Scans_Daily

Other, better-read skeptics will probably chime in sooner or later, but for now lemme see if I can articulate some of the bigger knocks against this (justifiably iconic) story without embarrassing myself too badly...

* The Reagan-era jingoism gets a little harder to stomach with every reread (not helped by all the heavy-handed comparisons of Krypton to the Soviet Union... yes, I know the place was a hellhole even under Gorby, but implying it deserves to blow up wholesale is kinda... erm...).
* For all that people tend to conflate Reeve's Superman with the wacky/toothless Silver Age, I honestly feel this is what really codified the character's 'golly-gee-whiz, wasn't America swell way-back-when?' image. Even when I first read it I remember being kind of let down by the final issue - Clark's had 20-something years of the most wholesome American life around, why would Byrne even pretend a few minutes of tape from his supposed biological father would change anything?
* The circumstances behind his... employment at the Planet. Using his powers in college football was bad enough, but this? Dick move, bro.
* Byrne's Lex (which can apparently be blamed at least 50% on Marv Wolfman) is actually my biggest beef with this whole reboot, but I'll get to that when we're at #4...

And yet, when Byrne's Superman works, he really works. I can't point to any specific moment for this, but most of the time he simply exudes a sense of... domesticity, I suppose. A sense of warmth and reliability that reminds me there's lots worse fates for a superhero than becoming comfort food.

By the way - would anyone be interested in a repost series for Perez's Wonder Woman, or would Bluefall's old "When Wondy Was Awesome" continue to suffice.