Review: Superman #18 Reveals The Truth By Bendis And Reis
by Tony Thornley
We’ve known it was coming for months now. This issue is finally here, changing Superman forever. In Superman #18, Clark Kent reveals the truth to the world.
Brian Michael Bendis, Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Alex Sinclair, and Dave Sharpe celebrate this milestone issue.
The big moment is here. After months of struggling with the truth, after watching Jor-El tear his world apart, his son blast into the future, and Earth entering a galactic stage, Clark Kent has realized that the truth is bigger than him. And so after telling his closest friends, he tells the world- Clark Kent is Superman.
This issue is a mixed bag. On one hand, the best moments of the issue are the quiet moments. The best by far is a single page, in which Bendis, Reis and Prado show Clark revealing the truth to Perry White in six powerful silent panels. The same goes for the other one on one conversations- Adam Strange awkwardly tries to relate, Jimmy Olsen messes with him, and Lois, once again, is probably the best character in this series as she brings her husband down to Earth. It’s a great meld through the issue of writing and art, giving readers some of the best of Bendis’s Superman to date.
However, the press conference in which Clark reveals the truth is a bit more awkward. The delivery of Superman’s speech doesn’t have the emotional heft that the issue’s earlier moments did. It doesn’t ring hollow, but it also doesn’t feel like the monumental event it could otherwise be. Even the art doesn’t quite click here, as it feels a lot more stiff.
That said though, the first half of the issue is still one of the best Superman stories we’ve gotten in years. I’m excited to see where it goes next.
Superman #18 is available now from DC Comics.
