Superman: Up, Up and Away!

Superman is at his best when he isn't bogged down by decades of canon. When you can jump in, read a story, and jump out without needing a history degree to follow along. Superman's past is genuinely convoluted. You have the essential hits: spaceship, exploding planet, Kansas, Daily Planet, death and return. And then you have the deep cuts: multiple flavors of Kryptonite, electrical powers, parents alternately dead or alive depending on the era, Time Trapper. Those stories don't necessarily hurt the character, but you shouldn't have to be a historian to enjoy what Clark is doing right now.

Enter Up, Up and Away, a post-Infinite Crisis re...leveling(?) of Clark Kent written by Geoff Johns and Kurt Busiek, two writers who between them have reshaped more DC characters than almost anyone else in the modern era. The premise is clean and promising, Clark has been depowered following a brutal fight with Superboy-Prime through the red sun Rao.the fallout of dealing how he and Lois cope with the Man of Steel simply being a man.

Clark is content with his new standing at first, ready to simply enjoy his life with Lois. But criminals don't stop just because Superman did. Clark finds himself repeatedly in the line of fire simply because he's a fearless reporter who now has every reason to be afraid. It's a compelling setup and the Clark-as-journalist section is the best stretch of the book, giving our newly depowered titular character room to breathe outside of the usual cape-and-punching visual grammar.

Despite a Green Lantern Corps offer to take up a ring, Clark maintains his new status quo. That is until Lex resurfaces with a plan to resurrect an ancient Kryptonian warship, previously belonging to General Zod. Then whatever emotional punch the story had been building quietly collapses. Clark gets his powers back simply by wanting them. His powers stayed dormant because he didn't want to be Superman anymore. When he does, they return. Just like that.

A knockdown drag-out battle follows. Clark beats Lex at his own game, confiscates the crystal, and uses it to build his Fortress of Solitude. And then we just sort of end.

The Lex we get in the first half is genuinely diabolical. Angry, dangerous, and politically ruined, his manipulation and torture of Kryptonite Man to fulfill his endgame is dark and effective. There's an interesting moment where Clark questions why, if Superman is the true source of Lex's obsessive rage, Lex hasn't accomplished anything meaningful for the greater good during the entire year Superman was absent. It's the sharpest question the book asks. A thread that could have been the moral backbone of the whole story. But it's... checks notes....one panel and it's over.

That's ultimately where Up, Up and Away lets itself down. There's little real depth here, in the characters, the storytelling, or the art. The writing is accessible and easy to follow but there's no meaningful lesson underneath it. No moral that earns the page count. Lore-light stories can still dive deep into character. This one doesn't. Motivations get glossed over, interactions are matter of fact, and the visual style is safe but kinda bland.

A clean, accessible Superman story that does exactly what it set out to do and nothing more. It won't be looked back on the way All-Star Superman or the Brainiac arc will be. But as a gateway for new readers or a palate cleanser between heavier arcs, it earns its place on the shelf, barely.