DCU Comic Book Reviews

SUPERMAN: WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON #4

Part Four

August 2009

Written by Greg Rucka and James Robinson

Pencils by Pete Woods

Inks by Pete Woods

Covers by Pete Woods and Eric Canete

Synopsis

Green Lanterns arrive on New Krypton for a fact-finding mission.  Hal Jordan is not pleased to learn that General Zod is in charge.  Zod, however, allows Kal-el to take the Green Lanterns on a tour of the planet.  In the midst of the tour, Lieutenant Nar arrives to tell Kal-el that Zod wants to see them.  Zod informs all of his commanders that their new mission is to capture thirteen prisoners who have been in the loose since the destruction of the Phantom Zone.  Everyone is given an assignment to recapture the fugitives except for Kal-el’s team.  They are to guard the perimeter.  The Green Lanterns rejoin Kal-el’s squad on the perimeter, where they notice space ships being built.  Just then there is an explosion.  Kal-el’s squad investigates, but the criminal Val-Ty got away.  The Lanterns and Ka-el rush to capture Val-Ty.  Meanwhile, Zod orders Nar to kill Val-Ty when she gets the chance.  Kal-el overhears and tells Nar to belay those orders.  Together, they are able to capture Val-Ty.  Zod takes the prisoner into custody and then arrests Nar and Kal-el for treason.  

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

This was another great issue of this series.  Very little happens in terms of the plot until the end, but rather than the issue just marking time until that point, Rucka and Robinson take us on a tour of New Krypton, fleshing out the planet and what is happening.  It really helps to make the world seem like a living, breathing place, which enriches the book even more.  Add on top of that some great character interaction with the Lanterns, some deeper mystery with the spaceships, and the final pages with Val-Ty, and (I’ve said it before) this is easily the best of the Superman-related books. 

However, the cover is misleading, suggesting that Hal and Kal (hey, that rhymes!) would come to blows.  The fact that it doesn’t happen is another sign at how great this book is.  It is tempting to have the two fight each other, but there is no reason for the two to fight each other.  It is nice to see how Rucka and Robinson handle the Lantern cameo.  Their presence is slightly threatening (who wants the Lanterns looking in on you), but Hal and Kal-el handle the situation well. Overall, the Lantern inclusion in the story feels natural and makes perfect sense. 

The ending to this story is just plain brilliant.  I loved it.  Rucka and Robinson have come up with a wonderful conflict to challenge Superman.  The Man of Steel is doing the morally right thing by saving the life of Val-Ty, but by doing that he puts himself squarely against the laws of New Krypton.  It is the proverbial rock and a hard place.  By doing the right thing, Kal-el is doing the wrong thing.  Moreover, the previous issues have been leading up to this point.  Each issue featured some type of battle between Zod’s orders and Kal-el’s actions.  So to see Kal-el countermand Zod’s orders does not seem out of character and in some ways we are kinda expecting it.  However, unlike before when Zod congratulated Kal-el for his work, this time we get handcuffs.  Just brilliant. 

I do have one question:  how long has Kal-el been on New Krypton?  How long has it been since the Phantom Zone collapsed?  How long have the prisoners been free?  The timing of the events in this issue didn’t feel right to me.  I can’t decide if the writer’s hadn’t planned properly or if the timing is actually part of Zod’s secret evil plan. 

I thought the inclusion of Sodam Yat as one of the Lanterns sent to investigate was interesting.  It doesn’t quite make sense when you look at it from a Lantern point of view.  His sector is nowhere near Earth and despite his role as Ion he is not an Honor Lantern like Kyle Rayner and Guy Gardner, who are from Earth.  I suppose one could argue that Sodam was sent because of Mon-el, but my impression is that Sodam was unaware of Mon-el until Kal-el brought it up. 

Speaking of Lanterns, who are the others that came along?  The top panel on pages 4 and 5 show at least 3 other Lanterns besides Hal, John, and Sodam.  Also on that page, what is the deal with the glowy face person?

ïPREVIOUS	Main		Page	NEXTð

Home ●  Blog ● Who Are We? ● Site News
Alive and Well since April 16, 2006

 DC Universe Reviews.  All Rights Reserved
  Characters, trademarks, brands are property of DC Comics

For problems or questions regarding this website, please contact our kindly webmaster.
Last updated: 08/06/11.