REVIEW: Superman Unlimited #16
Superman Unlimited #16, “Kingdom of Zod Part Three” throws Superman directly in the middle of Zod’s kryptonite chaos after Clark’s return to Earth. The Justice League also gets involved as the kryptonite plague continues to spread worldwide.
The standard cover is by Guillem March as his connecting work continues to get pieced together. With the left side of Zod’s face in the background, we get Tomorrow Man and the two Steels featured in the foreground. These connecting covers really add to the scope of this crossover and it’s always fun to see the entire El family come together.
Mark Spears’s variant also continues his trading card concepts of the Superman Family members. This time we get Conner Kent showing some signature attitude with his raised eyebrow and wry grin.
The variant by Taurin Clarke is a great group image of the second generation of Supers. Supergirl, Tomorrow Man, Suberboy, and Superboy Prime racing towards us as the sun rises on a new day. The bright usage of color really makes the entire piece feel hopeful and inspiring as any good depiction of these characters should.
ACO’s variant is a photo realistic take on Supergirl and Tomorrow Man. It’s absolutely stunning work that makes you involuntarily smile back at Kara. Anything that can instantly spark that kind of positivity is well worth seeking out.
Excerts from ‘Kneel Before Zod’ by Joe Casey, Artist Dan McDaid, Colorist David Baron, and Letterer Troy Peteri are still being used to highlight the important details of Zod’s journey to this point.
Rachel Stott takes on the interior art this issue with Giuliano Peratelli remaining as Colorist. There’s a real sense of connection with how the art teams have come together to give this crossover a similar look with each book. That’s not to say they all look exactly the same, there’s just a similar feel to the art that seems deliberate. Amidst all the action this issue obviously has, Stott takes a moment to give us an emotional encounter between two characters that’s been decades in the making. Overall the art is fantastic and it will be interesting to see if Rachel Stott sticks around after the crossover.
Dan Slott, lettered by Dave Sharpe, escalates the Kingdom of Zod event further by having the kryptonite poisoning spread worldwide in ‘Superman Unlimited’ #16. This gets The Justice League involved as they manage global damage control. Zod has definitely upped his revenge plot tactics and even appears to have calculated needing protection from his own devices as he dawns modified Krypto Knight armor when his powers return. Things seem to keep going from bad to worse for Earth until Superman is finally able to make his grand entrance to face off against Zod yet again. The outcome of this battle will have to wait until part four as The Kingdom of Zod crossover continues.
(9/10) Acknowledging how this altered kryptonite is now affecting and infecting the entire planet really elevates the scale of Zod’s threat in Superman Unlimited #16. The multiple story elements coming together also feels very organic which just adds the enjoyment of it all.
