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Flashpoint: Project Superman #1 Review, by Marc Alan Fishman – Snarky Synopses #11

July 10, 2011 Marc Fishman 4 Comments

Flashpoint: Project Superman #1

Written by Scott Snyder and Lowell Francis

Art by Gene Ha

At this point, I’m not going to lie. My comic purchasing has been inconsistent… and because of it, my contributions have been scatter shot to you, my MDW friends. That being said, I do hope you find it in your heart to forgive me, and read on anyways. I promise, for all the weeks I miss, my bile boils that much harder, making these reviews as snarky as you can find anywhere on the interwebs; Barring of course, Michael Davis, Mike Gold, and any other folks here.

So, where where we? Oh yes, deep within the weeks of the weak Flashpoint epic-crossover-smokescreen-until-the-reboot-in-September. Because I’m a glutton for punishment, I opened my heart and mind once again to a new #1. Given the limited lifespan of these micro-series, I figured this book was as safe a bet as I could muster. Scott Snyder is currently one of the best writers in the DCU. And Gene Ha? A phenomenal talent. I figured with their combined pedigree (bolstered by my loving Detective Comics currently, and my owning all of Top Ten, amongst other Ha projects…) Project Superman had the potential to be a gleaming treat amongst a pile of rotten meat. But much like the titular everyman this book follows… potential doesn’t equal entertainment.

The story, stop me if you’ve heard this one, is about a good-natured soldier who volunteers to be all that he can be. And, gasp, once given powers, slowly moves down the path towards villainy. Or not. It’s not quite clear by the end of the book. Now, I know I’ve been riding this “predictability” train on Flashpoint week after week, but after sloshing through this book, I’d be remiss if I didn’t hop aboard once again. Here the DCU has the opportunity to turn itself on it’s ear, and offer us completely new takes on characters, events, plots, et al. Instead, it dusts off the old stalwart conventions of the elseworld sub-genre, and beats them to death. Want to see a classic hero go over the edge and become a cliched anti-hero? Why not try Batman: Knight of Vengeance! How about the hero turned super villain? Dive into Emperor Aquaman! I could go on, but well, you know all this by now. And Project Superman, again with all the potential of being something truly new, is marred with the tropes we’re so used to. The titular Project Zero (who could give Barry Allen lessons in blandness) is given superpowers, and his drive to always be better (for no discernible purpose other than because the plot demands it) makes him become more powerful and less human with each and every test. No offense, but Project Zero is one blue wang short of a Dr. Manhattan, if I ever saw one.

Lowell Francis wrote the actual script here, with Snyder helping on plot. While I admit I’ve not read anything else by Francis thus far, I must declare my wish that Snyder perhaps was the one to write the dialogue. The scripting here is stiff, and is bogged down with cryptic witticisms and military pseudo-science, topped with a pinch of unnecessary allusions to other books in Flashpoint I’m not reading. For example, take this bit of the then-non-super-powered protagonist, said shortly before his transformation. “I’ve got a motto picked, a zen proverb or something… Attachment leads to suffering. I gave up my old life for this chance… … The chance to be a hero.” Yup. Nothing makes me get behind a superhero more than knowing he has no ties to the real world. He commits to the Jedi code, and shortly thereafter becomes a super-powered nobody. His powers? Name any of them, he has them. Throughout the second act of this comic, he seemingly gains new powers simply because he wants them. They throw larger murder-robots for him to defeat, and poof, he has x-ray vision. And so, it becomes obvious he’s losing his humanity. Gasp. Really? He gave up his old life, so he has nothing to lose, and suddenly he’s an inhumane monster? What a stretch! Project Zero’s response to all this power is as predictable as it is boring. He decides to “push even harder, to be what they want me to be.”. Except no one really says what they want him to be. Add a scene of him doing a typical military operation (drop in, kill X, save Y), and then cut to it typically going wrong (he killed his entire team by accident?), and we’re back at square one. A ‘hero’ we have no emotional attachment to, with powers that we don’t quite have a grasp of, who we have to commit to read about for 2-3 more issues. Oh, and then Metropolis is hit by a meteor shower, and Superman’s super bassinet is found amongst the wreckage.

The only spark of greatness to the book is Ha’s art. His figures are varied, and well rendered. Where his cover is awash in meticulous detail, his interiors are stark and easy to follow. Compositionally Ha knows when to scale back to enhance the reading. When a background is called for, he channels an almost Geoff Darrow level of detail, and as a reader we can’t help but gush a little. Ha’s command of facial expression shines here as well. The first page captures our hero’s emotional state perfectly;  An uneasy mix of confidence and fear of the unknown. He wants to help his country. He’s willing to give up all ties to the material world. But he’s still human. Shortly thereafter, we see with his new powers and pumped up body, a new nearly-brash sense of power. Artistically speaking, the book is as cool as Kim Deal. Sadly though, Ha’s normally amazing design prowess is under-utilized. The Project Zero super-suit is just a black unitard. Combined with a “seriously, is that Goku from Dragonball Z” haircut,  soured any level of visual interest in the book’s central character. Ha’s art here is great, and certainly proves to me he should be doing more monthly interiors… but the script he has to work with simply doesn’t allow him to flex the muscles he’s used so well in his previous work.

I wanted to like this book, strictly based on the creative team alone… but it’s hampered by a bland-as-matzoh script. It reduces the book to yet-another-issue #1 that seems to revel in it’s cryptic nature for no good reason more than “hey, you need the rest of the series to have this make sense, kiddo”. It’s inability to push the envelope even a centimeter past where we’ve all been squashes that chance quicker than a speeding bullet ever could.
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Marc Alan Fishman is a digital artist, writer, and co-founder of Unshaven Comics. When Marc isn’t knee-deep in graphic design, he’s also a contributor to ComicMix.com, an occasional stand-up comedian, as well as freelancer extraordinaire.

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Comments

  1. Martha Thomases
    July 11, 2011 - 6:25 am

    Not to go all Pollyanna on you, but I’m enjoying the Flashpoint spin-offs. I like Elseworlds, What-Ifs, and Imaginary Stories (because, as Alan Moore reminds us, aren’t they all?).

  2. Marc Alan Fishman
    July 11, 2011 - 8:08 am

    Martha,
    I welcome everyone’s opinions. It’s what makes comic booking so much fun. Flashpoint isn’t without merit at points. I DO love Elseworlds stories (like Red Son, Gotham by Gaslight, etc.)… It’s just when they attempt to shoehorn stuff like this into continuity… it grinds my gears.

  3. Mike Gold
    July 11, 2011 - 8:51 am

    Gene Ha’s work is almost as great as his massages. And like you and Martha, I enjoy the Elseworlds stuff. And perhaps these stories would be better served if they ran ’em as TPBs instead of miniseries. And IF everything is ending, then continuity really doesn’t matter.

    This Superman one reeks of “why bother.” Neither the concept nor the execution are clever in the least. I liked Deathstroke #1 because it had some clever ideas — piracy with contemporary ships, Deathstroke vs Warlord. And (SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER!) I like the idea of Martha Wayne being the Joker. That’s cute.

    So that’s, what, two good ideas across 24 issues.

  4. Marc Alan Fishman
    July 11, 2011 - 8:56 am

    And that’s just what really rubs my rhubarb about this whole thing Mike. Where Marvel is presently reveling in the utter fun of Fear Itself (if only in the MAIN series, not the 100 tie ins)… DC seems to be running out the clock here. All these tie-ins are just shelf filler until the star wipe, and they read just that way. A few novel ideas, yes, but at what cost? They would have been better served making these elseworld TPBs instead of a time-wasting epic event. Sigh.

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