When news broke that Brian Michael Bendis was coming to DC from Marvel, I was tentatively excited. I’ve been a fan of much of his work, but too often (House of M, anyone?) I was left unsatisfied by his storytelling. I was prepared to give him a chance, and

We were given a recap of the Man of Steel miniseries that Bendis and several of the industry’s top artists, including this issue’s penciller, Ivan Reis. In that six-issue weekly series, which retconned some pretty important stuff from Superman’s past, we learned that Krypton was actually destroyed by Rogol Zaar. This new character who reminds me of Doomsday with an ax, also destroyed the Bottle City of Kandor and Superman’s Fortress of Solitude.

In addition to all that destruction, Superman’s birth father Jor-El (yes, he’s back if you missed it) has taken his grandson Jon on a trip across the universe. Lois tags along, because it makes perfect sense for a human to travel in space alongside two guys on a family bonding trip (yes, that was sarcasm). Anyway, Supes isn’t alone for long. He joins members of the Justice League while he retrieves crystals from under the fallen Fortress that will serve as the building block for his new home. In the Bermuda Triangle. Good way to ensure privacy, I guess.

The highlight of the issue for me was Supes’ heart to heart talk with J’onn J’onzz, the Martian Manhunter. I won’t spoil the content of the chat, but it was perhaps the most human conversation a pair of aliens have ever had in a comic book. When Bendis gets his dialogue right, it’s something to behold, and in this case he got it so so right. Bravo, BMB.

The ending of the book, with the revelation that we’ve not seen the last of Rogol Zaar’s nefarious deeds, was enough to hook me and ensure that I’ll be back for issue two. It’s not perfect, but it’s a fantastic start. I can’t wait to see what Bendis and company do with Big Blue next.