Can Superman break the Chained?

Superman soars. — (Image credit: DC Comics)

Joshua Williamson's run on the core Superman series continues to soar with September's #6. Gleb Melnikov will be taking on the art duties for the issue, replacing Jamal Campbell (who still provides the main cover).

The issue, which marks the start of a new story arc, promises to be a big one for the Man of Steel as it introduces a mysterious villain known only as "the Chained".

DC has also teased that we'll find out more about what Braniac's been up to, enjoy some time with Lobo, and discover more about the bottled city of Czarnia, introduced way back in 1994 and recently revisited in Knight Terrors: Superman and this year's Superman Annual.

Jamal Campbell's cover leads our gallery below and is followed by variants from Lee Bermejo, Tiago da Silva, Alex Saviuk, Rose Besch, Gleb Melnikov and Mikel Janin.

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Covers for Superman #6. — (Image credit: DC Comics)

The publisher's official synopsis for the new issue reads:

"THE CHAINED PART ONE!

Following the shocking cliffhanger of Superman #5 and the events of Knight Terrors, Superman has learned that Lex Luthor kept a prisoner beneath Stryker's Island for decades. Who are they and why did Lex lock them up? Can Superman unlock the secrets of the Chained?"

Check out some gorgeous unlettered interior pages by Melnikov, which start with Lois and Clark going about their business, before introducing us to a new character that we're going to hazard a guess is the Chained because of... well, just take a look.

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Williamson's run on Superman has seen the Man of Steel forced to take ownership of LexCorp - rebranded as Supercorp - and try to turn it into a force for good, while Lex continues to pester him from prison. It sounds like he'll have a lot to say about this latest threat to Metropolis...

Superman #6 is published by DC Comics on September 9.

Animated series My Adventures with Superman will "make you smile from the moment you start watching".

Will Salmon is the Streaming Editor for GamesRadar+. He has been writing about film, TV, comics, and music for more than 15 years, which is quite a long time if you stop and think about it. At Future he launched the scary movie magazine Horrorville, relaunched Comic Heroes, and has written for every issue of SFX magazine for well over a decade. His music writing has appeared in The Quietus, MOJO, Electronic Sound, Clash, and loads of other places too.