TITLE: Superman: New Krypton, Volume 4
AUTHORS: James Robinson, Greg Rucka
PENCILLER: Pete Woods. Cover by Bryan Talbot.
COLLECTS: Superman: World of New Krypton #6-12
FORMAT: Hardcover
PUBLISHER: DC Comics
PRICE: $24.99
RELEASE DATE: June 2

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Superman in a political thriller? Talk about a fish out of water…

Nevertheless, that’s where the former last son of Krypton finds himself in New Krypton, Volume 4. As you might have guessed, this book picks up where Superman: New Krypton, Volume 3 leaves off.

Superman is on the shelf for now, as Kal El suddenly finds himself the leader of New Krypton’s armies after an attempt is made on the life of a major Kryptonian official. But it doesn’t end there, as Kal must deal with other worlds who are angered by New Krypton’s actions, as well as a mysterious assassin determined to murder members of the planet’s high council. Who is behind this turmoil, and what does it have to do with General Sam Lane, Superman’s own father-in-law?

I’ll tell ya, it’s those in-laws that’ll get cha every time…

The cool thing about the World of New Krypton miniseries is that it takes Superman completely out of his element. In this book, he’s not a superhero anymore. He’s a general commanding an army. He answers to high council members, and functions amongst tension between Kryptonian social guilds. He’s weaved into the political fabric of society more than he ever was on Earth. He still flies, and moves faster than a speeding bullet, and all that stuff. But the context is completely different now that there are 100,000 other people around him that can do the exact same thing.

From the start, I think one of the purposes of this New Krypton story line has been to emphasize that Superman is not just a walking weapon. He’s a hero, a protector, a peacekeeper. How many times have you heard people say: Superman’s a pussy,” or “Without his powers, Superman is nothing.” I like to think part of the New Krypton story line is aimed at readers like that, because books like this show that underneath all his special abilities, Kal El truly has an iron will, and an unbreakable desire for to see virtue prosper.

Art from ComicArtCommunity.com.

The tough thing about any political thriller is that sometimes it’s very easy to get confused and lost in all the mumbo jumbo. That happened to me a little bit during this book. At the end, I had some trouble discerning exactly who the big bad guy was, and what exactly his motivations were. There’s a little bit of backtracking that’s a little hard to follow.

Also, Pete Woods has never been that high on my list of artists, but for some reason, DC seems to love him on Superman titles. The art in this book does what it needs to, but I think someone like Ramon Bachs or Jamal Igle would have been more satisfying. At least to me personally.

In a way, it’s hard to judge books in the New Krypton series, because a lot of them don’t come to a truly conclusive ending. For instance, at the end of New Krypton, Volume 4, we get a major cliffhanger that leads into the next chapter, Last Stand of New Krypton. It’s kind of like reviewing a chapter in a novel.

But for what it’s worth, I think New Krypton, Volume 4 is a decent accomplishment on the part of DC Comics. It proves a character like Superman doesn’t always have to be punching bad guys in order to be a success. He also works on different levels. And that’s a good thing, to say the least.

RATING: 6.5/10

Front page image from ComicArtCommunity.com.