Superman Smashes the Klan #3 Review Brings a Hopeful Ending

Writer: Gene Luen Yang / Artist: Gurihiru / DC Comics The best Superman stories are supposed to evoke hope. Hope for a tomorrow that is better than today. Hope that we are capable of becoming better ourselves. Hope that even throughout all of the uncertainties that life has, we’ll get through. And the conclusion to Superman Smashes the Klan is very much hopeful and very much, in fact, one of the best Superman stories that one could ask for. As discussed during my review of Superman Smashes the Klan #1, this story is Yang’s adaptation of an old 1940’s radio play, and the passion that Yang has for both the source material and character is brilliantly evident. Every author has to reinvent pieces of Superman’s origin story in order to fit the era, and Yang’s clever use of a circus strongman is a very poignant way to start the final chapter of the story. Watching a young Clark Kent realizing that he is in a unique position to help the people around him grow to eventually busting through a wall to stop a Klan analog is nothing short of awe-inspiring.

However, the true brilliance of the story comes with how Yang utilizes the supporting cast to help flesh out what it means to a hero, and what it means to rise up. Roberta’s conversations with Superman are poignant and show that sometimes children can see and understand things on an intuitive level. Watching Lois Lane take an interest in Roberta’s personal/professional growth shows that you don’t need superpowers to make a difference….