Superman: War of the Supermen
Encyclopedia
Superman: War of the Supermen is an American comic book
limited series
from DC Comics
that serves as the culmination to the Superman line-wide event New Krypton
. The series began on Free Comic Book Day
2010, with a zero-issue released free of charge before the main limited series began the following week.
The whole event is portrayed as a "100 Minute War" in the narrative's time, although the whole event lasted one month in May 2010. No other Superman family books were solicited that month other than Superman/Batman
and Adventure Comics
neither of which crosses over into the War of the Supermen.
, World of New Krypton
and Last Stand of New Krypton
, the people of the new planet Krypton and Earth
wage war after General Zod issues a formal declaration after discovering a human (Lex Luthor
) helped destroy their planet. Superman
himself is caught in the crossfire and must keep peace between Earth and the people that represent his heritage.
, Superman
is furious that General Zod
is moving forward with his plans to make war with Earth. He punches his way into Zod's underground military installation and confronts him. Superman declares his intent to shut down Zod and his war machine. He punctuates his remarks by landing a hard right fist to Zod's jaw.
Rather than retaliate personally, Zod has his minions, Ursa and Non, do his dirty work. Ursa attacks Superman with a Kryptonite
knife, which draws blood. Superman damages the knife with his heat vision, but does not completely destroy it. Then Non attacks from above, descending feet first and landing hard on Superman. Non and Ursa gang up on Superman, using the broken Kryptonite knife to restrain him while Zod gloats. Superman manages to break free and lunge at Zod, but Ursa and Non again provide interference.
The entire time, Superman and Zod are engaged in dialogue; recapping the events of Brainiac
through Last Stand while Zod gloats and threatens to destroy all humans on Earth and Superman expresses his determination to prevent this. On the final two-page spread, we see countless Kryptonians speeding towards Earth in the first wave of the attack.
comes upon Reactron
being tortured by Alura, and sides against her mother. Reactron gloats about how he was always meant to be caught, and begins to detonate. Alura shoves Supergirl into a containment vessel just in time for Reactron to explode, destroying the planet New Krypton.
Meanwhile, Jimmy Olsen
and Lois Lane
bring Guardian
, Nightwing
, Flamebird
, Steel
, and Superboy
up to speed on what's been happening with General Sam Lane. Superwoman hears, and smiles. Superman and Supergirl cry over the lost planet. Supergirl takes up the battle standard and flees. The New Kryptonian armada approaches Earth as Zod spurs them on.
In the Daily Planet newsroom, Lois reveals New Krypton is dead when Superwoman bursts in and abducts her. In space, Supergirl and Superman power through the field of Kryptonite meteors until they crash into Callisto, New Krypton's moon. Kara laments that the planet's destruction is her fault, and Superman sadly reveals she is the Last Daughter of New Krypton.
and launch a rescue mission. At the same moment inside Project 7734, Codename Assassin and General Lane are rejoicing over the deaths of the Kryptonians as Lucy arrives with Lois. The General is hopeful until he sees Earth's Mars base is being destroyed by Zod's forces. Kal & Kara arrive and force both sides back and Zod uses the fact that the Super family are busy to launch an armada of soldiers directly on a course for Earth.
General Lane, Lois, and Superwoman are all together watching the Kryptonians in outer space under a now red sun: Sol
altered by Lex Luthor
. Superboy, Steel, Guardian, Nightwing and Flamebird, and Krypto the Superdog all converge on Project 7734 at Mount Rushmore
. Steel's carrying Jimmy Olsen and Steel's niece Natasha Irons
, now rescued from Project 7734. Jimmy Olsen gets Natasha's story out over his newsgroup called the Newsboy Legion
.
to turn the sun red. Flamebird flies to the sun to save the Kryptonians and Nightwing follows. Nightwing tells Flamebird that he will do this with her, but the Nightwing apparition takes him away to the Phantom Zone, leaving Flamebird to ignite and turn the sun back to yellow. Flamebird dies as Superman and Supergirl catch their now returned super breaths and watch as 73,000 Kryptonians die in space. Zod notes there are now only 7,000 Kryptonians left. Zod, Non, and Ursa fly toward Earth to lead the attack by the survivors. All over the planet, the Kryptonians wreak havoc by killing world leaders, destroying landmarks, and facing off against both super-heroes and Green Kryptonite robots. Ursa flies toward the White House seeking to kill the President, until she is intercepted by Supergirl, who forces her into a fight.
General Zod is leading his forces to Metropolis, where Superman waits for them atop the Daily Planet building for the final showdown.
projector from the Fortress of Solitude
- stating that the Phantom Zone "got better" (a reference to Nightwing and Flamebird run on Action Comics
) in response to Zod's claims of having destroyed it - using it to send Non to the Zone as he attacks the Justice League. After narrowly defeating Ursa, Supergirl flies into the military base to confront General Lane, willing to kill him in revenge for the death of her people, much to Lane's satisfaction as it would prove him right about the Kryptonians, only for Lois to talk Supergirl down. Refusing to face judgment for his crimes and realizing that he has gone too far in his plan to protect Earth from the Kryptonians, Lane apparently commits suicide (not shown). As Superboy arrives at Superman's fight with Zod, Superman attempts to drag Zod into the Zone with him, willing to sacrifice himself to ensure that Zod is imprisoned for good, only for Nightwing to interrupt his efforts, sending his adopted father back to Earth so that he can continue to defend it while remaining in the Phantom Zone to ensure that his biological father remains trapped. Nightwing (Chris) reverts to a young boy, encounters Mon-El
, and the two journey off together within the Zone.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
from DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
that serves as the culmination to the Superman line-wide event New Krypton
Superman: New Krypton
"New Krypton" is a Superman story arc written by Geoff Johns, James Robinson, and Sterling Gates with art by Gary Frank, Alex Ross, Renato Guedes, Jamal Igle and Pete Woods and published by DC Comics...
. The series began on Free Comic Book Day
Free Comic Book Day
Free Comic Book Day is an annual promotional effort by the North American comic book industry to help bring new readers into independent comic book stores. Retailer Joe Field of in Concord, CA brainstormed the event in his "Big Picture" column in the August 2001 issue of Comics & Games Retailer...
2010, with a zero-issue released free of charge before the main limited series began the following week.
The whole event is portrayed as a "100 Minute War" in the narrative's time, although the whole event lasted one month in May 2010. No other Superman family books were solicited that month other than Superman/Batman
Superman/Batman
Superman/Batman was a monthly comic book series published by DC Comics that features the publisher's two most popular characters: Batman and Superman...
and Adventure Comics
Adventure Comics
Adventure Comics was a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1935 to 1983 and then revamped from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues , making it the fifth-longest-running DC series, behind Detective Comics, Action Comics, Superman, and Batman...
neither of which crosses over into the War of the Supermen.
Plot
Following the events of New KryptonSuperman: New Krypton
"New Krypton" is a Superman story arc written by Geoff Johns, James Robinson, and Sterling Gates with art by Gary Frank, Alex Ross, Renato Guedes, Jamal Igle and Pete Woods and published by DC Comics...
, World of New Krypton
Superman: World of New Krypton
Superman: World of New Krypton is a twelve-issue American comic book limited series produced by DC Comics. It is written by the team of James Robinson and Greg Rucka, who at the time of this publication are the current writers of the Superman and Action Comics titles, and illustrated by artist Pete...
and Last Stand of New Krypton
Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton
"Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton" is a 2010 crossover story arc in the various Superman comic book series published by DC Comics. It follows the events from World of New Krypton and leads directly into War of the Supermen....
, the people of the new planet Krypton and Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
wage war after General Zod issues a formal declaration after discovering a human (Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and the archenemy of Superman, although given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and...
) helped destroy their planet. Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
himself is caught in the crossfire and must keep peace between Earth and the people that represent his heritage.
Prologue
As the series opens on the heels of the conclusion to Last Stand of New KryptonSuperman: Last Stand of New Krypton
"Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton" is a 2010 crossover story arc in the various Superman comic book series published by DC Comics. It follows the events from World of New Krypton and leads directly into War of the Supermen....
, Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
is furious that General Zod
General Zod
General Zod is a fictional character who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, a supervillain who is one of Superman's more-prominent enemies. The character first appeared in Adventure Comics #283 , and was created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp...
is moving forward with his plans to make war with Earth. He punches his way into Zod's underground military installation and confronts him. Superman declares his intent to shut down Zod and his war machine. He punctuates his remarks by landing a hard right fist to Zod's jaw.
Rather than retaliate personally, Zod has his minions, Ursa and Non, do his dirty work. Ursa attacks Superman with a Kryptonite
Kryptonite
Kryptonite is a fictional material from the Superman mythos —the ore form of a radioactive element from Superman's home planet of Krypton. It is famous for being the ultimate physical weakness of Superman, and the word kryptonite has since become synonymous with an Achilles' heel —the one weakness...
knife, which draws blood. Superman damages the knife with his heat vision, but does not completely destroy it. Then Non attacks from above, descending feet first and landing hard on Superman. Non and Ursa gang up on Superman, using the broken Kryptonite knife to restrain him while Zod gloats. Superman manages to break free and lunge at Zod, but Ursa and Non again provide interference.
The entire time, Superman and Zod are engaged in dialogue; recapping the events of Brainiac
Brainiac (story arc)
"Brainiac" is a five-issue comic book story arc written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Gary Frank, that was published in Action Comics #866-870 by DC Comics in 2008...
through Last Stand while Zod gloats and threatens to destroy all humans on Earth and Superman expresses his determination to prevent this. On the final two-page spread, we see countless Kryptonians speeding towards Earth in the first wave of the attack.
The War Begins
The story then continues as Zod gloats over his released forces, telling Superman there's no hope. Superman insists there's hope, and tries to escape, fighting Zod and his crew. SupergirlSupergirl (Kara Zor-El)
Kara Zor-El is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and related media, created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino. As Supergirl, Kara Zor-El serves as the biological cousin and female counterpart to DC Comic's iconic superhero Superman, created...
comes upon Reactron
Reactron
Reactron is a fictional supervillain in the DC Comics Universe, who has appeared in at least two versions. He originally appeared in The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #8 , in a story written by Paul Kupperberg and drawn by Carmine Infantino....
being tortured by Alura, and sides against her mother. Reactron gloats about how he was always meant to be caught, and begins to detonate. Alura shoves Supergirl into a containment vessel just in time for Reactron to explode, destroying the planet New Krypton.
Meanwhile, Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character who appears mainly in DC Comics’ Superman stories. Olsen is a young photojournalist working for the Daily Planet. He is close friends with Lois Lane, Clark Kent/Superman and Perry White...
and Lois Lane
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
bring Guardian
Guardian (DC Comics)
Guardian is a comic book fictional character, a DC Comics superhero, created by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon. He first appeared in Star Spangled Comics #7...
, Nightwing
Chris Kent (comics)
Christopher Kent is a fictional character, a Kryptonian in the , who first appeared in Action Comics #844 , the first part of the Action Comics story arc "Superman: Last Son". Created by Richard Donner and Geoff Johns, he is the biological son of General Zod and Ursa, and the foster son of Clark...
, Flamebird
Thara Ak-Var
Thara Ak-Var is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, created by Geoff Johns and James Robinson. The character first appeared during the Superman: New Krypton storyline in Superman #681 . She is the latest character to take on the role of Flamebird...
, Steel
Steel (John Henry Irons)
Steel , also known as the Man of Steel, is a fictional character, a superhero in the DC Universe. First appearing in The Adventures of Superman #500 , he is the third character known as Steel and was created by Louise Simonson and artist Jon Bogdanove...
, and Superboy
Superboy (Kon-El)
Superboy is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. A modern update of the original Superboy, who is a younger version of Superman, the character first appeared in Adventures of Superman #500 , and was created by writer Karl Kesel and artist Tom Grummett.Originally...
up to speed on what's been happening with General Sam Lane. Superwoman hears, and smiles. Superman and Supergirl cry over the lost planet. Supergirl takes up the battle standard and flees. The New Kryptonian armada approaches Earth as Zod spurs them on.
In the Daily Planet newsroom, Lois reveals New Krypton is dead when Superwoman bursts in and abducts her. In space, Supergirl and Superman power through the field of Kryptonite meteors until they crash into Callisto, New Krypton's moon. Kara laments that the planet's destruction is her fault, and Superman sadly reveals she is the Last Daughter of New Krypton.
The First Wave
Meanwhile, Jimmy, Steel, Nightwing, Flamebird, Superboy & The Guardian track Natasha Irons to a cell inside Mount RushmoreMount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore near Keystone, South Dakota, in the United States...
and launch a rescue mission. At the same moment inside Project 7734, Codename Assassin and General Lane are rejoicing over the deaths of the Kryptonians as Lucy arrives with Lois. The General is hopeful until he sees Earth's Mars base is being destroyed by Zod's forces. Kal & Kara arrive and force both sides back and Zod uses the fact that the Super family are busy to launch an armada of soldiers directly on a course for Earth.
Earth Retaliates
Sam communicates with Lex Luthor, who reveals he's harnessed the power from Jax-Ur's Rao corpse and the government's time pool technology to launch their counter attack. In return, he regains control of LexCorp along with his pardon. With the deal done, a missile housing is shot into the sky through the black hole/time pool tech directly into Earth's yellow sun, turning it red. Now powerless in space, Superman, Supergirl and the Kryptonians begin to suffocate.General Lane, Lois, and Superwoman are all together watching the Kryptonians in outer space under a now red sun: Sol
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
altered by Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and the archenemy of Superman, although given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and...
. Superboy, Steel, Guardian, Nightwing and Flamebird, and Krypto the Superdog all converge on Project 7734 at Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore near Keystone, South Dakota, in the United States...
. Steel's carrying Jimmy Olsen and Steel's niece Natasha Irons
Natasha Irons
Natasha Irons is a fictional character, a superhero in the DC Universe and the niece of John Henry Irons . Natasha first appears in Steel #1 . She becomes the fourth superhero to use the name Steel when her uncle is injured. In the 2006 limited series 52, Natasha gains superpowers and uses the...
, now rescued from Project 7734. Jimmy Olsen gets Natasha's story out over his newsgroup called the Newsboy Legion
Newsboy Legion
The Newsboy Legion are fictional characters, a kid gang in the DC Comics Universe. Created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, they appeared in their own self-titled feature which ran from Star Spangled Comics #7 to Star Spangled Comics #64 .-Pre-Crisis version:A group of orphans, living on the streets...
.
The Sun Restored
Nightwing and Flamebird realize Lex Luthor is using the fake god RaoRao (comics)
Rao is a fictional star in the DC Comics Universe. It is the red supergiant that the planet Krypton orbited....
to turn the sun red. Flamebird flies to the sun to save the Kryptonians and Nightwing follows. Nightwing tells Flamebird that he will do this with her, but the Nightwing apparition takes him away to the Phantom Zone, leaving Flamebird to ignite and turn the sun back to yellow. Flamebird dies as Superman and Supergirl catch their now returned super breaths and watch as 73,000 Kryptonians die in space. Zod notes there are now only 7,000 Kryptonians left. Zod, Non, and Ursa fly toward Earth to lead the attack by the survivors. All over the planet, the Kryptonians wreak havoc by killing world leaders, destroying landmarks, and facing off against both super-heroes and Green Kryptonite robots. Ursa flies toward the White House seeking to kill the President, until she is intercepted by Supergirl, who forces her into a fight.
General Zod is leading his forces to Metropolis, where Superman waits for them atop the Daily Planet building for the final showdown.
Superman vs. Zod: The Final Stand
As Superman and Zod clash, Superman refuses to allow Zod to destroy humanity while Zod has resolved to turn Earth into a New Krypton. Superboy manages to recover the Phantom ZonePhantom Zone
The Phantom Zone is a fictional prison dimension featured in the Superman comic books and related media published by DC Comics. It first appeared in Adventure Comics #283 , and was created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp...
projector from the Fortress of Solitude
Fortress of Solitude
The Fortress of Solitude is the occasional headquarters of Superman in DC Comics. Its predecessor, Superman's "Secret Citadel", first appeared in Superman #17, where it was said to be built into a mountain on the outskirts of Metropolis...
- stating that the Phantom Zone "got better" (a reference to Nightwing and Flamebird run on Action Comics
Action Comics
Action Comics is an American comic book series that introduced Superman, the first major superhero character as the term is popularly defined...
) in response to Zod's claims of having destroyed it - using it to send Non to the Zone as he attacks the Justice League. After narrowly defeating Ursa, Supergirl flies into the military base to confront General Lane, willing to kill him in revenge for the death of her people, much to Lane's satisfaction as it would prove him right about the Kryptonians, only for Lois to talk Supergirl down. Refusing to face judgment for his crimes and realizing that he has gone too far in his plan to protect Earth from the Kryptonians, Lane apparently commits suicide (not shown). As Superboy arrives at Superman's fight with Zod, Superman attempts to drag Zod into the Zone with him, willing to sacrifice himself to ensure that Zod is imprisoned for good, only for Nightwing to interrupt his efforts, sending his adopted father back to Earth so that he can continue to defend it while remaining in the Phantom Zone to ensure that his biological father remains trapped. Nightwing (Chris) reverts to a young boy, encounters Mon-El
Lar Gand
Lar Gand, known primarily as Mon-El , is a fictional character in DC Comics' universe who is associated with the Legion of Super-Heroes, Superboy, and Superman...
, and the two journey off together within the Zone.
Aftermath
In the aftermath, Clark and Lois reflect sadly on how New Krypton's appearance resulted in such a pointless war, Clark expressing his uncertainty about whether any Kryptonians are left in hiding on Earth while Lois promises to write the truth about her father's actions despite the media portraying him as a hero for his 'defensive action', hoping that someday humanity will be ready for interaction with other alien races.Collected Editions
- Superman: War of the Supermen (144 pages, Collects Superman: War of the Supermen #0-4 and a page from Superman #700)
See also
- Brainiac (story arc)Brainiac (story arc)"Brainiac" is a five-issue comic book story arc written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Gary Frank, that was published in Action Comics #866-870 by DC Comics in 2008...
- Superman: New KryptonSuperman: New Krypton"New Krypton" is a Superman story arc written by Geoff Johns, James Robinson, and Sterling Gates with art by Gary Frank, Alex Ross, Renato Guedes, Jamal Igle and Pete Woods and published by DC Comics...
- Superman: World of New KryptonSuperman: World of New KryptonSuperman: World of New Krypton is a twelve-issue American comic book limited series produced by DC Comics. It is written by the team of James Robinson and Greg Rucka, who at the time of this publication are the current writers of the Superman and Action Comics titles, and illustrated by artist Pete...
- Superman: Last Stand of New KryptonSuperman: Last Stand of New Krypton"Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton" is a 2010 crossover story arc in the various Superman comic book series published by DC Comics. It follows the events from World of New Krypton and leads directly into War of the Supermen....