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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Kal said there would be days like this.", February 27, 2010
This review is from: Superman: Mon-El (Vol. 1 ) (Hardcover)
Major life-changing events have been seriously shaking up Kal-El's world and, thanks to some high-caliber storytelling currently gracing his comic books, Superman is once more become relevant. Superman isn't alone anymore, but with that comes a whole new set of headaches. One hundred thousand Kandorians freed from their shrunken bottled city, resumed to their original mass, and all demonstrating super powers. And it turns out they're a militant-minded bunch. SUPERMAN: NEW KRYPTON Vol. 2 chronicled the revived Kryptonians' early stab at self-preservation, this comprising in part of a preemptive strike against Superman's incarcerated super-foes (who in time may pose a danger to the Kryptonians). One fallout to this was the deaths of several members of the Metropolis Science Police at the hands of the Kryptonians. When Superman and his Earthly allies sought to bring the perpetrators to justice, the Kandorians implemented technologies from both Krypton and from Brainiac to construct New Krypton, this planet staking out an orbit opposite Earth's own, on the other side of the sun.
SUPERMAN: MON-EL continues the fabulous New Krypton arc, collecting the "Who is Clark Kent's Big Brother?" story from ACTION COMICS ANNUAL #10, SUPERMAN #684-690, ACTION COMICS #874, and material from SUPERMAN: SECRET FILES 2009 #1. Just because the Kryptonians are gone doesn't mean their threat doesn't exist. The United Nations pass a law banning all Kryptonians, except Superman, from Earth. Kal-El is at a crossroads. Concerned about the danger still posed towards Earth, he takes up an offer to reside on New Krypton, to better keep an eye on and to perhaps better influence his ruthless fellow Kryptonians. Superman "abandons" Earth, but only after ensuring that his "older brother" Mon-El would take over as Metropolis's primary defender. And then Kal-El flies off to the pages of SUPERMAN: WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON maxi-series.
Superman will always be this timeless icon, but he's never been one of my all-time favorites. His departure from his titles doesn't exactly leave me all waily and lamenting. That's because a) Kal-El is a central character in that high-profile maxi-series (so it's not like he's vanished) and b) we now get Mon-El front and center.
Getting to know Mon-El is what makes this bunch of stories so fascinating to read for me. Like most DC Comics readers, I've spotted him before in various Legion storylines, but I've always associated him with that whole distant future scene and, for whatever reason, I just wasn't as invested. Here, I really like his character arc. Mon-El starts out as pretty much a clean slate. In "Who is Clark Kent's Big Brother?" a young Clark Kent meets the Daxamite and initially believes him to be kin. He's not, of course. We do, however, learn of how Mon-El came by his Kryptonian name.
Mon-El finds himself out of the Phantom Zone, his lethal weakness to lead resolved when the cure very conveniently, mysteriously appears. But it's neat watching Mon-El's fish-out-of-water progress as he acclimates to his new environs, adapts to Earth's weird culture. I wonder how this will all work out, because somehow Mon-El will end up a Legionnaire in the 30th century (unless continuity's been effed with again). I also like that he takes on a civilian identity and even an everyday vocation and that Superman's allies have taken him under their wings. The Guardian, in particular, does a lion's share of the mentoring.
In fact, the Guardian (or his clone, anyway) is also heavily featured in the SUPERMAN comic book (with Nightwing & Flamebird having taken over ACTION COMICS). A running sub-plot deals with the Guardian's assumption of field command of the Metropolis Science Police, although that's not the only thing on Jim Harper's mind nowadays. He's still highly cheesed at Codename: Assassin. He still aims to keep his promise of rescuing that mysterious figure held captive by Project 7734 (but we all recognize the telepathic prisoner as Tellus, of the Legion of Super-Heroes).
James Robinson provides the excellent writing. Renato Guedes is the primary artist, and his lines are simple yet graceful. Mon-El has never looked more majestic, even if the Guardian observes that the Daxamite doesn't quite have the Man of Steel's elegance in handling the bad guys ("...but he gets the job done!"). There's a lot of stuff going on in these pages, a huge ensemble, a complication of plot points. There are sightings of Zatara and of John Henry Irons, who is semi-retired as Steel. General Sam Lane, Lois Lane's father, is still conniving and plotting and still very paranoid, and don't forget that his machinations contributed to the estranged relations between Earth and New Krypton. Project 7734 is still pulling strings in the shadows. Somewhere, the Parasite is on the loose and craving a taste of Mon-El. James Robinson, in this stretch of tales, seems content to just establish Mon-El as Metropolis's primary protector. For now, all the various plot threads are allowed to dangle. Things can only get worse from here. In upcoming issues, I expect Mon-El to really be put thru his paces.
This trade also includes two segments of "Origins & Omens," focusing respectively on the Guardian and on Mon-El. As a bonus feature, we also get bios on the Guardian and Mon-El, as well as a brief wiki-type history lesson on Metropolis and a sort of cityscape of the City of Tomorrow with key structures and facilities highlighted.
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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Solid Reinterpretation of Mon-El, March 7, 2010
This review is from: Superman: Mon-El (Vol. 1 ) (Hardcover)
Mon-El has always been one of those characters I've loved throughout my association with comics. I first read his "origin" story when I was a kid in an 80-page Giant, back when they had those for only $.25. You could read for hours. *sigh*
The problem with Mon-El, and it was a problem for a lot of writers, was that he was entirely too much like Superman (then, Superboy). He had the same powers and was at first believed to be another survivor from Krypton. Then he was given that whole weird weakness to lead and eventually placed into the Phantom Zone and eventually dropkicked into the future a 1000 years. Once there, he joined the Legion of Super-Heroes and became a core member. Off and on. Yep, there's been lots of problems with Mon-El.
Fortunately for Lar Gand (Mon-El's real name), the whole anti-Kryptonian feeling sweeping through the DC Universe at the moment has given him a second wind in today's world. I'm sure his future is still up there waiting for him, especially since the antidote that keeps him from dying of lead poisoning seems to be wearing off.
(Though that begs the question of why Mon-El doesn't jet off into space for some world that has the technology to reverse the poisoning or zip into the future for a quick fix. I like the time travel thing best, but it was kind of addressed when Superman was unable to access the future. However, I'm sure the timeline will be salvaged at some point, so why didn't the Legion jump back and...well, you see where the whole time travel thing kicks us in the butt, don't you?)
At any rate, with Superman voluntarily returning to New Krypton for a while to mediate there, someone needs to stand in as the new hero for Metropolis. Ta-dah! Mon-El. He even gets a new insignia to slap on his uniform - the Superman family shield, and a new identity as Clark's cousin Jonathan Kent.
I appreciate all the hoops author James Robinson had to jump through to make the story line logical, and don't mind at all that we're ignoring some potential plot holes, because he tells a darn good story. I like his version of Mon-El, even the weird fact that he sounds British with his Daxamite accent. I mean, who knew?
I also enjoy the team-up with the Guardian. Selecting the Guardian as the leader of Metropolis's Science Police, then as the mentor of Mon-El was genius. With all the new things Mon-El is having to learn, and the menace of the Parasite lurking in the background, Metropolis's newest superhero definitely needed someone to help him learn the ropes.
I liked Mon-El's tour of the world in an effort to get public opinion back on his side. Renato Guedes and Jose Wilson Hagalhaes's art gives the book a fresh face and gives us a new image of Mon-El. The panel breakdowns and action were well done.
Although Superman will soon be back in the pages of all his monthly comics, I'm enjoying the stand-ins as well as the plot developments regarding Mon-El and the other characters. This is a good chance to see Metropolis through other eyes, and with a basically neophyte hero that's familiar to most DC readers.
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1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Misleading title., June 15, 2010
This review is from: Superman: Mon-El (Vol. 1 ) (Hardcover)
Even though the book is titled "Superman: Mon-El" it should actually be titled simply "mon-el". Superman doesn't play any significant part in this story (other than being the hero who left earth). The adventures of mon-el are quite boring and the character is not even the main actor in this story. The author spends a ridiculous amount of time on secondary characters that will not contribute to the Superman universe in the future. This book should be bought only by fans of mon-el, not by Superman fans!
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by James Robinson
by James Robinson
by James Robinson
by Geoff Johns
