Superman freed the bottled city of Kandor from the clutches of Brainiac in a brutal battle, that ended with his adoptive father Jonathan Kent being killed by the mad alien. 100,000 Kryptonians were freed, and due to the different views between them and people of Earth they fled the planet. Several figure-heads behind the scenes of Earth are not satisfied with the Kryptonians existence, since they all possess Superman's powers. As a result, they embarked on a genocidal campaign led by Lois Lane's father General Lane. The two sides are approaching a full scale war.

Previous Volumes:



Superman - Brainiac

Superman - New Krypton Volume One

Superman - New Krypton Volume Two

Superman - Mon-El

Superman - Nightwing and Flamebird

Supergirl - Who is Superwoman?

Superman - New Krypton Volume Three

Superman - Codename: Patriot

Supergirl - Friends & Fugitives

Superman - Mon-El: Man of Valor

Superman: Nightwing and Flamebird Vol. 2



Supergirl - Death & The Family:

Supergirl still remains on Earth hoping to do some good for the planet. While trying to help out, she continues keeping a low profile since anti-Kryptonian sentiment has increased. She eventually finds herself in battle against random villains, and Lana Lang's mystery illness begins to worsen. -summary

For those who may be out of circulation with things; Superman left the Earth for New Krypton to keep an eye on his people, whose military is being lead by the Kryptonian criminal Zod. Superman had a very hard time buying Zod not having ulterior motives. Before coming to that decision, he knew Metropolis would be without a protector, therefore, he left Mon-El in his place, and he was occasionally being assisted by two other Kryptonians Nightwing and Flamebird.

Supergirl on the other hand, was sent back to Earth on Alura Zor-El's (her mother) order to find her father's killer, the golden Kryptonite hearted-warrior Reactron. She defeats him and Reactron is seemingly killed on New Krypton. Supergirl returns back to Earth mainly for Lana Lang's companionship, since she's the closest thing to a caring family member. Supergirl: Death & the Family written by Sterling Gates, Helen Slater, and Jake Black, is the last crossover to the New Krypton story arc before the main story shifts back to Superman: New Krypton Volume 4. This TPB collects Supergirl 48 - 50, and Supergirl Annual 1.

This crossover is kind of similar to the previous two, Mon-El - Man of Valor, and Nightwing and Flamebird Volume 2, as it focuses a lot more on the title characters dilemmas, and not enough on the New Krypton story arc. The reason how come this story stands out more is really because things are more interesting in Supergirl's corner of the DCU. Sterling Gates and co. seems to understand the character a lot better and they provide the right amount of action to compliment the story. Although this book isn't as great as the previous Supergirl crossovers, and the main story arc is still by far the most interesting, the filler found here is still fun to read because the writers don't forget that these are still minor villains, and they are treated as such.

The story doesn't abandon the Kryptonian hysteria in Metropolis, as it's quickly revealed that Kryptonians are trying to pass as regular humans, with intentions on living normal lives since some of them chose not to live under Alura's rule. Anti-Kryptonian units are dispatched with Red Kryptonite to weed them out in groups. There's also more at play here with the commentary involving media manipulation as racial profiling comes into effect. These story elements aren't too delved into, but it really isn't a problem since it's piggybacking earlier stories. Other elements adding to the main storyline involves the resurrection of a certain character who was recently killed in battle, as well as General Lane's growing hatred for the Kryptonians, and just when you think he couldn't hate them anymore he finds another reason.

The stories outside of the main arc aren't bad, in fact, I found them to be pretty good. There's some background delivered on the Silver Banshee, revealing she's suffering from a family curse bestowed upon her, and she's looking for the artifacts to rid herself of it no matter who she has to kill. This leads into an interesting confrontation. In addition, the cause of Lana Lang's illness is revealed, and long time fans should have picked up on the clues. The battle that takes place here is brief yet still entertaining.

Even though the book features several illustrators, the artwork doesn't feel like a revolving door of artist. There's an obvious and consistent flow with the pencilers. The character designs are drawn with finesse, and female characters have the right amount of curvy detail with the Insect Queen looking among the best. There are some very nice night time backgrounds and vivid colors. Let's not forget the action either, there's nothing really breathtaking but nothing close to boring either.

Supergirls crossover run was by far the best, at times, even better than the main storyline. Her books had the right amount of action, suspense, and even memorable moments. I highly recommend her side of the story, even this book despite it not being 100% essential. To continue this story from here, it's best to go into Superman: New Krypton Volume Four.

Another entry into Elvisdo's 2012 Funny Pages Write Off.

Recommended: Yes