“Yesterday’s” Comic> Superman Adventures #30

“Next time I’ll bring my alter ego to visit.”

Superman Adventures #30

DC Comics (April, 1999)

“Family Reunion” part 1

WRITER: Mark Millar

PENCILER: Aluir Amancio

INKER: Terry Austin

COLORIST: Marie Severin

SEPARATION: Zylonol

LETTERER: Phil Felix

ASSISTANT EDITOR: Frank Berrios

EDITOR: Mike McAvennie

When an experiment goes haywire at S.T.A.R. Labs, Superman sends it into space but is caught in the explosion. He returns to Earth to find that a year has gone by and Metropolis seems to be getting along without him. Even Lois has moved on and married while his parents have died. Then his biological mother shows up in the Fortress Of Solitude to bring him home. With nowhere else to go he goes along to find that Jor-El managed to save Krypton’s capital city somehow and now the flying space city searches for a world to call home. They’ve chosen Earth and Lara is more than willing to conquer it, even if it means brainwashing Superman and Supergirl…or at least the ones of this dimension. The explosion sent him to another dimension, one where Krypton survived, Lara is as bad as Jax-Ur and Mala, and Jor-El is not happy about any of it! And now the brainwashed Superman and Supergirl of this reality is sent to Earth to conquer it!

What they got right: Stories where Krypton survived was nothing new by this point and this may not even be the first story where Krypton was evil, but the presentation makes it work. The reader is as confused as Superman, the story plays out well, and the reveal works.

What they got wrong: Part of me wonders what the reaction from readers would have been had the alternate dimension reveal waited until next issue, but that’s the closest thing I have to a complaint.

Recommendation: The story started well, and hopefully it finishes the same way. So far it’s worth checking out.