Written by: Dan Slott
Art by: Mike Norton
Colors by: Marcel Maiolo
Letters by: Dave Shapre
Cover art by: Dave Johnson
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: January 21, 2026
First Impressions
The opening pages hit like a dark gag reel, with reporters swapping stories about people dying in ridiculous ways while Clark sits there looking like the only adult in the room. The tone feels very Silver Age, all big ideas and wild setups, but the script is already playing a little too hard with real tragedy as a punchline. You can feel the hook land, yet it also asks you to laugh at jokes that the book itself keeps insisting are not funny.
Plot Analysis
The story starts at the Bronze Swan bar near the Daily Planet, where Vicki Vale, Jack Ryder, and other reporters swap "Dumb Way To Die Award" stories about three recent Metropolis deaths that look like freak accidents, including a stink bomb pie, a gender reveal disaster, and a falling piano. Clark refuses to laugh, pointing out that all three victims were generous people who used their success to help others, and he notes that he has already investigated these cases and found no clues at all. The group briefly wonders if the Joker is behind it, but Clark shoots that down because there is no calling card, just a bad pattern. Perry White then pulls Clark back to work, sending him to cover the mayor's press conference, where Mayor White proudly announces that the police, led by Chief Kekoa and Billi Henderson, have busted Intergang's advanced weapons division and reduced the Mannheim threat to Minnie Mannheim, whom he calls small time.
From there the scene cuts to an abandoned comedy club in Suicide Slum, where Minnie Mannheim meets with Uncle Oswald Loomis and his young protégé, the new Prankster. Minnie makes it clear she wants the Prankster to kill Mayor White and ruin his good name at the same time, turning his whole life into a joke that will fill the Daily Planet front page. At Meteor Stadium, Clark attends a baseball game with Steve Lombard, where Perry White is set to throw out the first pitch and a costumed kid called Mr. Meteor hands the mayor a "special ball." That ball splits into a wild storm of baseballs that threaten to pelt the field and stands, forcing Clark to vanish and reappear as Superman, who then clears the sky of deadly foul balls and saves Perry, even as Perry jokes about how dying on bat day would have been a pretty funny exit.
Later, the story jumps to the Steelworks campus in Smallville, where Jon Kent is covering John Henry Irons' work on strange ley lines and dimensional fissures around town. Superman calls Jon to ask if any of those rips come from the fifth dimension, since odd and very unfunny things are happening in Metropolis that make him suspect Mr. Mxyzptlk. Jon barely finishes the call before Mxyzptlk pops up in a fake Clark Kent style disguise, drags Jon to a rooftop, and warns him that a fourth dimensional demon named Master Txyz is coming. Mxyzptlk insists that this demon will be Jon's greatest enemy across time, then leaves, which plants a future threat but does not connect directly back to the mayor plot in this issue.
The focus then returns to Metropolis, where a ceremony in Centennial Park honors Superman yet again with a giant key to the city in front of his statue and a big crowd, with Mayor White giving the speech. The key turns out to be coated in gold and lead but solid kryptonite underneath, which drops Superman's powers at the exact moment a low flying plane starts to veer toward the park. Forced to "go golden" to burn off the kryptonite and restore some strength, Superman blasts into his golden form, which saves him from the rock but drains his powers and super senses for a while. Still, he flies off to stop the plane, leaving Mayor White to his security team, led by Mr. Cole, even as an unseen mastermind comments that the classic "bird, plane, Superman" chant is about to become a sick punchline tied to Perry White's death.
The attack unfolds as Perry's security tries to hustle him away, only to find themselves suddenly stuck and trapped in the kill zone of an unseen gag, which aims to make the mayor a joke forever. With his strength fading fast, Superman pulls off one last burst of power to disrupt the trap, shouting for Cole to get Perry clear as things go sideways around the statue. Cole throws himself between the mayor and the danger and ends up hurt but alive, and Perry survives, shaken but grateful, as Superman insists the key to the city should go to Cole, the real hero of the day. In the closing pages, Clark appears on a Daily Planet broadcast to confirm that the earlier "accidents" and the two public attacks on Perry White are murder attempts with a twisted comedic flair, comparing the unknown killer to Central City's Trickster, which enrages the Prankster enough that he vows to target Clark Kent next, free of charge, because the insult hit his ego harder than any paycheck.
Writing
The pacing leans into that old school, Silver Age rhythm, front loading talky newsroom banter, then slamming readers with two big public assassination attempts that keep the pages turning. Dialogue is punchy and quip heavy, with strong character voices for Clark, Vicki, and Perry, even if the script sometimes undercuts its own "death is not funny" stance by playing the setup as a running gag. Structurally, the issue juggles three threads, the Prankster plot, the Mxyzptlk warning, and the Steelworks science project, but only the first one lands as a complete arc inside this chapter. The script never explains key choices, like why the Prankster's nephew spends time staging believable "accidents" for early victims, then suddenly swings at Perry with big, obvious spectacles that do not match the earlier pattern.
Art
The art team nails the classic Superman vibe, from the bright, clean lines in the Daily Planet bullpen to the big, clear action shots at the ballpark and park ceremony. Panel composition keeps the chaos readable, especially during the baseball storm and the golden Superman sequence, where so many moving parts could easily turn into visual noise. Faces and body language sell character moments, like Clark's quiet horror at the bar and Perry's half proud, half weary expression when he gets honored yet again. Colors lean vivid and high contrast, which matches the Silver Age tone nicely, even though the story is dealing with murder, so the pages feel playful instead of grim.
Character Development
Clark comes across as the moral center right away, refusing to laugh at cruel jokes and carrying that concern into his work as both reporter and hero, which fits him like a glove. Perry White feels like the stubborn, old school editor who also knows how to work a crowd, so his mix of pride, gallows humor, and regret at the end of the issue feels true to the character. Minnie Mannheim and the new Prankster are less fleshed out, mostly defined by "I want power" and "I want to be taken seriously as a funny killer," which gets the job done but does not make them more than stock villains yet. The biggest character wobble is the Prankster's nephew, who is set up as a perfectionist assassin who kills reputations along with bodies, then suddenly gets sloppy with methods that do not line up with his earlier "no fingerprints" style.
Originality & Concept Execution
The core concept, murder as mean-spirited slapstick that tries to erase a good person's legacy, is a smart twist for a Superman and Daily Planet story, because it gives Clark something to fight as both a hero and a reporter. Tying that idea into Metropolis politics, newsroom culture, and public ceremonies feels fresh enough, especially with the Silver Age flavor of baseball day explosions and rigged keys to the city. Where the execution stumbles is in follow through, since the issue tosses in Master Txyz and the dimensional fissures, then leaves those ideas hanging with no payoff inside this chapter. The story also dodges its own hardest questions, like what it really means to keep turning real death into spectacle, even as it wants to critique that same impulse.
Positives
The biggest win here is how the book leans into a bright, Silver Age mood while still giving you real stakes, with ordinary people and a long time supporting cast member in the crosshairs. The baseball game attack and the park ceremony both deliver clear, energetic action that feels like classic Superman material, from the fast costume change to the creative use of the golden form when kryptonite shows up. Clark's moral stance at the bar, Perry insisting the real hero is his bodyguard, and Superman worrying that someone is trying to turn civic pride into a death gag all show a strong handle on what makes these characters worth following. If you want a Superman comic where the Daily Planet staff feels alive and the hero is racing to save both lives and reputations, this issue gives you that at a very readable, punchy pace.
Negatives
The weak spot is the logic holding the plot together, because the book sets up a killer who makes deaths look like random, grim accidents, then swaps to loud, public stunts for Perry without ever explaining the change in tactic. On top of that, Superman trusting the mayor's security team during the second attack, even after the first event proved someone is scripting big public set pieces, makes him look less sharp than he should. The Mxyzptlk visit and Master Txyz tease feel stapled onto the main story, like an advertisement for a future Jon Kent arc instead of part of this murder plot, which breaks the focus. If you are the type of reader who wants character motivation and plan details to line up cleanly, these gaps will bug you more than the fast pace can distract you.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
Follow @ComicalOpinions on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TwitterThe Scorecard
Writing Quality (Clarity & Pacing): [2/4]
Art Quality (Execution & Synergy): [3/4]
Value (Originality & Entertainment): [1/2]
Art Quality (Execution & Synergy): [3/4]
Value (Originality & Entertainment): [1/2]
Final Verdict
Superman Unlimited #9 plays like a colorful throwback thriller that delivers strong Silver Age style action and a clear sense of who Superman and Perry White are, while quietly tripping over its own logic. If you love Metropolis newsroom drama and do not mind that the villain's methods do not fully add up, this is a fun ride that earns a cautious yes for your reading stack. If tight plotting and fully explained schemes are make or break for you, the shaky logic and dangling subplots might leave you feeling like you paid for a sharper mystery than you got. In a tight pull list, this one sits in that middle space where longtime Superman fans may be happy to keep it, but more picky readers might choose to wait for a fuller arc or a stronger one shot.
6/10
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