New Krypton



Superman: New Krypton was a DC Comics Bat Family Crossover for the Superman-related titles, running from 2008 to 2010. It was written by, at various points and on various books, Geoff Johns, James Robinson, Sterling Gates, and Greg Rucka.

The storyline comes directly on the heels of the Brainiac arc, but has roots in the Last Son story by Geoff Johns and Superman director Richard Donner.

Continuing from the end of Brainiac the story revolves around the Bottle City of Kandor becoming just the City of Kandor, having been finally unshrunk, and it's 100,000 inhabitants freed from captivity. The resulting chaos and mistrust stemming from thousands of beings as strong as Superman now existing on Earth culminates in the the murder of Supergirl's father, Zor-El. His wife, Alura, believing that there is no place for her people on Earth, encases the city in a protective dome and launches it into space, using Kryptonian technology to form the planet "New Krypton" on the other side of the solar system. All Kryptonians except Superman are banned from Earth and Alura releases General Zod to head up the defense of their people. On Earth, Sam Lane, the father of Lois Lane, reappears, having previously faked his death to go underground and prepare for a day when humanity might need to oppose Superman.

From there, each title in the series goes in it's own direction within the overall arc:


 * World of New Krypton: Features Superman moving to New Krypton as a commander in their defense force, navigating the politics of both an interstellar cold war, as well as the rigid Kryptonian caste system.
 * The main Superman book was taken over by Mon-El of Legion of Super Heroes fame, freed from the Phantom Zone and cured of his fatal lead poisoning, and serving as Superman's replacement, both on the Justice League and as the protector of Metropolis.
 * Action Comics was headlined by newcomers Nightwing and Flamebird, two Kryptonians hiding on Earth to track down and imprison escaped criminals from the Phantom Zone.
 * Supergirl dealt with the continuing fallout of Zor-El's assassination, with Kara trying to apprehend his killer, Reactron, while being both a literal illegal alien, and a Hero With Bad Publicity.
 * Codename: Patriot: A crossover within the crossover, revolving around the attempted assassination of General Zod.
 * Last Stand of New Krypton: Brainiac makes one last attempt to reclaim Kandor, with Zod, Lex Luthor, and the Legion of Superheroes all pursuing their own agendas in the chaos.
 * War of the Supermen: The end of the road for New Krypton, with Lane and Luthor initiating their endgame, and Zod's forces vowing to wipe out the Earth. Ends with the Reset Button thoroughly pressed, and the status quo almost entirely restored.

New Krypton contains examples of the following tropes:

 * Abusive Parents: Zod and Ursa, oh so much.
 * Ate His Gun: General Lane. Because, as we all know, it's always...
 * Better to Die Than Be Killed: "I said no prisoners, Lois. And I meant it."
 * The Bad Guy Wins: Lane achieves his goal of wiping out the Kryptonians, and Lex Luthor regains control of his company.
 * Big Bad Ensemble: Zod and Lane are Evil Versus Evil, while Luthor, Brainiac and Jax-Ur have their own agendas.
 * Brainwashed and Crazy: Captain Atom just can't catch a break.
 * Chekhov's Gun: The False Rao.
 * Demonic Possession: Nightwing and Flamebird, two minor Kryptonian dieties, possess or simply influence Chris Kent and Thara Ak-var. Their nemesis, Vohc the Breaker, has possessed the Kryptonian criminal Jax-Ur.
 * The Dragon: Ursa to Zod, Superwoman to General Lane, and Captain Atom to Mirabai.
 * Earthshattering Kaboom: On New Krypton, courtesy of Lex Luthor and Reactron.
 * Evil Genius: Luthor, Brainiac, and Dr. Calomar.
 * Evil Versus Evil: General Zod, a ruthless, xenophobic General Ripper, has as his opposite number on Earth... General Sam Lane, a ruthless, xenophobic General Ripper.
 * God Save Us From the Queen: Mirabai the Forlorn, the ruler of Sorcerer's World.
 * Gotta Catch Em All: The Phantom Zone escapees in Action.
 * If You Kill Him You Will Be Just Like Him: Lois convinces Supergirl not to kill her father with this argument.
 * Hero With Bad Publicity: Supergirl, right from the start, thanks to Cat Grant. Superman joins her not long after due to fallout from the Kryptonians' actions. Nightwing and Flamebird become this when Project 7734 frames them and Supergirl for murdering Mon-El and destroying the Metropolis water supply.
 * Ill Girl: Lana Lang.
 * Karma Houdini: Zod and his group get off with the relatively light punishment of being put back in the Phantom Zone. Lex Luthor doesn't even get that: For his part in the genocide, he's rewarded with a pardon and returned to the helm of LexCorp. Only General Lane, who is Driven to Suicide, and his minions end up worse off than they were before.
 * Killed Off for Real:
 * Knife Nut: Ursa, who uses a kryptonite knife, even though it makes her sick just holding it.
 * May-December Romance: Thara and Chris. She's nearing fifty but looks young, he's around six years old but has the body and mind of a twenty-year old.
 * Older Than They Look: All of the Kandorians and Phantom Zone escapees. Thara Ak-Var, for instance, looks maybe twenty, and hasn't actually aged more than a couple of years, despite spending three decades active and awake in the bottle city. This is Handwaved as being a result of Brainiac's technology.
 * Our Hero Is Dead: When Mon-El, the only hero in the story that's actually liked by the masses, is "killed" by Lane's agents.
 * Psycho for Hire: Pretty much the entirety of Project 7734, but Codename: Assassin is the standout example.
 * Reverse Mole: Natasha Irons, inside 7734.
 * Secret Identity: Mon-El, who tries to blend in by posing as Science Police officer Jonathan Kent.
 * Someone to Remember Him By: Billie Harper reveals to the Guardian that she's pregnant with Mon-El's child.
 * Taking the Bullet: Krypto intercepting a kryptonite knife intended for Superboy.
 * Undercover Cop Reveal: Different members of the Legion Espionage Squad, at various points. Chameleon Boy was actually undercover as a cop.
 * Woman Scorned: Vohc is a gender-inverted example. He was in love with Flamebird, but since her entire purpose in life was to wreck his stuff, it didn't turn out well.
 * You Killed My Father: The Guardian says this verbatim to Codename: Assassin.
 * Younger Than They Look: Chris Kent goes from looking his age (about six) to looking around 12, to his mid teens, early twenties, and eventually old age, due to being a mutant.