Bizarro is back. But he’s not the simple reverse Superman he’s always been. He has a new tool in his kit.
Magic. One of the few weapons Superman has no defence against. The artificial being tells Superman how, six weeks previously, he found himself on Zerox, the Sorcerers’ World. Reacting to Bizarro’s attack on guards at a magical stronghold, the planet’s most powerful mages combined forces to strike back.
It turns out that being Superman’s opposite, Bizarro isn’t just able to resist magic, he’s adept with it. Before he headed to Earth, a crash course in spellbinding ensued. Which is why the expectation of the citizens of Metropolis that Superman will see him off as speedily as usual proves very wrong. And by the end of this first part of a multi-issue tale we see just what a threat Bizarro’s magic is.
I wasn’t excited by the solicitations and publicity for the issue, speaking of a darker, scarier Bizarro. I’ve seen that a few times and had no desire to see it again. But writer Jason Aaron’s Bizarro isn’t presented as a monster, he’s the classic misunderstood soul, but sick with grief. He’s lost Htrae, the Bizarro World.
What a great idea. We’ve see how characters vanish from reality in crises, why not a whole world? Why Bizarro survived, we’re not told… maybe he was offworld, perhaps unknown cosmic forces – don’t mention Perpetua – wanted him to be alone. Whatever the case, I can buy it.
And the idea that Bizarro doesn’t just resist magic, he can wield it, makes plenty of sense. As does the way he finds to ensure clearer communication with Superman… it’s good to be reminded that Bizarro isn’t stupid, he simply has a different perspective on life.
Hopefully by the end of this three-parter – the first of a year-long plan to fill Action Comics with ‘superstar’ creative teams – Bizarro will get his world back. I’m not too worried for the Sorcerers’ World – sure, Bizarro routed the wonderfully named War Wizards, but whenever DC drops into the 30th or 31st century, there it is.
Aaron’s Superman is recognisable as the great guy he’s been under superb recent regular writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson. The Man of Steel is full of compassion, his first reaction being to reach out to an antagonist. And Lois is as smart and supportive as ever.
I didn’t realise Aaron was such a fan of DC history, but this issue hints that he is – not only do we get Zerox and various magical Easter eggs, there’s an update on the Silver Age’s Flying Newsroom.
I’ve never seen the citizens of Metropolis warned a super-battle is incoming, that makes sense… as does the blasé attitude of many people. I guess they all have ‘I survived Doomsday’ t-shirts.
Something that did confuse me is a reference to Lois.
Eh?
I really like that Aaron eschews the ‘anything but an omniscient narrator’ approach writers have had for the last couple of decades. We’re not in Superman’s head, we’re not reading a diary entry, or a recording by Kelex – nope, here we have unashamed, very effective captions from no particular perspective. It’s refreshing.
John Timms follows his stint on the Superman: Son of Kal-El series with the more prestigious original Superman book and I’m very pleased to see him here. He’s a good, dynamic storyteller, very familiar with Superman’s world by now, and he hits all the story beats with style. A lot of the issue involves Superman and Bizarro talking and fighting in the air, and Timms does a tip-top job of conveying height. The fight choreography is terrific, and Bizarro looks suitably scary.
Colouring Timms, Rex Lokus makes Bizarro properly chalky and adds to the mood throughout, from the weirdness of Zerox to the gorgeous skies of Metropolis.
And the letterer is… I don’t know, someone forgot to include a credits page, the only names I have are those on the cover. It’s pretty sloppy for the first issue of what’s meant to be a prestigious year-long experiment from editor Paul Kaminski’s office.
The back-up strips we’ve had recently have gone, so there are no longer 40 story pages for $4.99. Nope, for the same price you get 30pp. Oh DC, you are spoiling us.
Mind, you could even shell out an extra dollar for one of the variant cover copies. Me, I’m very happy with John Timms’ colourful scene.
All in all, this is a strong start to Aaron and Timms’ turn at the Action Comics rudder. I’ll be back next time.
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 
“And the idea that Bizarro doesn’t just resist magic, he can wield it, makes plenty of sense.”
I’ve got to disagree. Bizarro is a product of science, and shouldn’t be able to defy magic any more than any other clone, unless Kon-El can also do the same? It’s poor writing.
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Superman seems more vulnerable to magic than other heroes so I’m guessing Bizarro is more powerful when it hits him.
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Last bit, I promise. 😉 If we’re going the opposite route, than Bizzaro should be weak, slow, fragile, etc. I understand that Aaron wants to write a magical Bizzaro story that he believe is clever, but magic isn’t a “weakness” for Superman a la Kryptonite. If that were true, Harry Potter could slap Kal-El up and down the road with his broom. My displeasure noted; I yield to your wisdom.
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I’m not sure that being created by science means you can’t wield magic in the DC universe. I don’t know if the Homo Magicus thing still stands in this version of DC, but my impression is anyone can wield magic, they just need to know how to or have access to an artefact that will allow them to. I think Superman himself could wield magic (which I wonder if anyone’s ever played with that? I don’t remember it but it seems like it could be a fun story). And in terms of Superman being susceptible to magic, it is sort of poetic that the reverse Superman would be good with it. So I’m not sure that counts as poor writing but I haven’t read the issue. (I don’t think Kon-El has ever been shown as particularly susceptible to magic but then I lost track of him when he started wearing a t-shirt and lost his joie de vivre.)
Haven’t read this yet myself as while I’ve really liked work by Aaron in the past, I didn’t last long on his Avengers and was worried he’d run out of ideas, so was waiting to see how people liked it. But this is one of several positive reviews I’ve seen so very tempted to give it a shot!
Stu
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I think I have a vague memory of Superman wielding magic, as a big surprise moment, but when, WHEN? Watch me wake up in the night when my unconscious works it out, fall asleep, and forget again.
Kon-El and magic doesn’t ring a bell, I guess it’s not been a thing.
I gave up on Aaron’s Avengers pretty quickly, the team mix wasn’t for me.
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I have to say that it seems like a slow burn but I’m getting excited about Jason Aaron being at DC and assuming he/they have some big plans. Going way back to Jack Kirby, it’s always at least interesting if not great when a writer so associated with one of the Big 2 switches over and starts working with the other’s characters. My main experience with Aaron was his Avengers run. And as a looooooong time fan (back to the mid-1980s) I was generally very impressed with him. So we have him dipping his toes in with a Batman mini and essentially a Superman mini. These have got to be just appetizers. Really curious what is next? A Justice League relaunch maybe?…
-Brian
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I wish someone would remember that the JLA should exist! I’d try an Aaron series.
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Bizarro has been ridiculously “opposite” since the beginning, though at least his abilities were more consistent with Superman’s. Then they weren’t, so I give it all a pass. It’s always been a little futile to debate just what opposite means at any given time.
I was happy to see Action not only get away from the Superman Family (I really didn’t get into it past the first issue), but get a star writer as well. I’d be more enthusiastic with the finished product if the first Dawn of DC Superman story hadn’t been about turning everyone into the Parasite. And here Bizarros.
-Siskoid
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I do like it when Bizarro has cold vision and flame breath and the like… but what’s the opposite of flying? Not being able to fly? Or flying upside down… I think we have seen that.
I’d forgotten about the Parasite plague. How embarrassing!
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