Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Jamal Campbell
Cover Artist: Jamal Campbell
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: StoryBabbler
It’s the night of the Parasites! Superman must face an entire swarm, no, a horde of Parasites that spawned from his old enemy, but as he tries to find a solution he stumbles upon another terrible discovery: the Parasites are mutating in the air! What’s more, they got Lois and everyone else at the Daily Planet. Read Superman #3 to see how the Man of Steel ends this terror before all of Metropolis is consumed by Parasites!
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Review:
So, the worst-case scenario has happened: Superman has become infected with Parasites. However, the comic doesn’t dwell on that for too long, bit of a missed opportunity, to be honest. It would’ve been cool and dramatic to see how Superman deals with not only his friends at the Daily Planet being infected, but also how he keeps himself in check as he begins to transform too. However, in exchange for that idea, the comic strongly focuses on the other story beat that matters as Superman goes to the one person in Metropolis who can help him: Lex Luthor.
The comic follows Superman and Lex Luthor teaming up to stop this attack of the Parasites, with a little extra help in the form of Livewire. Together, the two hatch a plan that will not only draw out the original Parasite, Rudy Jones, but also help end this night of horror before Metropolis and all of its people become a living nightmare. What helps the story is how Superman and Lex Luthor come up with a solution that’s not too crazy, weird, convoluted, or needlessly overcomplicated and is based on clear sound logic that any reader can understand. It feels like a solid desperate plan that allows for the main characters not infected to each play some role in stopping this nightmare, including Parasite himself.
From there, the comic would steadily develop the storyline concerning Superman and Lex Luthor. You don’t feel like you can fully trust Luthor like Lois does, but this comic, let alone the story arc, will make you feel like Superman about Lex and this Supercorp idea – cautiously optimistic. It also drops some hints to what the new team of super-villains led by Dr. Pharm are planning in the shadows for Supes and Lex. It also helps that the way Joshua Williamson writes the characters in, well, in-character while still allowing them to be expressive and entertaining which allows Jamal Campbell to illustrate them in fun and captivating ways whether they’re in action or just talking to each other. If we’re all very lucky, Jamal Campbell will be staying on as the main interior artist for this series.
It’s also surprising that the first story arc of this new Superman run isn’t too long or too short. Normally the first story arcs for new comic titles from DC Comics or Marvel Comics tend to be five, six or even seven issues long. But here, it’s just three issues and it feels like the right amount so that it doesn’t feel like it’s been dragging on longer than it really needs to. Hopefully Joshua Williamson and Jamal Campbell can keep it up in the upcoming story arcs they clearly have planned for this run of Superman.
Final Thoughts:
Superman #3 wraps up the night of the Parasites story arc with a satisfying conclusion that lets each of the main characters play some role in it. It’s got action, heart, and some bits of humor for everyone to enjoy, even the plan to stop the Parasites allows for Parasite to join in on the fun in his own way. The comic concludes the story with some slow yet steady progression with the Superman and Lex Luthor storyline while neatly setting things up for the next story arc for Superman fans to get excited for.