes this week's issue the best of this plodding series, although Kevin Maguire's gift for visual storytelling helps keep the pace up even on the (few) pages that nothing is happening. Read Full Review

All in all, the newest installment of The Man of Steel may be Bendis' best issue to date for the title. It shows Superman as a character made out of flesh and blood all while being enhanced by Maguire's art. Read Full Review

The Man of Steel has been an excellent title so far with a fast-paced story, some nice twists on the Superman mythos and, of course, the genuine threat Clarks new adversary presents. Save for a few minor blemishes in some random panels I have no problem recommending this series to Superman fans both old and new. Read Full Review

Mr. Oz? Solar flares? Superman being unscathed after the Action Comics ending? Hmmm. Still, as a middle chapter, it did what it should do. Moved things along. Gave me action. And hooked me with the ending. Read Full Review

Bendis and the entire creative team continue to build on their foundation for this new era of Superman, by focusing on insightful character moments, exciting action and beautiful art. Read Full Review

There is some great dramatic tension in this issue leading to an interesting conclusion to the issue, but the story gets slowed down by exposition that could have been better served being cut to round out the third act. Read Full Review

So far, I've just not been a fan of this version of Bendis' storytelling. It has everything to do with the non-linear plot jumps combined with time skips before the story has established a stable situation. Sure, I can appreciate a refreshing new approach to storytelling; however, without narrative build-up and necessary exposition, I felt like a pinball bouncing around through the first few issues of this arc. Read Full Review

Some terrific punch-em-up action and some slivers of story progression don't elevate this past the other issues in the series so far. Indeed, much of this issue is given over to Superman learning things we already know. The mystery of the whereabouts of Jon and Lois deepens, but not by much as we do learn who took them away in Clark's successive flashbacks. Still a fun book, but it's definitely starting to feel like a placeholder now. Read Full Review

The run is just getting started and it is already something Bendis should be proud of. Read Full Review

This issuesartwork is a little too polished for my taste. Its good, but the textures seemso smooth and refined that it seems there is little variance. Everything seemsto have a disco-like sheen to it. I dont know if it Maguires artwork or AlexSinclairs coloring, or a combination of both. Either way, I dont care for it,but your mileage may vary. Read Full Review

The final pages are the only real moment of solace for me. Issue #5 is the start of the final act of this saga, and I really hope that after all the build up we can let loose. I want to be excited about this new direction, but it's hard when I don't have much to latch onto other than a good internal monologue. Read Full Review

Overall, The Man Of Steel #4 is a very strong comic. Bendis and Maguire are able to lay out a great, kinetic action sequence that also shows Superman for the type of hero he is, one who is always thinking as hes punching, trying to make sure his battles dont affect the city and people hes sworn to protect. The reveal will probably make sense in the long run, but it feels a bit cliche and lacks the menace that it seemed to be building towards. Bendis is giving readers an entertaining Superman and moving past a lot of the deficiencies in his style. Hes not completely past them yet, but The Man Of Steel bodes well for his future with Superman. Read Full Review

The action is the selling point of Man of Steel #4, but while that is entertaining and the visuals are engrossing, Bendis is dragging out the story with no further depth into Rogol Zaar's character and the mystery surrounding Lois and Jon's absence. Those aspects are getting a little tiresome now that we're past the halfway mark, but Bendis' characterization of Superman still works. Hopefully the final two issues will be a little more interesting and revealing. Read Full Review

Man of Steel #4 is a huge nosedive and sees a lot of the Bendis tropes make a grand return. Read Full Review

While lacking in the art aspect, the series continues to fulfill the need of action and emotion. Read Full Review

Man of Steel is a frustrating work. The Fabok page reveal has been teased out for so long that it almost feels like a non-event when it happens because juxtaposed with the threat of Rogol Zaar, there’s no good indication of what it really means. Pacing, pacing, pacing. That remains the issue with Bendis’ writing, because he’s not balancing plot and character work at all. And it’s starting to feel like the reward for readers’ patience won’t even come in this miniseries, but rather in Action Comics #1001. Read Full Review

Visually Man of Steel #4 is a triumph, but it will never be accused of being a substantial reading experience. Read Full Review

Man of Steel #4 isnt outright bad, but its barely passable. The art is subpar, the story is told awkwardly, and the stream-of-consciousness thought captions are hard to follow for the reader. I can recommend it if youve loved this miniseries as much as I have and are just dying to see what happens next, but, if youve only been lukewarm on the story, this would probably turn you off completely. Read Full Review

Man of Steel is past the halfway point, but it's done little to present a compelling plot. Read Full Review

Maybe this story will play out better in a collected edition. However, as it is right now,The Man of Steelis not worth the hype and certainly not worth picking up every week for a month in a half. If you're wondering if you should justwait for Bendis'Action ComicsandSuperman stories, you can rest assured that you're really not missing too much over here, aside from some enticing cliffhangers every now and then. Read Full Review

The on-going subplot regarding what happened to Lois and Jonathan continues to drag on in the typical Bendis fashion, with no resolution in sight, though the artwork by Jason Fabok is fantastic. If this is what we are to expect from Superman comics from now on, the future is looking bleak for The Man of Tomorrow. Read Full Review

Chip Chipperson

Jun 20, 2018

Loving Bendis' DC work so far. Was a moderate fan of his early work at Marvel but started getting stale towards the end. This seems like he's so refreshed. I've never looked forward to a new Superman issue hitting the shelves more than I do now!

Nihilist

Jun 20, 2018

While writing definitely was kept on a good level, I can't ignore the quality drop when it comes to art. Some panels look decent, others, unfortunately are very mediocre, to the point one features pixelated background, and other blurred face on the foreground. It shouldn't be a thing in a major series like Man of Steel. Rogol Zaar shined on the very last two pages of the issue, and I wish we could see him interacting more with our heroes. He sure is an interesting baddie, one that Bendis is taking time developing. As with previous issue, though, the weakest point would be Kara - for now, she doesn't seem to have any personality and purpose. I'd like that to change, the sooner, the better.

egonnn244

Jun 20, 2018

Superman faces off against Rogol Zaar who seems to be energized by Earth's yellow sun. Supergirl tries to help, but she is no match for the killer of Krypton. Throughout the issue, just like with the previous ones, we see Superman's internal monologue as he analyses situation he is in and tries to come up with some solution. I really like this monologues. They show that Supes thinks before he acts and is not all about the punching. Also, he seems to be really traumatized by what happened to his family. This issue for me is a little weaker than the previous ones due to some iffy dialogue and uneven art (except Jay Fabok pages, he is always great). And the ending of this issue. Just damn!

Simon DelMonte

Jun 21, 2018

The internal monologue by Supes and the action sequences by Maguire make up for an abrupt ending and a somewhat underwhelming appearance by Hal "too busy to be in the League" Jordan.

mrDovydas

Jun 20, 2018

Story continues to be decent but the artwork was absolutely not up to par with what we had before. Still, there's nothing to actually make me want to pick up any of the Superman titles after this mini.

Soul Assassin

Jun 20, 2018

Poor art through half of the book. Felt very filler and short.

MKW69

Jun 20, 2018

Possibly the best issue.

SloboSOY

Jun 22, 2018

So yes we kind of already had read this story. For those who take the Action comics 1000 at least. But that wasn't a bad repetition. I find interesting to see Clark strategy & make sure he don't fall in his adversary trap. I also love Hal been this dumb (But I'm not a fan of Hal jordan). I'm less worried about Supergirl. I'm don't find the logic (If we skip the fact this is a superman title) that Rogol seem to focus more on Clark than his cousin. And I really really dislike the end ... The kind of Bendis move I was worried from the beginning. So bad he did that. That was even not really well construct & hard to understand. At first I jump to the conclusion their was some kind of truth between them and clark will betray some of his friends. I'm also not fond of Jor El return. I would have preferred a future superman. I would have loved Bendis forget this Jor El exist ! Cover - Well this is more a passion kissing than a last one. So nice but not in link. 1/2 Writing - Bendis did great before doing well what he always do ... Screw us. 2/3 Arts - The choice of artist wasn't the good one. The battle was bad. Supergirl at the end seems more stone than sad. 2/3 Feeling - Disappointed but just by the end. Before that was not bad at all 1.5/2 more

Ken b

Jun 23, 2018

Pretty boring issue but was a good buildup for the next. The artwork was absolutely terrible and it ruined the comic for me. How does this artwork get published when there are hundreds of hungry artists that can actually draw a decent comic.

Spock's Brain

Jul 04, 2018

This isn't bad, but it isn't very interesting either. "Man of Steel" is kind of falling flat for me. The villain (Rogor Zaar) is kind of a dud, and, despite Bendis' arrival, there doesn't seem to be much of a point for this series. It's like just another Superman story, not something really warranting a mini-series delivered weekly. It's pretty flat.

Jon Comics

Jun 23, 2018

This issue of The Man of Steel drags. Bendis’ weaknesses take over in a repetitive story with not much relevant happening. There is a problem with the art too. This is the big battle with Rogol Zar, but Kevin Maguire is not good at battle scenes, so the art is clumsy and anti climactic, and the action becomes confusing. This should have been an epic fight, but it’s rather boring. The past 3 issues have been solid so this might just be a temporary bump. However, it’s cause for concern, as Bendis coming on board cut short both Peter Tomasi and Dan Jurgens stellar runs on the character

daddyT

Jun 22, 2018

the art took a dive and so did the writing and dialog. sometimes there just seem to be sentences out of order. making no sense at all. is Steve Orlando writing this? and for all we've seen, and for most of this issue, its just Rogol beating brutally on Superman and Supergirl. Then he just leaves. Yeah. Really? Later, Superman finds him at the fortress and they just talk. Yep. Until the explosion cliffhanger ending. Oh, and finally... the part with his dad. The same dad from not long ago. But now he's the one who came in issue#1 in that blinding flash of light. And yet they didn't know him? Jon doesn't know if he should call him Grandpa? And he came for Jon. this is just fucking stupid.

Spacey Medicine

Feb 05, 2019

Clark?? Dad, what is that?

RBL

Jun 21, 2018

The points it gets are solely for the art and colors. bendis continues his usual methods of ignoring any and all continuity and characterization, showing it to its fullest extent here. Jor-El was for all accounts destroyed by presumably Dr. Manhattan in the Mr. Oz arc, yet here he shows up as if he had mended fended fences with his son when in their last encounter they were fully opposed. By the time of Jor-El THERE WAS NO INTERPLANETARY TRANSPORTATION IN KRYPTON, this is FACT. But since it does not let bendis tell the story he wants, continuity be damned. Also, Hal Jordan acting as a by-the-book GL? Has he ever read one of his books? Doesn’t seem like it. As far as the villain goes, other than a terrible design, it’s pretty ha lf-hearted for something that irrevocably changes a key element in Superman’s backstory. The worst part of this book however is the undue praise it is receiving. Art and colors are the only good things about this book, the writing is atrocious. more