Joshua Williamson does a solid job on this from a character viewpoint. There are good character bits for Prime and Superman. There is a wonderful moment for the cousins. And there is some intersesting interaction between Superman and this young Zod. There is even a nod to some Krypton history that might make me crack open old books to remind myself.
But the big parts of this story - the Kryptonite meteor, Zod's plot, the removal of the expanding Green K- have been inscrutable. Why would Zod want to invade Earth and thought the best way was to shower it with variant Green K? How did he get it? How did he coat it in inertron? Why did it grow? How did Superman deactivate it? All stuff I have to roll with and since all those are key points to the story, it feels like too much. In this issue we get a preview for what will for sure be the deus ex machina for the finale.
So will I be a bit happy to see this wrap up next week? Yes. It is too much of a headache to think about.
The art is a nice split between Eddy Barrows, who continues to shine and Eduardo Pansica, an old friend around these parts. Their styles are sort of similar so the issue flows fine. There are a couple of very well done big art moments that added some punch here. And I love love love the Takara variant cover above.
But on to the book.
He kneels before Zod.
He hugs Kara and tells her she did the right thing jumping into the time bubble and going after Ursa. Supergirl has really been shown as the field commander of the super-family and the heir apparent to Superman. Small moments like this really cement that fact.
Superman might have knelt in peace but he can't convince Zod to do the right thing. Zod knows Krypton is going to explode. He wants to stop that. Or he wants technology to get everyone off the planet. And he is willing to meddle in the past to accomplish it.
Time to dust off the old World Of Krypton mini-series!
Zod won't back down. Superman won't back down. Let's get it on!
First point of clarification. Superman removed just the Kryptonite radiation of the variant. The actual rock remains on Earth. That means there is going to be a lot of rock out there to clean up and remove. A lot of it. I should go back and look at how much replicated and grew. How much do you want to bet the removal of all the inert green K is never mentioned.
Better this I suppose than Superman absorbing the mass of the rock.
But the line 'it has basically become iron' was right there as an homage to Kryptonite Nevermore! Too bad. Low hanging fruit.
With Superman in his non-gold form, it is time to assess everything that has gone on.
It is only now that they find Zod, dead in his resurrection chamber. How could have killed a Kryptonian.
No one says anything but Prime immediately goes on the defensive saying he isn't that guy any more. He has had his redemption arc. He is overwhelmed that he is in a crossover. And he realizes how hard it is to be Superman.
Everyone believes him. Amazing.
I love this take on Prime. I can't believe I have said this for some time. I like Superboy Prime. Give Joshua Williamson a medal.
No one can sense Superboy, Supergirl, Ursa, or Zod.
Until young Zod makes his splash.
He appears in the time bubble, claiming he comes in peace, but with Clark and Kara trussed up on the outside of the vehicle. Talk about Mad Max material. Love the splash, love the image, love this portrayal of Zod as arrogant and overconfident.
Trying to keep things calm and not start a brawl, Superman decides to do something unexpected.
He kneels before Zod.
Don't think this image and what it represents was lost on me. Great shot by Barrows and well colored with Superman in the light and Zod still in the shadows. Great image.
But wouldn't the faster way to deal with be to punch out the still powerless Zod, take the ship back to Krypton, and dump him off?
Then my favorite moment of the book.
Superman frees his cousin and his younger self.
He hugs Kara and tells her she did the right thing jumping into the time bubble and going after Ursa. Supergirl has really been shown as the field commander of the super-family and the heir apparent to Superman. Small moments like this really cement that fact.
But the drama isn't over.
Superman might have knelt in peace but he can't convince Zod to do the right thing. Zod knows Krypton is going to explode. He wants to stop that. Or he wants technology to get everyone off the planet. And he is willing to meddle in the past to accomplish it.
I do like that it sticks in Zod's craw that Jor-El was able to save both his son and his niece while everyone else died. It makes Zod hate Jor-El even more. It smacks of being a traitor, saving only his family. I love this Zod/El family feud history.
Of course we know that Jor-El couldn't convince anyone.
All that said, I can understand Zod's viewpoint. "Hey General, why don't you go back and wait 5 years and let the planet die so my timeline moves forward without a hitch." Not exactly easy to go along with.
This makes the 'punch the still powerless Zod and bring him back to Krypton' solution so much better, don't you think?
Ursa then reminds Zod how the yellow sun gives Kryptonians powers. Zod understands the implications of that. Powers change everything. Perhaps Black Zero was right.
I haven't thought about the Black Zero movement in a long time. They were the 'anti-cloning' or 'rights for clones' movement that ultimately led to the instability of Krypton's core. But that was waaaay back in the immediate post-Crisis reboot. Perhaps it means something new now?
Time to dust off the old World Of Krypton mini-series!
And then things get worse.
Young Zod starts to realize the power he has now. And the power of a time travel device. He can rule Earth and go back and save Krypton whenever he wants. If Kara was worried about altering the timeline with her little jaunt, imagine the havoc Zod could do.
But remember in my intro I talked about the next deus ex machina? Last issue it was how Superman could suddenly absorb and expel the variant green K energy. This issue? Lena Luthor building a 'time travel time bomb'. For sure that is going to solve a lot of ills.
Lena is becoming a sort of answer for anything. She made green K shield gauntlets. Now she is making time bombs.
Love how Ursa's first move is to put Kara in a choke hold. I am ready to see them throw down again.
Let's see though. What needs to happen in the finale.
Young Zod has to be sent back in time to Krypton and not remember this.
Superboy has to be sent back in time and not remember this.
Ursa has to be dealt with as do Zod's goons.
Will old Zod stay dead?
And what about the leftover inert green K?
And what about the leftover inert green K?
I don't know if the foundation of this story is strong. So let's hope the ending ties things up so I can't put this behind me.
Overall grade: B-
1 comment:
Ryan says the El Caldero is inert whileRya points out the hoary plot devices they had before was unaffected in that panel you posted. There's your conclusion of that part in one panel. Of course, it's drawn like it's disintegrating rather than just going inert but maybe DC has a different dictionary than us. Which artist did it? It looks like Ryan's getting stoned off of inert Green K and Ray hd forgotten he was carrying 'real' K and wonders how it got i his hands.
Post a Comment