Superman: Dawnbreaker

dnf

politics were so heavy handed, u just get hit back to back to back w political messaging like hello?? politics make sense in a superhero story but omg you can't even weave it into the story organically or what?

Prereview:

So I'm not a Superman fan. He's too perfect with his sleek hair and too good of eye sight. Flying around, saving people without even asking if they want to be saved. Who does he think he is?

No, Clark Kent is where it's at. Not only is Clark kind and nerdy, but he also has a steady career, which is incredibly sexy. Whereas, Superman has a hobby. He doesn't even get paid. How does he afford health insurance? Because someone has to pay for his kryptonite-inflicted injuries.

I'm still excited anyhow. Despite the lack of Clark Kent appreciation.

Bring on these superhero YA novels.

#PetitiontoRenameThisBookClarkKent

Yo whats up do y'all like metaphors? Because boy oh boy have I got the book for you!

Superman has always been one of my absolute favorite superheroes, and I was OBSESSED with the tv show, Smallville, and Tom Welling as Clark Kent. So I was predisposed to enjoy this book. I also was definitely picture Tom Welling as Clark Kent along with the other actors from the show as I read this.

I'm not sure I liked this one enough to re-read it though. I mostly just want to re-watch Smallville now...

This is the fourth in the DC Icons series, all of which I have now reviewed. It started with Wonder Woman, then moved through Batman and Catwoman before culminating in Superman. All four books have been written by popular young adult authors, from Leigh Bardugo to Marie Lu to Sarah J. Maas. Superman went to Matt De La Peña, who I had not actually heard of before. He apparently wrote a book called Ball Don't Lie that was made into a movie in 2011, and another book titled Mexican Whiteboy. What I'm trying to say is that De La Peña's Hispanic background makes him a perfect choice for this book. Because whatever else can be said about Superman, his is the ultimate immigrant story.

And this book not only tells Superman's immigrant story, but deals heavily with immigrant issues around him as well. Smallville is deliberating a new law that is basically stop-and-frisk; Hispanic people are going missing; undocumented immigrants are getting beaten in the streets. Clark is rightly horrified, and vows to get to the bottom of the disappearances.

The book is very timely, and I love what it says about one of our country's greatest fictional heroes. It reminds me of Justice League: Gods and Monsters, in which Superman is the son of General Zod, and was raised by illegal Mexican immigrants instead of the all-American Kents. (It's a fantastic animated movie, and well worth watching.)

Lex Luthor makes an appearance, and for a while I thought Clark's best friend, Lana, was a stand-in for Lois, but Lois is mentioned ever-so-briefly late in the book.

This is the fourth and final book in the DC Icons series, and taken as a whole, they're quite good. I wish they were a little more entwined with one another, but I understand that would be difficult with four different authors. But they are a very neat re-work of the four characters' origin stories.

You can find all my reviews and more at Goddess in the Stacks.