Old and New Krypton
New Krypton continues with the introduction of several new yet familiar characters, and the apparent death of one of Superman's greatest foes. Three out of the four covers this month would feature inter-locking Alex Ross artwork.
The pre-Crisis Bottle City of Kandor was first introduced in 1958 when Superman had been around for 20 years, and then it was eventually enlarged for Superman's 40th anniversary. This second post-Crisis Kandor had only just appeared when it was restored to normal size. Though things happened at a more accelerated rate, in both cases this was a sign that the era was close to its end and a reboot was on the horizon. Having thousands of Kryptonians running around Earth made for an interesting story or two, but it simply wasn't sustainable as a long-term status quo.
A notable feature post-Infinite Crisis was an attempt to reconcile differing representations of worlds and characters from DC's history. In post-Crisis DC, if one version of a character existed then previous versions did not. Byrne's Man of Steel created a new vision of Krypon which replaced the various pre-Crisis depictions. But in New Krypton, the different styles of dress exist side-by-side, making Krypton a more culturally diverse world than previously imagined.
Superman #681
The world is overwhelmed by the arrival of an estimated 100,000 Kryptonians and Superman's superhero friends want to have a talk with him. Superman assures them that Earth will be a better place and flies to Metropolis to introduce the U.S. President to the Kryptonians. The photo op is cut short, however, when a fireball crashes into the building next to them, and the monster Doomsday emerges out of the rubble.
In Smallville, a lonely Ma Kent hears a scratching at her door and opens it to find Krypto, who has been alone since the death of Superboy. Agent Liberty, not seen since Panic in the Sky over 15 years ago, returns to lead presidential security.
Adventure Comics Featuring the Guardian #1
Taking place between the last pages of Jimmy's Olsen's special last month, this special issue shows what Jim Harper told Jimmy that made him rush back to Metropolis. The Guardian tells Jimmy the memories of the original Jim Harper that he was cloned from, and how he was killed after breaking into a Cadmus facility and finding an alien imprisoned in a tube of liquid wearing a Legion flight ring. This was the first appearance of Tellus since Zero Hour, and was another hint at the return of the pre-Crisis Legion of Superheroes. Jim Harper later broke into another Cadmus facility and destroyed the clones made of himself. After Jimmy leaves, Jim Harper takes his daughter and their trailer to Metropolis.
Since there were only two monthly Superman series, to fill up a weekly publishing schedule they added an Adventure Comics special. Like Action Comics and Detective Comics, Adventure Comics was a long-running anthology series that featured Superboy, the Legion of Super-Heroes, Supergirl, and otherss. A re-launched Adventure Comics would come the following year, first featuring Superboy and then the Legion. After Blackest Night, it would become part of the triangle numbering towards the end of the New Krypton saga, and would eventually restore the numbering of the original pre-Crisis series.
Action Comics #871
General Lane and Lex Luthor put aside their differences to work together against the Kryptonians, but General Lane makes it clear that Luthor is still a prisoner. Doomsday attacks the Kryptonian delegation meeting the President in Metropolis, but the combined might of dozens of Kryptonians takes the monster into space and easily kills it on the moon.
Some members of the Kryptonian military are still loyal to Zod and believe they need to free their general. They search the Fortress of Solitude for Superman's Phantom Zone projector to try to release Zod, but they're stopped by two new costumed Kryptonians calling themselves Nightwing and Flamebird.
Nightwing and Flamebird were originally pre-Crisis alter-egos adopted by Superman and Jimmy Olsen when they went inside the Bottle City of Kandor. The identities of this new duo would be revealed later, and they would eventually take over Action Comics for the year without Superman.
Supergirl #35
While trying to persuade their daughter to give up her human secret identity and live with them in Kandor, Supergirl's parents diagnose her memory loss and other symptoms attributed to Kryptonite poisoning. Since her ongoing series began, Kara has had conflicting origin stories including one suggesting that her father had sent her to Earth to murder her cousin Superman. Her parents cure her of the Kryptonite poisoning and effectively restore her origin to its original version. Even with her memories of Argo City restored, however, Kandor still asks her parents for some time to figure out her life. Meanwhile, a new Super Woman takes flight over Kandor, but like Nightwing and Flamebird her identity wouldn't be revealed until months later.
At the Daily Planet, Cat Grant gets a cover story and makes a name for herself by writing stories about Supergirl. Cat Grant has become more shallow and superficial since she was last seen in the Superman books as a more well-rounded character, but she would remain a part of this series for the next few years and would continue to be a part of Supergirl's world in the TV series.
Superman/Batman #54
Now that Batman has Superman's powers and Superman is powerless, Superman helps Batman train to use his powers at the Batcave. Once adapted to his new powers, Batman goes out on patrol to rid Gotham of criminals, and starts to follow the crime to its source. His determination leads him to Bane's hideout on Santa Prisca island. Bane taunts Batman to break him like Bane once did to Batman, and Batman shockingly punches through Bane's gut. While Lois helps Clark cope with the loss of his powers by taking him on a date, Clark thinks he hears the thud when Bane falls. Clark sees a woman being assaulted in an alley and tries to intervene, but he's shot by the assailant and collapses in a pool of blood in Lois' arms.
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