Superman has always been the world’s greatest superhero and this comic collection really proves that point. The Showcase brings a lot of Superman comics and we get to see if he’s a team player or not. If you know Superman, then you’ve probably already figured out the answer to that question. Regardless, it’s a really fun read and it’s worth every dollar that you used to buy it! (Unless you check it out at your local library)

There are a whole bunch of comics in this collection so I won’t go in detail about all of the various plots, but I will make sure to cover a lot of them. Let’s start off with some of the Mongul issues as those always had the best fight scenes. Usually we try to save the best comics for last, but I’m going to flip that around and talk about some of the best ones first!

In one comic, Mongul has appeared and he takes Superman’s friends hostage. Superman doesn’t like this, but unless he does what Mongul wants…they may not make it out alive. Superman is forced to fight with the Martian Manhunter to get the device that Mongul wants. Martian Manhunter is a good fighter, but we can agree that he’s no match for Superman. It’s a nice fight and Superman is doing his best not too badly injure the guy.

Supergirl comes to help during the next part of the arc and the two of them fight against War World! I don’t really buy most of what happens, since they should be able to run rings around such an object. None of the weapons on board should really be able to do a thing against the Kryptonians.

Things get really dicey when the Spectre stands against an enraged Superman. While the Spectre is pretty powerful in the DC world, I think we both know who’s going to come out on top. Superman is the greatest comic book character and I do mean that literally. No other fighter can hope to defeat him in battle.

Mongul isn’t the type to give up and he has another arc where he has allied with the Sun Eater. He’s ready to destroy the world, but we’re not going down without a fight. Superman is trapped in a cube, (Classic plot hax. Make an indestructible object and trap Superman in it. Only problem is that I don’t buy it) so it’s up to the Justice League and the Legion of Superheroes to save the day. One of the only problems with the issue is the fact that the Legionnaires are implied to be far superior to the Justice League. Did they forget that Green Lantern is a member? The Legionnaires are definitely powerful, but let’s keep it real folks. The Justice League are the best! (Especially considering that Wonder Woman and Supergirl were both around at the time. The 3 bigshots are all they need…and that’s not even counting Batman!)

Mongul is definitely impressive and aside from fighting all of these guys, he still has Superman to contend with. He’s definitely a resilient fighter and he is easily one of Superman’s strongest opponents. He had yet another appearance during the Starman team up. Once again, Superman is forced to take the Titan on while Starman takes on his safer task. Mongul puts up a pretty bold fight and the comic hints that he may be able to defeat Superman. While I wouldn’t go that far, he makes for an excellent villain.

All right, let’s talk about some of the comics that don’t feature Mongul. Black Adam is the main villain of one of the comics and he is ready to give Superman a big fight. Shazam is in his own world and he doesn’t realize what is going on, so it’s up to Superman! Superman is virtually invincible, but Black Adam possesses a similar degree of power so it won’t be an easy battle. Superman explains that the battle will last a very long time and it could definitely be hard to minimize the damage. The battle is pretty intense and you need to remember that Black Adam is a very powerful opponent and he can give Superman a good battle.

We also have an issue where Shazam and Superman have switched powers/costumes and they must now team up against King Kull. It’s a pretty intense issue and while you may not agree with everything that happens, it makes for a solid fight. Superman never gives up and this issue proves that he’s a dedicated hero.

Superman also teams up with Plasticman in one of the issues. Plasticman’s sidekick is definitely a solid character and he takes things into his own hands during the ending. While you may find it hard to believe that ordinary joes can take Superman down, it certainly adds an element of danger. This occurs again during a Metamorpho team up, where Superman is nearly taken down for good after a single energy blast.

Superman had an interesting comic where he split apart from Clark Kent. When they’re separated, Superman quickly starts to turn towards the dark side. Can Clark get him back on track before all is lost? Kent has bigger problems to worry about as well, when he has to take on the Atomic Skull without his powers!

Finally, I need to mention one of the highlights of the whole collection, Superman’s epic battle against He Man! He Man is known as one of the strongest guys out there and you really can’t disagree. Many have speculated that Superman could defeat him in a fight and I wouldn’t disagree with that either. Unfortunately, Superman looks like a rookie for most of the comic, but he still gets his shots in. Superman’s raw power is hyped a lot in this comic as it should be, but once Skeletor takes control of him…is this the end for He Man!?

There are several other comics, like a team up with Hawkgirl, Black Canary, Manbat, Robin, etc. They were all great or at least good comics except for one team up with Wonder Woman. The plot was awful and didn’t make any sense at all. There wasn’t any rhyme or reason to the comic and it seemed to be total filler. The comic is so bad, that you’ll just want to skip it and you won’t miss anything anyway. It’s the only thing that hurts this collection, but it will go by quickly.

The art is pretty solid for the collection. It’s regrettable that it’s all in black and white, but you can still appreciate the art. Superman’s character is portrayed very accurately for the majority of the collection and his partners look good as well. The pacing is solid and the comics manage to fit in a lot of action as well as fun scenes.

Overall, this is definitely a collection that I would recommend. This is DC during the prime of their history and you can really feel the emotion that’s in every comic. Superman is definitely strong enough to hold his own and it’s also nice to see some of the more obscure comic book characters get in on the action as well. It’s a solid way to start reading comics and get a look at DC’s best superheroes!

Overall 8/10