Review: Superboy And The Legion of Super-Heroes #255

Hey all!

A snow-pocalypse has slightly altered the schedule of the blog so my review of Superman #38 has been delayed  from today into next week. As a result, please enjoy this look back at Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #255.

I have been looking for a Legion book to review on this site for a bit. Most know I love the Legion and I have been waiting for the team to get a proper reboot in the Rebirth era.

And given my recent lamenting of the 'going back in time to visit Krypton' storyline in Action Comics these days, this issue seemed like a quirky little book to go to for a review. There isn't any Supergirl in this post. But not only do you get a visit to Krypton and the El family before the planet blows up, you get plenty of angsty teenage Clark. As a bonus, you get Shrinking Violet in her mod green jumpsuit! What's not to love?

This is a near-perfect example of a Bronze Age done in one story, zipping through any number of plot points with startling alacrity. And this book starts more like a Superboy solo book than a Legion tale. It takes a while for everything to mesh. But once it does, it is a wild ride.

Review: Action Comics #988

Action Comics #988 came out this week, the second part of 'The Oz Effect'. Last issue ended with the revelation that Oz was actually Jor-El. This issue gives us Oz's backstory, filling in where Jor-El has been all these years.

Dan Jurgens throws in a wrinkle which I should have anticipated, linking this to the upcoming Doomsday Clock. I suppose with all the blue energy floating around the DCU these days and just how 'deus ex machina' it has been that I should have been expected this. After all, I should have been watching the Watchmen. Is it enough to make me expect the return of this twisted Jor-El? I'm not sure.

And, despite a reasonable comic book explanation for Jor-El to be alive, I still have doubts about whether this is truly *the* Jor-El. I just keep wondering how someone who clearly has Green K inside his body is continues to walk around unscathed. Although I suppose 'blue energy' could have removed that weakness.

In an added treat, the art for the issue is done by Ryan Sook. I am a huge fan of Sook. I love his covers. And I will always seek out books where he does the interiors. So this was a big treat. Sook brings a nice real feeling to this story, much of which plays out on our flawed world. DC should give Sook more work, maybe mini-series that he has time to complete?

On to the book.

Review: Action Comics #987

Action Comics #987 came out this week finally answering the question of 'Who is Mr. Oz?'. The story is titled 'The Oz Effect' which is appropriate given how Oz manipulates events on Earth to bring about a face-to-face between Superman and him. And the answer is ... well ... interesting if not already hinted at.

The idea has been percolating through the book since the Johns/Romita Jr run. Who is this character sitting behind a wall of TV screens, talking about how he taught lessons to Superman, and capturing Doomsday, Mr. Mxyzptlk, and Tim Drake? And why is he doing all of that.

Between the name Oz and the Nostalgia symbols everywhere the initial guess was Adrian Veidt, Ozymandias. Then I thought it might be Vyndktvyx back to teach Superman more hard lessons from life. And then Bleeding Cool came out with the guess of Jor-El or even Zor-El. For me, I can't help but imagine that the identity of Oz has actually changed over time. I wish I could give Geoff Johns truth serum and ask who he planned Oz to be. I doubt it's who Oz ends up being at the end of the issue.

And even now I am not sure if there isn't one more reveal to come. Maybe this reveal is a feint for an ultimate reveal. "Pay no attention to the man behind that curtain!"

The art on the issue is by Viktor Bogdanovic and he really shines here. Between big panels, wavy panels, and super narrow panels, the pace of the story speeds up with the art. And there are great images of Superman throughout. If Bogdanovic is being added to the stable of folks who work on this book, I'll be happy.

On to the story ... spoilers ahead.

Review: Adventures of Superman #8

Adventures of Superman #8 came out last week in print form and was another look at a sort of Krypton Returns tale. We have seen a lot of this over the last years as more creators try to mine some emotional response from Superman (and Supergirl) on the return of their world.

So I will admit it was hard to read this without thinking immediately of the just finished Krypton Returns, a story - like this one - where Jor-El was wrong and then incarcerated for his mistake. This felt a bit like a rerun. And with New Krypton just around 5 years in our rear view mirror, the return of Krypton feels like well worn material. I also felt just a hint of 'For the man who has Everything' here, a sort of 'be careful what you wish for' layer.

And the ultimate villain's motivations and schemes seem a tiny bit off as you will see.

All that said writer Marc Guggenheim wraps things up nicely, bringing in a satisfying ending. He does this by making this version of Superman relatively ignorant of Kryptonian culture and eager to learn a little bit more. I don't know if I would call this one of the better Adventures stories but it is fine.

Artist Joe Bennett does solid work here. I know Bennett mostly from his time on Birds of Prey. His linework here reminded me strongly of Ryan Sook's work. That is a high compliment.

The book opens with a nice sequence where Superman is dealing with Titano in downtown Metropolis. The action panels are well constructed and I can never get enough Titano.

While he is fighting, Superman is eavesdropping on the Planet where Emil Hamilton drops the bomb. While gazing into the stars, Hamilton has discovered that Krypton still exists. It never blew up.

There are some nice moments here where Guggenheim injects some classic Superman stuff - not just Titano, but Lois misspelling words, Jimmy wearing a green plaid jacket and in the middle of danger, and Perry complaining.

But the Krypton reveal is the hook for the main story.

As I said above, this Superman doesn't seem to know much about Krypton at all. He can barely work his way through the Kryptonian plaque on the rocket. His main knowledge is from the Jor-El video log which luckily is in English.

That sense that he is relatively clueless about Krypton is a new wrinkle to this sort of story. I doubt this Superman has a Fortress with crystals and Kelex and a big Jor-El and Lara statue.

And this is a fairly heavy message by Jor-El, telling Kal that Krypton will only live through him. I can imagine that that is quite a burden.

Superman decides to fly to Krypton to investigate what has happened. At some point I will need to get over the fact that Superman has retained powers under a red sun on Krypton (Lobdell does it too). It just seems a little too convenient and not exactly forward thinking by Superman. What if his powers failed en route and he died in space? How did he plan on leaving ... or did he plan on leaving? I get that he has stored yellow sun energy ... but flying in space unprotected?

Anyways, I did like this sequence where Superman without the benefit of speaking Kryptonese needs to use hand signals and his parents' names to get to where he needs to get. Had to break out my Kryptonian Alphabet.

Much like Lobdell's Krypton Returns, Jor-El is jailed for being 'wrong', basically accused of being a rabble-rouser. This also reminded me of Moore's 'For the Man who has Everything' where Jor-El is so vilified for his error that he becomes angry and forms a fascist political party.

This Jor-El is much more sympathetic. He is sad. He sent his son away. His wife died alone.

Still ... 30 years of jail?

And in almost every story, Jor-El never tells a ton of people about his concerns. When the Council rejects his findings, he goes home and works on his own solutions.

Luckily Superman is there to plead his case. Jor-El has suffered enough, has paid his due, and is released.

But again, it is that 'stranger in a strange land' feel to this book is what I found most interesting. Even though this is his 'homeland', Kal knows nothing about it.

And I like that Guggenheim makes this Krypton a 'vibrant and passionate' place. It would be harder for Superman to feel accepted here in a cold scientific world like Byrne's Krypton. But street musicians and kids flying kites? That sounds like Smallville.

Could Superman be tempted to stay?

Of course not.

After maybe too long, he realizes that this couldn't be Krypton.

How could a curious race like Krypton be so isolated and not explore space? But more importantly, how could Jor-El have gone so long without trying to see Kal, contact him, be with him?

It is such a break from what Jor-El would do that this place has to be a fake.

What do you think? Would that be enough to break the spell?

Well, he is right.

And here is where things take a bit of a left hand turn.

It turns out this whole thing has been a Brainiac plot to kill Superman. Brainiac went back in time, studied Kryptonian culture, recreated an entire planet with automatons programmed to simulate Kryptonian life so that Superman would stay, eventually lose his powers under the red sun, and be vulnerable. Then Brainiac would kill him.

Doesn't this seem a bit elaborate?

How much energy did he devote to making this? Building it? Programming a planet of citizens?

Isn't that just a tad too much work?

Brainiac even says that when he went back in time he contemplated killing Kal in the crib (which makes sense) but decided he would be happier doing it this way (which makes no sense).

It turns out Brainiac did his job too good. He even rebuilt the prototype adult sized rocket Jor-El built prior to the destruction of the real Krypton. That's right, he got it right down to that level of detail.

Kal uses the rocket to blast himself into space to soak up some more yellow sun rays. But it seems like a brief trip to recharge completely.

But think about it. If Jor-El had an adult prototype that was capable of flinging someone into space (as it did here) why didn't he convince Lara to give it a try? I don't know.

But then the irony continues. As a failsafe in case he couldn't kill a de-powered Kal, Brainiac rigged this Krypton to explode too.

Now Superman has to live through the loss of his homeworld and all its people (automatons) in front of his eyes. Great 'death throes' art by Bennett here.

So really this was more about psychological warfare than anything.

That seems a bit weird coming from Brainiac.

And I can't get past the sheer amount of work that would have to be done to create this thing. It sounds like a Dr. Evil plot. I can hear Brainiac saying it. "I have an even better idea. I'm going to place him in an easily escapable situation involving an overly elaborate and exotic death."

Still, I don't often go for a maudlin Superman mourning Krypton but at least this time it made sense. He saw met his 'father', he saw Krypton's 'people', and he watched 'them' die. He should be tearful.

This last panel is what I would have hoped to see post Krypton Returns, a natural response. But we didn't see it there.

I get the pulse behind this story is having Superman learn about his native land and realize what he has lost. It just feels like Guggenheim went a long way to get there. Maybe too far.

Overall grade: C+

Review: Superman #25

Superman #25 came out this week and it was appropriate that it came out during Thanksgiving week. Because I am loudly giving thanks that this storyline is over and that (hopefully) we will never see the character H'El again.

This is the finale of Krypton Returns and, like prior issues, there is plenty here that makes little sense. Between multiple timelines, unclear actions, rapid scene endings, and an incomprehensible climax, there is a lot here not to like. Many of these concerns require the 'roll with it' panacea that Scott Lobdell has asked of readers in the past. If you don't understand it, just move on. And frankly, I deserve a little more than that.

The sad thing is there are actually several nice character moments in this issue but they are lost amidst the story problems. Like in H'El on Earth, Superboy has the best moments of the story with solid characterization that I only wish we saw in Kon's own book. Superman has one classic moment in the story but otherwise is stuck in some rough scenes. Supergirl's moments in this book are something of a mixed bag of good and bad. Some of them are actually very interesting and I might have thought we would finally have some character growth from her. But these better moments seem strange now knowing that in a couple of months she'll be donning a Red Lantern ring.

Kenneth Rocafort is on art and continues to produce beautiful work. From the more horrific moments to the more straightforward action sequences, he really shines.

The issue starts with an almost introduction page, showing the three super-heroes and where they are in Krypton's history. But it is the way that Lobdell introduces the heroes that makes me cringe. You can almost see Lobdell's pecking order of the Supers on this page.

At the top is Superboy, "his mind and body will be without limit". Pretty impressive.
Then Superman, "his actions can change the course of history". Wow.

And then Supergirl, wielding a spear before a rabid army. "A rage grows in her that could CONSUME worlds." Okay ... not so heroic.

I suppose it fits with the Red Lantern future ... but really. Supergirl has that much rage in her? I don't want to beat a dead horse but this is the problem with DC's current treatment of Kara. She isn't a hero. She's an angry young woman.

Now there is a lot in this story that you just have to take with a grain of salt. There are things that happen, there are lines of dialogue said, that make little sense. Here Superboy intuits that H'El must be weakening because he is fighting Supergirl in another time. Lucky guess?

Then H'El says this ... which makes no sense. He wants to save Krypton so that he can destroy Krypton? Why go through all this bother when the planet is doomed all on its own?

Suddenly I have no clear idea of what the hell H'El is doing in this storyline. Initially he wanted to save Krypton because he admired Jor-El. Now he hates Krypton. Why not just go out into the universe? Or take your revenge out on the few survivors?

In fact there are a lot of things about H'El that make little sense. The scars, the self-carved backwards 'S', his motives.

Of course, he simply disappears here. Given the timeline concerns, I suppose this happened because at some other point in time he is defeated (as we shall see).

And then the next part of the story that makes little sense. We know from Action Comics Annual #2 that in some alternate timeline, H'El ... working with Jor-El ... saves Krypton. Jor-El was part of that solution!

Now Superman meets an older Jor-El, the version that has survived in that timeline. Except now, Jor-El still rockets Kal to Earth (I suppose that needs to have happened for Superman to exist right now - time travel woes). Instead of being a friend of H'El and a hero for saving Krypton, he is imprisoned and called 'The Doomsday Man'.

H'El ends up taking over Krypton as its leader. (But I thought in the last scene he wanted to destroy Krypton?) Anyways, Jor-El in that new timeline escapes, finds a scrap of H'El's skin and learns its secrets, and then ... best of all ... somehow creates a time machine to get back to this moment.

All right, let's say that I can 'roll with' Jor-El being imprisoned to begin with. Let's say that I can even deal with him building a time machine. Why would he choose to go back to this moment in time?? Why not go back to when H'El puts his cell on the rocket? Why not go back to the point when H'El first appears with the Kryptonite in his chest? Is this the 'best' time to thwart H'El? He could stop H'El from ever happening. Why come to the time when he is most powerful? More time travel woes which leads to story woes.

Meanwhile, hundreds of years in the past, Supergirl stands with a spear poised to kill H'El. She actually questions herself if she can go through with the execution.

Should I be happy that she has to question herself? Or sad? Why does Lobdell write her as such an angry, irrational woman?

Ready for more story moments that make no sense? H'El grabs the spear and stabs himself in the neck. He then disappears. Why does he do that? If he can move through time, why slice his own throat? It doesn't even make for a good story moment. There is no reason he should do that.

I did say above that there are some good Supergirl moments mixed in with the bad. Here is one of them.

Kara feels bad because H'El was solely motivated by hate. She says she needs to be better than that.

I am sad that we are 2+ years into the New 52 and Supergirl is still wondering if she should be fueled by hate. But at least here she seems poised to finally move beyond it!

That said, in 3 months she is putting on a Red Lantern ring.

Also, I still don't exactly know why this moment in time was so key for the Oracle. Maybe Lobdell was hoping to have Supergirl deal with her feelings about clones. But without a clear need, this felt a little forced.

In the Superman timeline, Superman and Jor-El travel to the 'diseased heart of Krypton'.

Now part of me might want to question why Supergirl lost her powers within minutes of being on Krypton while Superman can fly to the molten core of the planet without a problem. He uses superstrength, heat vision, all his powers, as though he was on Earth bathing in yellow sun rays, not a red sunned heavy gravity world. And didn't he have radiation poisoning 2 issues ago? But I guess I have to roll with all that too.

Anyways, Jor-El knows that in all the timelines, H'El always manifests here. Wearing a special suit, Jor-El captures in H'El in a force bubble that he floods with a disintegrating gas.

Amazingly, Superman stops this execution of H'El saying that there is 'always another way' besides murder. If I praised this line in Smallville, I suppose I have to applaud it here.

Still, the short time of the gas has done some damage. H'El looks ravaged, like a decaying corpse.

And now the best moment in the book.

Superboy realizes that Zor-El's gravitational devices won't be enough to get Argo City safely out of the Krypton's blast radius and gravitational pull. On the last day, he tells Alura to find Kara and say goodbye (fulfilling the scene we saw in Supergirl #0). And then he uses the last of his powers to push Argo and Kara's rocket out of harm's way.

He gives a nice speech, summing up his troubled and varied history up to that point. But in the end he knows he isn't a living weapon (his tag line) but instead he is 'a kid who tried'. 

Why couldn't this sentiment, this characterization, have been present in Superboy's own book? I won't go over Superboy's varied manifestations in the New 52 again. But this kid trying to make a difference while dealing with his past would have been a book I would want to read.

This is a very nice moment portrayed with big art.

So who does it all end?

The old Jor-El has a shard of debris in his chest, I assume a killing blow given enough time.

I wish I could tell you. Superman realizes that he has to stop H'El from leaving and making another timeline, so he uses his super-breath, freezing the 'essence of H'El into a perpetual loop of freezing and thawing', trapping him.

If anyone can explain that to me, I'd love to hear it. I guess I have to roll with it. But this is the problem when you create a villain with ill-defined near omnipotent powers. You have to come up with something insane to defeat them.

The death of Krypton is months away. An older, wiser, but dying Jor-El is in the planet core. A younger Jor-El is on the surface building a rocket. Hmmm ...

Anyways, with H'El trapped, it is time for Superman to go.  Kara suddenly appears with the boom tube. The two step in and hit the road.

We don't even see a goodbye from Superman to his dying old father in the core of the planet. Nothing. Just a walk through the boom tube. It is over far too fast, far too neatly, and with little explanation. 

And no goodbye to Jor-El? Seems like a wasted opportunity.

At least the story ends on this nice moment. Realizing Superboy has died, Superman says they should honor his loss by being better heroes.

I might think between the moments of self-reflection and this capstone that Supergirl might actually turn around.

Except we know that in 3 months she puts on a Red Lantern ring.

What can I say, there are some nice moments in this issue but with a lot of fluff and craziness around it. I might be damning with faint praise but at least this was better than H'El on Earth. Still, I will be thrilled if we never see H'El again.

Alas, Lobdell puts in an odd last page leaving the door open for another story.

And so, mercifully, Krypton Returns ends. I don't know if I could explain what happened but it happened.

My condolences to Superboy fans.

Overall grade: C

Review: Adventures Of Superman #6

Adventures of Superman #6 came out last week and was another great issue in this 'out of continuity' series. The format forces a 'one and done' style of stories which is refreshing in this 'stretch an idea out for trade' style of the current market. The creative teams are fantastic and this issue continues that trend with writer J.T.  Krul and artist Marcus To.

But for me, the main draw to this book has been the more classic take on Superman that has dominated this series. This is a red trunked Superman espousing the more classic ethics and outlook of the Man of Steel. I haven't read any story in this series and felt the dim pessimism of The New 52. With no 'rules', I think these stories give us a look into the writer's mind ... who their ultimate Superman is.

And I think this story is no different. J.T. Krul gives us an early Superman story, before he has revealed himself to the world. He isn't sure who he is or what he should do. He is shown a couple of different paths he can follow. And then he decides for himself what type of man he is going to be. It is a classic take ... and wonderful.

The art is by Marcus To, someone whose art I have loved on Red Robin and the Huntress mini-series. His style suits this story perfectly. I wonder why he doesn't have a monthly gig somewhere.

As I said, this is an early Superman adventure. The public hasn't seen him even if he is active in a 'guardian angel' sort of way. The issue opens with him repelling an intergalactic warship from entering Earth's atmosphere.

He heads to the Fortress where he has a talk with Jor-El. This is a sort of Russell Crowe Jor-El I assume, a computer program imbued with Jor-El's thought patterns and able to respond to Superman's questions.

And this Jor-El is a bit haughty. He doesn't think Kal should stay on Earth. Earth isn't his home. The people of Earth aren't his people. Jor-El sent him to Earth to make Kal strong and leave Earth.

This isn't the Marlon Brando 'you can inspire them' speech. This is straight up 'you were meant for bigger things'. And it isn't what I am used to hearing from Jor-El. Interesting.

It is enough to make Superman question himself. Can he save mankind from themselves? He only wants to help.

And then we hear the crux of the story. Pa Kent told him that doing the right thing isn't always easy. So we get to hear the difference in the two fathers in his life.

I thought this panel was wonderful showing the two worlds Superman lives in at this point, the clean white pure Fortress (read Kryptonian) world, and the dingy brown troubled world of Earth. But Superman's pose shows he wants to look over us and help. Great stuff.

Then Kal hears from another 'ghost' from Krypton ... General Zod. Zod talks about his imprisonment in the Phantom Zone at the hands of Jor-El. Here Zod sounds almost like a freedom fighter. He thought the Science Council had a strangle hold on Krypton and he wanted to free everyone. Of course, villains think they are the good guys so who knows the truth.

But what Zod does do is again show Jor-El in the same haughty light. He acted as judge,jury, and executioner in the Zod case.

It has been a long time since I felt sympathetic for Zod. But Krul pulls it off, making me rethink Zod's crimes and realizing that an eternity in the Zone is cruel and unusual.

Moreover, Zod asks Kal a question. Why didn't Jor-El warn everyone that the planet was doomed ... even if the Science Council shot him down?

It turns out Jor-El kept the information hidden from the populace so that he could work on saving Kal. If he told everyone, there would be panic. Jor-El might be arrested. He needed to save Kal.

On paper it sounds good, a loving father saving his son. But the bigger picture is that he could have used his information to save more people. His pride, his dogged need to save his son and not others' sons and daughters, made him turn his back on his own people.

In older stories, it made it sound like Jor-El already had the rocket and didn't have much time to do a lot. But this view is new and interesting.

Now the warship from the opening scene was a vanguard for Mongul. And Mongul decides that squaring off against Superman could be fun. He shows up and starts tearing through the military, forcing Superman to reveal himself for the first time.

Imagine the shock to General Lane to have suddenly two immensely powerful aliens brawling on his turf. I love the wry ending line in this panel.

Mongul assumes that Superman rules Earth with his power. During the brawl, Superman realizes he can't defeat Mongul on his own so he allows himself  and Mongul to be struck with a nuclear missile. It wipes the two of them out sending them plummeting to Earth unconscious.

I have said I am sick of the military and Superman fighting. Krul at least has Superman leave rather than engage with the troops.

But it is such a great classic Superman moment. He states he doesn't want to fight the army. But he won't let them kill Mongul either. He gets labeled a Boy Scout by Lane. But it doesn't matter. Superman won't change his morals. He won't take part in this so simply grabs Mongul and leaves.

And then we begin to see just how little of Jor-El there is in this Superman.

He disparages Mongul's life mission of conquering everything. You can't conquer everything.

Superman isn't that big a fool. And that sounds like a rebuke of this Jor-El's mission for him.

And then, again moving farther away from Jor-El (much to Zod's surprise), Superman doesn't condemn Mongul to the Phantom Zone. He doesn't 'kill' him. Instead he calls on Green Lantern (who he hasn't officially met yet) to pick up Mongul and imprison him.

What do you call him? A friend.

Now that is a very classic take on Superman. He is a friend. He is here to help.

And then, my absolute favorite panels from the book.

Superman doesn't need to leave Earth to find out who he is.

He is someone who knows right from wrong and he can help ...right here on Earth. He knows who he is ... he's Clark Kent!

I love the coy pride in Pa's response.

It isn't that hard to realize is that this is who Superman is. Who Superman should be.

That would have been a fine ending to this story, but Krul and To give us a little dessert. They show us Clark heading to the Planet as a new reporter and meeting Lois Lane.

If there is ever a Lois Lane book or special, I want Marcus To to draw it.

This is just a wonderful story reaffirming the idea that Superman is more Clark than Kal. That he is someone who wants to help as many people as possible. That is the inspiring Superman I want to read.

So why can't the DC powers-that-be read this series and realize that it is this sort of Superman that most creators (and I think fans) want.

This series and Smallville are the best Superman books out there right now. Both out of continuity.

Overall grade: A

Review Superman #23.3 H'El

I have been pretty blunt in my assessment of the arc H'El on Earth which ran through the super-titles several months ago. It was at times inscrutable. The characters were often written in ways that did not jibe with their personalities. H'El had little or no back story, little or no description of his powers and there was little discussion about how he was accomplishing his plot. Despite the heroes' efforts, H'El accomplishes his goals. And, as I have said over and over, Supergirl really drew the short straw, being played as an overly emotional, ignorant patsy who tries to kill the villain in the end. Suffice it to say, I wish H'El was even farther in my rear view mirror.

Then I heard that Scott Lobdell was writing the sequel to H'El on Earth called Krypton Returns. And the first chapter would be a H'El origin story in Superman #23.3 H'El. The announcement didn't exactly thrill me. H'El on Earth was a disaster. Why would I want a sequel this quickly? And with Lobdell driving the ship, including co-writing the Supergirl issue, I have to worry that Supergirl will be mistreated again.

H'El #1 does give us some of H'El's origins, although it adds a bunch of questions as well. And it also piles on the latest DCU trope - that Superman's enemies are often completely obsessed with Jor-El. First we had Cyborg Superman/Zor-El. Then we had Brainiac. Then we had General Zod. And now we have H'El. It is pretty strange to see so many villains have this psychological flaw.

Perhaps what is worst of all is that Jor-El gets sullied a bit in this story as well. It was bad enough he built a mind control machine in Lobdell's World of Krypton arc. Here, he is cocky and condescending. He's the smartest man in the room and he is going to let you know it by putting you down if you disagree with him. This is a young Jor-El but a far cry from the noble and staid scientist I am used to.

Dan Jurgens and Ray McCarthy provide the art for the book and they bring a quiet crispness to the story, a sort of easy and comfortable art that lets the story unfold nicely.

The story starts where H'El on Earth ended, with a wounded H'El being discovered by and cared for by Jor-El. Physically incapacitated by psionically roaming, H'El nurses his physical wounds.

I have to laugh at H'El's pining over Kara's 'betrayal' when he lied to her and physically abused her. So the fact he still is questioning how she could reject his love is ludicrous.

I also think that it is amusing that Jor-El talks about Kryptonite so matter-of-factly since we know Kryptonite was created by the force of the planetary explosion. Did he just name the substance right there? How do people know what he is talking about?

It is small things like these inaccuracies and inconsistencies that add up and detract from my ability to enjoy the story.

At least we finally get some understanding of how H'El got his powers. He is definitely Kryptonian. And his cells are crackling with many different types of galactic energy. As a result, he has psionics and telekinesis and time travel powers as well as the usual complement of strength, etc. It opens up some possibilities for Superman and Supergirl, maybe even explaining her solar flash power.

Since those energies aren't on Krypton, H'El must have gone out into space. And since Kryptonite could only be created by a planetary explosion and H'El had some, he must also be from the future. But when?

It is one thing for Jor-El to be happy about his theories. It is another for him to tell his partner Orla he doesn't care to hear from people who disagree with him.

And then we get some Jor-El love.

When Jor-El runs off to the Science Council to discuss his findings, H'El follows along psionically.

His talk of Jor-El almost sounds like a bad love poem:
"The smartest among them
Are forever in the shade
That is his blinding sun."

I can imagine Jor-El standing in front of Brainiac, H'El, and Zor-El and saying 'you're all pretty!'

Jor-El then heads to the council and tells them everything - about the Kryptonite - meaning Krypton is doomed. Of course, this is the inherent problem with time travel ... for all Jor-El knows H'El is from a millenia in the future. So without concrete evidence, it seems a bit foolish to try to whip the council into action now.

One interesting piece is the council saying that Jor-El is only on there out of deference to his father. Have we ever heard much about Jor-El's father? And how interesting that it would be Jor-El on the council, not the elder Zor-El. Even more familial jealousy.

Now here is the most cringe-worthy panel in the book.

Remember, H'El is trying to stop Krypton from exploding. Jor-El just gave the council their first warning about Krypton's destruction only to be rebuffed.

H'El thinks about killing the council members ... but he has to be careful not to have his 'actions alter the future.;

Ummmmm....

Your whole purpose is to alter the future! That is all why you are in the past!!! 

It is ridiculous to have him say that.

Despite not knowing when Krypton will explode (remember it could be any time in the future), Jor-El decides to push forward a secret project he is working on. He decides that he will create a sort of time capsule of Kryptonian artifacts ... as well as some Kryptonian cells ... and send them into a whirlwind tour of the galaxy to see what will happen when the cells absorb all the different energies. (One of the 'artifacts' looks suspiciously like the Codex skull from Man of Steel.)

Jor-El tells Zod of his plans and Zod doesn't actually try to stop him from going through with the plans.

H'El, there astrally, sees the 'time capsule ship' and realizes it is 'his' ship. The ship's name is House of El ... truncated it is H'El. The memories H'El being sent off by the masses, as a life of an astronaut, as a life as friend with Jor-El ... none of that actually happened.

That's right, everything was a lie. Suddenly he sees the truth.

Enraged and irrational, H'El jumps out of the medical bay, slaughters the scientists and guards around him, heads to Jor-El's lab, and kills Zod! He then alters the cells on the ship to be his cells. And so we finally see how H'El gained his powers. It is his cells which drink in all the other energies.

So he creates himself. Ahh ... time travel paradoxes.

But ......

But somehow cells in a petri dish grow and form a fully grown man? One that learns Kryptonese? Was he ever a toddler?  Where did those pants come from? Why does he think he lived on Krypton? Why travel the universe to get to Earth? Why not use his temporal powers to go back in time right then?

And why carve the backwards S into your chest?

This origin makes less sense than the astronaut one.

And then he suddenly changes his tune. He doesn't want to save Krypton ... he wants to rule it.

He kills Jor-El! And then, I assume, heads back in time to start to take over in the past.

So lots of things need to be fixed in this new mangled timeline, explaining why the upcoming story is happening. Interestingly, the rewrite could also be a reboot. Maybe time gets changed so Zor-El isn't so awful. Maybe Jor-El will have less of an air of superiority.

I doubt any of that will happen. But this opening chapter doesn't make me think that Krypton Returns will be any better ... or easier to comprehend ... than H'El on Earth.

Maybe, if I am lucky, when the timeline is righted, H'El will never have existed!

I couldn't be that lucky.

Overall grade: C-

Review: Action Comics #23.2 Zod

Action Comics #23.2 Zod came out last week revealing the history of the Phantom Zone villain in gruesome detail. Writer Greg Pak and artist Ken Lashley show us how Zod became the violent and unhinged person he is.

It is an interesting take on Zod, starting in his childhood and showing how an early tragedy sets him on a path of death and destruction. Prior to this, I have felt that Zod has always been shown to simply be a power-hungry fascist. Here we see the seeds that led him there.

And, unfortunately, the deconstruction of Zor-El continues here as Kara's father again is involved (albeit unknowingly) in something nefarious. With Zor-El this badly damaged, there won't be a 'kryptonite poisoning, it was all a hallucination' magic wand to save his character. Was there some Superman team meeting where all the creators said 'let's blame it all on Zor-El?'

Still, Pak does a good job of getting us into Zod's head, showing us just how scary a character he is. And Lashley's art is scratchy enough to make me feel a little out of sorts, something which worked well with the story.

The story starts out in Zod's youth.

He and his parents are in some sort of savage land, examining and dissecting the wild beasts in the land.

Initially, Zod is a bit forlorn because they are going to euthanize and examine the young animals. His father squelches that empathy pretty quickly saying scientists cannot have any sentiment.

So, at least at one point, there was some warmth in Zod's heart, some understanding of the sanctity of life.

I don't think I have ever seen Zod as a kid.

In the blink of an eye, the sterile environment of this mobile lab/ship is shattered. These beasts break in forcing the family to go on the run.

And Zod, the wide-eyed child, realizes his father cannot save them.

It is a shocking opening to the book. And a shocking opening to Zod's life. With that chaotic and tragic episode in mind, is it any wonder that Zod became a violent and angry fascist?

In one of those silly coincidences, one year later Zor-El and Jor-El are in the area for Jor-El's science class when they hear the distress beacon. Zor-El appears to be about 10 yrs older that Jor-El which I suppose makes some internal sense if Kara is around 15yrs older than Kal. In my head, I always had the brothers closer in age. In fact, I always thought Zor was the younger brother (but that would only make internal sense if Kara was born on a floating Argo as in the past). This 'Supergirl's older but younger' time warp is kooky.

Anyways, the Els come upon Zod, draped in pelts and armed with rudimentary weapons. There is a Lord Of The Flies feel to this. I can only imagine the horror of that year in the jungle. This child is a long way away from lamenting dissection.

Brought back into civilization, Zod struggles a bit.

He is sickened by the opulence and apathy around him. He is constantly training in simulation, battling an old Kryptonian planetary enemy called the Char, a race of lizard beings who bear a bit of a resemblance to the animals who killed Zod's parents.

I love this set of panels, people laughing at Zod, his glaring from the shadows at the partying citizens.

And like any fanatic, Zod gathers his minions. For the first time we hear about Faora. And he tries to get Jor-El into the fold. But the Els are scientists.

The island of Zod's youth has been 'sterilized' save for the huge beast which killed Zod's family.

That seems a bit brutal for the El boys. I don't know if they would opt for extinction protocols even for such a savage place.

Two years later, with Faora and Non as lieutenants, Zod breaks into an armory. It just so happens at that moment the Char decide to attack Krypton again.

As I said in the intro, getting into Zod's head is fascinating. We also get into Faora's head. She wants to break a soldier she finds asleep. And when he gets killed, she sarcastically wonders if he enjoyed his nap. It shows how cruel she is.

And then to hear him want to kiss her, to hear the excitement as he compares it to the disaster in the lab-ship. That is chilling. He is excited like he was when his parents died!

Armed to the teeth, Zod repels the 'Char' attack.

And, as he thought, it rallies the planet. Nothing like a disaster to bring people together.

After decades of peace and parties, Krypton needs someone willing to wield the knife. Just like that 'Hail Zod' screams ring out.

And he wastes not time, sending unmanned Kryptonian drones to the Char home world where they raze the planet, killing soldiers and civilians alike.

Now we only see one loving Char family, but this doesn't feel like a world bent on conquest.

It is Jor-El who discovers that the 'Char' troops who invaded Krypton were mutated clones grown from specimens in Zor-El's lab. That attacked led to hundreds of thousands of Char dead.

Zod and his lieutenants are sent to the Phantom Zone forever. I love how Zod appears defiant to the end, standing tall and shouting his name.

I wonder why Zod went through with the attack on the Char planet. He could have Ozymandias'd it, using a phony attack to wrest control. Why send off the ships? Unless he has some inherent hatred for the Char, equating them with the monsters who killed his parents. But he also touts that event as being what made him strong? Zod is evil ... no doubt ... but complex.

Poor poor Zor-El though. He 'believed' in Zod and was betrayed. But did Zor know the plan? Who will know. But this is another debacle for Zor and another 'save' by Jor-El. Zor-El has been dragged through the mud yet again.

And then we get the real horror.

Flashing back, we see that Zod realizes the only way he can survive is if the animals are distracted by feeding. And so to buy him some time, Zod kills his own father and escapes.  Terrifying. It is a simple technique, but Lashley cloaking Zod's face in shadow shows us literally this turn to a dark side.

But that is chilling. We see just how Zod became the monster he has become. And the 'grimy' art by Lashley is perfect for this.

The book ends with Zod brooding in the Phantom Zone, watching Superman intently. Something is going to happen, and soon.

So this was another decent issue in the Villains Month stable. I wasn't blown away by this. But I was entertained. And adding the element of his wild youth makes Zod a much more complicated, much rounder and deeper character. His willingness to kill loved ones and innocents to forward his goals is scary. And Zod should be scary.

But poor Zor-El.

Overall grade: B