REVIEW: Superman #42
Superman #42, “Kingdom of Zod: Part 8” is the penultimate chapter of the major crossover event. While this issue begins to deal with the aftermath of Zod’s latest attempt to destroy Earth, Kara and young Clark’s time travel hijinks come crashing down with major consequences. The threat of Zod and Ursa are from from over as new developments arise.
The standard cover finishes off the connecting image of this second half of “Kingdom of Zod”. Created by Lucas Meyer and Giuliano Peratelli, we get appearances from Superboy (Conner), Prime, and the new Super Force. As the kryptonite plague appears to be creeping closer, Conner and Prime seem to be squaring off, but anyone reading this crossover already knows that rematch is not yet happening.
Mark Spears also finishes off his trading card influenced variants with Superboy Prime. The realistic approach to these characters have been fun to see and sparks a sense of nostalgia for the bygone trading card craze of yesteryear.
Fan favorites Dan Sampere and Tomeu Morey gives us a variant this month for ‘Superman’ #42. Playing into the destructive nature of Zod’s wrath, we get a great depiction of Zod shattering the house crest of El as he flys towards us with blazing eyes. It’s always a treat to get works by Sampere & Morey and this cover is no exception.
There’s also two other great variants by Christian Ward and Marcio Takara. Not to forget the Hispanic Heritage month offering by Jose Landronn featuring Blue Beetle (Jamie Reyes).
The art team is impressively large this issue. Eddy Barrows and Eduardo Pansica handle pencils, Eber Ferreira and Julio Ferreira are inkers, and Ulises Arreola takes care of colors. Honestly with the many great visuals we get it’s not surprising we get an art team this big. There’s a lot to take in and a lot that can be overlooked if you’re not careful. The one image that can’t be overlooked is Superman’s initial response to a time displaced General Zod, and it’s a bit unsettling. To be fair, Clark’s motives make sense and it’s interesting how it mirrors his reaction to discovering present day Zod earlier. There’s also a very visible contempt and/or jealously brewing between Conner and how Clark is interacting with every other member of Team Superman which feels a bit foreboding.
Joshua Williamson, lettered by Ariana Maher, does not sit on their laurels for ‘Superman’ #42. There may only be one more chapter to go, but you couldn’t tell from how this issue plays out. Even with all the story elements converging to bring the entire Superman Family together (well, other than Power Girl), the threat of Zod and Ursa is far from over. In fact being a younger, more ambitious, and eager version of the villain adds a sense of unpredictability to the entire encounter. However it doesn’t take long for Zod to reveal his true nature and a more familiar conflict emerges. How this entire event ends hangs on next week’s finale special and the outcome is anyone’s guess at this point.
(8/10) There’s enough twists and turns from Superman #42 alone to prevent all the presented tropes from feeling clichéd or worn out, even if the cliffhanger was a bit predictable. That being said, there’s some real fascinating imagery throughout the book and this chapter maintains its sights on the finale with very little acknowledgements to what may lie beyond the ending.
