Superman Homepage

Mild Mannered Reviews - Specials

Majestic #4

Scheduled to arrive in stores: November 3, 2004

Cover date: January 2005

Writer: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Artist: Karl Kerschl

"Reality Check"

Reviewed by: Neal Bailey

Mr. Majestic, doing battle with the Daemonite, realizes that it is a leftover scout from the war, and that it must have come through The Bleed, the same as Majestic did.

He tosses the Daemonite, which lands in Ellen's house. Inside, Ellen screams.

The Eradicator arrives, and Majestic winces, hurt from the battle with the Daemonite. But Eradicator, instead of attacking, swings past and starts attacking the Daemonite.

Eradicator tells him to help, if he has any hope for this reality...

Majestic remembers a similar situation. As a young man, Daemonites attack as he and Elan walk. He attacks without mercy, slashing a Daemonite who takes the form of Elan. Elan sees it, and their relationship ends. She realizes that his cause is that of war.

Eradicator explains that when Majestic rewrote his biology, it attuned him to everything, and that he knows the creature and its nature. Further, he knows that the creature has been totally corrupted by the bleed.

They punch the Daemonite at the same time, and press the attack.

Eradicator explains that the creature is rupturing space-time, and will destroy a five square mile area if they do not stop it.

Meanwhile, Eli is stuck beneath a beam, his leg hurt.

The monster slams Majestic, who watches in horror as behind the creature, a hole is ripped in the fabric of space-time. Majestic realizes that at home, because he is trapped on Superman's Earth, the Daemonites could be running wild, and he could go through and cut them off at the pass. But then, five miles of humans would die. But then, millions of his own people could die.

Majestic ponders.

He remembers how Elan reacted, how she left him because he was callous, even if he was right, how sometimes, a life here or a life there, you have to make choices with your heart. He looks at Ellen, again sees the parallel, and starts attacking the Daemonite with a renewed vigor, throwing it into the rip.

Eradicator is nearly pulled in, separated into multiple selves, but they manage to hold. The threat disappears.

Eradicator thanks Majestic, telling him he knows the sacrifice he made.

The next day, they rebuild Ellen's house, and Superman and Eradicator show up to help and thank them. Majestic asks what's brought them... and that is to be continued in the new series.

Story - 5: Top to bottom, this is my pick for the best story of the year I've reviewed, hands down. Even Public Enemies, while a total blast, had an air of an event to it. This is just a full blown, well written, great story.

The Eradicator switching sides was your classic resolution no one can see coming. The choice between going back to his homeworld and saving Earth had a consequence, because it could really go either way.

And the resolution is complete on almost every issue. We don't see this whole series as a prelude to the series, though as a prelude, it is great.

There are few books that when you go and ask the comic book shop guy about them, he tells you no one says that it sucks. This is one of those series, just like when Abnett and Lanning did Supes.

You'll note that I have little to say, that's because this story just did everything so remarkably well. When the critic is silenced, that says something about the affair.

My only complaint is that there is not more, and now. Abnett and Lanning and Kerschl have not only won a fan, but a devotee, in a very critical reviewer.

Even down to the fact that though I can't remember names to save my life, there is a cue to remind us who these fairly new characters are every now and again, not just the assumption that we know who they all are with no definition and a reliance on the "cool" factor to move things along (see JLE).

Art - 5: Even my sole complaint, which I keep joking about, the nose, is noticeably improved. Everything else just continually one-ups itself. The feeling of tension when Eradicator swoops in, it's executed well.

The fight is very plausible. It's hard to draw two guys hitting another guy at the exact same time and pull it off, and yet it did.

The action was incredible.

Open it and look at that first page. Kerschl is just great. Even the tint of the coloring receives great attention in this book, with blue for present, red for past, and red and blue where the past meets the present.

Effects are well used but not over-used, and the whole thing smacks of what I want on a regular Superman book.

Cover Art - 3: I don't understand, this is Ed we're talking about here! Last cover he sort of blew it, and this cover, too! The pose is awkward, the look on the face strained, there's no background, the coloring is rather bland and tries too hard, and to top it off, it's something that doesn't even occur in the issue! It's sensationalism to sell the book, which I guess is okay in some cases, but it would be better if there were a question mark instead of an exclaimation point, "MAJESTIC VS. THE ERADICATOR?"

Then we could at least say this is a hypothetical and symbolic cover about the anticipation the reader has, but no, it advertises something that doesn't happen.

Still, it's bold, that's for sure, which saves it from a two, and even the worst McG cover knocks a lot of professionals right out of the water. It's better than most, but not up to McG snuff.

Mild Mannered Reviews

2005

Note: Month dates are from the issue covers, not the actual date when the comic went on sale.

January 2005

February 2005

March 2005

April 2005

May 2005

June 2005

July 2005

August 2005

September 2005

October 2005

November 2005

December 2005

Back to the Mild Mannered Reviews contents page.

Check out the Comic Index Lists for the complete list of Superman-related comics published in 2005.

Mild Mannered Reviews - Specials

Majestic #4

Mild Mannered Reviews

2005

Superman Shorts

New Superman Merchandise at DC Shop – Classic Covers, Smallville and Metropolis Collections

Superman Hot Wheels Cars and Trucks