And at last, it’s all coming together. Brainiac is back, and he is after Kandor. And if you’ve been paying attention, Lex Luthor is right there with him. Superman is duking it out with him. And Mon-El is by his side. And Supergirl is fighting against Brainiac’s hordes on New Krypton. And Superboy has joined the action as well. And the Legion of Super-Heroes are involved, working to save the future.
Overall, Last Stand of New Krypton, written by James Robinson and Sterling Gates, makes for an exciting and adventuresome read. Unlike a big chunk of the New Krypton saga, our heroes are acting genuinely heroic, straining against overwhelming odds to save lives and do the right thing. And it’s a bit of a storytelling brilliance to use Mon-El rescuing the Brainiac’s other bottled cities are the origins of the Legion of Super-Heroes’ homeworlds. It’s nice to finally have the whole “Last Will and Testament of RJ Brande” thing resolved, and it nicely echoes the status quo from back in Mon-El’s “Valor” days.
In the midst of all this, we continue to have General Zod up to no good, Supergirl’s mother being a little less crazy than normal, and some interesting background on Brainiac 5 of the Legion. So, it’s a full book, without being overcrowded.
Temporarily forgotten, more or less, are all the tensions between New Krypton and Earth, so there’s nothing more on Superwoman, and even Nightwing and Flamebird fall of the grid. But I for one don’t miss them. I was in fact grateful to leave behind all the (often depressing) political shenanigans going on between the two worlds and instead enjoy an epic super-hero science fiction adventure. Of course, this is just volume 1 of 2, so the story ends right in the middle. But it was a lot of fun and makes me look forward to (rereading) the conclusion.
Superman: New Krypton Index
Last Son • Brainiac • New Krypton vol. 1 • New Krypton vol. 2 • Mon-El • Supergirl: Who is Superwoman? • Nightwing and Flamebird vol. 1 • New Krypton vol. 3 • Codename: Patriot • Supergirl: Friends and Fugitives • Nightwing and Flamebird vol. 2 • Supergirl: Death and the Family • Mon-El – Man of Valor • New Krypton vol. 4 • Last Stand of New Krypton vol. 1 • Last Stand of New Krypton vol. 2 • War of the Supermen
Blue Towel Productions 