Review by Karl Verhoven
As the title suggests, roughly two years after 100,000 Kryptonians were restored from a shrunken city, matters are coming to a head. The shock final page of New Krypton Volume Four saw the return of Brainiac, from whom the Kryptonians had been rescued. It appears he’s not prepared to let things go and move on.
Last Stand begins, though, not with that Brainiac, but with another Brainiac, mainstay of the 31st century Legion of Super-Heroes, and anyone who’s been following all strands of James Robinson’s Superman knows some of them are around in the 21st century (see Mon-El (Man of Valor)). It’s Sterling Gates, though, who explains why the name has been revived a millennium later, before Robinson reveals why the Legion are in the present day.
While that’s being explained Brainiac’s robots are invading New Krypton. It isn’t as simple as that, though, as Robinson’s plot covers a number of obvious contingencies. He ensures factions of Kryptonians are disjointed rather than united, and that Brainiac, who the Kryptonians ought to be able to deal with under a yellow sun proves incredibly durable. “How are you killing us?”, asks Supergirl, “You aren’t supposed to have that kind of power. We should be able to tear right through you”. The answer is clever, and rapidly revealed as thousands of Terminator style robots go ruthlessly about their murderous business.
Assorted artists work on the chapters, but crucially although there are differences, their styles merge reasonably well. The sample spread combines the work of Jamal Igle and Bernard Chang, but everyone buys into the action and desperation of a planet under threat, and every page maximises the thrills.
This becomes a battle fought on several fronts, involving Superman, Supergirl, Superboy, the Legion of Super-Heroes, and Mon-El, and the action switches between them and combinations of them. The Kryptonians whose manoeuvring have been so much of New Krypton, make an appearance near the start, but are thereafter largely sidelined, which is a shame as General Zod’s actions here are bold and tragic, and it might have been assumed some payback was due. Perhaps in Last Stand of New Krypton Volume Two. Here the threat keeps escalating along with the casualty rate, and anyone who’s enjoyed Robinson’s Superman to date ought to take full value from this.
