Review: Superman: New Krypton

You are a product of your surroundings

Forget that Last Son of Krypton stuff.  Following the events of Action Comics #870, a portion of Krypton is back, making for strange days ahead for the Man of Steel.  We’ve seen what happened when Zod, Non, and Ursa discovered the power Earth’s Sun gave them, what’s going to happen when the inhabitants of Kandor discover their own super powers?

I’m surprised DC released this issue outside of the Action Comics and Superman titles, because it is the closing chapter to the events of Action Comics #870.  Heck, I even thought I was reading two Action Comics issues in the same month until I took a second look at the cover.  While there is the mourning of the loss of Jonathan Kent, there is also cheer as Clark reflects back on some of the teachings his mother and father gave him.  It is these teachings he hopes to pass on to the people of Kandor.

This has got to be an interesting time for Superman, as he no longer is the last son of Krypton.  Instead, he has a multitude of Kryptonias he can talk with, and if he sees fit, live among them.  But there in lies the problem.  Kal-El didn’t grow up on Krypton.  He doesn’t share the ideology of his people – a people that think Zod was a great hero for attempting to take on Brainiac in the first place.  Kal-El is Clark Kent – a boy raised on the moral values of a Kansas farm couple, and not the beliefs of his home world.

These differences are quite apparent as Clark meets his aunt, uncle, and other inhabitants of Kandor, and witnesses their powers manifesting.  Imagine a sudden influx of a foreign culture into your neighborhood, where one culture doesn’t understand the other, and there is going to be trouble.  Because the Kryptonians don’t understand how Earth society works, killing an endangered species or offending the native population with talks of superiority, are not going to go unnoticed.  The same is true for the Earthlings – while they love Superman, they have been less than thrilled with his cousin, and the three escapees from the Phantom Zone. Suddenly having a whole city of those you don’t trust appearing out of nowhere is going to cause trouble.

Who is going to be the hardest hit in this New Krypton storyline?  I think it is going to be Kara.  Having grown up on Krypton, she is going to feel the calling to return to her old way of life, and when the poo-poo hits the air circulator, my guess is she is going to initially side with her family.

Those picking up New Krypton for the first time, are going to be slightly lost as there are some major developments and back story points the reader won’t to be familiar with.  I don’t know what mission Jimmy was on, and I certainly don’t know when General Lane died, or why he is suddenly talking with Lex Luthor.  But the core idea of your environment shaping your development supersedes all of these points and makes for a compelling story.

Had this been a Geoff Johns only story, I have a feeling everything would have moved at a better pace.  Instead, there are three writers telling six different stories in this single issue.  It almost feels like Clark’s interactions with Kandor are book ended by other stories, that frankly, would have been better being told outside the first issue.  The same is true for the art.  Three different artists contribute to the issue, and while the transitions are okay, it still feels out of place.

I think Superman: New Krypton #1 is a good issue to kick off a series, but for some reason felt like I ate too much, or not enough.  I’m just not completely satisfied.  I don’t know if it is the story, the art, or a combo of the two.  I really want to say, Hot Damn! but ultimately fall back to It’s Okay.  I’m giving Superman: New Krypton #1 3 out of 5 Stars.

23/23