The House of El is Re-United in Superman #11

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Brian Michael Bendis is uniting a family that has been divided for so many years.

***CAUTION: SPOILERS AHEAD***

While Batman has enjoyed spending time with his "family" for many years, Superman has typically run solo. It something that's always seemed to separate the two. As Batman leans heavily on his ensemble cast of characters, Superman isolated himself by dealing with his problems alone.

Which is completely opposite of what you'd expect. Batman is the brooding vigilante and Superman is the family loving boy scout. Now, under the guidance of Bendis, Superman is in a fight for the future of his family alongside his father, son, and now his cousin!

As Rogol Zaar is being cemented as one of Superman's greatest enemies by being more unstoppable and relentless than Doomsday, with General Zod's strategic mind, the Man of Steel can no longer go it alone. Even though he has tried. In SUPERMAN #11 he finds his father, Jor-El, trapped in a triple threat match between the Trillium Collective, Khunds, and Thanagarians. As he attempts to sort out the mess before anyone gets killed, Rogol Zaar (recently escaped from the Phantom Zone) enters the fray.

With his son by his side, Superman attempts a cease-fire to try and sort everything out. Which works until Zaar interrupts his efforts. Zod, who at one point opposed Zaar, has now allied himself with the destroyer of Krypton as the two of them attempt to kill Kal, Jon and Jor-El.

Until a couple of surprise guests appear, to turn the tide of battle! As though it were an intergalactic WWE match scripted by Vince McMahon himself, Supergirl and Krypto jump into the ring to save their family and turn the tide of battle. Rogol Zaar has been terrorizing Superman since Action Comics #1000 and now, with General Zod at his side, they'll have to defeat Jon, Jor, Kara, Kal, and Krypto!

Bendis is purposely weaving a tale that unites the House of El (much like the story is titled) and I hope they don't drift too far apart afterward. Superman deserves a close-knit family, much like Batman has had for years. And while Batman's family has a lot of in-fighting, they still find themselves working together.

Something Superman has been lacking for quite some time. It's exciting to see the House of El re-united and I hope the trend continues.

Not to go unnoticed, but Artist Ivan Reis and the rest of the creative team behind SUPERMAN is really crushing it. Over the course of Bendis' run, we have gotten so many cinematic splash pages of Superman doing Superman things. He deserves to have the camera pulled back a bit so we can see the full scope of his abilities and Reis has done a phenomenal job capturing it.

If you are a fan of Superman and have always looked forward to seeing him interact with his family. This is the series you should be reading. Now is the time to get caught up, as SUPERMAN #12 looks to be the culmination of everything building up to this point.

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Grade: 
5.0 / 5.0