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the_rox13's review against another edition
3.0
Synopsis: I'm going to try to keep this as short as possible because this trade was a beast. All right, so we pick up with Superman hugging a teenage Jon. They all go back and Jon reunites with Lois. Jon then goes into what happened with Jor-El. We get the same story here that we did in Action Comics - that Lois felt she wasn't needed with Jor-El and Jon and thought she would only endanger them. From there, Jon says that Jor-El is insane and they would go on missions and such, but there was a time when him and Jor-El weren't speaking.
As for the reason why Jon is a teenager, so basically he got sucked into a wormhole and was sent back in time to Earth-3, home of the Crime Syndicate. He imprisoned there for years by Ultraman until he finally escapes. As Jon is being attacked by Superwoman, Jor-El saves him and they return to Jor-El's ship. Jor-El accuses Jon of trying to run away just as the ship is attacked by Rogol Zaar and Zod. Jon is then sent back to Earth which is where we started the book.
The story loses me a bit here, but from what I gather Superman and Jon go to space to help Jor-El, who is now being attacked by various planetary militaries. There's a lot of fighting going on and eventually Supergirl and Krypto show up to fight as well. Superman and Zod fight at superspeed and explains that he's only going along with Zaar so he could ask for Superman's help.
Zor-El takes his damaged ship with all the Els on it to what remains of Krypton. There he admits he was part of the Circle, but much like the Science Council they would not believe him when he said Krypton was in trouble. Superman is a bit pissed about this because essentially Jor-El was apart of a secret society of galactic leaders that controlled everything behind the scenes. But this explains why everyone wants Jor-El dead, I guess, because of a really fucking old conspiracy.
Again, they are attacked by Rogol Zaar, but this time Zod helps take him down. Thangarians show up and put Zaar in stasis and arrest Jor-El. On Thangar, they somehow manage to bring all these other planet leaders to the same place where Jon suggests they create something similar to the United Nation on Earth. Everyone is skeptical that it will work and then the freaking Legion of Superheroes shows up and confirm that it does work. It works and Jon names the day Unity Day. The Legion wants Jon to come with him, but he wants time to think about it. Jor-El has been sentenced by the United Planets to be returned in time to the moment Krypton blew up.
Zod tells Superman that he's going to find a place to make a New Krypton and they part on good terms. The House of El then goes back to Earth. While they were away, Lex Luthor gave Lois a box, but we didn't see what was in it.
Review: See, this is why it sucks to read comics in trade format. I feel like I'm missing out on a ton a shit that I haven't read, but I know enough that I think I can put the pieces together enough to give an opinion on the story. Overall, I think this would be a more of a 3.5 for me because I did like it more than volume 1. I can't say that I'm still down with Bendis as a writer because there is still some weird dialogue that leaves me scratching my head. It's just like stuff that either doesn't make sense or it's plain out of character.
I'm going to try to start with negatives now in my review and end on the positives. Jor-El seems like a different fucking character every single time he appears. In the Oz Effect, he hated humanity and didn't like that Kal had turned into Superman - he didn't believe in humans, and now suddenly he does? He also goes from being completely nuts to sane at various points in the volume. Dr.Oz/Jor-El could have been interesting, but needless to say, I'm glad he is now out of the picture.
Again, I don't care for Rogol Zaar as a character. I just don't care. I didn't understand how he and all these other planetary militaries started attacking Jor-El or how the fuck Superman and the crew got away from the fight.
The Legion of Superheroes showing up was a surprise at the end, but I imagine it has to do with Doomsday Clock, which I've only read half of. Anyway, I thought the whole United Planets thing was very cheesy and also so sudden. All these leaders managed to agree to this in one day? Look at the U.S. government and how long it takes for them to make decisions and you're telling me this all happened in one day? It was unbelievable. Then they wanted Jon to go with them? If he does, I'll be pissed. He just fucking got back, can we not make Lois and Superman suffer more?
Onto the positives. Like I said, I'm glad Jor-El is seemingly out of the picture. I thought that it was emotional and sad that he was sentenced to go back to the moment Krypton exploded and yet, fitting. I liked that we got answers in terms of what the Circle was and that Jor-El was indeed apart of it. Still confused on why the Circle seemed like they wanted Krypton to die and Adam Strange implying that Jor-El created Rogol Zaar.
I was glad we got an explanation of why Jon aged and I enjoyed seeing the Crime Syndicate again because they've been dead since the New 52. The only one we really get to spend time with is Ultraman, though, which is fine by me because he's my favorite. I liked seeing this vulnerable side to Ultraman and the fact that he cries in Jon's presence. I thought it was very interesting and made him more...sympathetic? He always comes off as a strong, hateful, powerful person, but here we see him being emotional, which is not normal for him. Regardless, it's still very fucked up that he kept Jon imprisoned in a volcano for YEARS.
I liked that Zod and Superman were finally able to see eye-to-eye with each other. I've always loved Zod as a character and I've always wondered what it would be like to see him and Supes get along. Hopefully, we'll get more of that in the future. I'd also love to see Jon and Zod's son interact. We get a little bit, but I wanted more. Also, I liked that Kara was actually involved in this story because writers leave Kara out a lot and it's annoying.
Overall, I enjoyed the volume. It seems like Bendis is finding his footing, maybe. I'm still not completely onboard, but I don't hate it and I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
As for the reason why Jon is a teenager, so basically he got sucked into a wormhole and was sent back in time to Earth-3, home of the Crime Syndicate. He imprisoned there for years by Ultraman until he finally escapes. As Jon is being attacked by Superwoman, Jor-El saves him and they return to Jor-El's ship. Jor-El accuses Jon of trying to run away just as the ship is attacked by Rogol Zaar and Zod. Jon is then sent back to Earth which is where we started the book.
The story loses me a bit here, but from what I gather Superman and Jon go to space to help Jor-El, who is now being attacked by various planetary militaries. There's a lot of fighting going on and eventually Supergirl and Krypto show up to fight as well. Superman and Zod fight at superspeed and explains that he's only going along with Zaar so he could ask for Superman's help.
Zor-El takes his damaged ship with all the Els on it to what remains of Krypton. There he admits he was part of the Circle, but much like the Science Council they would not believe him when he said Krypton was in trouble. Superman is a bit pissed about this because essentially Jor-El was apart of a secret society of galactic leaders that controlled everything behind the scenes. But this explains why everyone wants Jor-El dead, I guess, because of a really fucking old conspiracy.
Again, they are attacked by Rogol Zaar, but this time Zod helps take him down. Thangarians show up and put Zaar in stasis and arrest Jor-El. On Thangar, they somehow manage to bring all these other planet leaders to the same place where Jon suggests they create something similar to the United Nation on Earth. Everyone is skeptical that it will work and then the freaking Legion of Superheroes shows up and confirm that it does work. It works and Jon names the day Unity Day. The Legion wants Jon to come with him, but he wants time to think about it. Jor-El has been sentenced by the United Planets to be returned in time to the moment Krypton blew up.
Zod tells Superman that he's going to find a place to make a New Krypton and they part on good terms. The House of El then goes back to Earth. While they were away, Lex Luthor gave Lois a box, but we didn't see what was in it.
Review: See, this is why it sucks to read comics in trade format. I feel like I'm missing out on a ton a shit that I haven't read, but I know enough that I think I can put the pieces together enough to give an opinion on the story. Overall, I think this would be a more of a 3.5 for me because I did like it more than volume 1. I can't say that I'm still down with Bendis as a writer because there is still some weird dialogue that leaves me scratching my head. It's just like stuff that either doesn't make sense or it's plain out of character.
I'm going to try to start with negatives now in my review and end on the positives. Jor-El seems like a different fucking character every single time he appears. In the Oz Effect, he hated humanity and didn't like that Kal had turned into Superman - he didn't believe in humans, and now suddenly he does? He also goes from being completely nuts to sane at various points in the volume. Dr.Oz/Jor-El could have been interesting, but needless to say, I'm glad he is now out of the picture.
Again, I don't care for Rogol Zaar as a character. I just don't care. I didn't understand how he and all these other planetary militaries started attacking Jor-El or how the fuck Superman and the crew got away from the fight.
The Legion of Superheroes showing up was a surprise at the end, but I imagine it has to do with Doomsday Clock, which I've only read half of. Anyway, I thought the whole United Planets thing was very cheesy and also so sudden. All these leaders managed to agree to this in one day? Look at the U.S. government and how long it takes for them to make decisions and you're telling me this all happened in one day? It was unbelievable. Then they wanted Jon to go with them? If he does, I'll be pissed. He just fucking got back, can we not make Lois and Superman suffer more?
Onto the positives. Like I said, I'm glad Jor-El is seemingly out of the picture. I thought that it was emotional and sad that he was sentenced to go back to the moment Krypton exploded and yet, fitting. I liked that we got answers in terms of what the Circle was and that Jor-El was indeed apart of it. Still confused on why the Circle seemed like they wanted Krypton to die and Adam Strange implying that Jor-El created Rogol Zaar.
I was glad we got an explanation of why Jon aged and I enjoyed seeing the Crime Syndicate again because they've been dead since the New 52. The only one we really get to spend time with is Ultraman, though, which is fine by me because he's my favorite. I liked seeing this vulnerable side to Ultraman and the fact that he cries in Jon's presence. I thought it was very interesting and made him more...sympathetic? He always comes off as a strong, hateful, powerful person, but here we see him being emotional, which is not normal for him. Regardless, it's still very fucked up that he kept Jon imprisoned in a volcano for YEARS.
I liked that Zod and Superman were finally able to see eye-to-eye with each other. I've always loved Zod as a character and I've always wondered what it would be like to see him and Supes get along. Hopefully, we'll get more of that in the future. I'd also love to see Jon and Zod's son interact. We get a little bit, but I wanted more. Also, I liked that Kara was actually involved in this story because writers leave Kara out a lot and it's annoying.
Overall, I enjoyed the volume. It seems like Bendis is finding his footing, maybe. I'm still not completely onboard, but I don't hate it and I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
perfumevee's review
5.0
Just awesome! An exciting ride from start to finish! Now I pretty much have to get a hold of any others books related to this saga.
hilaritas's review
4.0
Pretty decent for a big "event" in that the story is easy to follow and actually finds things to do with most of the characters. While the impetus for the action is the psychological anguish of Wanda Maximoff, the story doesn't have a really strong emotional resonance except when focusing on Spider-Man. Most of the impact of this story is in the repercussions that follow.
jamiely's review
3.0
I enjoyed the general idea of this story arc. This particular book had far too little about the actual House of M (Magneto and his vassals). I also hated the ending, especially the supposed purpose behind it (at least according to "the internet"). Another thing I enjoyed was the effect shown when Wanda's dummies discorporated, like fused voxels suddenly losing the force of their composition.
iamleyeti's review
3.0
Pretty exciting story, with some powerful scenes (Parker waking up) but with the usual problems I have with comic books: the pacing is all wrong, too many characters, and terrible coloring. Despite my usual dislike of the genre, I had a really nice time reading this.
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