Superman: War of the Supermen #4(of 4)

Quick warning, this is a LONG review!

War of the Supermen #4: Writers: James Robinson & Sterling Gates. Pencils: Eddy Barrows, Cafu & Eduardo Pansica.
Last Issue: 9 1/2 out of 10.

Review: This issue kicks off with several different panels showing us what the major players were up to, with Supergirl fighting Ursa at the White House, the heroes of Metropolis(led by Natasha Irons)flying towards Gen. Lane's secret base, Lane ordering his men to kill any Kryptonian they capture, and Superman facing off against Gen. Zod in the heart of Metropolis. Supes is able to hold off most of Zod's men, but Zod himself is another story, as he drops an aircraft carrier on top of the Man of Steel, killing hundreds of innocent civilians in the process. Back at the White House, Ursa is getting the upper hand against Supergirl until she is assisted by Krypto, Superboy, Guardian and Steel, and before long Ursa is locked up in some Gold Kryptonite shackles(remember, Gold Kryptonite removes super-powers from Kryptonians). Superboy sends Krypto to the Fortress of Solitude to retrieve something, while Superman emerges from the destroyed aircraft carrier in Metropolis and renews his attack on Zod. Zod reveals to Supes that he had sent Non to deal with the Justice League, and a quick scene shifts reveals that Non is doing just that. Before Non can kill anybody though, Krypto and Superboy arrive on the scene and Superboy blasts Non with the Phantom Zone projector, pulling the Kryptonian strongman into the vast nothingness that is the Phantom Zone. While Superboy and Krypto are heading around the world putting Kryptonians into the Phantom Zone, the rest of the Metropolis heroes are launching an all-out attack on Gen. Lane's secret bunker headquarters. The heroes make quick work of Lane's forces, including Atlas and Superwoman, while Guardian finally meets and beats the man responsible for the death of the original Guardian, Codename: Assassin. Upon hearing Gen. Lane barking orders, Supergirl leaves the rest of the heroes and heads towards the man responsible for destroying New Krypton. Back in Metropolis, Zod has his men pin Supes down, while he pulls out a knife made of Green Kryptonite. Before Zod can drive the knife into Superman's chest, Superboy and Krypto arrive on the scene and save Big Blue. Superboy blasts Zod's men with the Phantom Zone projector, sending them away, which infuriates Zod, causing him to throw the knife towards the distracted Superboy. Before the knife can impale SB, Krypto dives in the way and takes the knife straight through the chest(!). Back at Lane's base, Supergirl finds the General and begins to give him a thrashing before grabbing Gen. Lane by the throat. She then begins to strangle the life out of him, but is halted by Lois Lane, who begs SG not to sink to her father's level. SG relents, and allows Gen. Lane to fall to the floor, while Lois tells SG that her father would pay for his crimes in an international court. Gen Lane has other ideas and proceeds to put his handgun in his mouth and pulls the trigger(!!!), guaranteeing that he wouldn't be going to any war crimes trial. Superman attacks Zod anew in Metropolis, and tells SB to take Krypto into direct sunlight so that the dog's Kryptonian healing abilities would save it. With SB out of the picture, Superman grabs the Phantom Zone projector and fires it at both himself and Zod, deciding that he was more then willing to head into the Phantom Zone with Zod to guarantee Zod never escapes again. As the two adversaries were being pulled into the Phantom Zone, Chris Kent(Nightwing)arrives on the scene and tells Supes that humankind needed Superman, and that he'd go back to the Phantom Zone to watch over Zod. Chris tosses Supes out of the Zone and destroys the Phantom Zone projector, making sure that he'd be trapped with Zod forever, while Supes loses his adopted son to Zod yet again... And that's the end of the main part of this story as we head to a few epilogues. Lois visits the grave of her father and leaves it with no emotions. Supergirl leaves a single Kryptonian flower on some of the rubble where New Krypton used to be, while Guardian, his daughter and his niece leave Metropolis, but not before Guardian's niece reveals she was pregnant with the child of Mon-El. Mon-El locates Chris Kent in the Phantom Zone and is shocked to see that Chris had reverted back to his original age(probably about 7 years old or so). Chris tells Mon that he was slowly forgetting his time as Nightwing, and the two decide to travel to the unknown reaches of the Phantom Zone together. Finally, we close things out with Supes and Lois standing together while Supes mourns the death of his people again.

What I Thought: Fantastic! That's what I thought! This mini-series did SO much right that I could easily type up a 10 page essay detailing just how awesome it was. Sure, there were a few things that I didn't like(like Chris Kent being sent back to the Phantom Zone and de-aged, and um... that was it I guess!), but overall this was probably one of my favorite mini-series in a LONG time. After reading this I think I'm now a firm believer that NO comic book mini-series or x-over should go longer then 4 issues. There wasn't a single dead spot in this story, much like Siege(which also ran 4 issues), as opposed to the snooze-fests that Cry for Justice(7 issues)and Blackest Night(8 issues)were. James and Sterling proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that an excellent story CAN be told in 4 issues. Oh, and one more thing, each issue of this mini was only $2.99, so thank you for that DC. As for the Superman world, everything is back to the status quo. New Krypton is gone, allowing Supes to go back to Metropolis, Lex Luthor was given control of his company back by Gen. Lane for helping him out, Gen. Lane(and his paranoia)is dead, Mon-El is gone, as are Nightwing, Flamebird and Guardian. Although I really enjoyed Mon's Superman run and Nightwing and Flamebird's run in Action Comics, I think most DC fans have been eagerly awaiting Superman to retake his spot in both of those series(although it seems like Lex Luthor will be starring in Action now). Supergirl's comic should be VERY interesting in the upcoming months, as she has to deal with the loss of her mother and her people, while Supes will have to deal with similar loss, as he has the dual loss of his people and his adopted son(again). Before I end this review, I will say one more thing... This mini helped me remember why I was such a fan of James Robinson's writing. After the disgrace that was Cry for Justice, I seriously thought he'd lost his writing skills, but thankfully it seems that Cry was just a horrible aberration. Here's hoping the good James is back from now on!

Score: 10 out of 10. A well deserved perfect score for a magnificent mini-series.Goodbye Gen. Lane...

Superman: War of the Supermen #3(of 4)

War of the Supermen #3: Writers: James Robinson & Sterling Gates. Pencils: Cafu.
Last Issue: 9 1/2 out of 10.

Review: This issue begins with Gen. Lane gloating about his crushing victory over the Kryptonians. Before he can break into his happy dance though, he is informed by one of his officers that his Mount Rushmore base had been compromised. The Metropolis heroes manage to free Steel's niece from captivity, and once she gives the information she had about Gen. Lane up, Jimmy Olsen begins to upload that info on the Internet. Flamebird realizes what Gen. Lane had done to the sun, and she flies off while the Metropolis heroes are trying to mop up Lane's defenders a Mount Rushmore. Once Nightwing gets wind of what Flamebird was up to, he follows after her, and the two fly towards the sun. Flamebird and Nightwing discuss what they should do to try to reverse what Luthor did to the sun, and the Nightwing entity that was residing inside the body of Chris Kent suddenly teleports Chris away from Flamebird, telling him that his final fate lies elsewhere. With Chris gone, Flamebird flies into the sun and sacrifices her life to turn the sun yellow again, thus re-powering the Kryptonians. Gen. Lane freaks out, and Superman and Supergirl angrily turn away from Mars and begin to head towards the Earth. Unfortunately, Gen. Zod and half of the Kryptonian army arrives there first and they begin to decimate the armies of the Earth. The Kryptonians prove to be too strong, too fast and too well organized, and they begin to rapidly route the forces of Earth. Zod's top lieutenant, Ursa heads to the White House and destroys it while looking for Gen. Lane. After leaving the White House, Ursa is confronted by an angry Supergirl, and the two attack each other. Meanwhile, Zod and a majority of the Kryptonian army begin to fly towards Metropolis, where the only person standing between him and the destruction of the city is Superman.

What I Thought: I've got to say, I'm LOVING this mini-series! It's easily my favorite mini of the year so far, and unless the ending is HORRIBLE, I can't imagine that changing after I read the next/last issue. This mini is everything that Blackest Night wasn't, it's fast paced, has a nice, well thought-out story, and is heading towards a very satisfying ending. Great stuff here.

Score: 9 1/2 out of 10.You KNOW issue #4 is going to be awesome!!!

Superman: War of the Supermen #2(of 4)

War of the Supermen #2 Writers: James Robinson & Sterling Gates. Pencils: Eduardo Pansica.
Last Issue: 9 out of 10.

Review: We open things up with a nearly hysterical Lois Lane rushing into the Daily Planet building to tell Perry White that New Krypton had been destroyed. Perry listens to what Lois has to say and then tells the newsroom to get on the story, while he pulls Lois aside to find out what was going on. Lois begins to tell Perry that her father was the man responsible for the planetary genocide, however she is interrupted by her evil sister, Superwoman, who comes crashing through Perry's wall. Superwoman scolds Lois, and then abducts her. Back where New Krypton used to be located, Superman catches up to Supergirl, only to be attacked by his grief-stricken cousin. The two fight a bit, until Supes tosses SG down to New Krypton's moon, so he could try to talk some sense into her. Eventually, Supes is able to convince SG to put aside her grief and help him attempt to protect the Earth from Zod and his army of uber-pissed off Kryptonian soldiers. Jimmy Olsen and the Metropolis heroes locate where Gen. Lane's forces had been holding Steel's niece(in Mount Rushmore), and the heroes prepare to launch a rescue assault. Superwoman brings Lois to her father's headquarters and Gen. Lane tells Lois that he wanted her by his side during his greatest victory. Zod's Kryptonian forces launch an attack on Lane's Human Defense Corps base on Mars, and completely and totally destroy it. Superman and Supergirl arrive on the scene and try to keep the bloodshed to a minimum, which is exactly what Zod was hoping for. Zod decides to take advantage of the fact that Supes isn't on Earth, and has a large contingent of Kryptonians head towards Earth. Gen. Lane is informed that his base on Mars had been destroyed and that a large body of Kryptonians were heading towards Earth, so he calls Lex Luthor, who was working on turning the massive fake Rao from recent issues of Action Comics into some kind of anti-Kryptonian weapon. With the Kryptonians bearing down on Earth, Lane orders Luthor to launch his weapon, and Lex cheerfully does, sending a huge Rao-missile into the sun. Lex's Rao-missile strikes the sun and turns the star red, causing every single Kryptonian in space(including Superman and Supergirl)to be robbed of their powers.

What I Thought: Wooo, this is really shaping up to be one hell of a great mini!!! I think the above review pretty much says it all... Pretty much every single Superman related character from the past several years has a part in this comic, and it's all coming together SO beautifully. I'm totally amazed at the fantastic job James and Sterling are doing, and how they're taking storylines from the various Superman related titles and working them into this mini. Oh, and as a huge fan of Young Justice, I LOVED the fact that the secret base inside of Mount Rushmore was mentioned, and that Superboy remembered that. Continuity, it's a wonderful thing!

Score: 9 1/2 out of 10.Man is Gen. Lane awesome!

Superman: War of the Supermen #1(of 4)

Hey there X-Maniacs, I'll be posting 4(!!!)new reviews today! I figure the best way to shake my case of the vacation doldrums is to FORCE myself to do reviews, and LOTS of them! So tonight I'll be doing a review for all four parts of the War of the Supermen mini-series that just wrapped up. Did I enjoy the War of the Supermen? Did I hate it? Do you care?!? All answers will soon be revealed...

War of the Supermen #1: Writers: James Robinson & Sterling Gates. Pencils: Jamal Igle.

Review: With Brainiac's failed invasion of New Krypton, and Lex Luthor's role as Brainiac's advisor discovered by the Kryptonians, General Zod has declared war on the planet Earth(thanks Lex!), and has sent his Kryptonian army towards Earth. On New Krypton, Superman breaks free of Zod and his lackeys and flies towards the Kryptonian army, but is intercepted by Zod, Ursa and Non. Meanwhile, the ruler of New Krypton(and Supergirl's mother), Alura, is torturing the man responsible for the death of her husband, Reactron. Supergirl walks in on the torture session and yells at her mother for her actions. While the two women are arguing, Reaction chimes in and says that when Lex Luthor visited him during the Last Stand of New Krypton x-over, he left him with a parting gift from the Earth, and Reactron begins to glow very brightly. Alura shoves Supergirl into a nearby radiation deck(every torture chamber should have one...), and Reactron explodes with enough force to shatter the core of New Krypton and completely destroy the planet and everything on it. Superman and Zod and his forces stop their fight as they watch in horror as large chunks of New Krypton go sailing past them. On Earth, Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane gather Guardian, Steel, Superboy, Krypto, Flamebird and Nightwing, and tell the heroes that Lois's crazy father was preparing to launch an attack on New Krypton. Lois's evil sister, Superwoman, watches the meeting from a distance. Superman flies through the remains of New Krypton and discovers Supergirl still alive, although she is the only living being he comes across. Supergirl is obviously shaken by the events that had happened, until she thinks back to Reactron's parting words and realizes that New Krypton was destroyed by agents of the Earth. SG pushes Supes away from her and begins to make a bee-line towards the Earth in a grief-filled rage. This issue ends with Zod appearing before his Kryptonian troops and telling them that their planet was destroyed by earthlings, and that they had no choice but to annihilate every single being on Earth in retribution.

What I Thought: Now THIS is the way to open up a mini-series! We got all of the major Superman players in motion, the war between Earth and the remnants of New Krypton is about to commence, and the story itself was petty powerful. The scene with Superman and Supergirl in space as they realize what had happened to their people was a thing of beauty. Even though there is no dialogue(they are in space and all), Jamal's pencils do a fantastic job of capturing the gravity of what had happened. Plus the little touches like Supergirl's tears freezing as they fell from her face was pretty sweet. So yeah, as an opening chapter of a mini-series, this comic was nearly perfect.

Score: 9 out of 10.Goodbye New Krypton...