Review: Last Family Of Krypton #3

Superman: The Last Family Of Krypton #3 came out last week, marking the end of the Elseworld's mini-series and Cary Bates' return to comics. As the first true Elseworlds book in a long time, this one certainly was ambitious. In three short issues, decades of time have passed on Earth. We go from baby Kal-El arriving with his family to him being a seasoned Superman. That degree of time passing must be a challenge for a writer as you are only allowed to show a thimble-full of what exactly has been happening on that world. Yes we see the main scenes, but the nuances that evolve over time cannot be shown so as a result you need to fill in the gaps yourself.

This series was not about Superman alone. It really was about the whole dysfunctional El family, primarily Jor-El and Lara. Superman, in some ways, feels like a minor player here. But it is clear that every El has some psychological baggage that they bring to the table. Jor-El and Lara must be reeling a bit with survivor's guilt. Jor-El deals with it scientifically, vowing that planetary destruction won't happen again. Lara deals with it spiritually. Kal-El struggles just as he does now ... as a man caught between two worlds, made more glaring by the presence of his parents. And Valora and Bru-El feel like they don't belong necessarily to either world, somewhat super but not as super as their family.

A lot of the themes here resonate from prior Superman stories. I mean, that is what Elseworlds are right ... a tweak of the current mythology? The one thing I will say is that I don't know if I have seen Jor-El portrayed in such a negative light before.

The first scene is an interesting tweak of the classic Superman #247 ("Does the world need a Superman?"). Jor-El is brought before the Guardians and told that his utter control over the events on Earth has stunted the growth of humanity. Why should people strive for anything when Jor-El can do it for them more easily?

But it goes beyond the activities of everyman. The presence of the Els has stopped the evolution of super-heroes on Earth as well. Jor-El save Abin Sur before he died. Lara stopped Joe Chill. The twins stopped  the lightning bolt that would have made Barry Allen into the Flash. As helpful as they think they are being, the Els are probably a deterrent to human evolution. (Of course, there is no mention of stopping the creation of super-villains as a counterbalance.)

Whereas the Elliot S! Maggin story ends with Superman ruminating over the Guardians similar warning, here Jor-El takes an almost opposite position. Rather than listen to what the Oans are saying, Jor-El dismisses them. He doesn't care about the heroes he has stopped or the potential he has retarded. He has kept the world safe. So he doesn't care about these warnings. He angrily leaves.

Hubris is another running theme here as many characters pride lead to their downfalls. You have to be pretty sure of yourself to tell off the Guardians of the Universe.

But as time passes, the El family continues to grow and grow apart.

An omnipresent figure in all their lives is Lex Luthor who has become a sort of surrogate son to Jor-El. All along we have noted how Lex is stockpiling some weapons which he will eventually use against his ersatz family. Here he shows Valora that he has a chunk of old school Gold Kryptonite, capable of stripping a Kryptonian of their powers permanently.

But even as he welcomes Lex into the family and thrills over Luthor's accomplishments, Jor-El cannot keep his true family in order.

Kal is in familiar territory for us readers, acting as Superman and living as Clark Kent. But despite his good works, it is never enough for Jor-El who publicly chastises him for not calculating a tidal wave's power accurately enough to stop it in a single act. No matter what it seems, Jor-El will never be proud of Kal's decisions and that is enough to estrange the two.

In the meantime, Valora has seemed to embrace the ways of Earth, graduating Harvard Law, becoming a Senator's aide, and rarely using her powers.

Bru-El clearly has an inferiority complex, mired in near daily therapy and acting out.

And Lara's devotion to her Raology movement has her helping others but maybe losing track of her own family. In many ways this is really Lara's story as she struggles to keep her family together while helping out the many people of Earth.

I did like this montage shot of Cat Grant covering the family TMZ-style. There is no doubt that the super-family would be front and center of social media like this, hounded by the paparazzi and dissected in front of the world.

Angry at the coverage of her failing marriage and suddenly having access to Jor-El's sanctum, Lara uncovers what her husband has been doing in there all this time. He has set up an informational transfer device which allows him to review all Earthly transmissions at high speed. (It sort of reminded me of Ozymandias sitting before the bank of television panels, absorbing the information with a sort of osmosis.)

Realizing that Jor-El has become a sort of world-wide voyeur, micromanaging the most minute events of Earth while ignoring his own kin, Lara finally leaves him. He is no longer who he was. He is now a secret dictator, controlling everything while showing a benevolent exterior.

I got the sense that this had been a loveless marriage for some time.

Despite this personal tragedy, she continues to shine, setting up healing centers ... both spiritual and physical healing. Lara really is a very likable character here.

I thought all along that Bru-El would die in this book as a sympathetic loser who would be trying to do good to get his father's approval only to fail. Boy was I wrong. Instead, he is weaponized by an evil Luthor (who finally sheds his good guy guise).

Luthor cures Bru-El of his Kryptonite weakness, embeds a K-cannon in Bru's chest, and mindwipes him making him the perfect killer. Bru becomes a sort of Metallo.

Luthor, after decades of being the Prince of the world, decides that he is sick of being #2. His hubris blazes as he needs to be the #1 intellect on Earth and only Jor-El is in his way. It is time to eliminate the Els, become a hero on Earth, and ascend to the throne. He even let's himself go bald (even though he discovered a cure for baldness) as a physical manifestation of his disdain for Jor-El.

Lara finally realizes that she needs her family together. She arranges for a family reunion (even nudging Jor-El there by slipping in family photos into his cerebral info-feed).

Bru arrives and tries to blast Jor-El with his Kryptonite payload only to have Lara take the shot instead. Bru is easily dispatched by Kal and both Lara and Bru are brought to Jor-Corps for treatment.

Again, this might be an overdone villain plot. Wouldn't using the Gold K and a good old-fashioned pistol be an easier way to pull off your revenge. Pedestrian ... yes, but effective.

But the attack by Bru was just the first part of Luthor's plot. In an echo of the plot of Superman Returns, Luthor activates Jor-El's crystal land growth technology. With tendrils of crystal making their way to Earth's core, the entire planet is in peril. Luthor plans to disable to tech at the last minute, setting himself up as the planet's savior. With Jor-El supposedly eliminated by Bru, there will be no one to stop him. He will finally be #1.

I thought the whole 'land' plot line was a nice little swipe from the Donner and Singer films.

As we expected, Brainiac has also been in cahoots with Luthor since his upgrade to a 13th level intelligence. But that upgrade included part of Luthor's personality. Guess who else has significant pride ... Brainiac!

He didn't particularly care for being called a slave by Luthor. He looks at himself as #2 behind Luthor and he'd like to be #1 himself. So why not let Earth be devastated by Luthor's plot? He disengages Luthor's kill-switch. Suddenly, the threat of the Kryptonian crystal technology is very very real.

Jor and Kal cannot stop the growth underground, so they need to take the fight to Luthor and Brainiac instead.

But instead of facing off against a Luthor and Brainiac team, they only face Brainiac. Showing there is no honor among thieves, Brainiac kills Luthor.

In what I think is the weakest part of the story, some how Kal talks Brainiac into stopping the crystal growth by shutting down and basically committing electronic suicide. Kal tells Brainiac that is Earth is decimated, Brainiac will only be considered a pawn of Luthor. But if he stops the crystals, Brainiac will be lauded as a hero. How will Brainiac want to be remembered? I suppose it plays on his pride a bit, but what arrogant prideful person kills themselves? Wouldn't Brainiac not care and go out into the universe?

I don't know ... this just didn't work.

With the only villains on Earth eliminated, the Els just need to deal with the fallout. It turns out that Luthor's K-beam was a bit more nefarious than we thought. While Lara initially becomes better, on day 5 she is overwhelmed by a second delayed internal K-blast and dies. Luthor set in the second dose in hopes that Jor-El would survive long enough to see Luthor ascend and then die in agony. Nice villainous touch if a bit dramatic. Lara may die but her good works go on as her healing centers thrive.

Valora exposes herself to Gold K willingly, deciding life as a human leader is best for her.

Bru is cured of his Kryptonite infusion and begins the road to recovery. His mindwipe leaves him at a third grade level of intelligence.

And Superman ascends to become Earth's true hero.

As for Jor-El, those events finally show him the errors of his prideful ways. He decides to fade into the periphery and let his son become the hero that the world needs. It all seems a bit pat. Wouldn't the near destruction of Earth make Jor-El's worries surge even more? I think this is a nice ending ... but I would have liked to see more of Jor's decision behind this.

Overall I thought this was a nice mini-series, a nice diversion from the current continuity with some ripples of the Silver Age. Part of my complaint here is that so much of the story just happens without much build up. Most of that comes from the format ... decades needed to be covered in 3 issues. We can't have build up in so compressed of a book. Still, there were some nice parts here and I always like it when Superman's destiny is always to be Earth's hero no matter what happens.

Renato Arlem's art is a scratchy sort of delight. It isn't clean and smooth and that echoes this world where people are striving to be heroes but mired in dysfunction and conflict.

Overall grade: B

Review: Superman:Last Family Of Krypton #2

Superman:Last Family of Krypton #2 came out last week and was a very good middle chapter of this three part book, moving the plot forward, albeit somewhat quickly, and setting up the finale next month.

Some of these plot threads were strongly hinted at last month so this felt pretty smooth despite the quick pace. Years pass by in the span of a couple of pages here but when you have to go from superbaby to Superman in three issues there isn't time to dawdle.

But you had the sense last issue that the new El twins weren't going to be the upstanding citizens that Kal-El turned out to be. And you also got the sense that Jor-El was going to be slightly disconnected from his family, never being completely there for his family. And even though it hasn't happened yet, I could see the eventual Luthor/Brainiac team-up last month. We get more of it here.

Still, Cary Bates does a very good job here keeping this Elseworlds story fresh while throwing in a few nuggets for some old timers. It is very interesting to see how Jor-El and Lara are portrayed here. As the loving family rocketing their son to safety, they are pure martyrs. Now that you see them day in, day out, you can see that they are 'human' just like every body else.

The book starts with Clark flying into space to thwart an incoming meteor. Sure, Jor-El had already implemented a space net to block anything like that making the heroic act unnecessary. He still acts heroically.

Unfortunately the meteor turns out to be Kryptonite and nearly kills Clark. While Jor-El works to save his son, Kal has a vision of his family's elders telling him that he has a destiny fulfill on Earth. a higher purpose. It is very much a Donner Krypton here with everyone in their silver robes. But I did like that greatness is part of Kal's destiny regardless if he is the Last Son or not.

I also really liked how one of the elders is Seyg-El. That has to be a nod to Jerry Siegel.

The Kryptonite pieces are gathered by Jor-Corps and are studied by Lex Luthor. Uh oh!

In the mean time, Jor-El belittles the vision as a simple fever dream. Of course, he is a man of science. Lara, a woman of faith, believes it was a calling to Q'uon Ka, a Kryptonian vision quest.

The powers of the Kryptonite meteor do not go unnoticed. There is an underground anti-Kryptonian movement called Doomsday that realizes that they finally have a weapon to use.

As much as I thought the name Doomsday for the group was genius, I also appreciated the 'torn' S-shield symbol. That was the symbol of the Superman Revenge Squad back in the seventies and eighties. Nice touch.

But who is the leaders of this group? If it is the US military, I'll be bummed ... it has become trite to have the US Army be the bad guys. I am hoping it's Luthor.

Elseworlds does allow the writers some latitude with other major events of the DCU even if this is a Superman book. Here, Lara actually thwarts Joe Chill from killing Martha and Thomas Wayne. Turns out Wayne is interested in helping Lara's Raology foundation. Interesting.

Bruce looks to be about 8 here, making him around 10 yrs younger than Clark on this Earth.

It made me wonder about other DCU events that could be effected by Jor-El and Lara's presence. Maybe Abin Sur's spaceship can't crash on Earth because of Jor-El's force field.

As for Bru-El and Valora, they act the way you would expect Kryptonian children to act. They have tremendous capabilities and so misbehave without much concern for repercussions.

Their birth on Earth has made them less powerful than the rest of the Els. They are barely able to survive a nuclear explosion they went to investigate. Luckily, Jor-El is able to heal their physical wounds.

But the mental wounds of this discovery aren't so easy to heal. Bru-El sinks into doubt and despair. He feels unloved by his family, never being able to measure up to Kal. Valora decides to dedicate herself to higher learning, devouring books and seemingly ignoring her powers all together.

The question really is does this discovery turn the two against their family all together. I think Valora more than Bru-El might succumb to evil.

I think part of the twins' problem is the lack of presence of their parents. Yes, I am sure that Jor-El and Lara aren't complete absent. But it is clear that Jor-El is dedicated to his work. And Lara is dedicated to spreading the word of Raology. Large Raology Centers are being erected where people can come in and have the knowledge of Krypton downloaded into their minds.

There are many people leery of such a place including the Doomsday group who vocally protests the center ... a protest quickly disbanded by Bru-El who scatters the crowd with his heat vision. Not surprisingly, Valora chastises him ... not for dealing with the protest but doing it in such a clumsy and brutish way. Valora is going to end up being an evil mastermind before all this is over.

But while the twins grow older without a lot of parental guidance, Clark continues to work away in Smallville. In another twist on the Donner films, Pa Kent almost dies of a heart attack only to be rescued by Jor-El's healing machine. Clark even says the line from the movie 'All the things I can do, all these powers ... and I couldn't save him.'

Moreover, JorCorps continues to 'protect' mankind with innovative technology. Clark almost reveals he is Kal-El to Lana Lang when he thinks he needs to stop a tornado. But weather controlling satellites stop it before he needs to fly to the rescue.

The problem with a reliance on technology like this is that it can be easily turned around. Those satellites can start tornadoes as much as stop them. When ... not if ... when Luthor backstabs the Els, he will have a lot of ammunition at his disposal. In fact, even earlier in the book, we hear how Luthor was tracking and suppressing sunspot activity. So Luthor has Kryptonite, solar tech, and advanced tech at his disposal. Doesn't sound good.

Without having a clear idea of where his life is leading him, and still struck by vision he had earlier in life, Kal decides to head into space to visit new worlds and try to achieve the Q'uon Ka. He is even given his classic costume by his parents for his travels.

Just as he is about to leave the Earth, he stops a runaway subway, saving a young man's life. And just like that the vision quest is over. A purpose suddenly hits him. He needs to stay ... he needs to be Superman.

Again, this decision seems like an organic one. This Clark has also come to love Earth as his home despite the presence of his family. So why would he want to go planet-hopping? Kudos to Bates for having shown us enough of Clark's backstory for this to feel right.

And everyone on Earth seems to be happy with his decision. Well ... almost everyone.

Jor-El is not happy. He thinks this decision to be a 'super-hero' is foolish and an insult to the name El. Kal should want to accomplish more. Plus he worries his son will not be able to lead a full life with two identities. Will Kal end up alone?

It sounds like Jor-El's heart is sometimes in the right place but maybe his delivery is off. I think he does worry about Kal's happiness. But that was the second point he made after the 'insult to the Els' stuff. That makes me think he is more worried about the family name then Clark's life.

Seven years later now acting as a 'mild mannered reporter for a great Metropolitan newspaper', Clark attends a celebration of Jor-El's accomplishments with his co-workers Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen (held at Weisinger Hall ... a nod to Superman legend Mort Weisinger). Lois acts pretty harsh to Clark throughout the scene.

It is quite the scene to see just how dysfunctional the El family has become over those years. Kal is here as Clark and hasn't talked to Jor-El in years. Jor-El isn't at his own gala leaving Lara there alone. Bru-El is trying to drown his sorrows and seems to be an impetuous brat despite his age. Valora is said to be devoted to her father but also isn't there.

In fact, the person accepting the award for Jor-El is Lex Luthor, his ersatz son.

Despite being so powerful, the family is broken. It is sad that this last vestige of Krypton is so scarred, so splintered.

The gala is interrupted by the Doomsday group who say they have captured Valora and are killing her in a Kryptonite cage.

The Els scatter. Kal discovers the Doomsday headquarters and captures the group, getting Valora's location out of them. But before he can get to her, Lex, decked out in an exo-suit, is able to locate her with a Kryptonite radiation signature detection device. With Jor-El at his side, Lex saves Valora. Luckily when you are half-super like Valora, you are half-vulnerable to Kryptonite.

I still smell a rat. Where did the Doomsdayers get the Kryptonite? Why does Lex have a radiation detector like that? Luthor has to be masterminding this whole thing. Since Kal didn't help with the rescue, he is further ostracized from the family. And Luthor is worming ever deeper.

As I feared all along, Luthor upgrades 'B' to a thirteenth level intelligence. Now controlling or allied with Brainiac, it is only a matter of time before Lex turns the tables and tries to rid the world of the Els and take control of it for himself. That said, there really isn't anything like a Luthor/Brainiac team-up.

Somehow Jor-El is oblivious to all this. He calls Lex family and embraces him.

But lets run the tally again: Kryptonite, solar flare/sunspot technology, exo-suits, Brainiac. That is a nice shopping list for a super-villain preparing to fight a family of Kryptonians.

And it turns out the abrasive relationship between Clark and Lois is an act. They are very much in love.

I don't mind Elseworld stories if the premise will make me look at familiar story differently. Looking at the dysfunctional El family is a new wrinkle here. You can see that there is the usual family problems of jealousy and growing apart but it is all magnified by the powers and stature of the family. I think it really is wonderful that despite this, Superman remains Superman. It feels like the old Marvel 'What ifs', that certain universal truths will happen regardless of the changing of events around them. Clark will always be a force of good for the planet.

So how do I think this will end? Luthor comes out as an evil mastermind. Valora is also twisted, working with Lex. Bru-El will try to earn his parents love and will die trying to fight Luthor. Superman will save the day.

Renato Arlem's art is a nice fit here, rough enough around the edges to work with the storyline.

This series has been a nice diversion for me. And given the unsettled nature of the Superman line (with Grounded and Lex in Action), it seems like the right time to release this view of the Superman origin.

Overall grade: B

Review: Superman:Last Family Of Krypton

Last week, Superman:The Last Family of Krypton #1 came out, the first official 'Elseworlds' title in quite some time.

Certainly the Superman origin story has been nice fodder for Elseworlds. Whether it be Red Son, or Speeding Bullets, or even JLA:The Nail, all it takes is a nudge of a rocket for Superman to end up being someone very different.

Last Family adds a new wrinkle. What if Jor-El and Lara also survived Krypton's destruction?

Perhaps most exciting for a gray beard like me is seeing Cary Bates' name on the cover. Bates wrote many of the Superman stories of my youth, so I have some nostalgic fondness for his work. But nostalgia only goes so far. Is it a good story?

The book drops you right into the story. Jor-El and Lara land outside the UN Building and ask for acceptance from the citizens of Earth.

Their ship has an artificial intelligence called B ('A is for apple, B is for Brainiac') and looks like a warship. Heck, it even has a slightly skull-like appearance consistent with Brainiac too. I am a firm believer in the old rubric 'if you see a gun in act one, it will be fired in act three'. I doubt we have seen the end of this armament nor do I think 'B' will always be a benevolent operating system. But I am already getting ahead of myself.

When the ship lands, it also emits an EMP spike shutting down all of the American military's weapons. Well, shuts them down or shorts them out. Some mortars accidentally get shot resulting in some friendly fire. Luckily, Jor-El and Lara show their good nature, making Brainiac holster the space-guns and flying to save the endangered infantry.

The couple are suddenly heroes ... and a hot story.

They not only become darlings of the media but become super-heroes. We see the 'space family' stopping disaster after a disaster. As the acts of good will pile up, Earth welcomes the Els with open arms. The decision gets made to set up a permanent home in Metropolis.

With a little bit of help from B's nanotechnology, their ship literally puts down roots into the ground and forms a grandiose skyscraper, looming over even the Daily Planet.

One thing that always always amazes me is just how much the Donner films has insinuated their way into the comic's mythos. There is no denying the 'crystal' appearance of the El tower. But even more, Jor-El repeats the very speech he tells Kal-El in the movie here. It is so interesting that the film is considered such dogma by many creators.

But, somewhat ominously, Jor-El ends that famous speech by saying that the light that will show humanity the way will be him. Sounds like he might be thinking about of setting himself up as a leader/god. That doesn't sit well with me.

And all is not rosy within the family even if they are celebrities.

Jor-El is completely obsessed with the destruction of Krypton and trying to make sure that Earth doesn't suffer the same fate. While the respect for life is noble, obsession is always scary.

And Lara seems unable to help assuage his fears, especially since he is keeping things from her. Things like the creation of a think-tank called Jorcorp (nice little word play there). While upset over this secret, she is hopeful that other problems handled by the Corp will make him less likely to ruminate over Krypton's destruction.

And Kal-El is having as many problems.

He is the ultimate childhood star, hounded by paparazzi and unable to live a 'normal' life. We have seen what indulgence and fame has done to our own young celebrities so imagine if they had powers! Lara realizes that it will be unhealthy for Kal to grow up under the microscope. And with Jor-El distracted with Jorcorp, she decides on a bold plan ... she will let Kal be raised by an Earth couple as a 'normal boy'.

Hmmm ... I suppose it makes some sense. Although if you survived planetary destruction as a parent, would you really want your child out of your sight? This seemed like a bit of an stretch. It does follow the well traveled road of 'What if?' and other Elseworlds ... the road where no matter the circumstances, fate will happen.

Lara goes about an exhaustive search to find the perfect surrogate parents for Kal.

I love the names considered and crossed off the list. Thomas and Martha Wayne ... fantastic. But Julius Schwartz? The classic Silver Age Superman editor. Heck, 'Julie' was a real foster father for Superman guiding his life's story. I also like that a Dan Didio-like man is rejected.Okay, I admit ... I giggled.

And fate does show up, as the Kents are chosen by Lara to become Kal's Earth parents. I suppose Kal would go along with this masking of his powers if it means a moment's peace. But I am somewhat surprised that Jor-El caved on this.

With 'Clark' now safe, Lara can go about living her life. As much as Jor-El is preaching the power of science, Lara begins promoting 'Raology', preaching the Kryptonian religious beliefs and tenets on Earth.

Again, we are just meeting these parents so I suppose Lara can be a very faithful person willing to proselytize. But we didn't see this degree of religiousness earlier in the book. So this felt like it came a bit out of left field.

As for Clark, he is finding it a bit hard to reign in his powers. Why should he simply let himself be tripped and teased?

Jor-El continues to be a stern rigid figure in the book, telling Kal that if he stops being Clark Kent because of taunting then he will be bringing shame on the house of El! Whoa! How about a smidge of compassion Dad? I suppose that this is part of the book, setting Jor-El up to be something of an extremist, thinking mostly in black and white rather than gray.

All that said, I do hope that this slice of the plot, Clark's difficulties living life as a 'normal boy' is explored more. This isn't a Clark brought up since early on by the Kents, instilled with their virtues. This is a Clark who just a few months earlier was a superstar, a powerhouse. I just think it would be harder for him to soak in the Smallville experience.

But the Kents show why they are so perfect for this role. Pa tells Clark that he is here for a reason ... and it isn't to settle scores with bullies. If only he said it wasn't to 'score touchdowns' ... it would have been a Donner-palooza!

Even worse for Clark, Lex Luthor is embraced by Jor-El, invited to join the Jorcorp.

Lex is pure Lex here, already smarter than everyone in Smallville and definitely filled with pride. He talks to Jor-El as an equal and Jor-El seems to admire it a little.

Does anyone else smell a Luthor/Brainiac team-up?

Finally, the conflicting life paths of Jor-El and Lara reaches a head. They argue ... they disparage each others' careers ... the yell and scream ... they fly off.

Is there any better way to stop a fight and get back into the groove then a little nooky in the sun? That's right, we see some of the passion they have had for science and Rao redirected to each other. I can only imagine the emotional turmoil roiling within them having survived Krypton's destruction. And what better way to deal with that trauma then by immersing yourself in 'cures' for that ... whether it be religion or science. I think they just needed to be reminded why they love each other ... and sometimes it takes a little passion to reignite the fire. I thought this played out well ... and I usually question whether or not the sex scenes are too long or even necessary for the story. Here it was handled well.

And that little stellar tryst does seem to refocus Jor-El and Lara. Suddenly they aren't buried into their careers and are spending more time with each other. And that tryst also leads to the birth of twins! Jor-El even seems to be softening. Although maybe that is a bad thing given that Luthor and Brainiac are on his payroll. He needs to be keeping a close eye there.

I thought this was a solid opening chapter in this mini-series. It certainly got my attention and had a number of interesting ideas. I am looking forward to seeing where this is all going . That said, this didn't knock my socks off.

Renato Arlem's art has a sketchy/scratchy feel to it that I thought might not work for a book looking at the sterile science of Krypton. But there is enough chaos here that it worked well, adding to the atmosphere of the book.

Overall grade: B