Review: ‘Superman’ #15 Heralds An Ending

Brainiac is perhaps Superman’s second greatest nemesis. Superman #15, the conclusion of the House of Brainiac crossover, may bring that rivalry to an end.

Joshua Williamson, Rafa Sandoval, Alejandro Sanchez, and Ariana Maher bring the war to an end with an eye to the future.

Superman, Supergirl, Lobo and Superboy are racing against time to stop Brainiac from reactivating his queen. They’re going to have to go through every body Brainiac has ever used. Luckily, they also have Lex Luthor on their side.

This single issue is just a thrill ride beginning to end. Most of the story is just a brawl between Superman and Brainiac. The Lex and Lena plotline was interesting, and gave her a lot of depth that she’s never had. Outside of the fight, it’s really just wind down that sets up some interesting ideas for the next several months, outside of the upcoming Absolute Power crossover.

I love Sandoval’s style for Superman and his family. He captures snapshots of the action, almost like a comic version of slow motion. There’s something happening in every corner of the spreads, and the panels all drive the action, no matter the point of view or action taking place in them. Sanchez is a great fit with his style, combining the bright colors of our heroes with the dark and sterile setting and drab greens of Brainiac himself.

Maher gets to have a lot of fun in this issue. She gives Brainiac and Lobo both distinct speech bubbles, she plays with caption styles, and gets to feature characters shouting. None of these ever disrupt the story though.

As for the whole crossover, it did a few fun things but wasn’t perfect. Several characters got a good spotlight- besides Lena, Superboy is particularly prominent, giving him the best spotlight since he returned. Superwoman on the meanwhile we just glimpses. Overall, a lot of fun, but not perfect.

Superman #15 is available now from DC Comics.