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Keanu Reeves’ BRZRKR proves that it’s not the war story that it initially seemed, but instead the darkest Superman tale yet.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for BRZRKR #6, now available from BOOM! Studios.
Keanu Reeves’ BRZRKR is turning out to be a compelling story about the indestructible immortal, B, who lived a life filled with bloodshed. Netflix is developing a live-action movie and an anime series set in the world of the comic, which, after just six issues, has serious potential, considering that B existed as a soldier for more than 80,000 years. However, following key developments in the most recent issue, BRZRKR revealed not to be a war story — instead, it’s the darkest Superman tale ever.
In the latest chapter, from Reeves, Matt Kindt, Ron Garney, Bill Crabtree and Clem Robins, as B took on another job for the U.S. government in Ukraine, there’s a panel that depicts him lifting a tank, in homage to the iconic cover of Action Comics #1, on which Superman strikes a similar pose as he demolishes a car. While the image might initially appear as a mere fannish nod, a later conversation indicates that B is the inverse Man of Steel.
Trying to survive in the cold wilderness after their helicopter is shot down, B’s handler Jim presses him about his past, and why he chose to fight for the United States, a clear parallel to early Superman. However, B wasn’t as altruistic; he confirms to Jim that he didn’t want to be anyone’s savior or to heal a broken planet. All he wanted to do was die, which is why he’s allowing the U.S. scientists to study him, and eventually make him mortal. He hopes he can return to whatever realm his soul came from to meet the lighting god that sent him as an infant to the cavemen.
That’s in stark contrast to Superman, whose parents sent him to Earth to escape a doomed planet, where he would become a savior, and not a destroyer like B. Clark Kent discovered himself, and his Kryptonian heritage, and became whole by fighting injustice. However, B’s journey of self-discovery is the total opposite because, by immersing himself in the chaos he hoped would lead him to the truth, he lost any sense of humanity.
More so, while Superman accepted that his Kryptonian parents were gone, and learned from his Earth family, the Kents, B killed his adoptive father and followed the path of war, hoping it would take him to his maker. In the process, B doesn’t really care what happens to Earth. As he tells Jim, he preferred war, because that made him stand out. However, because violence became a societal norm, and he grew disenchanted, being a soldier allowed him to hide as an acceptable killer.
It’s the opposite of Superman, who publicly inspired people as a symbol of justice; that gave him purpose as he moved away from his point of origin. But B is aiming to move toward his in a selfish yet understandable story.
A lot of that is because he didn’t experience the loving upbringing that Superman. B has no Lois, because he kept outliving wives, and he can’t sire offspring. It’s why he craves death: He’s outsider who believe he won’t find home on Earth, but in the afterlife, which is more nuanced than another story about Superman turning bad and becoming a dictator.
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