Superman and the Joker team up in an issue of Action Comics that feels like the world's most unlikely superhero buddy movie

Art from Action Comics #1063
(Image credit: DC)

Who do you turn to when you're trapped in a world gone mad? For Superman the answer is obvious - and terrifying. Meet the world's sanest man: the Joker.

Action Comics #1063 marks the conclusion of Jason Aaron and John Timm's three-issue 'I, Bizarro' storyline, the first part of the Superman Superstars initiative from DC. In last month's issue, Superman was corrupted by the spell that has transformed the entire human race into Bizarros. However, the Man of Steel was able to fight off his magical influence and regain control of himself. Still, even for Superman, taking on all of humanity is a tall order. Now he must find a way to stop Bizarro for good...

Art from Action Comics #1063

(Image credit: DC)

Spoilers for Action Comics #1063

In #1063, Superman is navigating a mental model of Metropolis. Yes, while Sherlock has his "Mind Palace", Superman has a working replica of the entire planet in his brain. He's here to confront his own deepest fears while being guided in the real world by the Joker who, thanks to Bizarro, is now the reverse of his usual maniacal self. Still smart, he's kind and helpful and able to use his fierce intellect for good, rather than evil. 

The result is a comic that feels like a deeply unlikely superhero buddy movie. Still, it remains an uneasy alliance. At one point the clown says, "Don't you worry Superman. You may be on the verge of complete mental ruin, in a world where every living person violently despises you… But at least you've got the Joker looking out for you!" That's probably not quite as reassuring as he'd hoped...

It's in this imaginary world that Superman is able to confront the shard of Bizarro embedded in his mind. Even with the Joker's help, it's not enough to beat Bizarro who first punches Superman through the entire planet and then succeeds in killing him. He resurrects, and is immediately killed again - a loop that happens over and over again, with Superman dying and resurrecting over 100 times before Bizarro finally succeeds in conquering his mind.

Art from Action Comics #1063

(Image credit: DC)

Now faced with a murderous Superman who has been entirely compromised by Bizarro, the Joker gives a speech described as "the finest display of sympathy, sensitivity and high-minded sanity in the entire history of the human spoken word." Of course, we don't get to actually read it, but the thought of the Joker delivering such a stirring homily is delightful. It bores Bizarro stiff, but is enough to reawaken Superman who comes back stronger and more powerful, enabling him to revers Bizarro's spell.

This, of course, has one terrible side-effect. While humanity is saved, the Joker will inevitably revert to his evil self. He takes that philosophically, noting that he's always known that this would happen and that it's been an honor to be Superman's pal, just this once. Superman for his part seems devastated - although he only knew this version of the Joker for a few hours, he feels like he has lost a friend.

Art from Action Comics #1063

(Image credit: DC)

This is a great final issue of what's been a truly excellent arc. Jason Aaron is able to precisely capture the humor and absurdity of Superman's world while injecting it with a real sense of empathy and pathos. Who knew that "the Joker is a good guy now" would be both funny and genuinely quite moving?

John Timm, meanwhile, has a real command of scale and detail in his art, providing action-packed pages that are full of life and movement, while also feeling satisfyingly bruising. Arcs like this are why we love Superman comics, and it would be wonderful to see this team tackle an ongoing Man of Steel book. That's it for now, however, with Action Comics handing over to writer Joshua Williamson and artist Rafa Sandoval for the next arc, 'House of Braniac'.

Action Comics #1063 is out now from DC.


Writer Jason Aaron opens up about his lifelong love of Superman in our exclusive interview.

TOPICS
Will Salmon
Comics Editor

Will Salmon is the Comics Editor for GamesRadar/Newsarama. He has been writing about comics, film, TV, and music for more than 15 years, which is quite a long time if you stop and think about it. At Future he has previously launched scary movie magazine Horrorville, relaunched Comic Heroes, and has written for every issue of SFX magazine for over a decade. He sometimes feels very old, like Guy Pearce in Prometheus. His music writing has appeared in The Quietus, MOJO, Electronic Sound, Clash, and loads of other places and he runs the micro-label Modern Aviation, which puts out experimental music on cassette tape.

Read more
Absolute Batman.
Absolute Batman #5 pays homage to an iconic scene from The Dark Knight
Absolute Batman in action.
Absolute Batman innovates by presenting us with a Caped Crusader who is still a work in progress
Young Bruce and Selina run.
Absolute Batman #3 teases a new origin for the Riddler and delves into Bruce and Selina's childhoods
Absolute Batman in the snow.
Absolute Batman writer Scott Snyder teases the arrival of Robin, crossovers with Superman and Wonder Woman, and building up to the Joker
Black Mask sees the Bat-Signal
Absolute Batman is finally allowing one underrated villain to reach his full potential
Superman flies with Krypto.
The Man of Steel's world is about to change forever as former Amazing Spider-Man writer Dan Slott launches new series Superman Unlimited at DC
Latest in Comics
Ms. Marvel alongside the mutants of Age of Apocalypse
30 years after the original Age of Apocalypse, Ms. Marvel Kamala Khan will travel to the alt-reality to save X-Men history
Superman and the rest of the Super family at Pride.
DC Pride 2025: A revamped special issue starring Green Lantern Alan Scott, new books, and a host of variant covers
The Punisher holding two machine guns in the rain
Daredevil: Born Again - Learn the bullet-riddled comic book history of the Punisher before he officially joins the MCU
Jay, Silent Bob, Archie, Betty and Veronica.
Snootch to the nooch! Mallrats director Kevin Smith is writing an Archie Comics/Jay and Silent Bob crossover
Absolute Batman in the snow.
Absolute Batman writer Scott Snyder teases the arrival of Robin, crossovers with Superman and Wonder Woman, and building up to the Joker
King Kong wrestling a giant squid monster
The Monsterverse expands with Return to Skull Island, a comic tying into Netflix's King Kong-centric animated series
Latest in News
inZOI Character Studio screenshot showing a young woman with short black/pink hair, black cat-like ears, and a black blouse with a bowtie
The creator of upcoming life sim Inzoi says he was "recklessly brave to even think about creating a game of this scale"
Rise of the Ronin
A year after its PS5 launch, Rise of the Ronin debuts on PC to "Mixed" reviews and performance complaints: "Stuttering on a 4090 is just... no"
Rise of the Ronin's photo mode offers some wonderful shots
On the heels of Rise of the Ronin's PC launch, its director says there's a "significant" amount of Japanese Switch gamers: "I am closely watching how this will change with the release of Switch 2"
Stardew Valley Castle Village mod
Stardew Valley Expanded creator is building an "even more ambitious" mod with a whole new city and "dungeons inspired by The Legend of Zelda"
Dino Crisis 2 art showing a young woman and man back-to-back amid tall green grass, both with their weapons drawn
Dino Crisis gets a fresh trademark filing by Capcom, but it might not mean the 26-year-old survival horror franchise will get a new installment like fans expect
Cujo
Netflix is making a brand new adaptation of Cujo, the infamous Stephen King book about a killer dog