Ricky Church reviews Superman: Dawnbreaker by Matt de la Pena…
After getting books on Wonder Woman, Batman and Catwoman, the DC Icons series has finally gotten to the Man of Steel himself in Superman: Dawnbreaker. Author Matt de la Pena takes on Clark Kent’s days as a teenager in Smallville as he masters his various abilities and learns about a dark secret in his hometown. Pena captures Clark’s feelings and struggles at this age pretty well while infusing some real-world topics into the book’s main story and themes. While the story is somewhat predictable in places, Pena’s characterization of Clark’s growth is well done as is most of the supporting characters, some of whom are well known to the Superman mythos and some completely new additions to the story. Dawnbreaker is a fairly compelling take on Clark’s younger days and his origin as Superman that will please most fans.
Clark Kent is still in high school and only knows a couple of his powers while completely oblivious to his Kryptonian heritage. Aside from quitting the football team due to the risk his abilities give to other players on the field, Clark’s life is fairly normal until he discovers several of Smallville’s residents, mainly its Mexican immigrants, have been disappearing. Coupled with plenty of racial tensions and some suspicious activity from the town’s big corporation, Clark’s life gets turned upside down as he and Lana Lang set out to discover the cause of Smallville’s current problems.
Parts of Dawnbreaker feel fairly similar to Smallville, which is perfectly apt for a book about a young Clark Kent acting as the town’s secret hero. Pena displays a good pace for the story as it continually keeps building with more and more intrigue in Clark and Lana’s investigation. Its a fast read with chapters moving at a brisk pace, but Pena doesn’t sacrifice the story or Clark’s development for speed by allowing readers to understand the difficulties of Clark’s powers and the secrecy he has to maintain. He balances Clark’s journey of self-discovery with the mystery of Smallville’s missing residents well enough that his personal problems are never out of focus. Some of the story beats are a bit predictable, particularly in the middle portion of the novel, but Pena is still able to make it worthwhile by examining Clark’s struggles and how he handles his evolving powers and relationships around him. Some elements from the conclusion, though, feel a bit rushed and are left unfulfilled or unresolved.
It helps that Pena has a good grasp on Clark’s voice and personality, making him sound like Clark Kent instead of a 15-year-old version of Superman. His Clark is pretty relatable and Pena does a good job highlighting how increasingly out of place he feels as his powers develop, putting even more stress on him that he’ll be discovered and branded a freak. Pena captures his anxiety pretty well and uses it to tell a nice coming-of-age tale as Clark discovers who he truly is on the inside. It doesn’t quite add a whole lot new to the Superman origin, but Pena is still able to tell it in an interesting way that feels true to the character. While his relationships with the supporting characters are good for the most part, Jonathan and Martha Kent surprisingly don’t have too much to do throughout the story. Pena is till able to write them and their relationship with Clark well, but Pena could have utilized them more than just some of the big revelations Clark makes about himself, especially in the book’s closing chapters that add to the ending’s rushed feeling.
Most of the supporting characters are given interesting things to do. The dynamic between Clark and Lana is an interesting one as this Lana is a bit of a mix of Lois Lane and Chloe Sullivan as Smallville’s intrepid reporter able to fish any story out of the water. Aside from a brief scene, their relationship is devoid of any romantic tension and is strictly platonic, which is a bit of a break away from most stories told of Clark’s youth. Lana is written well with a nice chemistry between her and Clark that makes it believable they’ve been friends for so long. There is also an abundance of new characters that take up most of the supporting roles, namely Gloria, Clark’s school crush, and Bryan, the son of the corporation’s CEO. Gloria is given several good moments with Clark that avoids most of the romantic cliches in YA novels, from sappy dialogue to unnecessary drama in their budding relationship, but Bryan comes off a little bland at times, though Pena creates some interesting parallels between him and Clark and makes him a bit of a sympathetic figure. The book’s villains, however, are fairly one-note and not given a whole lot of depth.
Along with the regular type of themes you’d get with a teenaged Clark Kent about growing up, morality and the responsibility of having powers, Pena uses the opportunity to also examine some major social issues that impact the world today. Immigration, stop-and-search and racism are explored pretty heavily as the tensions in Smallville’s community rises day-by-day. There’s some pretty overt racism depicted as Clark gets his first look upfront at a hate crime and has to contend with how hateful people can be towards ‘the other’. Pena utilizes Clark’s reactions nicely as he tries to keep his anger in check and relates it to his own fear of being discovered, yet even still Clark never prioritizes his own troubles ahead of the victims he sees. While certain politicians aren’t called out by name, Pena uses the story as a clear rebuke to their rhetoric and the damage its caused to communities like Smallville.
Superman: Dawnbreaker is a good instalment of the DC Icons series that focuses on Clark’s youth and evolution in an intriguing way. Pena’s characterization of Clark is well done as he makes his turn from teenager to the beginnings of the world’s greatest superhero in a natural way. His relationship with most of the supporting characters is also one of the book’s strongest aspects, though some could have been better developed. With a brisk plot that hits on Clark’s growing powers and relevant themes to today, Dawnbreaker is a book many Superman fans will enjoy.
Rating: 8/10
Ricky Church
