This page features reviews of the Superman comics that I have read and enjoyed.


Comic Review
Superman vs. Muhammad Ali
Artist: Neal Adams
Writer: Neal Adams and Denny O'Neil

Summary: Back in 1978, Superman squared off against the greatest heavyweight who ever lived, Muhammad Ali in a boxing match to end all sporting events. What causes this fight to take place?

One sunny day in Metropolis, while Clark, Lois and Jimmy are interviewing Muhammad Ali, warlike aliens visit the earth and decide that we are too hostile to be trusted. What they propose is a challenge, their greatest champion against ours in a fight to the finish. The prize: our planet. Clark quickly changes to Superman and narrowly saves St. Louis from becoming a smoking crater due to the aliens nuclear rockets. But when he returns to take on the aliens, there is some disagreement between Ali and the man of steel as to who is the greatest fighting champion on earth. The alien emissary suggests a way for Ali and Superman to settle their differences: fight each other for the right to battle the aliens in the ring. But there's only one problem, Superman must fight Ali under an artificial red sun, without any powers.

Even though they talk trash to each other at first, Ali and Superman quickly form a friendship and Ali even teaches him some boxing methods so that Superman will have an even chance. However, it doesn't do much good for Superman as he quickly finds out in the ring. Ali doesn't hold back, and it's a lesson in humility for Superman as he receives a brutal beating in the ring.

As Superman is led out of the ring in an intensive care unit, Ali is left to deal with the alien powerhouse called "Hun'ya" in the fight of his life. But all is not as it seems. During the fight, Ali's cornerman Bundini Brown slips out of the ring, and reveals himself as Superman in disguise (still with bruises from the fight). Superman and Ali decided that Supes wouldn't be able to win the fight after all, and developed a plan to secretly take out the alien armada. Away from the red sun, Superman's powers return, and he goes to face the alien armada...

Review
Back in the day, whenever colossal crossovers happened, they were huge events, and the format size reflected that. This comic is done in tabloid size, and the oversized presentation fits the story. On the cover, front and back, Adams has done a remarkable job of drawing over 170 different characters, real and fictional.

Of course, it's the story inside that really is a classic. Here are two titans of both fictional and real worlds, Superman- the ultimate superhero and icon of strength against Muhammad Ali, considered by many to be the greatest ahtlete of his time.

The story proceeds at breakneck pace, with Superman and Ali joining forces against a threat to earth. It's interesting to see the interplay between the two champions, who are so different in attitude and background. Both heroes are presented equally well, with Ali having a great advantage over Superman when it comes to boxing techniques. Superman does his best though to learn as much as he can, recognizing Ali's prowess.

As for the art, Adams does a great job of showing the fight scenes in the ring. His figures seem to dance on the panel-less pages, manuevering and shifting like real boxers would. The shots of Superman taking punch after punch and still barely standing, are very dramatic and work well to convey Superman's unwillingness to surrender.

The only problem I have is Ali being portrayed as something of a detective when he figures out Superman's secret identity. I think it's okay for Ali to be portrayed as Superman's superior in the ring, but let's leave the detective work to Batman. All in all, though, a great story from the past that works really well for it's time. We could hardly have this kind of story today- imagine Mike Tyson fighting Superman and losing his teeth on his invulnerable ear. However, the story ends on a great note, with a handshake between the two and an agreement that both of them are "the greatest".

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