[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Keith Champagne
Artist: Ed Benes, Tyler Kirkham, Philip Tan
Reviewed By: Derek McNeil
Summary
“A MINUTE LONGER” part two! This looks like a job for…Sinestro?! Thrust into the anti-matter universe of Qward, Superman’s only hope is the former greatest of the Green Lanterns.
Positive
I always find it interesting when the writers switch things up and have the hero face some other superhero’s arch-nemesis. For example, how would Luthor fare against the Flash when all his plans and devices were created for the purpose of defeating Superman?
This issue, we see Superman going up against Sinestro, longtime foe of Green Lantern Hal Jordan. But the main battle is between the Fear entity Parallax and Sinestro. Sinestro wants to recapture Parallax, while Parallax wants revenge on Sinestro – and Superman is caught in the middle.
We also get a look at what Superman fears as Sinestro uses his yellow fear energy to probe Superman’s psyche. At the root, Superman fears being unable to help people who need him: Lois, Jon, complete strangers. He also fears that Jon might turn against him or that he might become a threat himself.
Also interesting is how Superman possibly plants the seeds of revolution in Sinestro’s Thunderers of Qwaard. By acting to save a Qwaardian from being killed, he managed to make that Qwaardian think twice about their blind devotion to Sinestro.
Negatives
While it’s interesting to get a glimpse into what scares Superman, it doesn’t feel like there was any big revelation. The fears shown were all things we either already knew or could easily guess to be things that Superman would fear. Somehow, I feel there was a missed chance to make some profound statement about what could scare a Superman.
Verdict
Even though this storyline wasn’t produced by the regular creative team, it still came back to the theme that Tomasi and Gleason have established for this series: Superman as a family man. Bad things happening to Lois and Jon that he can’t prevent or save them from are his greatest fears, as they are the center of his world.
