Distinguished Critique: Superman: Exile Review
A tad slow at moments, this arc nevertheless delivers a Superman engrossed in engaging moral musing
—by Nathan on October 8, 2026—
We are fairly deep in the throes of the 90s in our explorations of both the Marvel and DC Universes as of late on this site. When I'm not discussing Peter Parker's parental problems or Miguel O'Hara's hijinks, I've been unpacking Thor and the Norse pantheon's place in the Marvel Universe circa-"Onslaught" and the [(knight)fall of a particular bat-eared brawler] and his subsequent replacement. We've enjoyed some strong stories, groaned our way through some stinkers. Today's review brings us back to a certain Big Blue Boy Scout as I deliver a few posts gearing up for a continued examination of his own 90s crossover epic, "The Death and Return of Superman."
We've already covered the "Death of" portion, and earlier this year (in my first review for 2026, actually), we examined Clark Kent's burial. There are two more arcs in the event I'll be dishing on in fairly quick succession, but just like I built up on "Onslaught" through a few Thor and X-Men reviews and built up to "Knightfall" through certain pertinent Batman arcs to provide even a smidgen of context, I wanted to offer a little look at a larger picture before we continued our journey through a world without Superman.
The third part of the "Death and Return" event features a few other folks who claim the Superman mantle as their own. Two of those folks, Superboy and Steel, I'm somewhat familiar with. The other two, Cyborg Superman and the Eradicator, I had only passing knowledge of, largely thanks to references in other media. While Superboy and Steel were both introduced during the "Death and Return" event, our other two contenders have slightly beefier history. And, wouldn't ya know it, I just so happened to have volumes unpacking some of that history.
So we're turning the clock back a few years to a short while after John Byrne left the character he'd relaunched for DC. Starring in a few of his own titles (like any good superhero during the 90s), Superman was in a unique place as this volume opens, a space-faring wanderer playing the anti-Odysseus, looking to distance himself from an Ithaca called Metropolis.
Superman: Exile
Writers: Roger Stern, Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, George Perez
Pencilers: Kerry Gammill, Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, Mike Mignola, Curt Swan
Inkers: Brett Breeding, Dennis Janke, Jerry Ordway, Art Thibert, John Statema, George Perez
Colorists: Glenn Whitmore
Letterers: John Costanza, Albert DeGuzman, Bill Oakley
Issues: Superman #28-30, #32-33, Adventures of Superman #451-456, Action Comics Annual #2, and Action Comics #643
Publication Dates: February 1989-July 1989
I noted, in a few older reviews, that a thematic element I observed across DC's post-Crisis events was relearning to trust their old vanguard. Legends and Millennium toyed with the public's shifting stance on superhumans, casting doubt on their efficiency. It took an Invasion! (with the exclamation mark!) to sow trust in our heroes again.
And yet, in the aftermath of what until then was possibly our heroes' greatest victory, DC's greatest hero was breaking free of Earth's precious atmosphere, seemingly forever.
In a series of panels recapping stories I have not read, we quickly learn Superman's exile is self-imposed, the result of different events which have caused worry. Between killing a trio of Kryptionian villains by using his dreaded green weakness, violently beating Brainiac, and realizing the mental-powered madman had toyed with his subconscious, Kal-El is at the end of his wits. He's unsure of himself, of his power, of his control over that power. Better to surf the spaceways forever rather than risk harming his loved ones on Earth or any other inhabited planet.
These issues, to a certain extent, want to remind us of an earlier version of Superman, a more pure version, who wasn't inundated with guilt over certain actions. Imagine if Henry Cavil's DCEU Superman chose to lock himself away and contemplate his morality after murdering Zod instead of fighting Ben Affleck's Batman. That's the kind of Superman we're given here, one who has become reflective after realizing he's crossed a moral line or two. His knee-jerk reaction may be exile to the deepest depths of space, but our Superman has some thinking to do if he wants to find that purer core of himself which earlier stories have tainted.
Spoiler alert: he comes back. You know coming into this our friend isn't going to strand himself out in the eternal darkness forever. This volume's final issue is a celebratory return for the Man of Steel, embraced by a city that has sorely missed him. But the reason you're meant to cheer when Supes returns is because you believe the transformation he's undergone during his time in space.
Which depends on how well our creators tell their story.
I'm not going to award Stern, Jurgens, and Ordway many points for subtlety. Those panel recaps pretty much set you on the exact trajectory this particular shooting star will be on the whole time: Clark will wrestle with his guilt and come out the other side convicted. He'll come home, back to Earth, to Metropolis, to Lois. You never question any of that. But how exactly he'll return may be a bit of a mystery…as well as which events during his self-propelled voyage will change him.
A good chunk of this volume's contents draw Superman into particular conflicts which, sometimes directly, sometimes less so, allow him to come to terms with past incidents and prove to himself he's of sound moral stock. These pieces are done decently enough, even if some convenience is applied: Clark encounters an alien responsible for a massacre on Earth which Clark himself bore the burden for, the physical conflict between them representing a battle between viewpoints and allowing the Supes to "redeem" himself of guilt he should have never felt. A series of fights on a gladiatorial world run by Mongul sees Superman resist the tyrant's desire for death, choosing to endure a harsh situation rather than appeal to the whims of a despot. Slowly, surely, Superman regains the philosophical upper hand. over his own demons
The trajectory may be obvious, but at the very least, Stern, Jurgens, and Ordway provide Clark with internal turmoil. The vastness of space before him, Superman has no choice but to reflect, and as his self-inflicted trial continues, his fear gives way to a greater confidence. Near invincible from a physical standpoint (even if his distance from a yellow sun limits a few of his abilities), Superman finds his greatest challenges are those of the mind and soul, tempering his thoughts and beliefs and better determining for himself the kind of Superman he wishes to be.
I was a bit concerned, as I opened this volume, that "space-wandering Superman" would become boring quickly. Fortunately, our creators possess the wherewithal to vary Clark's cosmic careening. The occasional visit to a populated or uninhabited planet gives way to a larger arc featuring Mongul and his madness. He finds folks to fight or defend, and thank goodness he eventually discerns how to communicate with some extraterrestrial individuals, because Superman talking to literal space would get old fast. That Superman's exile is self-imposed means we're not watching him struggle against meteors or aliens or the gravitational pull of a black hole in the hopes of reaching home. He doesn't want to go back. He could return to Earth at any time, but he chooses to wander.
During the Mongul portion of the arc, our writers dive into some ancient Kryptonian history and reveal an ancient Kryptonian artifact which will become integral to a few following stories we'll review. For now, its inclusion, and that of the ancient history, are more a wave of exposition, mainly told through a newly introduced character who helps Superman's moral resolve return to status quo. The whole piece, largely told through Action Comics Annual #2, drags on longer than it should, feels repetitive, and tries to do, through dialogue, what I feel physical movement and conflict would better accomplish. Having read, at least, the following arc, I'm aware this piece builds to a different narrative, but employed here, it feels clunky and diverts attention away from Clark and his own development.
Better incorporated are a few Earthbound subplots, which help balance out those moments where Clark is floating through an endless void. Tension exists between the post-Crisis version of Jack Kirby's Morgan Edge and his Intergang and the stalwart fourth estate, generating a mystery of sorts for a few of our supporting cast members to unravel. Our writers capably inject entertaining dramatic irony to stir up some trouble for folks, though the tension works less for the reader: confusion surrounding Clark Kent's whereabouts, which propels some of our characters, can easily be explained away in the reader's mind, even if a wrinkle or two compounds events for the supporting cast. You just don't feel the same concern as people worrying over Clark when you know where he is the whole time.
When "Exile" is thoughtful in dramatizing Clark's guilty subconscious and providing him opportunities to find his old moral fiber, it works well as a story. This is a vulnerable Superman, resisting every ounce of heart screaming at him to fly on home, believing he's not the same hero he once was. And maybe he isn't. He's changed, and he needs space (literal in more ways than one) to clear his head and heart. At times, the story can slow down like a rocky notch in a meteor belt, float and drift a little, indulge in exposition. But those instances are largely in the middle of a tale bookended by some interesting moral quandaries our Last Son of Krypton must fly through to find his whole self on the other side.