One of the greatest and most virtuous superheroes in DC Comics is unarguably Superman, but in a variant cover for the latest DC vs. Vampires comic, Superman takes on a disgusting new form. As vampires begin to emerge in the DC Universe, no heroes are safe and the latest one to be corrupted by their blood-thirsty virus is the Man of Steel himself in an all-new variant.
In the DC vs. Vampires series written by Matthew Rosenberg and James Tynion with art by Otto Schmidt, Batman is using his detective skills to uncover the mystery behind a missing person. Andrew Bennett disappeared, and Batman’s investigation takes him in the sewers under the Justice League’s headquarters, the Hall of Justice. As the Caped Crusader peels back the mystery, he sees that the heroes of Earth are falling to vampires as a new world war begins to brew between the heroes that maintained their original forms and the army of the undead.
DC vs. Vampires #3 takes the brewing conflict to a whole other level with a stunning variant cover by artist Francesco Mattina. On the cover, Superman is front and center, though the Man of Steel is not depicted as his usual righteous hero of justice. Instead, the cover takes a look at Superman after he falls victim to vampires and has been turned into one himself. Superman’s eyes are glowing red, his skin is grey and his ears are pointed, with snarling fangs bringing home his newfound vampiric look.
- DC VS. VAMPIRES #3
- Written by JAMES TYNION IV and MATTHEW ROSENBERG
- Art and cover by OTTO SCHMIDT
- Variant cover by FRANCESCO MATTINA
- $3.99 US | 32 pages | 3 of 12 | $4.99 US Variant (Card stock)
- ON SALE 12/28/21
- Vampires are hunting on the streets of Gotham City as the coming undead plague makes its first move. Batman's investigation into the disappearance of Andrew Bennett takes him into the sewers beneath the Hall of Justice, where he makes a stunning discovery! And the fall of another hero means the war for Earth has begun!
Overall, Superman simply looks terrifying in his vampire form, though one issue is called into question when looking at the Man of Steel’s undead look. One of the first Justice League members who was turned into a vampire was Green Lantern, which makes sense as if his guard was down, he is more or less a regular human, so a vampire could have easily snuck up on him to give him the transformative bite. However, Superman doesn’t need to power up to become invincible as Green Lantern does, calling into question how a vampire’s fangs were able to pierce his indestructible skin. The cover clearly depicts puncture wounds in Superman’s throat so that was the method used to turn the hero into a vampire as shown on the variant cover. Unfortunately, fans are currently left in the dark as to how a vampire was able to achieve this incredible feat.
Regardless of how Superman was turned into a vampire for the sake of the variant cover, the one thing that is clear about the artwork is how hideous Superman looks as a vampire. The stark contrast adds to the horror, as Superman is usually shown as a beacon of home, and now he is a clear bringer of darkness. Readers will just have to wait and see whether or not Superman will actually become a vampire in future installments of the DC vs. Vampires' series.
Source: League of Comic Geeks