I liked how the Oz character was worked into the series, but given the Superman lore, I'm mixed on the decision to bring Oz into the canon.

ARC from Netgalley.
Fast paced and incredible story-telling, The Oz Effect does one thing: reveal who Mr. Oz really is, and it's a little shocking!
SPOILERS...

Mr. Oz has been manipulating events in the DCU ever since the Rebirth event. Turns out, he is actually Jor-El, returned to life, having been pulled away from the destruction of Krypton during the explosion. (Comic rumor followers can assume the the force controlling Oz is, in fact, Doctor Mahattan) Put through torture and a very painful recovery, Oz has been watching Clark and his family for sometime, and has one goal:
Convince Superman to abandon humanity, which will never get any better due to their reliance on violence and hatred, and take him to a utopia world.

Something huge is coming....universe destroying...

Clark is very skeptical, which continues when he finds out that Oz is responsible for caused worldwide chaos, but comes to accept him as father, right as he is getting taken away by "an unknown force". In his curiousity, he goes to the Watchtower and uses Flash's cosmic treadmill to travel back in time to the end of Krypton. Right after he leaves, Booster Gold shows up, trying to stop him, as he will strongly affect the future.

Will Clark get his answers? Was that really Jor-El? What problem is he causing? Who is coming? What else will happen as we speed towards issue #1000?

Recommend. Superman's stuff has been good for a few years now.

The book opens with a very strange team-up - Superman and Lex Luthor! They are working on tracking down the villain who stole some of Lex's microchips for nefarious purposes. And then Mr. Oz launches himself on the scene. He claims to be Superman's father and all evidence points in that direction. But , if true, why is he attacking Superman rather than aiding him? Plenty of action and a very big cliffhanger at the end!

Far too long for the amount of action covered in this story. We finally learn who Mr. Oz is, and he tries to convince Superman that the humans of Earth will always choose evil over good, that they are not deserving of his presence, and that Earth is doomed anyway, so he better abandon the planet. If you know anything about Superman, that's not going to work on him, so the amount of time spent treading water is inordinate.

Superman - Action Comics: The Oz Effect Deluxe Edition

Written by: Dan Jurgens, Rob Williams
Art by: Viktor Bogdanovic, Dan Jurgens, Ryan Sook, Guillem March, Will Conrad, Jonathan Glapion, Jay Leisten, Trevor Scott, Scott Hanna,
Colors by: Mike Spicer, Hi-Fi
Letters by: Rob Leigh
Published by: DC Comics

Review by Cory Webber

The Oz Effect answers one of Rebirth’s biggest question — who is the mysterious Mr. Oz? He has been teased since Geoff John’s Rebirth one-shot kicked off the whole linewide shakeup. This trade collects Action Comics issues 985-992.

THE SETUP

The first two chapters, written by Rob Williams, feature a Superman/Lex Luthor team up. Here, the dynamics of these two fighting side by side are intriguing, and Williams plays them off each other nicely. This story leads into the introduction of Mr. Oz and hints at what his future plans are.

Their battle in India with Machinist provides some unique visuals involving elephants and tigers, but nothing cooler than the cover to issue 986.

More than anything, I liked the overall composition of these two chapters due to the bright neon colors, which popped against the background’s more muted, earthy tones. Also, the sense of action and movement was solid from panel to panel and page to page.

THE MAIN STORY: THE OZ EFFECT

Now, the next five chapters of The Oz Effect present the main story. First of all, we learn the mystery behind who Mr. Oz is and what he wants. As a result of the shocking revelation, his plan is elevated from pretty standard super villain stuff to something a little deeper and more impactful. Therefore, to reveal that would be to spoil Oz’s identity. Suffice it to say, the dynamics provided by Oz’s relationship to Superman is compelling stuff.

Jurgens, writing the longest running superhero, has somehow managed to come up with something fresh, unique and plausible. His handling of Superman and his supporting cast is perfect. In my opinion, the best thing to come out of DC’s Rebirth “don’t call it a reboot” reboot, is giving Superman a family. And the relationship of Superman and his son is the highlight. Now, not to be outdone by these two guys, Lois Lane really holds her own, proving she is as much a superhero as they are. Overall, their family dynamics are really stretched and put to the test with some truly heartwarming results.

The art, in spite of having rotating artists, was solid. The overall composition remained consistent throughout. Superman is really put through the ringer at the hands of Mr. Oz, who is inciting riots and wars across the globe. The art lends a great deal of urgency and desperation to the action.

I enjoyed the solid color and letter choices; they both made this book read fluidly. I really liked the use of enlarging the double-o’s in any of the sound effects (thoom, boom, krakoom, etc...), which really exaggerated the action taking place. Furthermore, there was a nice added touch with how the title pages of each chapter were incorporated into the background that really caught my eye.

THE OZ EFFECT EPILOGUE

At last, the final chapter of The Oz Effect, co-written by Jurgens and Williams, has Superman investigating some of Oz’s claims. Consequently, what we discover is concerning, as it appears someone is behind everything, including Mr. Oz. Furthermore, we get guest appearances from Batman and Hal Jordan. Finally, we get a surprise appearance from a fan favorite that hasn’t been seen in one of DC’s books for some time.

VERDICT

Buy it! This is a fresh, unique story in the 80-year history of Superman. They are really building towards something great. The story’s mystery added something completely new to Supes mythos. Now, the tease of an even deeper mystery has me not wanting to wait for the next trade, rather running to my local shop to snag all the ensuing issues I can get my hands on. Or, you know, buying the digital copies from the comfort of my home. Either way, Rebirth has me reading anything Superman consistently for the first time ever.

I've yet to have a more swings-and-roundabouts, highs-then-lows read from DC, and that's saying something.

The two-parter to start made me seriously worried – Lois being all Ms Exposition, Miss Recap and Lovey-Dovey-Wastaspace, Lex being, er, Lex – but it was actually pretty good, snappy and intelligent where that word has clearly been a dirty one with these publishers of late. But then we get the heinous problem that is DC Politics. After the Big Reveal, we see that this particular bad, which we so want to love as a character, saw some dodgy Islamist warlords and so on and based his whole back-story on those. Oh. Dear. We're supposed to accept your argument as valid on that flimsy basis? That easiest representation of evil drives this whole event story? You couldn't have found something more edgy, more interesting and more compelling than Islam as motivation for a Jewish-borne, Christ-like Ubermensch to be up against?

It gets worse before it gets better. They use the word "pabulum" to try and claim that intelligence back (oh, the irony). They make Lois look like she's a he in transition. And they give us that Big Reveal a second time in case we missed it an issue or two ago. And then they bring in Superbrat. But, you know what? Come the end enough has been set up for the BIG EVENT that the Big Reveal (and the Big Reveal Repeated) started to set in motion that I was actually on board for finding out where we were going. So, some utter, utter frustration, too much pabulum, and yet some gumption to get the hooks in tight for future books. It all amounts to something like three and a half stars.

As the blurb says, Oz has been hanging around the Super stories for awhile now, and in this TPB those stories get a sort of end to them, but, also, not really.

We get a little with Lex and the Machinist (which I sorta liked more than the main story), and then we're head on into who Oz is and such.

I was liking these super stories so much, and then they had to go and do this? *sigh* Maybe it'll turn out okay, and it wasn't a totally bad story, but, I just wish we could have a nice long while without super weird stuff like this.

I received this book via Netgalley thanks to DC Entertainment.

Superman: Action Comics: The Oz Effect is at its best in one of its closing chapters, in which Superman breaks Oz's staff and frees him from the mind control (presumably by Watchmen's Dr. Manhattan) that has ruled his actions to this point. With the final touching scenes in which Oz -- apparently Superman's father Jor-El, saved by Manhattan from the destruction of Krypton -- renounces his actions and professes his love for his son, at least Jurgens redeems Jor-El as more than just a one-dimensional cackling villain.

Two things stand out in The Oz Effect. Firstly, DC certainly know how to build a story. This secret began way back in the New 52 era. It has festered in the background for years and it is tied in so beautifully the pay-off is incredible.

Secondly, the social commentary that accompanies the main revelation is on point. The book takes a not-so subtle look at the world today. Political instability, immigration worries and abuse scandals. It’s all in there like a slap to the face. Comics have always been about taking real world problems and encouraging people to make a change.

With today’s climate being so volatile, it’s important to remember that we’re all trying to survive on a tiny rock hurtling through space. By showing us humanities dark side, we can work towards the light.

This is more powerful than finding out who the man behind the hood is. I’ve never been much of a Superman fan, but this collection of Action Comics has changed my mind. It doesn’t matter if you’ve read the build up to the Oz Effect or not. This book is for anyone.

Superman is back!

Take that from a sexagenarian who grew up with Superman during the Silver Age of Comics. He has matured, he has married Lois Lane, they have a son named Jon – but it was good to see some of the old, familiar characteristics of one of my favorite superheroes of that era.

In the current story, Superman (aka Kal-el on Krypton) meets a man claiming to be his father, Jor-el. The truth of that claim is never quite resolved, but it is the conflict between Ka-el and Jor-el that takes up most of this book. With the exception of missing the departure of Supergirl from Krypton (was she dropped from the modern age stories?), the story fits well with the traditions with which I was raised.

The colors are bright and attention-getting. I would not expect a 21st-century artist to imitate the work of those who lived through the 50’s and 60’s; such is the case, As the attached clipping may show, occasionally I was caught a bit off guard.

It was fun for this old man to catch up with a story that he followed as closely as possible as a child and a young teen.
______________
This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions are mine alone.