Superman #27 just found the Man of Steel confessing his biggest weapon always fails yet he’s no closer to finding a solution for it in battle.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Superman #27, by Brian Michael Bendis, Ivan Reis, Danny Miki, Alex Sinclair, and Dave Sharpe, on sale now.
Over the decades of DC history, it’s quite apparent Superman is always on the defensive because he knows his attacks could kill his opponents. Of course, he’s had to cut loose against the likes of Doomsday and Rogol Zaar but usually, he tries to skirt around battles and find other means of winning fights.
However, in Superman #27, we now discover that the all-powerful Man of Steel knows his biggest weapon, hope, always fails and sadly, he hasn’t found a way around it.
The idea of hope as a weapon is something made famous when Henry Cavill’s Superman sent it out into the ether that this is what the House of El sigil stands for. It’s why Superman doesn’t punch to kill as he believes in people — heroes and villains alike. But this faith has worked against him time and time again as his biggest tyrants keep coming back, bloodthirstier than ever with each approach.
Currently, Kal-El is in the Phantom Zone getting pummelled by Synmar and as he struggles, he still keeps trying to communicate with the alien. Not even Kelex can help him decipher its language, but the hero allows the enemy to keep hitting him and, as he indicates, Synmar hits harder than anyone else. Oddly, he maintains belief he can break through against someone he considers so deadly, as Synmar could take the Kryptonian off the table with the right blow.
Yet Superman’s weapon is hope, as he thinks by not hitting back or not hitting back hard enough, he’ll win Synmar over and they can have a diplomatic conversation. We understand his empathy and compassion but it’s kind of dumb as Synmar keeps overpowering the Justice Leaguer. Yet Superman simply refuses to go into a rage, admitting he wants truth, not blood. He thinks the answer isn’t hitting as he’s hit Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Mongul and Darkseid, yet they never changed. But again, it may be because it wasn’t that right blow, the fearful one to strike fear into them. This peaceful strategy is ill-advised as they know Superman will always show mercy and is actually why Batman gets flak as his rogues keep coming back meaner than ever.