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Ruin has proven to be one of Superman's most dangerous foes,
repeatedly threatening the lives of his loved ones. When he
is finally unmasked, the world is stunned. But Superman suspects
there is more to this mystery than meets the eye. Nothing
will stop him from seeking out the truth - not even encounters
with the killer android OMACs, the maniacal Toyman and the
deadlier-than-ever Lex Luthor...
I've
omitted certain revelations from the synopsis above, including
the identity of the individual Superman discovers beneath
Ruin's mask. Thanks DC and Titan for (no pun intended) ruining
the first 22 pages of this graphic novel for me. If you don't
already know the plot to this book (which is collected from
issues 640-1 and 644-7 of Adventures of Superman) then
I urge you not to read the blurb on the back cover.
This
follow-up to That
Healing Touch
is a bit of a letdown in certain other respects too. The true
identity of Ruin is a disappointment. I don't care much for
Karl Kerschl's art, either - to my eye, it looks less detailed
and less realistic than the work of Matthew Clark and Andy
Lanning or their colleagues on other Superman titles. The
third chapter looks particularly sketchy, despite (or perhaps
because of) the involvement of six different artists: Kerschl,
Darryl Banks and Adam DeKraker on pencils, and Wayne Faucher,
Cam Smith and Robin Riggs on inks. The art of the final instalment,
a solo effort with both pencils and inks by Renato Guedes,
looks the best of all.
There
are some neat moments, however. The first two chapters take
place before Wonder Woman's controversial action against Maxwell
Lord in Sacrifice
and the super-villain community's response to that action
in Villains
United. There's some delicious dramatic irony
as Lois Lane muses about the nature of super-powered heroes
and villains:
"...if
you hurt a friend of Wonder Woman's, do you really think she's
going to break both your legs? No, you don't. She's Wonder
Woman. And the villains know that, too. They rely on the fact
that you will not cross the line they do every single day.
They rely on it, but they don't, for the most part, abuse
it. They don't want to test it... Like the heroes, the villains
form a community of sorts, too. Why bring down that heat?"
There's
also a poignant appearance by Mr Mxyzptlk, while the Toyman's
current mental state is not dissimilar to what Superman himself
endured at the hands of Maxwell Lord.
For the first time in ages, I see no obvious Smallville
influences on the writing or art. I suspect that this is because
a bigger media event is coming in the shape of the new movie,
Superman Returns. Accordingly, the artists' visualisation
of the Man of Steel begins to take on a less stylised likeness,
closer to that of actor Brandon Routh, during the fourth and
sixth chapters.
Ruin
Revealed may be a bit of a comedown after the dramatic
highs of Unconventional
Warfare and That Healing Touch, but
it would be untrue to say that it ends in ruin.
Richard
McGinlay
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