Superman and Doctor Fate clash with Xanadoth in Superman #24, by writer Brian Michael Bendis, artists Kevin Maguire and John Timms, colorist Alex Sinclair, and letterer Dave Sharpe. This was an okay story, but it felt like too much set-up for a surprisingly shallow tale.

Basically, this issue shows the reader more about why Agent Bissette was in possession of so many mystical artifacts- Mr. Bones made her the DEO agent in charge of that. From there, the book goes into Fate and Superman battling Xanadoth. Fate figures out a way to stop Xandoth. Together, he and Superman are able to beat him. Agent Bissette is freed from Xanadoth’s control, Doctor Fate volunteers to talk to Superman about his problems, and that’s about it.

It feels like Bendis put a lot of work into this issue and the previous one, but seeing as how it’s just a mediocre story, that effort feels wasted. It’s not a bad story, it’s just the whole Xanadoth thing just feels like a means to an end. Xanadoth is revealed to be one of the original Lords of Chaos, and it wants Fate’s Helmet to gain more power so it can spread chaos. It’s all very cliche and feels sort of tacked on like Bendis felt like the story needed to have a villain, and he hadn’t created a mystical villain for Superman yet. What’s worse is that Xanadoth talks like a cliche Bendis character and is a bit too snarky.

The weird thing is it would have been way more interesting of a two-parter if it was just Superman Doctor Fate talking about Superman’s current life, maybe using magic to look at events in the past or something and how they made Superman feel. Bendis usually doesn’t have a problem leaving action out of an issue to do character work, so the fact he added this part to the story is kind of mystifying.

The art, though, is excellent. As usual, Kevin Maguire does a great job with just about everything. He draws some so-so demons, but other than that, everything else is pretty good. John Timms only draws the pages that have to do with Agent Bissette, and they’re pretty good. His style is reminiscent of Jorge Jimenez, and it looks pretty good. Maybe soon he’ll get a whole issue.

Superman #24 is kind of mystifying, which should be a good thing for a magic story but isn’t. It’s sort of cliche and could have been more interesting if Bendis went full Bendis on it instead of tacking on an action plot with a new villain that is lackluster at best. The art is pretty good, so there’s that. It’s not a terrible comic, but it’s nothing special.


Grade: C