The Kryptonians stand side by side against Earth's government.

May 11, 2012

by Madpenguin
posted in Speech Bubbles: Comics & Graphic Novels

Rating:

Superman freed the bottled city of Kandor from the clutches of Brainiac in a brutal battle, that ended with his adoptive father Jonathan Kent being killed by the mad alien. 100,000 Kryptonians were freed, and due to the different views between them and people of Earth they fled the planet. Several figure-heads behind the scenes of Earth are not satisfied with the Kryptonians existence, since they all possess Superman's powers. As a result, they embarked on a genocidal campaign led by Lois Lane's father General Lane. The two sides are approaching a full scale war.

Previous Volumes:

Superman - Brainiac

Superman - New Krypton Volume One

Superman - New Krypton Volume Two

Superman - Mon-El

Superman - Nightwing and Flamebird

Supergirl - Who is Superwoman?

Superman - New Krypton Volume Three

Superman - Codename: Patriot

Supergirl - Friends & Fugitives:

Supergirl returns to New Krypton having to face her mother Alura in failure to capture her father's killer, the golden Kryptonite-heart warrior Reactron. Due to this, Supergirl also has a falling out with her best friend Thara aka Flamebird. Supergirl later finds herself back on Earth stuck in a tight situation. -summary

The New Krypton saga has finally caught some real stride, and by this time in the story plenty has taken place. Written by Sterling Gates and Greg Rucka; Supergirl: Friends and Fugitives collects Supergirl issues 43, 45 - 47, Action Comics 881, 882, and Superman Secret Files 2009 #1. This story isn't the least bit newbie friendly as it follows Supergirls story taking place after the events of Superman - Codename: Patriot. In the previous story, General Lane finally put some of his masterplan to work, by using the two Kryponite-hearted warriors Metallo and Reactron, along with a powerful sorceress by the name of Mirabai to viciously ambush Supergirl, Flamebird, Nightwing, and Mon-El. His plan is to plunge the country into an Anti-Kryptonian hysteria. The plan is working since Mon-El is presumed dead, and the other three are considered fugitives being blamed for several crimes. They must contend with an elite unit designed specifically to deal with Kryptonians. This means men in high-tech suits, weapons powered by red-sunlight, missiles tipped with green Kryptonite, everything.

The story is very well paced and when the fist aren't flying (which isn't for very long) some of the character interactions can be pretty good. Lane was developed well as a master strategist in Patriot, but watching his plan come together plus predicting their next moves, you just know the man is a military genius. His character has been written very well by this point. The Kryptonians feel hopelessly outmatched mainly because they're constantly holding back. They have to refrain from killing these people, to include the harder they fight the more guilty they appear. They must find another avenue to fight back, and the only way to do is by proving their innocence.

The story moves into full-throttle, as they battle against Reactron who's powers have went through an upgrade since his defeat to Supergirl. This is among the better battles, as Reactron takes on their combined might in a brutal fight. The story isn't completely all action. The writers make an attempt towards the thought-provoking, by examining media manipulation and describing how ignorance can breed hate for an entire race. The entire planet is after them and nowhere is safe, as they get into a battle in another country. To a certain degree, I'm just kind of not feeling this story element though. This isn't about a race hating someone because of their skin color or religion. This is the people of Earth being afraid of beings with the powers of Superman, who clearly don't like them as far as they can tell. They know first-hand how dangerous they are, because they saw them beat the killing machine Doomsday half to death on national TV in mere seconds at the start of this saga. So why wouldn't they be worried? I'm not saying that the theme is poorly used, but I feel a sense of somewhat misguided writing here.

Once again, the artwork by Jamal Igle and Pere Perez delivers. The action panels have some very cool moments, with loads of action as the Kryptonians take on the special unit Squad K and military forces. The battle with Reactron is an energy blasting spectacle with plenty of fisticuffs and brutal killings. There are some nice backgrounds on New Krypton such as the violet, evening time, star-filled skies and rose-laden ground. The Earth cities have some nice moments also of high rises and even the Eiffel Tower.

Outside of some stale bickering moments between Supergirl and Thara, this is a pretty solid book. Supergirl's run at this point on the New Krypton saga has delivered some fun-filled stories. The action was very good, plus the relationship with her mother becomes more developed. The cliffhanger at the end was kind of unexpected, and all it does is make you want to continue the story immediately. This is a very essential crossover that must be read.

Pros:
-Story and artwork

Cons:
-Small amount of weaker moments, does not stand alone well at all

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woopak_the_thrill May 13, 2012

when I heard about this storyline, I was like "finally, they managed to tap that concept...." Kandor has been a sleeping idea in the 70's and had some development in the 80's. I may need to catch up with the big red 'S'.

Madpenguin May 13, 2012

There was plenty of potential with that storyline, but when looking at the campy feel of the silver age, it's no surprise when looking back they did nothing worth mentioning back then. This crossover has some good and bad moments. I will be covering the entire thing. Right now I'm just feeling too lazy to write.

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FM_ALEX May 13, 2012

See I remember some of the N.K. story but then at times I feel like I missed so much. Great review as always.

Madpenguin May 13, 2012

Chances are you did miss a lot, because if you didn't catch this in the original run, then the TPB's threw you off. I know plenty of people who aren't the least bit familiar with the story order and books involved.

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About the reviewer

Madpenguin

Member Since: May 22, 2011
Last Login: Jun 15, 2013 08:21 PM UTC