Guest Post: John Bryne’s Man Of Steel: The Ultimate Superman

By James Quinn

 Despite what the movies would have you believe, Superman has a lot of great stories in the comics that have not been adapted into film such as Superman: For All Seasons, Superman: Man of Tomorrow, Superman: Red Son, and even All-Star Superman. 

However, as well-regarded as those stories are, many of the good Superman stories are stand-alone graphic novels and one-shots. Many of the best superhero characters have good runs: Frank Miller on Daredevil, Dennis O’Neil on the Question, Mike Grell on Green Arrow, Brian Azzorellow on Wonder Woman and many others. Most of the comic book discourse isn’t on the great Superman runs but merely the most famous story-arcs and changes to the lore. 

For this post, I would like to shine some light on what I would consider one of my favourite runs not only on the big blue boy scout, but for comics overall: John Bryne on Superman. 

Brightburn Review: Subverting The Superman Trope

The story of Superman is one of the most well-known superhero origins to ever be told. An alien baby crash lands on Earth and learns the value of humanity, thanks to the love of his supportive adoptive parents. Despite having the power to destroy the world, Clark Kent uses his abilities to save people and becomes a symbol for hope.

And then a film like Brightburn comes along and asks the question “what if Clark Kent was a psychopath who decided to use his powers to do whatever he wanted?” Inverting the Superman trope into something far more sinister, Brightburn mashes together horror and comics into a film that brings a new dimension to the superhero genre.