Question: What's New With Superman? Answer: LOTS.
I haven't been a fan of Superman comics since John Byrne
revitalized him back in the 1980s. Even throughout the "Death of Superman
" and Doomsday storyline in the 1990s, the stories lacked luster. This was then followed by four new Supermen all vying for the title. Yawn. Wait...that sounds vaguely familiar. Oh, yeah...now I know. It's been 15 years since Superman "died" and now Batman has recently "died," and there are "new" characters from the Batman Family popping up everywhere in the new "Battle for the Cowl" storyline. Thankfully, this time around the concept seems more intriguing as they're using pre-existing characters that haven't gotten the attention they deserved over the years. But I digress...Today, though, new life has been breathed back into all of the Superman-related comics (Superman, Action Comics, Supergirl, and the new Superman: World of New Krypton
) and I now get excited to read each o
f them. What's the big deal? First, Jonathan Kent, Superman's adoptive father dies. As Superman tries to come to terms with the death, he suddenly finds 100,000 Kryptonians now living on Earth
(from the lost Kryptonian city of Kandor that was kept shrunk aboard Brainiac's ship). The citizens of Earth become fearful and all Kryptonians except for Superman are asked to leave. Superman leaves Earth to return to his "homeworld" to be amongst his people, but more importantly, to keep an eye on them (especially General Zod, head of the military) because he doesn't trust them. New Krypton is also led by Supergirl's mother and after the death of her husband and Supergirl's father, Superman is a bit unsure about her stability as well. There are so many characters to enjoy and conflicts to witness that I'm never sure what's going to happen next. In her own title, Supergirl is discovering the mystery of "Superwoman
" who uses unorthodox ways to issue justice. Is she friend or foe? Exciting!
Meanwhile, back in Action Comics and Superman's own title, someone has to take up the reigns during his absence. Enter: Mon-El (from the Legion of Superheroes), the Guardian, and the new duo of Nightwing & Flamebird. Mon-El provides a fish-out-of-water storyline that Superman probably had way back at his beginning in the 1930s/40s. Nightwing (not Dick Grayson from the Batman mythos) & Flamebird offer some myst
ery and...well, action...to the Action Comics title. The Guardian is...kind of average. I think we can do without him. He's probably my only disappoint with the new direction of the Superman comics. I just try to overlook him, but admire the shininess of his costume.
Way to go, DC Comics! Thanks for getting me interested in the Superman Family again.
) and I now get excited to read each o
f them. What's the big deal? First, Jonathan Kent, Superman's adoptive father dies. As Superman tries to come to terms with the death, he suddenly finds 100,000 Kryptonians now living on Earth (from the lost Kryptonian city of Kandor that was kept shrunk aboard Brainiac's ship). The citizens of Earth become fearful and all Kryptonians except for Superman are asked to leave. Superman leaves Earth to return to his "homeworld" to be amongst his people, but more importantly, to keep an eye on them (especially General Zod, head of the military) because he doesn't trust them. New Krypton is also led by Supergirl's mother and after the death of her husband and Supergirl's father, Superman is a bit unsure about her stability as well. There are so many characters to enjoy and conflicts to witness that I'm never sure what's going to happen next. In her own title, Supergirl is discovering the mystery of "Superwoman" who uses unorthodox ways to issue justice. Is she friend or foe? Exciting!
Meanwhile, back in Action Comics and Superman's own title, someone has to take up the reigns during his absence. Enter: Mon-El (from the Legion of Superheroes), the Guardian, and the new duo of Nightwing & Flamebird. Mon-El provides a fish-out-of-water storyline that Superman probably had way back at his beginning in the 1930s/40s. Nightwing (not Dick Grayson from the Batman mythos) & Flamebird offer some myst
ery and...well, action...to the Action Comics title. The Guardian is...kind of average. I think we can do without him. He's probably my only disappoint with the new direction of the Superman comics. I just try to overlook him, but admire the shininess of his costume.Way to go, DC Comics! Thanks for getting me interested in the Superman Family again.
