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Superman Adventures #4
Superman Adventures, Vol. 4: The Man of Steel
Presents adventures of the Man of Steel protecting the city of Metropolis and the rest of the world.
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
47 people want to read
About the author
Mark Millar
1,516 books2,569 followersMark Millar is the New York Times best-selling writer of Wanted, the Kick-Ass series, The Secret Service, Jupiter’s Legacy, Jupiter’s Circle, Nemesis, Superior, Super Crooks, American Jesus, MPH, Starlight, and Chrononauts. Wanted, Kick-Ass, Kick-Ass 2, and The Secret Service (as Kingsman: The Secret Service) have been adapted into feature films, and Nemesis, Superior, Starlight, War Heroes, Jupiter’s Legacy and Chrononauts are in development at major studios.
His DC Comics work includes the seminal Superman: Red Son, and at Marvel Comics he created The Ultimates – selected by Time magazine as the comic book of the decade, Wolverine: Old Man Logan, and Civil War – the industry’s biggest-selling superhero series in almost two decades.
Mark has been an Executive Producer on all his movie adaptations and is currently creative consultant to Fox Studios on their Marvel slate of movies.
His DC Comics work includes the seminal Superman: Red Son, and at Marvel Comics he created The Ultimates – selected by Time magazine as the comic book of the decade, Wolverine: Old Man Logan, and Civil War – the industry’s biggest-selling superhero series in almost two decades.
Mark has been an Executive Producer on all his movie adaptations and is currently creative consultant to Fox Studios on their Marvel slate of movies.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 31, 2025
The fourth instalment of the radio plays of Superman. A bit of fun.
March 22, 2018
The books are mostly by Millar and Amancio, and I maintain that this is some of Millar's best work. The villains are used in creative ways, and he cuts right the core of who the major characters are. He nails Superman's character with each line of dialogue. Amancio's art is clear and fun, although he gets a bit cheesecakey in the later stories. I don't mind, really, but others might object to seeing the outlineof Lois' breasts so clearly in a book labeled "Graphic novels for kids!".
These are terrfic Superman stories, including the heart-breaking tale of Superman going to parallel world where he meets Jor-El. (Too bad the alternate Lara is played as a conniving, evil bitch.) The Fate story was a mediocre one though, becaue IF the magical entity that possessed Superman just wanted to return home, why did he ATTACK?!?
I was particularly charmed by Millar's story about Superman performing a series of super-rescues in a single night (some great sequences in there!) book-ended by a little boy's whispered prayer for Superman to find his missing puppy and the pup's return the following morning.
The Parasite/Mxyzptlk story was another really fun one.
The Supergirl story by Dorkin/Dyer was a tiny bit too predictable. David Michelinie's "Lois Lane" story was fun, if creepy. Some genuine emotion in that story.
These are terrfic Superman stories, including the heart-breaking tale of Superman going to parallel world where he meets Jor-El. (Too bad the alternate Lara is played as a conniving, evil bitch.) The Fate story was a mediocre one though, becaue IF the magical entity that possessed Superman just wanted to return home, why did he ATTACK?!?
I was particularly charmed by Millar's story about Superman performing a series of super-rescues in a single night (some great sequences in there!) book-ended by a little boy's whispered prayer for Superman to find his missing puppy and the pup's return the following morning.
The Parasite/Mxyzptlk story was another really fun one.
The Supergirl story by Dorkin/Dyer was a tiny bit too predictable. David Michelinie's "Lois Lane" story was fun, if creepy. Some genuine emotion in that story.
January 24, 2013
This is the last of the Superman Adventures comics containing Issues 35-39 with five stories.
Lets take a look one by one: Don't Play with the Toyman's Toys: Someone has taken control of the Toyman's criminal toys while the evil midget is behind bars. A more "okay" story than good. The ending seemed a bit contrived. Grade: C+
This is a Job for Superman: No Supervillain in this one, just the Man of Steel out on a particularly busy patrol. Some great parts. somewhat disturbing part is the almost God-like expectations that some people have for him to solve every problem, and it seems to have rubbed off on him. Grade: B+
Clark Kent Public Enemy: Clark Kent is framed for a crime and locked up. It's up to Lois and Jimmy to clear him. This type of plot's been done before in Superman stories and much better than here. Grade: C
If I Ruled the World: Mxyzptlk shows up to hassle Superman and tries to warn off the parasite, but instead the parasite absorbs Mr. Mxyzptlk's powers getting some of the dangerous powers in the DC Universe. This is one of type of great stories that Superman Adventures did so well by mixing and matching two Superman foes. Mxyzptlk and Parasite both work because they are dangerous foes but are limited by very specific rules and to survive Superman has to play off those rules. Of course, whether anyone could do that to Mxyzptlk or whether Rudy's power's powerful enough to absorb it requires some extra suspension of disbelief. Overall, very good story. Grade: A-
Reunion: The one failure in Superman Adventures seems to be the overuse of Brainiac, as his shtick is the same every time. This time he's back with the help of a version of himself from Supergirl's home planet Argo. This version also borrowed appearance from Supergirl's mother. To put Brainiac on Argo requires some plotting gymnastics and Braniac himself is sounding a bit cheesy. Still, the story works on an emotional level as it's set at Mother's Day and finds Supergirl missing her mother and dealing with this Brainiac clone that looks like her. Grade: B
Overall, I'd give it a 3.5, but will round up.
Lets take a look one by one: Don't Play with the Toyman's Toys: Someone has taken control of the Toyman's criminal toys while the evil midget is behind bars. A more "okay" story than good. The ending seemed a bit contrived. Grade: C+
This is a Job for Superman: No Supervillain in this one, just the Man of Steel out on a particularly busy patrol. Some great parts. somewhat disturbing part is the almost God-like expectations that some people have for him to solve every problem, and it seems to have rubbed off on him. Grade: B+
Clark Kent Public Enemy: Clark Kent is framed for a crime and locked up. It's up to Lois and Jimmy to clear him. This type of plot's been done before in Superman stories and much better than here. Grade: C
If I Ruled the World: Mxyzptlk shows up to hassle Superman and tries to warn off the parasite, but instead the parasite absorbs Mr. Mxyzptlk's powers getting some of the dangerous powers in the DC Universe. This is one of type of great stories that Superman Adventures did so well by mixing and matching two Superman foes. Mxyzptlk and Parasite both work because they are dangerous foes but are limited by very specific rules and to survive Superman has to play off those rules. Of course, whether anyone could do that to Mxyzptlk or whether Rudy's power's powerful enough to absorb it requires some extra suspension of disbelief. Overall, very good story. Grade: A-
Reunion: The one failure in Superman Adventures seems to be the overuse of Brainiac, as his shtick is the same every time. This time he's back with the help of a version of himself from Supergirl's home planet Argo. This version also borrowed appearance from Supergirl's mother. To put Brainiac on Argo requires some plotting gymnastics and Braniac himself is sounding a bit cheesy. Still, the story works on an emotional level as it's set at Mother's Day and finds Supergirl missing her mother and dealing with this Brainiac clone that looks like her. Grade: B
Overall, I'd give it a 3.5, but will round up.
March 21, 2009
"Never Play with the Toyman's Toys": It looks like Toyman is on a new crime spree, until they find him safely tucked in his cell. What appears to be a case of stolen identity is really a well plotted revenge.
"This is a Job for Superman": Superman has a busy night foiling robberies, delivering babies and hearts, defeating hijackers, smashing meteors, and finding lost puppies.
"Clark Kent: Public Enemy": While Superman is doing work on Mars, Clark Kent is on a crime spree.
"If I Ruled the World!": The Parasite adds to his arsenal when he takes Mr. Mxyzpltk's powers.
"Reunion": Braniac's clone turns against him.
"This is a Job for Superman": Superman has a busy night foiling robberies, delivering babies and hearts, defeating hijackers, smashing meteors, and finding lost puppies.
"Clark Kent: Public Enemy": While Superman is doing work on Mars, Clark Kent is on a crime spree.
"If I Ruled the World!": The Parasite adds to his arsenal when he takes Mr. Mxyzpltk's powers.
"Reunion": Braniac's clone turns against him.
June 3, 2014
This was a decent set of stories. They were surprisibgly mature considering their intended audience. The Supergirl team-up issue was the stand-out.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews