Superman's best friend Jimmy Olsen is on to a big story that sends him away from Metropolis for awhile. This lands him in a chase for his life as he searches out a man for answers. He soon makes a discovery that involves Superman, and he hurries back to Metropolis in hopes of getting the word to him. But Superman has his own issues to deal with. Previous Volumes:
Superman: Brainiac
Superman: New Krypton Volume One
Superman: New Krypton Volume Two: The Kryptonians who were freed from the bottled city of Kandor have begun life side by side with the humans, and both sides are pretty much skeptical of the other. Humans from behind the scenes aren't the least bit happy about this and have already begun a strike. Supergirls parents whom she recently learned are alive and well urge her to return to the city of Kandor, completely forsaking this human life she's growing accustomed to. Meanwhile, the Kryptonians have plans of their own.
-summary
Superman New Krypton Volume One set the stage for the inevitable conflict between Humans and Kryptonians. The Kryptonians aren't thrilled at all about the monster named Doomsday being sicced on them on live television. Supergirls parents, Zor-El and Alura, plan their own offensive which ends with tragic results. The seeds of war have now been planted and both sides are craving blood. Written by Sterling Gates, Geoff Johns, and James Robinson,
New Krypton Volume Two continues the crossover taking place in Supergirl 35-36, Superman 682-683, and Action Comics 872-873. The crossovers mesh very well as you can feel the collective cohesiveness of the three writers. The story has a very nice quick pace that gets straight to the point, and brings to life several subplots and although some are predictable, interesting plot twist.
This entire situation was a time bomb waiting to explode. Mankind's fear of a world populated by Supermen really isn't something to completely disregard. It's true that Superman is the worlds savior and he has a very good heart, but not all of his race thinks this way. The premise lends a believability to the story which makes it kind of difficult not to somewhat agree with how the people of Earth feel. Now it's no secret that mankind can't even get along with each other, but at least they have a hope in dealing with their human adversaries. Therefore, it's completely understood that they would feel very afraid of 100,000 people just as powerful as Superman and possessing all of his god-like powers. Who wouldn't be worried about that?
The Kryptonians begin their retaliation by kidnapping Supermans major enemies already in custody such as Toyman and Parasite, as well as hunting down others, Silver Banshee, Bizarro, and Metallo. The people of Earth plot their next offensive, and this soon results in the Justice League and Justice Society taking matters into their own hands, and raiding the city of Kandor which begins a huge slugfest of superpowers. Unlike the first volume which featured a very small amount of action, yet was heavily story driven. This volume balances the two but it's very action heavy. I enjoy the writing here, as the writers seem to know when it's time for action only, by presenting several panels with no dialog at all. The battles actually lead somewhere and forces the story to take another turn. While these things are going on, more subplots are being introduced and the story becomes even more suspenseful.
I think the characterization is pretty strong. Superman and Supergirl are caught between the line of fire, and their loyalties come under serious questioning. Now it's a no brainer on what Superman would do, but the question is his cousin. Will she take her parents side, or try to reason with them on her cousin's behalf? And if so, how much of the pressure can she take? Supergirl's origin is also hit upon here, which plays more into how her parents sway her loyalty. The Kryptonians have an attitude that fits them rather well. They seem to have a superiority complex that makes them think they're free to do whatever they want, and this is a complete clash against Superman's values. But like the people of Earth, I can also relate to them as well. It must have been very frustrating to be trapped inside of a bottle for decades, only to be released into a world that hates you only because you're different.
Surprisingly, the artwork is pretty consistent for a crossover. The character designs have moments where it can be really cool, with one battle segment taking place with a completely furious, and red eyed Supergirl who almost looks like a demon. The battle segments have some good moments with vicious kills and some pretty good detail with multiple characters on single pages. There are a few weaker moments with characters lacking some type of definition but nothing looking too bad.
Overall, this is a very strong volume with some good plot twist and a nice cliffhanger ending. The only problem I had was the useless appearance of some characters that really didn't even serve as plot devices. Still this was a nice follow up to the first volume that keeps the story arc moving in the right direction.
Pros:
-Lots of action, story development
Cons:
-Small writing issues
