Superman: Grounded can best be described as wasted potential. The collected edition of J. Michael Straczynski’s aborted Superman arc, now available at the Cedar Rapids Public Library, leaves readers wanting more, but not in a good way.
JMS clearly had plans for his arc. The tales are all basic morality pieces, but they have a clear path set out as they go. A growing villainous threat appears about halfway through the several chapters collected in this edition, though we never learn much more about them here. What momentum the character does have gets nullified twice anyway, as the story gets interrupted by fill-ins by G. Willow Wilson. While Wilson ably produces solid Superman stories, they have little to do with the ongoing narrative set up by the four issues written by JMS in the volume.
Straczynski famously exited the series uncompleted and left it to be finished by Chris Roberson, whose issues aren’t collected here. By doing so, he left the book open-ended and the purchases of this volume feeling empty. While the story never really gets in motion, a reader can feel strong potential here—potential JMS didn’t feel fit to finish.
It’s a shame. Grounded might have been something great. Instead it comes off as a book that maybe DC should have left on the ground before it ever took flight.
Superman: Grounded is now can be checked out or placed on hold through the Cedar Rapids Library network. Copies of the hardcover collection are now available for $22.99 from Barnes & Noble on 1st Avenue or online at Amazon.com.
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