I finally got to check out one of Superman’s recent comic titles and it’s safe to say that Unchained lives up to the hype. It’s too bad that it couldn’t have kept going on since it was certainly on the right track to fame and fortune. Snyder does a good job of depicting Superman and we get a very good amount of action. It’s easily one of, if not the best Superman stories that I have read and you can make a strong case for this actually being the best comic book of all time. I’m not going to go quite that far yet, but it is certainly awesome.

For the plot, Clark Kent no longer works at the Planet. He’s finally just getting to enjoy life and everything seems right with the world. Unfortunately, a terrorist organization has been getting pretty active lately and that keeps Superman pretty busy with nuclear strikes and their other forms of mayhem. It wouldn’t be so bad if the government didn’t continue to get in Superman’s way, but that’s just how it goes this time. They have an ace up their sleeve in the form of Wraith. Wraith is a mysterious figure who has been helping the government from the sidelines for decades and his powers are comparable to Superman’s. Superman’s going to have the fight of his life on his hands, but luckily he has Batman and Wonder Woman to back him up considering how many dangerous situations continue to pop up.

First off, the art is really good here. It’s easily some of the best in the business. The only parts of the comic where the art looked off was in the flashbacks, but for some reason that was actually intentional. It was drawn with a lack of color and it doesn’t work very well. Next to the colorful fights, it just doesn’t work. Luckily, this is pretty rare and the rest of the art easily makes up for this. It looks dynamite and a lot of attention was given to all of the details. Superman’s display of his x ray vision is a good example of this as his eyes turn blue. It’s a small detail that is appreciated as you read the issues.

As this is the Deluxe Edition, there are a lot of bonus covers at the end. You may have been surprised at how thick the volume was and that’s why. A good 20-30 pages are spent showing us a lot of fun covers. They’re pretty cool and it’s always enjoyable to see the retro ones that had such interesting plots. We also get the director’s cut for the first comic, which is pretty fun as well. I would have preferred that for a comic with more action, but it was still pretty neat.

You’ll be glad to know that the characters are portrayed very well. Wonder Woman gets less of a role than Batman, but she still gets a good hit in and there’s nothing that will make you question her character. Batman looks awesome right from the start. “If you’re here to intimidate me, then you’re wasting your time” is one of his better quotes. Another good one arises when Wraith lets Batman know that there’s no way that Superman can detect the villain’s presence thanks to how he can control his energy. Batman’s reply is essentially, “Good, now he can’t save you” and it’s pretty great. I always like to see Batman looking so confident and awesome. He holds his own against Wraith for quite a while and that is an extremely impressive feat. I also liked his new suit and Batman’s ring invention worked perfectly. If Batman had some more prep time, things definitely could have gotten dicey for Wraith.

As for Superman, I was not surprised that he also looked really good. We got a flashback to show how heroic he was even as a kid. He was always ready to help someone and he would never take a life. In the present, he constantly makes sure not to cross the line and he’s very confident in his abilities. Not in a rude way as he is sometimes portrayed, but just in the way that a commander has to be confident. Superman’s genius is also displayed at times and he doesn’t mindlessly punch his way through things. The author shows us how Superman sees a situation and it’s pretty cool. He’s always analyzing and thinking of possible solutions to a problem as he approaches it. Superman’s easily my favorite comic book character and when he is portrayed like this, there’s nobody who’s even close. If only Man of Steel could have used this storyline for the film to show off Superman’s heroics.

Wraith is the big villain and I’m sure that you’ll find his mere existence to be a stretch. How did nobody notice him in the last 75 years right? He can turn invisible, but it’s definitely something that you will find hard to believe. Well, we’ll just let that slide this time and look at him as a character. Wraith is not a likable “hero” but he makes for a pretty good villain. He snaps rather quickly, but I suppose that we didn’t expect him to keep up the facade for very long. It does make his final appearance a little sudden, but at the same time, he is still committing to his role as a soldier. He wasn’t made aware of his race’s plans and protecting the Earth in his way is still Wraith’s main mission. It’s too bad that he was so stubborn since he really could have been a valuable ally to the heroes. That being said, one should never cross Superman. He is said to be a little stronger than Superman, but I naturally don’t buy that. Once they battle in an even playing field, Superman proves who the stronger warrior is. Superman’s a master of hand to hand combat so his super abilities are definitely not his only asset.

The supporting characters are also present of course. Lois looks pretty good as she takes chances, but she is pretty reasonable once she is thrown into dangerous situations. She also helps out a little when the army ends up going nuts. Jimmy is around, but his role is pretty sad. He just can’t stay away from trouble. Lex Luthor also looks as sadistic as you would expect and he admits that Superman isn’t half bad when the man of steel cannot hear him. Lex definitely makes for a pretty interesting villain and he is typically one step ahead of the other characters.

If anything’s a little dicey, it’s the fact that the government seems way more powerful than usual. Since when do they have the ability to casually fire black hole bullets and energy blasts that can even cripple Superman? They were apparently organized for such a battle, but getting the tech is just unbelievable. It’s ironic that the government always looks good when they are about to face a superhero, but then they crack once an actual villain appears. If their weapons are this good then they should have defeated Darkseid and the Aquaman villain. Of course, this is a mini series so you can say that the continuity is a little dicey, but it’s just an example. Things would be so much different if the government was this strong. They were actually defeating Superman, which I still find hard to believe.

On the bright side, it did give Superman an excuse to don his Superman Prime outfit. Now that was an awesome moment and I think I speak for all DC fans when I say that we miss the guy. Superman Prime was just so intense and his outfit was definitely a keeper. Once again, I do have to reiterate that no matter how much tech the government had, there’s no way that they should be able to defeat Superman. Superman’s speed should be able to totally outclass their tech and the battle would be over before it even started. That doesn’t happen, but Superman still fights on to the bitter end so it was handled rather well compared to how it could have ended.

Finally, there was one main reason above all that made this comic not just good or great, but amazing. It wasn’t the incredible writing, the dynamic art, or even the fact that Batman got to be so awesome. No, the clinching factor was the amazing fights that we got. The whole trade paperback is loaded with action and the fights between Superman and Wraith are definitely the highlights here. They get punched across cities and continents. You never want to take your eyes away from the action for a moment. The series may have been quite a few issues, but you’ll find yourself just blasting through the whole collection because you can’t tear yourself away. I haven’t read something this enjoyable in terms of action in a long time and now it’s time for the big question..is this the greatest comic of all time?

Before now, that title would go to either the Secret Wars or X Sanction. Both of those are great comics to be sure, but I have to say that this one tops them both. It shouldn’t come as a surprise considering that I still do prefer DC to Marvel. Adding in the fact that Superman is the main character here and it’s a no brainer. It’ll be almost impossible to top this collection and I don’t see such a thing happening for a long time. It’s really too bad that Unchained ended so quickly, but we got a great ending and a really fun ride. Thus, I can safely say that I am satisfied with it and I highly recommend checking this volume out. If you wanted to see a likable Superman and a comic that fits in a lot of action while still having great dialogue, this is the comic for you!

Overall 10/10