If Marv Wolfman’s SUPERMAN RETURNS novelization would have been used as the script for Bryan Singer’s film, you’d see one much richer in background and characterization. But then you’d also be seeing a movie about five hours long, so perhaps it’s for the best.

As novelizations should, Wolfman’s book both (more or less) mirrors and expands upon its source material (and without the benefit of having seen it). I just wasn’t prepared for how excellent a job Wolfman does at the latter. Characters who are peripheral in the film step more into the foreground (like Ma Kent) or given so much more to say or do (Lex Luthor’s sidekick Kitty, for example, is no longer just a Valerie Perrine clone). And yet the core story doesn’t get lost in all this additional development: After a five-year absence in space searching for remains of home planet Krypton, Superman returns (hence the title) to Earth – and more specifically, Metropolis – to find longtime love Lois Lane engaged and with child.

But as the adage has it, the more things change, the more things stay the same – at least when it comes to Luthor. He’s still hatching master plans that will alter world maps and thrust him into a status of global power. In this case, he seeks fragments of Kryptonite that he believes will crystallize underwater and flood half the nation, leaving him with prime island real estate. Throw in perils on land, air and sea, and you’ve got yourself a solid superheroic tale, full of drama both emotional and physical.

Not all comic writers make good novelists and not all novelists make comic writers, but Wolfman – creator of BLADE, BULLSEYE and, um, NOVA – is part of the rare breed comfortable and skilled in both media. He also has the luxury to round out his story by spending about 20 pages retelling the story of Superman’s arrival to Earth as a toddler – something the sequel couldn’t do, lest bloat the running time. I also like that Wolfman makes several references to scenes from the original SUPERMAN film, like the famous “You’ve got me? Who’s got you?” helicopter rescue of Lois. And the ending, I’d argue, is even more lyrical and moving than what you see onscreen. –Rod Lott

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OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THE MAN OF STEEL:
• DC UNIVERSE: LAST SONS by Alan Grant
• IT’S SUPERMAN! by Tom De Haven
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS SUPERMAN FAMILY: VOLUME 1