Superman, Vol. 4: Critical Condition

21st Century Superman #4

by J.M. DeMatteis, Jeph Loeb (Editor), Carlo Barberi (Editor)

The Man of Steel battles his enemies, who are bent on destroying him and planning to take over the planet and its inhabitants, and finds himself falling in love with Lois Lane.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Superman, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Science Fiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2003

About the author

Also Credited As:
DeMatteis, John Marc
Ellis, Michael
Lombego, Wally

Bio:
J.M. DeMatteis was a professional musician/singer and rock music journalist before entering comics in the late 70's.

Credits include Spider-Man, Moonshadow, Brooklyn Dreams, Justice League, Abadazad, Hero Squared, the Life and Times of Savior 28.

Created I, Vampire , Creature Commandos, Moonshadow, Hero Squared (co-creator), Abadazad, Stardust Kid, Savior 28 and more.

Reviews

[Emmett Spain · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the better volumes of the 21st Century Superman reboot, here we get an ode to Fantastic Voyage, as Steel, Superboy and Supergirl (with the help of the Atom) shrink down and go inside Superman's body to rid him of the Kryptonite poisoning that is slowly killing him. Plenty of fun to be had here, with a terrific conclusion to the adventure.

Also attached is a story involving Batman and the hunt for a kidnapped Lois Lane. Batman is about as detached and hard boiled as ever I've seen him outside of the ludicrous characterisations of Frank Miller's more recent abominations. It's a bit too far over the top, which in turn makes the story a touch weak, but it gets points for trying.

Overall this might be closer to 3 and a half stars, simply for the nostalgic fun of the Fantastic Voyage homage. One for Superman fans who like their stories a little old fashioned.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lois is missing and Clark is dying of Kryptonite poisoning in this collection from the early 2000s. I think it holds up extremely well. There is a fantastic team-up with Batman and the four-parter inside Superman was really fun. Many different characters got to shine here. I really enjoyed this. The art was a step back from previous volumes it was still okay. Overall, this was a nice, simple Superman tale that shouldn't be overlooked.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cheesy, but highly entertaining and well made. The artwork gets really cartoon-ish near the end, but a decent story and lots of peril for the Man of Steel makes for a fabulous collection. It has a very interesting issue with Batman and the differences that the Dark Knight and Man of Steel face in their methods of working.

[John Yelverton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book took a previously used Superman story, cranked it up on steroids, threw in bad artwork for good measure, and expected us to actually enjoy it.

[Dallas Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some peak stories in here with the Superfamily rallying for Superman and a Batman/Superman team up thats one for the ages!

Would not recommend missing this!
Superman pushed closer to the brink than almost any other time!

A few fun surprise appearances in here too!

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brought several threads in and tied them together. Fun.