The World of Krypton #3

History Lesson


Story: John Byrne
Breakdowns: Mike Mignola
Finishes: Rick Bryant
Colors: Petra Scotese
Lettering: John Workman
Editor: Mike Carlin
Cover Artists: John Byrne, Walt Simonson
Cover Date: Febuary 1988
Release Date: 13/10/1987

A thousand centuries later...


Jor-El intently studies recordings of the final battle of the Clone Rights War. Two servo-bots, including the original Kelex, express their concern over Jor-El's pre-occupation with events of the past, and note that Jor-El posseses a great heart, unlike most Kryptonians. As Jor-El studies, visitors arrive at his building - his father Seyg-El, the Master of the Gestation Chambers, and Nara, grandmother of the young Lara who has been selected to become Jor-El's wife. Seyg-El berates his son for not greeting them, and Jor-El begs to be able to finish studying his recordings.


The recordings pick up just after the events of the previous issue. Van-L and the scarred lady to whom he gave his warning to have traveled across Krypton in battle-suits to the stronghold of Black Zero. The battlesuits easily penetrate the defences, and the two Kryptonians are surprised when the terrorists readily agree to take them to their leadership. Proceeding on foot, Van-L is confused when his companion alludes to having met him before, even though he is unable to recognise her.


As they enter the inner chamber of Black Zero, they are taken aback to discover a giant silver egg-shaped device suspended over a shaft that appears to lead to the core of Krypton. As they wonder over the engineering skills required to build such a device, they are greeted by the leader of Black Zero - Kem-L, who has lost his mind following his murder of his mother and her clone. 

At this point, Seyg-El's patience wears thin and he forces his son to come and meet their guests. As Jor-El leaves, the recording continues.

The silver egg houses a nuclear device that he plans to fire into the core of Krypton, destroying the planet. The scarred lady shows her mechanical arm to Kem-Z, showing him that Kryptonians have moved beyond cloning to maintain their bodies. Although this seems to pacify him, Kem-Z takes the opportunity to activate the device via a concealed control panel. Energy shoots out, injuring all in the chamber. Van-L is able to summon his battlesuit and enter it, using its weaponry to prematurely detonate the device, destroying it and the entirety of the Black Zero compund. 

In the aftermath of the explosion, Kryptonian troops led by Jan-L, son of Kem-L, find Kem-L's battlesuit. Although weak and unsteady, Kem-L leaves his suit and finds the broken body of his scarred companion. He promises to take her to a hospital, but she tells him that she can't be put back together this time. As she dies, he realises that she was Vara, his long-lost love. The recording ends as he cradles her body.


Back in the present, Jor-El is informed of the untimely death of another Kryptonian, which has created the space for a new child. He is introduced to Nara and told that he is to produce this new child with her granddaughter. Defying Kryptonian tradition, he asks to see the face of his mate, and upon seeing her proclaims her 'beautiful'.

This third chapter in the history of Krypton wraps up the 'clone wars' story whilst simultaneously bringing us closer to the destruction of Krypton and introducing us to Jor-El. The closure to Van-L's story is effective, if unspectacular. Of the two surprise reveals, one works and one doesn't. The revelation of Kem-Z as the leader of Black Zero is gently surprising, partly because he hadn't been seen firsthand in the series since he killed his mother, and partly because the story could have allowed for anyone to lead Black Zero. Vara's reveal is less effective, mainly because the mystery around her identity is basically a whodunnit with only suspect, the other 'eligible' character having been killed offscreen and revealed as a clone in the opening of this series.

With the introduction of Jor-El into the series, we are invited to make comparisons between him and his ancestor Van-L. However, this issue and the next make it hard for us to do so. We are told so much about Jor-El, either from Seyg-El, Kelex or, in the next issue, Clark Kent, but all we witness him do firsthand is watch some videos in a darkened room then fall in love with the first girl he sees. This doesn't exactly compare favourably with the leader of Krypton who risked his life to save his planet but lost his love in the process. We are told that Jor-El is something of a rebel, and un-Kryptonian, but we see so little of modern Krypton that we are unable to see this for ourselves. The changes to Kryptonian society in the wake of Infinite Crisis and that we see in the current New Krypton storylines make it even harder to see this difference - if anything, Jor-El is restrained and stoic compared to the inhabitants of New Krypton. It's also a shame that the climax to the issue is Jor-El's proclomation of Lara's beauty, without a reaction from the traditional Kryptonians.

As a side note, Seyg-El is far less testy and forgiving of his son that the semi-maniac seen in Starman #51, even though the two stories would appear to take place fairly closely, going by the fact that Jor-El describes himself as still a child.

Next time on World of Superman: We take a jump forward again, as Superman tells us all about the last days of Krypton.

The World of Krypton #2

After The Fall

Writer: John Byrne
Breakdowns: Mike Mignola
Finishes: Rick Bryant
Colours: Petra Scotese
Letters: John Workman
Editor: Mike Carlin
Cover Artist: John Byrne, Walt Simonson
Cover Date: January 1988
Release Date: 15/09/1987

Many years later…

Krypton is now a deserted wasteland. A battlesuit lumbers across the desolation, heading towards the city seen in the first issue. Inside, a foetal Kryptonian remembers the past…

A time-delayed suicide message from Kan-Z is broadcast to Krypton, revealing Nyra’s actions regarding her clone. The violence from Kandor spreads across the planet, as young Kryptonians, following the historical protests of anti-cloning campaigner Sem-L, press harder for clone right. Returning to their family, Van-L and Ran-L learn of the destruction of Kandor, the result of a nuclear explosion set off in the heart of the city by a terrorist group called Black Zero. Vara and Van-L argue over the cloning issue. Vara reveals her distress at having her life saved with cloned parts, and leaves Van-L.

At a later point in the conflict, Van-L leads a squadron of Kryptonian soldiers against Black Zero rebels. During the fight, he discovers that one of the terrorists is Vara. They tussle, and Vara escapes into a building which explodes.

Back in the present, the battlesuit arrives at its destination, and ejects its passenger, Van-L. Having been encased and protected by the suit for over a century, Van-L is unable to walk unaided, and is unable to talk to the soldiers who approach him. Van-L is taken into the compound where, after a time, he is able to introduce himself as President of the World Council, and brings warning that Black Zero has reformed, and has the power to destroy Krypton.

At the time of release, the timeframe of the first two issues relative to the ongoing Superman series and the destruction of Krypton was not revealed until issues three and four. This creates a good deal of ambiguity around the issue’s cliffhanger. Although the Krypton seen in issue 1 is clearly not the Krypton of Jor-El, there is little to suggest in issue 2 that Jor-El is not concurrently discovering the fate of Krypton and making plans to save his unborn son.

Vara’s change of opinion rings both true and untrue. The body-horror aspect works well, as Vara wishes to remove her cloned implants. However, the tight time-frame of the flashbacks, where we are led to believe that Kandor is destroyed within hours of Kan-Z’s broadcast, marks a sudden change of mind for Vara, having been patched up with her implants less than a day previously with no misgiving. Indeed, her main cause of conflict while recovering in issue one is around the fuss being made for her coming of age ceremony.

Each issue of World of Krypton opens with the same shot of a tower, altered by time or location. It’s a lovely way of linking each issue together, despite the large gaps of time and space between them.

The next part of this issue occurs closer to modern Earth times, happening in Jor-El’s early life. It is revealed that the conflicts seen so far happen many millennia in Krypton’s past. As a result, in trying to keep things as chronological as possible, the next entry in this blog will examine a chapter of Superman’s history grounded in Earth history.

The World of Krypton #1

Pieces

Writer: John Byrne
Breakdowns: Mike Mignola
Finishes: Rick Bryant
Letters: John Workman
Colours: Petra Scotese
Editor: Mike Carlin
Cover Artist: John Byrne, Walt Simonson
Cover Date: December 1987
Release Date: 01/09/1987

Over 100, 000 years ago…

Van-L and Vara, young Kryptonian lovers, go for a joyride out of the city. Vara flies too recklessly and crashes, suffering serious, life-threatening injuries. Van-L takes her to the hospital, where she makes a full recovery within an hour. While there he meets the overly macho Kan-Z, who is distraught at the news of a personal loss. Returning home, Van-L and his mother worry about Ran-L, Van-L's father, who is currently thought to be in the riot-torn city of Kandor. Ran-L has managed to escape the city before the violence started, and the family prepare for the evening's ceremonies.

At the event, Kryptonian society is gripped by discussions of clone rights. We discover that every Kryptonian has three clones kept in storage for use as spare parts. These clones are the cause of the disruption in Kandor, where the fight for clone rights has erupted into violence. Nyra, mother of Kan-Z, announces her son's forthcoming nuptials, but is confronted by an angry and drunken Kan-Z, who shoots her before committing suicide.

In the aftermath, Kan-Z is found to have murdered his fiancée as well. Investigating further, and sensing a link to the clone riots, Van-L and Ran-L enter the clone banks. There they discover that one of Nyra's clones is missing. The full story shocks Van-L and Ran-L: Nyra had removed her own clone, allowed it to develop its own personality, then engineered her clone's engagement to her son. Kan-Z discovered this and was sent into a murderous rage. Ran-L realises the consequences of this - if word escapes that clones can and have developed independently then Krypton will succumb to civil war.

The first of three mini-series published to explore the background of Superman (the other two minis are World of Smallville and World of Metropolis), and the first Superman work for future Hellboy creator Mike Mignola. Mignola’s style is rather muted, probably as a result of his breakdown credit (by issue #4 he would be credited as a penciller).

The story is rather dark, a pseudo-Oedipal tale where the tragic figure not only sleeps with (a clone of) his mother but kills her and himself, all the time being a supporting character. This is a book of reaction rather than action. Van-L is a rather passive figure, unable or unwilling to understand the great changes occurring around him until the very end.

Even though the events in this issue take place millennia before the destruction of Krypton, it is easy to see the seeds of the sterile Krypton as seen in Man of Steel #1. Many functions, including medical care, are taken by robots, and the reliance on cloning forshadows the birthing matrices and emotional isolation of most Kryptonians.

As well as leading up the death of the planet, this series introduces the clone issue that would lead, via the Cleric, to the construction of the Eradicator (as seen in Action Comiccs Annual #2), which in turn would lead to several attempts to resurrect both Krypton itself and Kryptonian society. Although this version of Krypton is no longer canon thanks to various revisions, the tale told is a strong background to Superman's homeworld.