Superman Forever
The Good: The cover has that so-so 90's 3D representing the beyond current comprehension future I love to ramble on about, and it also has Future Superman with Lois Lane in a creepy corruption of any iconic Superman pose. It does a great job setting the scene for a world where Future Superman isn't trusted.
We get a better sense of just how insanely powerful Future Superman is in his time. It's interesting to hear about all his super useful powers he can't use in this fight, making you contemplate just how crazy his tough battles must be like. It also creates a good juxtaposition to his current level of powers, especially when he's still kicking ass with them.
The artwork has a nice dark quality to it, with some cool gritty shadows; and the panel layouts have a rough sort of simplicity to them that works very well with this story.
The issue title was well chose, and it works on several levels. In addition, there's a great running theme of the idea of 'Superman' as a name, which makes it fitting that this story is chronicled in the series simply titled 'Superman.'
Future Superman has really impressed me with his sheer determination. He knows he's getting weaker and weaker, but he always strives to push past his limits as he constantly rediscovers them as they redefine themselves.
We get some nice framework for the increased focusing of the lot, and given more constraints the heroes must work under. It makes you realize how much has happened in so little time chronicled by the event thus far, and creates some great tension.
There's some excellent depth sewn into the idea of being mortal. Future Superman fears his descent to mortal level, but expresses a long time subconscious desire to be just that. Meanwhile, he's awed to be in the presence of the one and only Lois Lane, and it intrigues him to discover just how 'human' she is.
The Bad: I feel like, wouldn't it make more sense if Future Superman was falling down to present Superman's levels? He's now exposed to Original Superman's sun, and has more things in his DNA to still give him powers; then again, maybe the diluted DNA is the reason. I guess I just personally feel it would be more interesting that way.
Lois and Future Superman haven't taken their English lessons. They've confused 'sarcasm' with 'irony.' The English major in me cringed every time they made a joke about 'irony' when they clearly meant sarcasm.
Why would you mention the events of the issue that takes place AFTER this one? It would make more sense to change things just slightly in the last page to make this issue lead into that one. As it is, the editor's note seems to imply that the next part of the event, Superboy, takes place between events in this issue.
Like Superman: Man of Steel, this issue has some inconsistency in the pacing. It's not as bad, but it's still a bit off. There's some big importance built into the idea of the world not trusting Future Superman, but I still don't feel like it was as huge a thing as they try to make it out to be, and after the last issue dragging out a fight between Future Superman and the Metal Men, this issue rushes itself between plot points towards the end.
I don't feel like Future Superman is quite as interesting as Future Batman. He's a little too similar to original Superman compared to how subtly Future Batman differs from original Batman.
In Conclusion: 3.5/5
It's definitely better than Man of Steel, but it's not quite as good as Action Comics. It starts off really well, but the pacing starts to flounder a bit towards the end. Kal-Kent is a pretty interesting character, and he works well in this story with a severe lack of his over-the-top level of powers. This issue does a great job with the idea of the iconic elements, and creates some great plot points for the main DC One Million story, it just could've been a little better paced.