A new Superman series begins, but unfortunately it will be practically the only book Kal El appears in during the next year. Superman's own series and Action Comics will feature new or mostly unknown characters during that time. Rather than gaining a weekly installment in the never-ending battle, it really felt like fans were getting less but paying more. This experiment would not recreate the magic of Reign of the Supermen, where four imposters took over the four titles while Superman was dead. The characters that would take over the books this time weren't as interesting and sales would slump to historical lows. These were comics I read once and never touched again until now. They were bad enough the first time and it hasn't improved with a second reading, now it just feels like a chore.
Superman: World of New Krypton #1
Superman returns to New Krypton on the opposite of the sun to tell Alura that he's accepted her offer to live among the Kryptonians and renounce Earth. She tells him he must join one of Krypton's guilds but gives him time to think it over. He has a meeting with General Zod and a quick fight with Non. When he returns to see Alura, he tells her he thinks the guild system is wrong and chooses none of them. Unhappy with his decision, she tells him she'll pick one for him, but he won't like it. Kal El finds himself a Commander in the Military Guild, under General Zod. Kal El dons a military uniform, and we wouldn't see the Superman costume much for the rest of the year.
The guild system was a way to explain how the contradictory cultures and appearances of Krypton over the years could all co-exist. Pre-Crisis depictions are represented in the Artist and Labor guilds, while John Byrne's post-Crisis design is incorporated in the Science Guild. World of New Krypton was originally solicited as a 15-issue series, but it would only make it to 12 issues. It would be followed by a 3-issue Last Stand of New Krypton mini-series, so perhaps they did stick to the original plan in some form.
Action Comics #875
With Superman off world, Action Comics is taken over by the new Nightwing and Flamebird who have been making appearances here and there before now. Nightwing and Flamebird are two Kryptonians remaining on Earth in disguise to hunt down the Phantom Zone criminals who remain on Earth. It's revealed that Nightwing is really Christopher Kent, General Zod's biological son and later Lois and Clark's foster son, who went missing at the conclusion of Last Son. Chris seems to be aging rapidly since the last time we saw him, and he speculates that it's somehow related to his time in the Phantom Zone. This would be lazily repeated by Brian Michael Bendis a decade later when Jonathan Kent was aged into a young adult.
Supergirl #39
Who Is Superwoman? part 3
Though Kryptonians are now banned on Earth, Supergirl stays behind to continue the mission her mother sent her on and bring Reactron to justice. Her mother calls her just to tell her how disappointed she is that her daughter didn't complete the mission in the time frame she was given. Supergirl wonders to her only real friend on Earth, Lana Lang, why her mother couldn't have been killed instead of her father.
Meanwhile, the mysterious new Superwoman is ordered by General Lane to work with Reactron. Lucy Lane finds Supergirl to tell her that Superwoman and Reactron are are flying a search pattern over Metropolis looking for Supergirl, so Supergirl flies there to let them find her.
Superman #686
Mon El takes over Superman's eponymous series. Before Superman leaves Earth, he meets Jimmy Olsen at the top of the Daily Planet and tells him to be there again at the same time tomorrow. The next day, Mon El meets Jimmy and gives him a signal watch attuned to his hearing. After a fight with Rampage, Mon El meets the Guardian and Steel, who aren't impressed with his reckless tactics. Shortly after, the Guardian introduces the Science Police to their newest recruit, Jonathan Kent. Not to be confused with the later son of Superman, this was just Mon El's new alter ego. One of the officers makes fun of his messy hairstyle, so Mon El gets a haircut before he suits up in his secret identity. We also see that Atlas is still lurking around Metropolis since he was defeated by the Man of Steel.
Comments
Post a Comment