World Comic Book Review

19th March 2024

The Rise and Fall of Axiom (Review)

The Rise and Fall of Axiom (Review)
Legendary Comics, August 2016
Writer: Mark Waid

DC Comics’ iconic superhero character “Superman” has long been the subject of exploration by way of character doppelganger. Legendary Comics’ title “The Rise and Fall of Axiom” may seem like yet another addition to the increasingly long line of “Superman” deconstruction stories, but it contains enough variations on the formula to entertain. Superman arrives on Earth as an extraterrestrial infant: American writer Mark Waid has written many notable stories involving Superman for DC Comics and knows the character mythos as well as anyone. In “The Rise and Fall of Axiom”, Mr Waid instead considers a pair of adult extraterrestrials with inhuman powers, the male Axiom and the female Thena. The two aliens arrive on Earth and cure cancer as a gesture of goodwill to humanity. They then proceed to become the planet’s de facto protectors by fighting crime, averting natural disasters, and intervening in unjust wars.

Read more