Superman and the Supermen war, Pt. 2

Where’d we leave off?  Oh yeah, Lex Luthor’s missile turned Earth’s sun red and all the New Kryptonians (along with Superman and Supergirl) suddenly reverted back to their normal non-Superman states, now suffocating in the vacuum in space.

To solve our new dilemma, we have to go back to Superman’s pals back on Earth.  Namely Flamebird.

Flamebird (real name Thara Ak-Var) is one of the citizens of the Kryptonian city Kandor that became New Krypton.  Kandor’s religious guild made her the new Flamebird, giving her pyrokinesis and few other nifty abilities.  Bad stuff happened and she ended up on Earth as a local superhero.  Oh, and she can do this:

Tragic, yes, but that’s how superheroes are supposed to perish.  Superheroes don’t die plopping over after a riveting game of Scrabble at the nursing home.  Nope, sacrifice and redemption are the only two ways to go.

With Superman and Supergirl being the only two survivors (maybe their time on Earth increased their lung capacity or something?), the armies now stand as follows:
Earth: 5,999,950,000
New Krypton: 7,000
Superman: 8

The battle shifts to Earth, where the New Kryptonians are going to town on the planet’s defenses. Well, except for Earth’s massive Kryptonite weaponry arsenal, powerful Kryptonite robots, and of course, Frankenstein.

The war of Earth vs. New Krypton lasts for an entire issue and has like seven side plots, like this one involving Supergirl and Zod’s wife Ursa:

But you have to read the book to see them all.  I’m scared if I post more than a third of the pictures from any issue or arc, angry DC goons will come to my house and break my legs with a replica Aquaman trident.  And besides, we’re focusing on the boy scout and the evil goatee’d general anyway.

Let’s be fair to our hero, Superman’s definitely a better fighter and more skilled with his powers than the other Kryptonians.  Fighting Metallo and Parasite twice a week for twenty years will do that. Unfortunately, the New Kryptonians were trained by Superman.  So that sucks.

If Metropolis would just clean up after themselves and stop leaving their battleships around, this wouldn’t have happened.  Luckily halfway across the world, Superboy had an epiphany beyond deciding to wear jeans into battle.  The Phantom Zone ghost prison would certainly be a better place for these alien invaders instead of them chucking cars at buildings.

This article and the last one, I’ve neglected most of what General Lane (Lois Lane’s father) has said and done.  After all, he’s the real architect of attacking New Krypton that caused this war in the first place.  And it wouldn’t be a Superman comic without arguments over moral issues and responsibilities.

With that threat taken care of, only one final obstacle stands in the way of Superman.  Remember when I said superheroes are supposed to die by sacrifice or redemption?  We’re going to get a big slap of the former.

When Nightwing says humankind, he really means Bruce Wayne.  That man broods enough as it is, how much more can he possibly fit into his day without his best bud around?  Before Superman makes sacrificial life altering decisions, he really should remember to ask himself, how will this affect Batman?  It’s the nice thing to do.

You want an epilogue, right?  You deserve it.

I’m going to chalk this up as a happy ending.  Because after thirty-ish issues from when the New Krypton stories started, Superman really needs a break.  A romantic flying off into the sunset break.