"New Krypton" is a 2008–09 comic book

story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of a plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing narrative, storyline in episode, episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strip ...

featuring character

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

, published by American company

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

; it was written by

Geoff Johns Geoffrey Johns (born January 25, 1973) is an American comic book writer, screenwriter, and film and television producer. Johns's work on the DC Comics characters Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash (comics), Flash, and Superman has drawn critical accl ...

, James Robinson and

Sterling Gates Sterling Gates (born March 1, 1981) is an American comic book writer, comic book and television writer. Early life Gates, whose father owned a used book store with a large selection of comics, became a comic book fan at a young age, describing hi ...

, with art by Gary Frank,

Alex Ross Nelson Alexander Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an American comic book creator, comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries ''Marvels'', on which ...

, Renato Guedes,

Jamal Igle Jamal Yaseem Igle is an American comic book artist, editor, art director, marketing executive and animation storyboard artist. The creator of the comic book series ''Molly Danger'' he is also known for his pencilling, inking and coloring work on ...

and

Pete Woods Peter Woods is an American comic book artist, known for his work on titles such as ''Backlash (Marc Slayton), Backlash'', ''Deadpool (comics), Deadpool'', ''Robin (comics), Robin'', ''Catwoman'', ''Amazons Attack'', and ''Action Comics''. Career ...

. The arc is an inter-title

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Music Albums * ''Cross Over'' (album), a 1987 album by Dan Peek, or the title song * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'', an album by Intrigue * ''Crossover'', an album by ...

, published in ''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as Detective Comics Inc., which later merged into National ...

'', ''

'' and ''

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...

''. The story features Superman coming to terms with the death of his adoptive father while also dealing with 100,000

Kryptonian Kryptonians are a fictional extraterrestrial race within the DC Comics universe that originated on the planet Krypton. The term originated from the stories of DC Comics superhero, Superman. The stories also use "Kryptonian" as an adjective to ref ...

s now living on Earth as a result of the '' Brainiac'' story arc. This story begins a planned "link" on ''Action Comics'', ''Superman'', and ''Supergirl'' as part of their collective plans for Superman and his cast of characters through 2008 and beyond. The events of this story lead directly into the 12-part series '' Superman: World of New Krypton''.

Publication history

In the months before Johns started his ''Brainiac'' arc, and James Robinson took over writing duties on ''

'', both Johns and Robinson had made clear their plans for the ''Superman''-related titles following those arcs for the rest of

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

onto the end of 2010. The plan was to link the three ''Super''-books (''

'', ''Superman'', and ''Supergirl''), allowing them to cross over more fluidly on a regular basis and also allowing the narratives to be tied together similar to a bi-weekly series. According to Johns, the plan was to make readers want to get the ''Super''-titles because they would not feel that "you HAVE to read, but that you WANT to read". Robinson also added that even though neither he nor Johns would be writing ''Supergirl'', they made it clear that they were still the advisors to the book's next ongoing writer,

. Gates, coming onto the ''Supergirl'' title with issue #34, has stated his intention of working with Johns and Robinson:

Summary

Following the events of the "Brainiac" story arc, the entire city of Kandor now resides near the

Fortress of Solitude The Fortress of Solitude is a fictional fortress appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Superman. It is the place where Superman first learned about his true identity, heritage, and purpose on Eart ...

in the North Pole, populated by 100,000

Kryptonians Kryptonians are a fictional extraterrestrial race within the DC Comics universe that originated on the planet Krypton. The term originated from the stories of DC Comics superhero, Superman. The stories also use "Kryptonian" as an adjective to ref ...

. Although distracted by the recent death of Jonathan Kent, Superman attempts to aid the Kryptonians in their assimilation with the rest of the Earth, something very few Kryptonians seem interested in, including the city's leaders,

Zor-El Zor-El is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. A Kryptonian, he is the younger brother of Jor-El,'' Action Comics #1075 (2024)'' husband of Alura, father of Supergirl, and paternal uncle of Superman. T ...

and Alura, Supergirl's parents. After the first televised meeting between the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

and a delegation from Kandor is interrupted by a rampaging

Doomsday Doomsday may refer to: * Eschatology, a time period described in the eschatological writings in Abrahamic religions and in doomsday scenarios of non-Abrahamic religions. * Global catastrophic risk, a hypothetical event explored in science and fict ...

, Zor-El and Alura form a task force determined to preemptively end any future threat to Kandor by capturing Superman's worst villains and trapping them in the

Phantom Zone The Phantom Zone is a prison-like parallel dimension appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is mainly associated with stories featuring Superman. It first appeared in ''Adventure Comics'' #283 (April 1961), and was created b ...

. However, when several human police officers refuse to hand over the

Parasite Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted str ...

, they are killed by the task force, enraging Superman. At the same time,

Lex Luthor Alexander "Lex" Joseph Luthor () is a supervillain in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the character first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (published on February 22, 1940, with a cover d ...

, who has been recruited by General Sam Lane to halt the Kryptonian "invasion", gains control of Brainiac and unleashes his robot army from within the depths of the alien's spaceship, currently being held in Kandor. During the fight,

Metallo Metallo () is the name of different supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an List of Superman enemies, adversary of Superman. All versions of the character are powered by kryptonite and are partially ...

and

Reactron Reactron is a fictional supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, usually as an adversary of Supergirl. Publication history Reactron first appears in ''The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl'' #8 (June 1983), in a story writt ...

, who are working for Luthor and General Lane, are brought into Kandor as

Trojan horses In Greek mythology, the Trojan Horse () was a wooden horse said to have been used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the city of Troy and win the war. The Trojan Horse is not mentioned in Homer's ''Iliad'', with the poem ending befor ...

containing

kryptonite Kryptonite is a fictional material that appears primarily in Superman stories published by DC Comics. In its best-known form, it is a green, crystalline material originating from Superman's home world of Krypton (comics), Krypton that emits a u ...

. Reactron manages to kill Supergirl's father, Zor-El. Alura's anger causes her to denounce humanity. Members of the

Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...

and

Justice Society In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes'' of Justinian, a ...

arrive in Kandor, led by the

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...

demanding the city turn over those who murdered the police officers, and a large-scale battle erupts, with Superman in the middle. It only ends when Kryptonian scientists manage to use Brainiac's technology to lift Kandor off the Earth and grow an entirely new planet underneath it, called "New Krypton", on the other side of the

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...

, directly opposite the Earth, and therefore hidden by the Sun. Alura tells Superman that he is not welcome on New Krypton, although Supergirl takes up residence there with her mother. In the end, Alura frees

General Zod General Zod is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an List of Superman enemies, adversary of the superhero Superman. The character, who first appeared in ''Adventure Comics'' #283 (April 1961), was ...

from the Phantom Zone to help her lead their people.

New characters

''New Krypton'' introduced several new super-powered characters to the ''Superman'' universe. These characters are modern versions of older and, up until recently, mostly unused heroes. Nightwing and Flamebird A new

Nightwing Nightwing is a superhero alias used by multiple characters in American comic books published by DC Comics. The most prominent bearer is Dick Grayson, the original Robin, who adopts the Nightwing identity to assert his independence from Batman. ...

and

Flamebird Flamebird is the name used by six different fictional comic book characters who have appeared in books published by DC Comics, specifically from the ''Superman'' and ''Batman'' mythos. The primary character to use the Flamebird name is Bette Kane ...

first appeared in Superman's Fortress of Solitude guarding the Phantom Zone projector in order to prevent anyone loyal to General Zod from freeing the despot. Both Nightwing and Flamebird exhibit powers that are not inherent to normal Kryptonians: Flamebird shoots fireballs from her hand while Nightwing uses tactile

telekinesis Telekinesis () (alternatively called psychokinesis) is a purported psychic ability allowing an individual to influence a physical system without physical interaction. Experiments to prove the existence of telekinesis have historically been cri ...

. Unlike previous portrayals, Flamebird is female and is older than the teenage, male Nightwing. Starting with issue #875, they are the starring characters of ''

''. The origin of Nightwing and Flamebird was revealed in ''Action Comics Annual'' #12. Superwoman The mysterious, masked Superwoman demonstrates apparent Kryptonian abilities. She makes an effort to comfort Supergirl following her father's death. Although her true identity is initially unknown, her costume is similar to the

Kristin Wells Kristin Wells is a comic book character, the secret identity of one version of DC Comics Superwoman. Created by Superman comic writer Elliot S. Maggin, Wells first appeared in Maggin's novel '' Superman: Miracle Monday'' (1981); he later introduce ...

version of Superwoman. At the end of the New Krypton arc, Superwoman murders

Agent Liberty Agent Liberty (Benjamin Lockwood) is a fictional character appearing in American comic book, American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Dan Jurgens, he made his debut in ''Superman'' vol. 2 #60 (Oct. 1991), and was later given his own ...

, after catching him spying on General Sam Lane and Lex Luthor, calling out "Intruder Alert" as she does so. She is later revealed to be working for General Lane. Superwoman is the focus of the "Who is Superwoman?" arc in ''Supergirl''. She is revealed to be Lucy Lane, Lois Lane's younger sister.

Planet New Krypton

The new Planet Krypton is created by Kryptonian scientists reportedly using Brainiac's technology along with Kryptonian crystal-growth technology to grow a planet underneath the city of Kandor, which resides under one of Brainiac's force-fields. The planet itself greatly resembles the Krypton (comics)#Superman: The Movie, Krypton of ''Superman the Movie'' in that it is a planet entirely covered in ice, with one lone city atop its North Pole. Its position, within the Solar System but Krypton (comics)#Radio, opposite Earth, hidden by the sun, comes from the 1940s Superman (radio), ''Superman'' radio show where the planet Krypton existed before its destruction. It is also inspired by the pre-Crisis Rokyn, which was likewise settled by the restored Kandorians. Unlike New Krypton, Rokyn orbited a red sun, so its inhabitants did not have superpowers.

Issue numbering

The story, ''New Krypton'', was featured as a crossover between the monthly ''Superman (comics), Superman'', ''

'', and ''

'' titles. Each issue was branded with a green pentagon badge indicating what part of the story it was. The numbering continued after the series conclusion, until reaching number 35 with ''Superman'' issue number 690. The numbering was restarted, and the badge was made red, for the ''Codename: Patriot'' and ''Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton'' storylines. Rebadged with green badges: 0 – ''Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen Special'' #1 (set after ''Superman'' #680 but before ''Superman: New Krypton Special'' #1)
1 – ''New Krypton'' #1 (also included in ''Superman: Brainiac'' TPB)
2 – ''Superman'' #681
3 – ''Guardian Special'' #1
4 – ''Action Comics'' #871
5 – ''Supergirl'' #35
6 – ''Superman'' #682
7 – ''Action Comics'' #872
8 – ''Supergirl'' #36
9 – ''Superman'' #683
10 – ''Action Comics'' #873
11 – ''Supergirl'' #37 (no shield number on cover)
12 – ''Superman'' #684
13 – ''Action Comics'' #874
14 – ''Supergirl'' #38
15 – ''Superman'' #685 (no shield number on cover)
16 – ''World of New Krypton'' #1
17 – ''Action Comics'' #875
18 – ''Supergirl'' #39
19 – ''Superman'' #686
20 – ''World of New Krypton'' #2
21 – ''Action Comics'' #876
22 – ''Supergirl'' #40
23 – ''Superman'' #687
24 – ''World of New Krypton'' #3
25 – ''Action Comics'' #877
26 – ''Supergirl'' #41
27 – ''Superman'' #688
28 – ''World of New Krypton'' #4
29 – ''Action Comics'' #878
30 – ''Supergirl'' #42
31 – ''Superman'' #689
32 – ''World of New Krypton'' #5
33 - ''Action Comics Annual'' #12 (no shield number on cover)
34 – ''Action Comics'' #879
35 – ''Supergirl'' #43
36 - ''Supergirl Annual'' #1 (no shield number on cover)
37 – ''Superman'' #690 Rebadged with red badges: 1 — ''Superman Secret Files and Origins 2009''
2 – ''World of New Krypton'' #6
3 – ''Action Comics'' #880
4 – ''Supergirl'' #44
5 – ''Superman'' #691
6 - ''Superman Annual'' #14
7 – ''Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen Special'' #2
8 – ''World of New Krypton'' #7
9 – ''Action Comics'' #881
10 – ''Supergirl'' #45
11 – ''Superman'' #692
12 – ''World of New Krypton'' #8
13 – ''Action Comics'' #882
14 – ''Supergirl'' #46
15 – ''Superman'' #693
16 – ''World of New Krypton'' #9
17 – ''Action Comics'' #883
18 – ''Supergirl'' #47
19 – ''Superman'' #694
20 – ''World of New Krypton'' #10
21 – ''Action Comics'' #884
22 – ''Supergirl'' #48
23 – ''Superman'' #695
24 – ''World of New Krypton'' #11
25 – ''Action Comics'' #885
26 – ''Supergirl'' #49
27 – ''Superman'' #696
28 – ''World of New Krypton'' #12
29 – ''Action Comics'' #886
30 – ''Supergirl'' #50
31 – ''Superman'' #697
32 – ''Adventure Comics'' #8
33 – ''Last Stand of New Krypton'' #1
34 – ''Action Comics'' #887
35 – ''Supergirl'' #51
36 – ''Superman'' #698
37 – ''Adventure Comics'' #9
38 – ''Last Stand of New Krypton'' #2
39 – ''Action Comics'' #888
40 – ''Adventure Comics'' #10
41 – ''Supergirl'' #52
42 – ''Superman'' #699
43 – ''Last Stand of New Krypton'' #3
44 – ''Action Comics'' #889
45 – ''Adventure Comics'' #11 War of the Supermen 0 - ''War of the Supermen'' #0 (FCBD)
1 - ''War of the Supermen'' #1
2 - ''War of the Supermen'' #2
3 - ''War of the Supermen'' #3
4 - ''War of the Supermen'' #4
5 - ''Superman'' #700 (aftermath)

Collected editions

The storyline will be collected into a number of volumes: * ''Volume 1: Birth'' (176 pages, hardcover, May 2009, ) * ''Volume 2'' (160 pages, hardcover, September 2009, )

Follow-up

A twelve-part maxi-series entitled '' Superman: World of New Krypton'' was produced from March 2009 to March 2010.Rucka & Robinson on Superman: World of New Krypton
February 24, 2009 The 12 issues run through the storylines of ''New Krypton'' and ''Codename: Patriot''. That was in turn followed by ''Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton'' from March to April 2010 and finally concluded in the five-issue (#0 issue and #1-4) epic ''Superman: War of the Supermen'' in May 2010. All other title books were not distributed during the culmination event.

Notes

References

* {{Superman publications Comics by Geoff Johns Works set on fictional planets