★★★★★ 4
The Menacing Man of Steel
Format: Paperback
This story tracks Superman's first fifteen stories beginning with Action Comic #1 through Action Comics #13 and also includes the New York World's Fair Comics #1 story and a few pages that Superman #1 added to its reprints of the stories in Action Comics #1-#4.
These fourteen stories features Superman as defender of the weak against a variety of foes including munitions dealers who Jerry Siegel charged with starting wars to line their own pockets, heartless mine owners, gangsters, and slum lords.
Superman's tactics were far rougher than they would become as Superman became a little more mild during the 1940s. Superman,like Batman struck fear in the hearts of criminals. Though Batman needed a cool name and a scary costume, all Superman needed to was to keep dropping and catching suspects until they talked.
Superman's rough edge would begin to get out of line. In Action Comics #8, he decided to solve the problem of slums by tearing them down forcing the government to rebuild as they had during recent hurricanes. The police responded by putting a warrant out for him for understandable reasons.
From here, Siegel made Superman even more forceful culminating in Action Comics #11 which sees the Man of Steel declare war on "Reckless Drivers." Declaring war involves forcibly seizing control of a radio station to broadcast a warning and then destroying all the automobiles in the police impound lot, among other very destructive acts. The stories serve as an almost cautionary tale of the danger of someone with unstoppable and no humility. It reflects the brashness of a 23-24 year old writer. Thankfully Superman would grow in the 1940s into a character that inspired by hope than by fear.
However, despite the more menacing Superman in this book, there are some fun stories in here. My Absolute favorite is Action Comics #6 which features an agent pretending to represent Superman and selling merchandising rights for the Man of Steel, which turned out to be prophetic of the merchandising machine Superman would become. Action Comics #7 features another story of Superman helping out somebody whose just in trouble and needs help. Action Comics #13 introduces the Ultra-Humanite, the first real supervillain, though we only get to meet him briefly.
Overall, this is great for adult Superman collectors who want to read all of his stories. For kids, I'd probably recommend Superman in the Forties for a more balanced look at the Man of Steel.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2013
