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scottpm's review against another edition
3.0
I was excited to read this thinking I was goiny to finally get a really good Superman story. Sadly, I am still waiting. Unlike others, I have been enjoying Supergirl for the spoiled and lost teenager she is. I was intrigued by Superboy but the origin recap at the beginning of all his issues was annoying. I think the Superman family writing team needs to spend some time with the Batman family writing team. Oh well I guess I will keep waiting for the Superman story to knock my socks off.
rhganci's review against another edition
3.0
So the first year of Superman family storylines were pretty problematic. I’ve not read any Superboy comics, but both Superman and Supergirl had all kinds of inconsistencies, with DC’s flagship character basically fighting a bunch of space monsters month-to-month and, at one point, going bungee jumping with Lois Lane’s sister. His cousin Kara Zor-el came to Earth, also fought some space monsters, but had some interesting character stuff happen–include a sweet subconscious fight with a dragon–and ultimately came out better in the end. With all of the space monsters unconscious (with even more on their way), the Super-family comes together to confront H’el, another superpowered “last” survivor of Krypton with two objectives: 1) to hit on Supergirl as much as possible, and 2) to bring Krypton itself back from the dead.
STORY AND SCRIPT
The premise of this crossover is simple: H’el, a Kryptonian astronaut who has come to Earth to steal both Superman’s cousin and his collection of space artifacts so he can fuel a machine to go back in time to prevent the destruction of Krypton. This “fuel” comes in the form of the Earth’s sun, so Superman and his “family” fight to stop him. Overall, the story comes off as unremarkable with its fairly stock Superman premise, mixing a threat against the Earth with some Kryptonian lore, and unfortunately, it evolves in a pretty traditional manner as well. There are a lot of fights, some interesting cameos from a handful of Justice League members, and a few flashbacks to the Krypton That Was. I regard the pacing of the story as neither a strength nor a weakness, as the most successful parts of “H’el on Earth is in a few character moments.
The first of these is the appearance of Lex Luthor. If you’re not reading Action Comics, this is the first time you’ve seen Lex Luthor post-Flashpoint, and he’s awesome. Calm, self-assured and totally opposed to Superman, he works as kind of an oracle in his half-issue appearance in the middle of the crossover. His insight into the H’el situation, and the creepy feeling you get that he’s not telling you everything he knows, presents the kind of Lex Luthor that would force a Superman to elevate his game and perhaps show a little character development.
The second of these high points is the character development that Supergirl undergoes as a result of her fight with and against H’el. She’s been presented by her creative team(s) as a trauma survivor, displaced and in shock on an alien world with all the power of Superman for the first year, but after her run-in with the Silver and Black Banshees, she has enough connections to Earth to make her role in this story interesting. By the end of the collection, it’s clear that the Supergirl we’ll be seeing in the next arc will be a different, more developed sort of heroine.
ENCILS AND ARTWORK
This is where the different issues in this collection really separate themselves. Mahmud Asrar and R.B. Silva submit good work, but the arrival of Kenneth Rocafort onto the scene as the artist on Superman is a welcome alternative to the inconsistent artwork in the book during the first year. Having left Red Hood and the Outlaws to join Lobdell, Rocafort’ gives Superman and his suit of Krpytonian armor a detail-rich makeover. Lois Lane is striking in her supporting appearance, and Supergirl hasn’t looked better in the New 52. Lex Luthor’s manic genius is alive, wishing that he would take up the mantle of super villain and turn Superman back into the hero that started it all. Looking forward at seeing Rocafort’s work in the next two volumes of Superman is a very positive thing, and the final issue of this collection is better than its abrupt conclusion thanks to his contributions.
BACKLOG PRIORITY
5.5/10 – For readers of Supergirl or Superboy, this collection will come as more necessary than for readers of Superman or Justice League, as Superman’s role in this story is exactly what we’ve seen up to this point. Lobdell et al. tell a familiar, unremarkable Superman story that goes on a bit longer than is necessary thanks to a lot of fights. Still, there are some moments that that work okay, and after finishing this I’m very excited to see where Michael Alan Nelson and Mike Johnson take the series from here on out. Superman fans will likely find something to enjoy here, but this collection is far from a must-read for most.
STORY AND SCRIPT
The premise of this crossover is simple: H’el, a Kryptonian astronaut who has come to Earth to steal both Superman’s cousin and his collection of space artifacts so he can fuel a machine to go back in time to prevent the destruction of Krypton. This “fuel” comes in the form of the Earth’s sun, so Superman and his “family” fight to stop him. Overall, the story comes off as unremarkable with its fairly stock Superman premise, mixing a threat against the Earth with some Kryptonian lore, and unfortunately, it evolves in a pretty traditional manner as well. There are a lot of fights, some interesting cameos from a handful of Justice League members, and a few flashbacks to the Krypton That Was. I regard the pacing of the story as neither a strength nor a weakness, as the most successful parts of “H’el on Earth is in a few character moments.
The first of these is the appearance of Lex Luthor. If you’re not reading Action Comics, this is the first time you’ve seen Lex Luthor post-Flashpoint, and he’s awesome. Calm, self-assured and totally opposed to Superman, he works as kind of an oracle in his half-issue appearance in the middle of the crossover. His insight into the H’el situation, and the creepy feeling you get that he’s not telling you everything he knows, presents the kind of Lex Luthor that would force a Superman to elevate his game and perhaps show a little character development.
The second of these high points is the character development that Supergirl undergoes as a result of her fight with and against H’el. She’s been presented by her creative team(s) as a trauma survivor, displaced and in shock on an alien world with all the power of Superman for the first year, but after her run-in with the Silver and Black Banshees, she has enough connections to Earth to make her role in this story interesting. By the end of the collection, it’s clear that the Supergirl we’ll be seeing in the next arc will be a different, more developed sort of heroine.
ENCILS AND ARTWORK
This is where the different issues in this collection really separate themselves. Mahmud Asrar and R.B. Silva submit good work, but the arrival of Kenneth Rocafort onto the scene as the artist on Superman is a welcome alternative to the inconsistent artwork in the book during the first year. Having left Red Hood and the Outlaws to join Lobdell, Rocafort’ gives Superman and his suit of Krpytonian armor a detail-rich makeover. Lois Lane is striking in her supporting appearance, and Supergirl hasn’t looked better in the New 52. Lex Luthor’s manic genius is alive, wishing that he would take up the mantle of super villain and turn Superman back into the hero that started it all. Looking forward at seeing Rocafort’s work in the next two volumes of Superman is a very positive thing, and the final issue of this collection is better than its abrupt conclusion thanks to his contributions.
BACKLOG PRIORITY
5.5/10 – For readers of Supergirl or Superboy, this collection will come as more necessary than for readers of Superman or Justice League, as Superman’s role in this story is exactly what we’ve seen up to this point. Lobdell et al. tell a familiar, unremarkable Superman story that goes on a bit longer than is necessary thanks to a lot of fights. Still, there are some moments that that work okay, and after finishing this I’m very excited to see where Michael Alan Nelson and Mike Johnson take the series from here on out. Superman fans will likely find something to enjoy here, but this collection is far from a must-read for most.
kenningjp's review against another edition
4.0
Once again a traveler has reached Earth from the dead planet that was Krypton and seeks to destroy this world. Lo and behold the only people who stand in his way are Superman and his clone. The other member of the House of El - Supergirl has other ideas about this long lost Kryptonian who also claims allegiance to El.
A lot of fighting ensues among the heroes and against a common enemy. Action packed while also giving more depth to the Superfolks. Looking at this an early entry into the Superfamily's collective history in the New 52, this is not a bad arc. We learn a lot about the clone and Superman's lack of limits along with reaching into the anger and desperation of Kara Zor-El. A nice change from Luthor and Brainiac and significantly better than Helspont. H'EL is a great appetizer for fans looking forward to Darkseid and Doomsday and the seriously high powered villains.
A lot of fighting ensues among the heroes and against a common enemy. Action packed while also giving more depth to the Superfolks. Looking at this an early entry into the Superfamily's collective history in the New 52, this is not a bad arc. We learn a lot about the clone and Superman's lack of limits along with reaching into the anger and desperation of Kara Zor-El. A nice change from Luthor and Brainiac and significantly better than Helspont. H'EL is a great appetizer for fans looking forward to Darkseid and Doomsday and the seriously high powered villains.
shannonleighd's review against another edition
2.0
Seriously had to push myself through this. So many things wrong with this story but unfortunately I don't think it's one you can miss because too many things happen and it would be confusing not to know the origins.
I want to tell people to skip this but only if you can find a good tl;dr somewhere.
I want to tell people to skip this but only if you can find a good tl;dr somewhere.
sans's review against another edition
3.0
I finished this late last night and passed out promptly after, so didn't get a chance to get my thoughts down. I continue to be disappointed by New 52 and am glad I didn't try to get back into comics until after Rebirth (though most of the Rebirth titles I'm currently reading are sliding into "wow, no thanks" territory as well).
I kind of hated everyone in here with the possible exception of H'el. Give me an interesting baddie and I'll probably find a way to root for him. I felt bad for the guy but didn't appreciate his manipulation of Kara. Emotional manipulation of female characters is really overdone and insulting. Though, let's be honest, Kara wasn't a shining example of the best Supergirl (or female character in general) we've had.
Pretty much everyone here was an arrogant dick, sure that they were right and everyone else should just do what they say without any kind of explanation. Meh. Still, it was one of the better stories in N52 Superman so far and I appreciated the change of pace.
I kind of hated everyone in here with the possible exception of H'el. Give me an interesting baddie and I'll probably find a way to root for him. I felt bad for the guy but didn't appreciate his manipulation of Kara. Emotional manipulation of female characters is really overdone and insulting. Though, let's be honest, Kara wasn't a shining example of the best Supergirl (or female character in general) we've had.
Pretty much everyone here was an arrogant dick, sure that they were right and everyone else should just do what they say without any kind of explanation. Meh. Still, it was one of the better stories in N52 Superman so far and I appreciated the change of pace.
just_fighting_censorship's review against another edition
4.0
Despite the fact that I have not read any of the Superman, Supergirl, or Superboy New 52 comics I was still able to follow the story line of this crossover event. This book collects issues from the 3 previously mentioned titles and intertwines them seamlessly to tell the story of H'el a survivor of Krypton who wants to use the energy from Earth's sun to travel back in time to before his planet was destroyed.
The first half of this comic was flawless while the second half did tend to drag on a bit. I was also hoping for some type of huge reveal at the end and felt a little disappointed.
I did, however, really enjoy the characterization of Superman in this adaptation. Usually Supes is a bit stuffy but in this story he had great moments of humor and human-ness which ends up being a very juxtaposition of Supergirl and H'El. I also appreciated the attempt to make Supergirl more than just a pretty face and loved seeing her and Wonder Woman battle.
Superboy, didn't really bother me, despite his forced snarkiness HOWEVER it did bother me that Superman gives him his suit and spends the rest of the story battling in a t-shirt and jeans...wtf
Overall, very entertaining but not nearly as epic as it could have been.
The first half of this comic was flawless while the second half did tend to drag on a bit. I was also hoping for some type of huge reveal at the end and felt a little disappointed.
Spoiler
Throughout the story we see H'el take advantage of Supergirl and do a number of unsavory and manipulative things and there is always this overtone, this hinting, that this guy is super evil. Except he's really not. I wanted this epic villainous ending and that is not really how it goes down.I did, however, really enjoy the characterization of Superman in this adaptation. Usually Supes is a bit stuffy but in this story he had great moments of humor and human-ness which ends up being a very juxtaposition of Supergirl and H'El. I also appreciated the attempt to make Supergirl more than just a pretty face and loved seeing her and Wonder Woman battle.
Superboy, didn't really bother me, despite his forced snarkiness HOWEVER it did bother me that Superman gives him his suit and spends the rest of the story battling in a t-shirt and jeans...wtf
Overall, very entertaining but not nearly as epic as it could have been.
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