Marvel Icon
Mark Millar, writer
Leinil Yu, artist
*** mature content warning ***
The title character of this book may be named Superior, but it is clear that he has more than a passing similarity to Superman, especially the character as portrayed by Christopher Reeve. Therefore, it is no surprise when you get to the last panel and find a dedication of the story to Reeve and Richard Donner, the director of Reeve's debut as the Man of Steel.
Even if you aren't a fan of Reeve's portrayal of Superman, this is still a fun, engaging read, collecting all seven issues of the limited series. Millar's story is set in the real world where superheroes are characters in comics and on television and movie screens. Superior is a once-popular comic-book hero who also anchors a dwindling movie franchise, much to the chagrin of the actor most known for playing the character because he can't get any other work. But Superior still has fans.
One of those fans is Simon Pooni, a teenager recently struck by multiple sclerosis and all of its worst debilitating symptoms. Simon, once a decent athlete, has now lost touch with many of his friends because of his illness, and wishes that he was once again free of the ailment. One night, Simon gets his wish courtesy of a mysterious monkey who transforms him into his hero, Superior. The transformation of a youngster into an adult hero might seem to have more in common with Captain Marvel (now Shazam!), and there are some fun elements of the story that play up that aspect. But again, the main parallel here is to Superman, even down to a female reporter who is determined to get the story on the sudden appearance of the world's first bona-fide superhero.
The only caution I might add involves the language which gives this book a mature content label. Several of the characters are 12-year-old boys, and they swear quite proficiently. I don't think the language was an absolute necessity, but I also can't find fault with Millar's use of it here. In the absence of adults, this is how many young kids talk.
Leinil Yu's art works well in this story, too. I've criticized his work on Indestructible Hulk as being a bit muddy and hard to follow in early issues of that title. There are still a few panels here that suffer from that same over-rendered problem, but by and large, the character faces in this book are much cleaner, causing fewer issues of that nature.
*** SPOILER ALERT ***
I was also a bit surprised by the direction the resolution of this book took, but I can't really talk about that with revealing some pretty major spoilers, something I usually try to avoid. Stop reading if you don't want the plot of this book spoiled.
The motivations behind the monkey, Ormon, transforming Simon into Superior are kept a mystery at first. Once they are revealed, a religious aspect is introduced, which is rare in superhero fiction. In fact, the religious angle becomes a pretty important part of the story. Based on that, when the final conflict is introduced and Simon is forced to make a choice about keeping his new abilities and persona or going back to his old life, I expected the religious theme to still be a major factor. Basically, Ormon is a demon after Simon's eternal soul. Granting the boy these powers is the bait, and all he has to do to keep them is sell his soul. To further entice Simon to keep Superior's powers, Ormon also transforms the neighborhood bully into one of Superior's arch-rivals from the comics and films. When Simon ultimately chooses to keep the powers of Superior, it is not for his own benefit, but rather to stop the death and destruction being caused by the villains. His choice to sell his soul and keep the powers at first delights Ormon; this was his ultimate goal after all. But I fully expected things would work out OK for Simon because his selfless act -- opting to forgo his own soul's protection in favor of saving others, Simon's sacrifice -- would protect him from his soul being damned forever. That would be the logical conclusion to the religious aspect introduced into the story, I expected. Instead, while the end result of Simon being spared and Ormon being thwarted was achieved, it was done through superhero rationale, not religious. It works in the context of the story, but seems a little disappointing, too. Why introduce the religious aspect, then not follow through on it? It's a minor quibble, but it bugged me.
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