Superman Annual 14 – the origin of Mon-El

Robinson and Pina delve into the past of Daxam, and Mon-El’s days before leaving his world in Superman Annual 14.

In one of those touches I love so much, the story opens with Mon-El at a Metropolis nightclub called Reverb, run by the brother of Vibe, who had used the name of club as his alternate identity when he was a member of the Conglomerate in the early 90s.

But the bulk of the tale deals with the history of Daxam.  A technologically advanced world, the Daxamites had explored the far regions of space, even reaching Earth.  The discovery that other suns endowed them with super-powers had resulted in a backlash on the home world, which became increasingly conservative and religious.

Daxam turned it back on its science, and space exploration, and centuries passed, as their technology declined into ignorance and superstition.

Young Lar Gand was fascinated with his world’s history, and longed to leave the planet and go exploring.  But when it actually happened it was a question of necessity rather than want, as Lar finds himself betrayed by pone of his friends, and must flee for his life.

The story skips over his interaction with Jor-El on Krypton, but does have his first meeting with young Clark Kent when he arrives on Earth.

 

Superman 690 – everyone but Mon-El

Superman 690 (Sept. 09) seems to take place both after and during the previous issue.  The battle between Atlas and Steel follows on the events at the conclusion of that issue, but Mon-El’s absence from the Robins and Pere Perez story implies that he is on his world travels.

John Henry Irons manages to get into his Steel armor, but even that is no help against Atlas, who uses Steel’s own hammer against him.

There is an odd sequence with Zachary Zatara.  He meets an old janitor in the theatre, and then gets attacked by the Parasite, in disguise as an adoring fan.  But the Parasite then vanishes, and the janitor reveals himself to be Mark Merlin, long believed dead.  Mark recruits Zatara in his quest for Prince Ra-Man, an other-dimensional being connected to Mark, from waaaay back in 1960s House of Secrets stories.

Dr. Light and the Guardian begin seeing each other socially.  The note at the bottom of the page implies that much more will come of this, but nothing much really does.

And in an odd, and seemingly pointless sequence, Tellus meets with the Daxamite Green Lantern, Sodam Yat, and convinces the Green Lantern not to interact with Mon-El, as this would have negative consequences in the future.

 

 

Superman 689 – Mon-El travels the world

Mon-El spans the globe in Superman 689 (Aug. 09), as Robinson, Guedes and Magalhaes have him interact with a large variety of heroes and villains.

In Metropolis Mon-El takes down Live Wire and the Gentleman Ghost, while Morgan Edge takes to the airwaves to criticize him and suggest that Mon-El is really a Kryptonian.  Later in the issue, the Guardian goes on Edge’s show and avers that Mon-El is a Daxamite, and no threat to the people of Metropolis.  Morgan Edge promptly changes his tune, so quickly that one cannot help but be suspicious.

Tellus leaves Earth, but before he does, he endows the Guardian with some telekinetic shielding, to protect him the next time he faces Codename Assassin.

Much of the issue shows Mon-El defeating a variety of enemies in countries around the world, while at the same time taking the sights and experiences in those regions.  Congorilla gets a cameo, as does the rarely appearing Bwana Beast.

We see that the Prankster has also been recruited by General Lane, and has used functionaries to lure Black Lightning away from Metropolis.

The story ends with John Henry Irons taking Atlas on another tour of the world beneath the city.  Atlas drops his disguise, and turns on Steel.

The story continues in the next issue.

Superman 688 – Mon-El makes friends

Mon-El gets some bad news in the Robinson, Guedes and Magalhaes story in Superman 688 (July 2009).

The Guardian rescues Mon-El after he falls into the harbour, picking up on the end of the previous issue.  Just after he gets fished out, Mon-El is confronted by Squad K and Percy Hazzard.  They accuse him of being a Kryptonian, and Kryptonians are currently banned from Earth.  Mon-El shows them that he is not a Kryptonian, by taking down the entire squad, to the Guardian’s amusement.

Dr. Light has become the head of STAR Labs, and does tests on Mon-El.  She explains to him and the Guardian that the problem Mon-El is facing is his own super-powers.  They are battling against the cure he drank for his lead poisoning, interpreting it as an invading virus.  She informs the two of them that the lead poisoning will kill Mon-El, within a year to eighteen months.

As Jonathan Kent, Mon-El makes friends with Mitch, a cook at the corner restaurant, who is very chatty, and convinces Mon-El to experience some of the finer pleasures in life.

The Guardian leads his Science Police unit to rescue Tellus, finally.  Although they come up against Codename Assassin, they do not actually battle, and Codename Assassin stands aside as the more powerful SP unit escape with Tellus.

 

Superman 687 – lots of people spying on each other

Robinson, Guedes and Magalhaes continue with the adventures of Mon-El and the Guardian in Superman 687 (June 2009).

Mon-El takes down Shrapnel as the story begins.  The Guardian is there, and notes that Mon-El still lacks the grace and precision of Superman, but is getting the job done.

Black Lightning has also come to town, and takes out the Untouchables.  We see that the Prankster now has robotic rats keeping an eye on things in the city for him.

Jimmy Olsen meets with Zachary Zatara, showing him the footage he has of the mysterious floating man, and the beams coming from the sky during the fight between Atlas and Krypto.  The Parasite is in the wings, watching and listening.  Zatara has little information to give Jimmy, but does insist that nothing magical was going on.

Atlas has made friends with John Henry Irons, and gets a tour of the Steelworks, as well as the complex sewer system under Metropolis.

The Guardian puts together a special unit of the Science Police, which includes both Jonathan Kent and Billi Harper.  While Sanderson is not hugely important, both Wilcox and Romundi will be significant, and are not who they seem to be.

As the issue ends, Mon-El brings down Plastique, but winds up plummeting into the harbour as his powers fade.

The story continues in the next issue.

Superman 686 – Mon-El gets a job

Mon-El and the Guardian begin starring in Superman with issue 686 (May 2009), by Robinson, Guedes and Magalhaes.

While the Guardian leads the Science Police, Mon-El takes to the skies as the new hero of Metropolis.

Atlas makes friends with Bibbo, and though him makes contact with John Henry Irons.

Mon-El gets into a fight with Rampage, and though he triumphs, by flying her way into the air and then letting her drop to the ground, the Guardian is not hugely impressed.  Even though Rampage did not land on anyone or anything, she very well could have.  Mon-El has the powers of Superman, but not the training or finesse.

Steel also has concerns about the damage Mon-El is creating, and the Guardian decides that Mon-El should join the Science Police.  The Guardian can then train him, and keep an eye on him.  We see that Sam Lane and Codename Assassin are also keeping their eyes on him.

As Jonathan Kent begins working for the Science Police, he meets Billi Harper, recently transferred from Gotham (and the Batman books).  She is the grand-niece of the original Jim Harper, and though she is keeping that a secret, moved to be closer to the Guardian.

 

 

Superman 685 – Superman ends, Mon-El begins

Superman bids farewell to his wife, his mother and Earth in the lead story from Superman 685 (April 2009), by Robinson and Javier Pina.  But he does not bid farewell to his dead father, despite the cover image.

Picking up from the end of the last issue of Action, Superman has removed Mon-El from the dissolving Phantom Zone, but once back on Earth, his lead poisoning takes effect, killing him.  Superman tries to contact the Legion of Super-Heroes, but gets no response.  On the other hand, a mysterious “drink me” bottle does show up from them.  It does cure Mon-El, but Superman is still puzzled as to why he was no contacted directly.

The Guardian dreams about the vision he had, in the Adventure Comics issue a couple of months ago, of an imprisoned Tellus.  The story here implies that he has decided to go and find and free Tellus immediately, although that is not what happens.

Alura has invited Superman to come live on New Krypton, but demands that he sever all contacts with Earth.  Superman decides that he needs to accept Alura’s offer, to keep an eye on Zod.  He talks with his mother, and with Lois Lane, letting them know how much he cares for them, even though he is going to stop seeing or contacting them while he goes to live on New Krypton.

This ends Superman’s run in his own book, as he moves over to the World of New Krypton miniseries.

Mon-El begins his run in this book with a back-up story by Robinson and Pablo Raimondi.  His origin is briefly recapped, part of the “Origins and Omens” stories this month.

Much more of the story is devoted to setting up Mon-El for his forthcoming run.  He visits Ma Kent, who has also taken in Krypto.  He needs an identity for living on Earth, and Ma suggests he adopt the name Jonathan Kent.

He does this, as he moves to Metropolis to protect the city while Superman is on New Krypton.

Superman 684 – the Parasite’s tale

Robinson is joined by Merino for the Faces of Evil story in Superman 684 (March 2009), which features the Parasite.

The story begins as Superman and the Science Police get his enemies out of the Phantom Zone, returning them to prison.  Mon-El comes to the verge of the Zone, letting Superman know that General Zod, Ursa and Non have also left the Zone.  The Parasite takes advantage of this to make contact with Mon-El, and drains the Daxamite’s powers. Superman manages to get the Parasite restrained, and he is taken back to Stryker’s.

But the Parasite was simply biding his time, and once Superman has left he uses the Daxamite powers he has stolen to bust out.  The Parasite narrates the story, and we see that his original persona, Rudy Jones, has once again taken control of his body, with Torval Freeman all but gone, except for some of his scientific knowledge.

The Guardian gets appointed the head of the Science Police, and reveals his identity as Jim Harper to the rest of the crew, explaining his history, and being a clone.

The original Flash, Jay Garrick, meets with the new Nightwing and Flamebird, but we don’t really know what they discuss.

Superman heads to New Krypton to inform Alura that Zod and his people are no longer in the Phantom Zone, but Alura is already aware of this.  To Superman’s horror, he discovers that Alura had them all released, and Zod is now in charge of the Kryptonian army.

The story continues in the next issue of Action.

Superman 683 – things fall apart

Robinson, Guedes, Correa and Magalhaes have the situation with the Kandorians on Earth spiral downwards in Superman 683 (Feb. 09).

Superman comes to Alura to plead with her to turn over the Kandorians who had killed humans, but Alura has no intention of doing any such thing, with her husband dead at the hands of a human.  Supergirl tries to mediate between them, but Alura coldly insults her and questions her loyalties.

The situation has descended into open warfare.  We see three Green Lanterns, Power Girl, Black Lightning, the Guardian, Starfire and others battling against the Kandorians.

And as the issue ends, a squad of magical characters show up to join the fray.

The story continues in the next issue of Action Comics.

Superman 682 – proactive Kandorians

Things begin to go wrong with the Kandorians on Earth in the Robinson, Guedes and Magalhaes tale in Superman 682 (Jan. 09).

Bizarro has come to Earth as well, to pay his respects to Pa Kent, who he grew close to in the Escape from Bizarro World story arc the previous year.

Agent Liberty meets with the President and requests a leave of absence, to investigate the manipulations he believes are taking place with the Kandorians.

After the attack by Doomsday and murder of Zor-El by Reactron, the Kandorians decide to get rid of as many threats to Kryptonians as they can.  Commander Gor leads the group who go to take the Parasite.  They wind up in a fight with prison guards, and kill them to get the villain.

Jim Harper, the Guardian, gets called back to Action by Control, and joins the Science Police.

Atlas is back as well, but taking things quietly, having a coffee and mulling the situation.

Throughout the issue we see the Kandorians going after various Superman villains.  On the final page, we see that the Parasite, Bizarro, the Toyman, the Prankster and Silver Banshee have all been sent into the Phantom Zone.  Mon-El is none too pleased.

The story continues in the next issue of Action.