Superman, Volume 3: Fury at World's End

Superman (2011)

by Scott Lobdell (Writer), Kenneth Rocafort (Illustrator)

H'El has come to Earth! When a mysterious ghost from Krypton's past comes to Metropolis in hopes of finding the lost planet's last son, his arrival comes with disastrous consequences for not just Superman, but Superboy and Supergirl. H'El has decided that Earth is the place to resurrect Krypton, but at the price of everyone's life on the planet! It's all out war between this villain, Superman, the Justice League, Superboy and Supergirl, but whose side is everyone on?

The newest epic begins here in SUPERMAN VOL. 3, written by Scott Lobdell with stunning visuals by Kenneth Rocafort.

Collects: SUPERMAN #0, #13-17.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superman, Superheroes, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 8, 2014

About the author

Scott Lobdell (born 1960) is an American comic book writer.

He is mostly known for his work throughout the 1990s on Marvel Comics' X-Men-related titles specifically Uncanny X-Men, the main title itself, and the spin-off series that he conceived with artist Chris Bachalo, Generation X. Generation X focused on a number of young mutant students who attempted to become superheroes in their own right at a separate school with the guidance of veteran X-related characters Banshee and Emma Frost. He also had writing stints on Marvel's Fantastic Four, Alpha Flight, and The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix mini-series with artist Gene Ha. He wrote the script to Stan Lee's Mosaic and an upcoming film from POW Entertainment featuring Ringo Starr. He also participated in the Marvel Comics and Image Comics (from Jim Lee's WildStorm) crossover mini-series WildC.A.T.s/X-Men.

Reviews

[Jayson · Rating 1 out of 5]

(C+) 65% | Almost Satisfactory
Notes: It’s fruit of the tree of greed and bad ideas: an art book at best, at worst a total waste of time masquerading as a story.

[Anne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Who edited this shit?!

This is one of the worst jobs of pasting several titles together that I've ever seen.
HUGE chunks of important information are just...missing.
Why does Supergirl change her mind, and help the Justice League?
You don't fuckin' need to know!
Why does Kara hate Superboy?
You don't fuckin' need to know!
Why is Superboy suddenly wearing Superman's suit?
You don't fuckin' need to know!
And the list goes on...
Luckily *snort*, I've read the VAST majority of this story in other volumes, so I knew the answers to those questions. But if you've decided to walk into this, without reading everything pertaining to the He'l on Earth storyline, you're probably going to want to strangle someone.

Which brings me to another peeve.
There's only maybe one or two issues in this that are new.
The rest of it has been pilfered from other volumes.
So.
Thanks! Thanks, a lot, DC!
Way to give people their money's worth, you assholes.

As for the story, itself?
Superman's one saving grace is Clark Kent.
Yeah, it's great that he's this all-powerful alien...but that's not why people love him.
They love him because he's (at the core) an immigrant who loves his adopted home. They love him because he doesn't consider himself an alien. He thinks of himself as a human first, Kryptonian second.
They love him because he's a mama's boy, who still flies home at super-sonic speed to take out the garbage for Ma Kent.
They love him, because they know that all Ma has to do is smile at him, and Clark will turn into a mushy little boy who will do anything to make her happy.
So.
What did DC do?
They killed off both of his human parents, and focused on his Kryptonian ones.
Yes, they're interesting, but they aren't what makes Kent tick.
They aren't what we love about him, and they certainly don't make him relatable.
And now there's some hair-brained storyline about his biological mother...the military ninja?
And without Lois or Ma to keep him human, all you have is another stupid story about an orphaned alien searching for his ancestry.
An alien who can bench-press planets, move at the speed of light, use his wind-breath, ice-breath, x-ray vision, and lazer-beam eyes to save the day.

And that is why most people won't give Superman titles a chance.

Is there any chance we can get DC to re-boot this re-boot?
Don't.
Just...don't.
It's not that this is an unreadable volume, but it's a slap in the face for fans of this character.
Not Recommended.

Get this review and more at:

[Tawfek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally i finished this volume
i had to take many detours to finish all parts of H'EL on earth event which was 13 issue
but it was fun pretty good event :D
so now what happens?
H'EL made it to Krypton in the end will this change the future or will it create another parallel universe where krypton actually survives?
Supergirl's recovery will it be in the next superman issue or the next supergirl issue?
And last whats next for Superboy ?!
probably i wont follow their stories after this point and before this point too
and i will even postpone continuing superman till i am done reading a few volumes of The Preacher

[Richard Dominguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the book blurb "H’El has come to Earth! When a mysterious ghost from Krypton’s past comes to Metropolis in hopes of finding the lost planet’s last son, his arrival comes with disastrous consequences for not just Superman, but also for Superboy and Supergirl. H’El has decided that Earth is the place to resurrect Krypton, but the price the lives of everyone on the planet!"
"Fury at World's End" by Scott Lobdell is a great story that for me tapped on a wide range of emotions. The story is well written and moves smoothly from start to finish. I always enjoy a story that presents a superhero (in this case Superman) with an Arc of crisis. I have to say that for me H'El is the character that carries the story and in my opinion a sympathetic character, I felt for him. Chosen as Krypton's only chance of being saved, H'El must be torn to know his failure not only cost the life of his mentor and wife, but a race of people whom were depending on his success. It seems to me that this kind of revelation has to have a traumatic effect on a person with a conscience. Traveling through space for 20 years with that single thought it bound to lead to some creative unconscionable ideas.
The characters are all as you expect them to be with the addition of Superboy (whom comes with a revelation of his own).
All in all this is a good read with plenty of action and some stella artwork from small panels to full page illustrations.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This gets an extra star for the art.

[Jesse A · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still enjoy this title but this one was muddled at best.

[Lost Planet Airman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started strong, but there must have been cross-overs, or an editor with a wild desire to scratch out important scenes, because by the end, it was a confused mess. \
Guest appearances by Supergirl (studiously ignoring Superman's good advice), Superboy (barely rebellious compared with Kara Zor-El), Lex Luthor (almost maniacally villainous), the Justice League, and special guest appearance of Wonder Woman's special ability to not fall out of her costume.

[David Dalton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am liking these New 52 Superman stories. But at times they can be confusing.

I have read Superman, Volumes 1, 2, & 3. Plus Action: Superman Volumes 1 & 2.

Then Superman/Wonder Woman Volume 1, and about 20% into Superman: Doomed.

I have seen several different versions of Lex Luthor. In one series he is helping General Lane, and in another he is in a Super Max prison and in a 3rd he is flying alongside Superman. Maybe things will make sense the more I read. My digital library does not have Volumes 4 and 5 of Superman, but I have a trade paperback of Volume Six and hardcopy of Volume 7. And I did read the last several issues of the New 52 Superman (where he died). Overall I like the stories, and my fault for coming along after the stories were first published.

[James DeSantis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well the good news is this was better than volume 1-2 of New52. The bad news? It's still messy.

Scott Lobdell decides to fully embrace the New52 assholish superman. He's a lot more hard headed, lot more violent, a lot more "I don't give a fucky fuck" style. So if anything got that entertaining superman. The story is about a new Kryptonian coming to earth because, well that always has to be the villain. Then when he reveals his plan to resurrect their old home it comes with the price. You've seen transformers right? Any of them? SO you know what will happen. Superboy and Superman team up against him but the evil Kryptonian has a helper, SUPERGIRL! Not the regular supergirl, new52 supergirl, who is rash and bitchy and whiny.

Good: Some of the fights are entertaining and BIG and BOMBASTIC. I also enjoyed the Lex Luthor part and the dialog between him and Superboy/Superman. Also Superboy wasn't half bad, maybe I need to check out that series.

Bad: The art sometimes looked really bad or the faces ugly. The dialog can be awful, especially with Clark and Lois. Supergirl acted way over the top and makes no sense to her true character. Things just jump all over and HUGE missing chunks of storyline are out of here. So sometimes things happen and you're like "How did he get that suit?" or "Why did they change their mind?" with very very little explaining...

Overall this was a very meh read. I didn't hate it like volume 1-2 but it's not good. I can't believe the big jump in quality that Rebirth delivers compared to this shit. a 2 out of 5.

[Monsour · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the artwork and the new character H'el. But everything is muddle all over, they really need to fix their editing here.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this a generous three stars only for the first half of the volume. (The opening chapter in particular, which provides backstory to Jor-El and Lara, was quite enjoyable. Even Lois' visit to Clark's apartment - in which I think the illustrators had her intentionally resembling actress Margot Kidder - was not bad, either.) It was good right up until the prison meeting with Lex Luthor, and then things go steadily downhill in regards to clarity.

[Milo · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Review: http://thefoundingfields.com/2014/01/...

" “What a disappointment. Whilst not being one of the worst graphic novels of the New 52 that I’ve read, Superman Vol. 3 is certainly down there, and despite some scenes of initial promise, Fury at World’s End is a wasted oppurtunity that suffers from Lobdell’s apparent need to make everything that he writes connect to another title as part of a crossover event.” " ~Bane of Kings, The Founding Fields


Story: Scott Lobdell | Art: Kenneth Rocafort | Cover: Kenneth Rocafort | Publisher: DC Comics | Collects: Superman #0, Superman #13-17

"When a mysterious ghost from Krypton’s past comes to Metropolis in hopes of finding the lost planet’s last son, his arrival comes with disastrous consequences for not just Superman, but also for Superboy and Supergirl. H’El has decided that Earth is the place to resurrect Krypton, but the price the lives of everyone on the planet! Guest-starring the Justice League, Wonder Woman, Orion and more!"

At DC Comics right now there are two creators who I normally steer clear of on a regular basis. Ann Nocenti is one such writer, who wrote poorly received issues during her stint on Green Arrow and has also not impressed with her ongoing Catwoman run. Scott Lobdell is another, but out of the two – I think I’ve tolerated more from Lobdell, but based on what I’ve seen here I’ll think I’ll be steering clear of his work in the future. His Teen Titans Volume 1 wasn’t bad, I’ll give him that – but everything else has been a let down, and everything that he’s worked on so far has been crossover after crossover. There isn’t one series that Lobdell hasn’t written for the New 52 that hasn’t been involved in a crossover of some sorts, be it Superman, Red Hood and the Outlaws, Teen Titans and Superboy. What makes matters worse is that he always seems to drag books into crossovers when they’re in need of at least some stability – but sadly that’s not the case. Superman Vol. 3 suffers primarily for this reason – whilst other Superman writers such as Greg Pak and Scott Snyder can make Superman interesting enough on his own, Lobdell apparently doesn’t think that’s the case, and seems intent on dragging Superboy and Supergirl into the mess as well, pitting them up against H’El, who – in a similar vein to the Man of Steel movie, decides to try and do what Zod tried to accomplish – and that’s resurrect Krypton on Earth. It’s nothing new, inside the Superman storyline or otherwise (Russell T. Davies even tried to have the Time Lords bring back Galifrey on Earth in Doctor Who for David Tennant’s swansong The End of Time) and as a result the storyline becomes rather predictable because you know from reading the solicit alone that Superman is going to emerge victorious, and Lobdell doesn’t do anything to make you as a reader feel that Superman could actually fail at one point.

However, to give Lobdell credit, he does do a decent portrayal of Superman when he’s not being Superman. The Daily Planet stuff for me was one of the highlights of the book, and I dug it – with Lobdell, in my opinion, capturing Clark Kent as a human quite well indeed. There was an amusing scene where Lois Lane interrupts a meeting between Clark and Supergirl – dressed in her Supergirl costume, and dismisses Kara as a cosplayer, that allowed for some elements of fun in the book but on the whole Fury at World’s End was a complete mess. The storyline focusing on HE’l was as forgettable as the antagonist himself, which was a shame as I felt that given the potential, the character could have become something far greater.

Indeed, the strongest part about this graphic novel is the artwork provided by Kenneth Rocafort. His artwork is strong and pretty awesome to follow. Rocafort may not be an artist who I regularly read, but he’s certainly impressed me in this collection and has made me stick around for more of his work. The same cannot be said for Lobdell however – I don’t think I’ll be taking a risk with anymore of his work after this.

Superman is a book that, focusing on the world’s most famous Hero, should be fantastic, focusing on the character and not needing to crossover into other series that need as much space as this book does. Greg Pak, Charles Soule and Scott Snyder are all making sure that their Superman books are respectively awesome (even if Soule does have Wonder Woman to help him out) so hopefully the April post-Forever Evil solicits will see a change in the Superman creative team and a reason for me to be following all the main Superman titles. It’s safe to say that Fury at World’s End is a miss – and is only really worth looking into if you’re a collector of Superman books. If you want I better Superman book I can highly recommend Action Comics, Superman/Wonder Woman and Superman Unchained respectively – they’re all stellar reads penned by the creators who I’ve mentioned above. Despite the good artwork by Rocafort and Kuder, and a promising take on Clark’s life when he’s not being the Man of Steel, this is one to stay clear of.

VERDICT: 2/5

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

While dealing with issues from his workplace, Superman suddenly sees a prehistoric creature trampling Metropolis. Upon putting an end to it, his cousin, Kara, Supergirl; introduces him to another Kryptonian, H'el. This stranger reveals he knows of Superman's parents and relishes on bringing back Krypton, much to Kara's delight. But to the Man of Steel's horror, H'el's plan would result in destroying Earth in the process of replacing it with Krypton. Even worse is when H'el tries to kill Superboy and brainwashes Kara to join his cause. Now Superman must prepare to muster all he could to stop this mad scheme, even if it means killing one of his own.

Fury at World's End is an okay book. Just like other ones in this series, I figured it was a crossover event, and this volume only collects issues relating to Superman. Thus, making this story relatively quick, a little jagged in its plot, but also offers no formal closure. As others suggested, reading the full H'el On Earth volume would give a fuller story in details, as it also relates to Supergirl's and Superboy's series respectively. Although, unlike the future Doom event, the collection here is not so fragmented in its storyline, even with the flaws of segmentation. To add, what made it four stars was also due to the new art style from Rocafort, his unqiueness in illustrations brings some nice freshness to the character designs if you ask me. With that, I'll be checking out the full volume collection as there is more to this story than what this volume provides.

[Lewis Mcgregor · Rating 2 out of 5]

This should really just get one star, but I'll give it two purely because of Kenneth Rockafort's art. The trade doesn't stand on its own at all without reading the accompanying Superboy and Supergirl material. It's extremely disjointed trying to read the Superman issues by themselves—I genuinely wondered if editorial had fallen asleep at the wheel at one point because Superman suddenly shows up in his Action Comics jeans costume with zero context. Turns out, that's explained in the Superboy volume. It's like watching a spin-off TV show but only episodes 3, 6, and 7.

[Donovan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Huh. If I had to use one word to describe this it would be "muddy." A lot of stuff happens but it mostly seems inconsequential, like Lobdell is a comic book Johnny Appleseed and throws plot seeds everywhere but nothing seems to stick. Add to that a bunch of nonsensical physics and time travel and you've got confusion goo at best. The parts just about Superman and Clark make "more" sense, it's just not as exciting or interesting as previous issues. So here's what I made sense out of...

Jor-El, Superman's father, discovers Krypton is dying. (Wait, isn't it dead? Just go with it.) He is about to tell his wife, Lara, when a weird doomsday cult threatens to kill them but Jor and Lara kick their butts and then that's it. Then we discover that Supes, a time traveling grownup but also in his mother's uterus at the same time, witnesses these events somehow, because he's the one narrating. This is not explained in this volume.

Next Superman has his strength tested in this giant boflex...why? He sees Lois' phone about her moving in with someone, loses it on his boss Morgan Edge, and rants about America and journalism and quits his job. This was the "batshit craziness at work" section.

Then a giant dragon shows up. But this "had never happened before!" He's "never" been hit that hard! Is there like an ascending scale of pain these villains work on, that each villain somehow surpasses the next with their strength? Kara, Supergirl, shows up and calls Supes a liar, tells him the dragon is from Krypton. But who's this traveler? H'el. And why is every spaceman a "traveler"? I mean, they're not on vacation.

That's where I'll end the summary because at this point it all goes to H'el. Haha, couldn't resist. But seriously. These remaining issues were slammed together and seemed to be missing about...150 pages of story, to make sense out of what was happening. One issue ends with Supergirl kissing H'el pretty much out of the blue, then the next issue she can't believe she ever loved him. I don't think "H'el on Earth" is an inherently bad story, I won't know without reading it, but why are these last issues entirely dependent upon my knowledge of a minor and probably inconsequential event? H'el isn't all that interesting to me. That's why I'm trying to read about Superman, not Not-Superman. And from these issues there seem to be a LOT of plot holes/stupidity in H'el's story. Like Kara, who was alive on Krypton when he blasted into space, but she can't remember because of orbital memory loss. Or why H'el hates Connor Kent so much. Or why Supergirl is so stupid and bratty. Or how the H'el all those physics are supposed to work to allow him to save Krypton. Far too many questions go unanswered here. And I'm not sure I care to read or spend more money to find out about H'el. I just want to read through this mediocrity until Geoff Johns fixes everything and writes another decent story.

[Christopher Rush · Rating 3 out of 5]

After the first two volumes of this series left me with no reason to pursue it any further, I would have ignored this completely were it not for Mr. Lobdell's name. Suddenly, the great X-overs of my youth called out again and urged "give it a try." Well, I did. Could have been worse, that's for sure. In his older age, Lobdell is still giving us superheroes with too frequent snarky and humorous asides (many of them out of place, especially in that they detract from the supposed seriousness and peril of the situations - it's hard to take the danger seriously if Superboy and Superman are cracking wise), but the presentation as a whole is buoyed by those halcyon days and the overall cleverness of most of the stories. The opening Jor-El story isn't all that compelling, since we all know basically what's going to happen, and it's a marvel (so to speak) why so many authors try to concoct gripping Krypton stories for us - but I suppose one doesn't go to see Titanic because you're curious how it will end.
Lobdell's Clark makes some fine speeches, especially his confrontation with Morgan Edge, which is a refreshing change from Morrison's New 52 Clark Kent as a self-centered jerk, but he does sometimes spoil it with the unnecessary asides (as noted above) and the racy tidbits here and there (though I'm sure many of you out there find nothing wrong with them). Lobdell does a kind job trying to adjust some of the nonsensical things that came before him, but even he can't fix this New 52 version of Lois Lane, who still gives us no reason to consider her an intelligent, competent, world-class, world-travelling successful publisher/reporter.
The H'el on Earth storyline is a bit confusing at times until one realizes (with no assistance from the collection at hand) we are being given about 1/3 of the entire story. That seems somewhat parsimonious ... but on further reflection we realize we most likely aren't missing anything crucial anyway, and Lobdell gives us enough lines here and there to basically bring us up to speed enough so we can fill in whatever holes there are with our imaginations, likely concocting more interesting episodes than may be official anyway, and so we can easily shrug it off and say "sure, why not. Let's get it over with." Good enough, Mr. Lobdell. Good enough.

[Michael Church · Rating 4 out of 5]

A couple of caveats to my score: I read this in conjunction with Supergirl Vol 3 (but not Superboy) and this was the volume that finally turned around Superman's series in my eyes. To be fair, with Rocafort on art, the story could have been MUCH worse, and I still would have bought into it when the packaging is this nice. I've realized that Lobdell really is only worth the effort when he's got Rocafort backing him up. It was the same situation over on Red Hood, which went way downhill without the stellar art value.

So what the story does well. Superman is humanized more than I've seen before. He just really has a personal life that is on display here. It's meaningful, too. The friendships and interactions are more grounded, despite some of the dialogue being unnatural and clunky. Even in the Krypton scenes it feels like too much. The scene at the planet was also a bit strange. I liked what it meant, but it was so out of place. Partly because of where Clark had been prior to that scene.

The really intensely sci-fi aspects of the story were cool, but disjointed. It felt like there was a TON of background established in what is supposed to be a relatively new fictional universe. The other weak point was some of the narration. Again with the every chapter being introduced by "He is Superman!" Really? Then there were some redundancies even within the same issue. While annoying, these didn't ruin my overall experience with it. The story was a little...weak, but I liked the characters and motivations. Unfortunately, it's another crossover that makes jumps between issues unless you are reading everything.

The art, though, is what sold me, if you couldn't guess. Rocafort brings an amazing vibrancy to his characters and scenes. The sci-fi stuff, while weak in the story, shines visually. Superman looks fantastic, and Supergirl looks stunning. It's right up my alley, and I'm hoping it will be enough to carry the book through until the story picks up in the next volume or two.

[Ricky Ganci · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you'd like a perspective on where Superman, Vol. 3: Fury at World's End succeeds and fails then you should read my review of the crossover collection Superman: H'el on Earth . Then, you should read something else, and join me in the purgatory of waiting for Geoff Johns' run on Superman to make it to trade paperback. In short: I strongly suggest skipping this trade, as it does not constitute much of a story at all.

Aside from the inclusion of a single different issue--the great-looking, ultimately confusing zero-issue of Superman that tells the story of Jor El's discovery of Krypton's doom--this volume collects the same content as teh crossover, but as with Supergirl, Vol. 3: Sanctuary , the story as collected in the character-specific book makes no sense at all. The size of the crossover just doesn't translate, and neither will the money you'll spend on this trade paperback. This volume of New 52 is for collectors only.

[Sud666 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fury at the World's End chronicles the events of H'el- a survivor of Krypton's destruction coming to Earth. He enlists Supergirl's aid in re-constructing his spaceship, but what else is he after? Superman doesn't trust him and together with the Justice League and Superboy they duel H'el for the fate of Earth. This was a well drawn series and the story itself is good. It could have been great if they had included all the comics in this story-arc. But, they only have collected the Superman stories-so sometimes things happens (in one part Supergirl is in love with H'el, by the last part she isn't-what happened? It's probably in that issue of Supergirl they didn't include) and there is no explanation for it. That is annoying. But still a good story with a lot of things going on- a good read for any Superman fan.

[Stephen Olley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ah man, I really did want to give this four stars. It is so pretty. Kenneth Rocafort's art is simply gorgeous.
But... Aaarrrggghhh!
It makes no sense! You slowly realise throughout this collection that you need to be reading the relevant volumes of Supergirl, Superboy and Justice League to get the full story.
If I had paid for this rather than borrowing it from the library I would be seriously pissed off. Especially as the quote on the cover reassures you that, "IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THIS SERIES UP UNTIL NOW, START HERE" rather than the more truthful "THINKING OF TRYING OUT A SUPERHERO COMIC TO SEE IF THEY ARE STILL JUST AS ALIENATING TO NEW OR CASUAL READERS? WELL, THEY ARE. FUCK YOU."
Shame 'cause it really is pretty.

[John Yelverton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the fact that the H'el character is the first truly interesting Superman villain since Doomsday, they have turned Superman completely inept and impotent when dealing with this new villain. This book will at times be, quite honestly, painful for the Superman fan to read.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another muddled mess if read alone. When read as the complete story it was ok at best. Also, shame on DC for making a collection of basically 1 issue, everything else was in the H'El on Earth collection.

[Xander Toner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fury at World's End is the third volume in this particular Superman run. Due to an apparent editorial nightmare that was the development of 'The New 52', and balancing the canon between all the different books Superman featured in, a hoarde of writers came and went before this run could really settle. So, despite being Volume III and collecting #13 to #17, this should be read as a Volume I.
It's a writer and artist's introduction to the character - and Scott Lobdell continues as the series' primary writer for a fairly long while; enough to make a fair dent into this era of the character.

The first issue in this collection is oddly #0. It's a nice little story about Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van, and as I've been reading Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval's Absolute Superman, is a very nice change of pace. I'm not a fan who likes deifying Superman's parents - in fact I like them to be regular scientists and not the best-of-the-best whizz kids. Still, I find their relationship as it's written here to be quite heartwarming and well-done. Sometimes the dialogue for the Kryptonians becomes a bit too similar to that of regular people, especially how this run does the 21st century clever dialogue that I find synonymous for The New 52.

#13 is a nice introduction for how Lobdell writes Superman. Of course, it's this universe's interpretation of the character to begin with, and so already has the slightly sarkier, more youthful voice than with what went before. Starting the issue of with a powerscaling a la All-Star Superman I think mainly does the legwork to show off the later-introduced H'El's strength in how easily he can deal with a Superman of this power, but I like it for how it shows off the rawer nature of this Man of Steel - and gives a good enough reason to have him powered-down slightly for the next few issues. It's also immediate to see what changes Lobdell is wanting to make to the usual Superman lore, by almost immediately firing him from the Daily Planet. It's a very wordy exchange between Clark and Morgan Edge, and I whilst I like the idea of firing Clark and putting him in some new territory, I didn't like the actual argument that took place, neither the joke the try to do during of no-one joining Clark's side.

A think that I think is really impressive throughout is Kenneth Rocafort's artwork. Alongside Sunny Gho and Blond's colours, it's really sublime work and I find myself really enjoying even basic things like character posing. It suits both action scenes and dialogue scenes really well, and the ever expressive panel design keeps the pages constantly interesting. An argument between Lois and Clark at the start of #14 is the perfect showcase for this.

The book's main villain H'El is introduced after this, and I really enjoy his character design. It seems overly edgy, but its a nice juxtaposition to the sometimes silly grandiloquence of the character. I wish he had a little bit more time to simply exist before he threatens Superboy and begins the punch-up with Superman, but that's a very minor gripe, and I understand that this #14 was packed anyways. He's a suitably powerful enemy who's basic disliking of Superman is told to the readers and an effective enough way. I find his overall plan to destroy Earth to create Krypton to be a little cliche, but I think a simple plot like this is necessary to establish a writer's run.

#15 catches my eye as basically being a conversation piece between Superman and Lex Luthor. As far as I'm aware, this is Lex's first appearance in this run so I was quite happy to see him in this smaller role. The prison he's kept within goes a little overboard in its scale sometimes (surely Batman must know of it), but it was a good way of just having these characters be able to talk without the need to worry about any physical conflicts. Superboy's presence within this scene was also very welcome, and the dynamic of Superman not knowing of the boy's heritage whilst Luthor does to be a very fun one indeed.

Then the Justice League's assault on the Fortress of Solitude. A hero having to call in the rest of the time despite it being a solo book is one of my favourite things these stories can do, and I won't lie that I got giddy in a childish way when Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash and Cyborg showed their faces at the end of #15. The fight to get through the Fortress of Solitude was great fun, and my only complaint was that it should've been longer. I've seen criticism elsewhere of Supergirl and H'El's relationship, but I didn't see it as a problem. Given Supergirl's importance in what is this defeat of H'El, I'd hoped that perhaps a little more fondness was shown between her and Clark's previous interactions. It would've added a more emotional beat in seeing her side with the enemy, but her motives were well justified nonetheless.

This is good, basically. Every issue felt fresh and I was wanting to read on every time. Even beyond this Volume, there's enough plot threads that haven't been dealt with that I'm looking forwards to seeing develop. Clark needing a job, H'El being back on Krypton - what on earth was the Oracle? This big, ancient being just sitting in space. That is my shit and I hope this plotline takes up a fair bit of space in the coming issues.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great artwork helps this compilation slog through some of the Krypton-heavy storyline.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Man Of Steel along with The Justice League,Supergirl,and Superboy battle H'el a being from Superman home planet of Krypton.

[Tony Laplume · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boldly assured vision of Superman that energized the character's fortunes during the "New 52" era in DC comics.

Scott Lobdell and Kenneth Rocafort had previously collaborated in the pages of Red Hood and the Outlaws, where Rocafort's art was singled out as too sexualized. So yeah, the artist here was part of the emerging fan community backlash that corresponded with the greater cultural sensitivities you might conflate with social media terms like "SJW." DC's stuck with him, though, and he's recently been featured as the headlining artist of Sideways in the "New Age of Heroes" launches. He's a standout whether you think it's a good or bad thing.

Superman in the "New 52" was supposed to be centered around Grant Morrison's take in Action Comics. I don't know what it was that caused fans to reject Morrison's work, possibly that they thought Morrison had already done his definitive material with the character in the pages of All Star Superman, considered a modern classic and Morrison's most celebrated comic. DC had more trouble nailing down creative teams in the pages of Superman itself. Lobdell and Rocafort were the third team, following classic creators like George Perez and Dan Jurgens, who took more conservative approaches that paradoxically appeared too tame at a time when the company was trying to score with vivid new takes that only ended up alienating fans.

Scott Snyder's Batman became the only widely-recognized creative victory of the era, but I've long believed there were many successes to be found within. Lobdell, who had made his name in the '90s working over at Marvel, where among other things he scored with Generation X, the most popular X-Men comics of that time, proved to have lucrative new ideas and approaches. He actually continues to write Red Hood (Jason Todd) comics to this day, even if his work remains unheralded.

Fury at World's End features the Superman issues from the "H'El on Earth" crossover arc that also involved Supergirl and Superboy (series that featured new interpretations of those characters that proved particularly lucrative for this arc). H'El was basically a new creation comparable to the version of General Zod that was later to be seen in the 2013 movie Man of Steel, a Kryptonian whose maniacal goal was to bring back the famously dead world. A follow-up arc explains H'El's real origins, but in this one he appears to be someone who had closely collaborated with Superman's dad Jor-El. This has the effect of allowing Lobdell to present Jor-El himself in vivid new form in apparent flashback sequences.

Lobdell and Rocafort take the opportunity to put a personal stamp on Superman's adventures, as every new era ought to. As someone who grew up with '90s comics, I always viewed those as "my" Superman comics. The new millennium introduced a shift away from them, before the "New 52" made a clean break (and then "Rebirth" integrated the two). Lobdell was working with a status quo he'd inherited, including a Lois and Clark who were no longer romantically affiliated, possibly because Superman was destined at that point to have a relationship with Wonder Woman (there was even a first-ever Superman/Wonder Woman ongoing series). In these issues Clark struggles with the fact that Lois is moving forward with a new boyfriend, and this might be why he makes a stand for journalistic credibility that finds him quitting the Daily Planet...

While Rocafort's art is not always at its sharpest, it's always distinctive and highly recommended as a reason in and of itself to recommend this as representative (in a good way) of the era, arguably the essential Superman comics of the "New 52" (for me, it's Morrison's, though he spends most of his run establishing the new status quo), with Superman firmly established, if not entirely comfortable, in his revised surroundings. H'El is an interesting variant on the Zod mythos, created more or less as a more obvious monstrous Superman figure.

[Krzysztof Grabowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wydarzenie jakim było pojawienie się H'ela w żaden sposób nie odmieniło dotychczasowej historii Clarka Kenta. I o ile w ramach jednego wydania zbiorczego z tomem H'el on Earth można się zapoznać, to już wydane samodzielne poszczególne przygody Kryptończyków ssą. Ten tom jest najgorszy z tych trzech przytoczonych serii. (edit: był do czasu przeczytania Superboy'a)

Dlatego, że zarówno SUPERBOY, jak i SUPERGIRL zawierają po dwóch czy trzech zeszytach niewchodzących w skład wspomnianego crossovera, a które są jeszcze w miarę interesujące, czyli stanowią jakąś wartość dodaną. Trzeci tom zaś prawie w całości znajduje się w tamtym wydarzeniu, dlatego jako czytelnik bez odpowiedniej wiedzy, można się poczuć oszukanym, gdy kupi się pozycje w "ciemno". Tym bardziej, że historia zerowa(#0) jest tutaj wyjątkowo nudna.

Kolejny minusem jest kolejność czytania poszczególnych zeszytów. Bez tego ani rusz, a historia ewidentnie wygląda na poszatkowaną. Popatrzcie na event Marvela pt. "Infinity". Tam też jest taka kolejność, ale bodajże każdy z trzech czy czterech tomów jakie trzeba tam czytać, jest inny. Nie zawiera ani jednego takiego samego zeszytu, więc nie mamy poczucia, że jesteśmy robieni w balona, a i tak finalnie każde z tych pozycji da się na siłę przeczytać osobno, bo na początku każdego zeszytu mamy takie the best of z poprzednich wydarzeń. Tu tego nie ma.

Najlepszym wyjściem jest więc kupno Superman H'el on Earth i dokupienie pojedyńczych zeszytów z serii Suberboy i Supergirl, bo inaczej zapłacicie za te same fragmenty aż trzy razy. Nie wiem kto tak to wymyślił, ale nie było to rozsądne.(kasa, kasa)

Fabularnie trzeci tom samodzielnie jest totalnie niezrozumiały. Czemu Kara zmieniła stronę konfliktu? Postacie zmieniają swoje pozycje tak z tyłka. Typowe, gdyż od samego początku mamy poprawne przeczucie, że coś między tymi zeszytami miało miejsce i MUSIMY kupić inne tomu, jeżeli chcemy mieć logiczną całość, w sytuacji podana historia aż tak się Wam spodoba.

Poszczególne zeszyty same w sobie nie są złe. Początkowa walka ze smokiem. Wizyta Kary w mieszkaniu Kent, gdy ma gościa. Spotkanie z Luthorem w supernowoczesnym więzieniu. To może się podobać. No i oprawa. Tom wygląda przepięknie. Szkoda tylko, że tom 3 z racji nietrafionego pomysłu z "reglamentacją" zeszytów, nie jest w stanie obronić się samodzielnie.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fury at World's End kicks off straight after the previous book with Clark and Diana getting used to the changed situation and we start to see the changed dynamic between him and Lois as well as the story progresses! :D Thrown into this as well is Kara who is still having somewhat of an adjustment process to how her cousin is older than her and no longer seems to do what she wants! :D

Thrown on top of this is the 'Kryptonian' H'ell who is up to no good in the neighbourhood trying to enlist Kara to side with him against the entire Justice League! :D They as well as the elements of the Justice League also get to guest star that really put the story on an epic level! :D At the same time the story is told in a a kind of flashback as we get to see an earlier look at Clark's parents Joral and Lara which ends up having a clever neat twist tying into events taking place in the 'present day'! :D This is a neat plot set up that is bound to come back in later ones! :D
Fury at World's End is packed with humour throughout and you will find your ribs hurting for example where Kara turns up at Clark's and Lois implies she is a cosplayer is one such example! :D This ties in brilliantly with the tone of the book that mixes ancient Kryptonian history with more modern discoveries as well as introducing Superman to the Teen Titans, Superboy and also getting a guest appearance by Lex Luthor! :D

The art is brilliant and crisp really popping off the page! :D It really enhances the action and humour form Superman bailing Lois out to Lois face when she catches Kara at Clark's it works at every level with clear lines and vibrant colours everywhere! Truly full of vista's and eye-popping! :D This serves to really enhance the script and it works as a combined whole on all levels! :D The book also sets up new lot plot lines left right and centre that are bound rebound in other books! :D
Fury at World's End is a crazy epic roller coaster ride! :D It is full of action, intriguing plot developments, heroics, rib breaking humour there characters get themselves into the most tied up situations and action packed throughout! :D Highly recommended! :D Crisp High Five make sure you have the next one! :D

[Batgirl_ALT_21 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh, Not Superman's Finest moments on print by a long shot 😒.

The plot focuses heavily on Krypton and a newly introduced character/villain H'el who claims to have been a student of Jor 'El and the 1st test pilot for the spacecraft that carried Kara & Kal 'El.

H'el's goal is to restore Krypton from the grave by expanding the city of Kandor using a spaceship and extra solar energy from the earth to basically collapse the universe which would then expand Kandor into a planet to take its place 🤨. What? What the heck is this nonsense 😒. In addition to this main plot, Supergirl seems to fall in love with H'el, who offers her hope that she could be reunited with her parents. While Superboy is treated like a 2nd rate Kryptonian and literally called an abomination frequency throughout the story because he is a hybrid with Human & Kryptonian DNA 🙄. The JLA steps in to assist once Superman & Superboy learn of H'el's plan based on Lex Luthor's interpretation.

Finally, we deal with this major scene that involves some sentient creatures called Orcale, but boy is that weird and provides no further depth to the plot. Kara nearly kills H'el with kryptonite risking death herself, and that is the end to this weird Saga of a Vol.

I've read better stories arc from DC than this and I know Scott Lobdell is a fantastic writer because of his arcs with Red Hood and the Outlaws, but this was a mess. 2.5/10 🌟 not really worth the read. Hopefully, Superman's New 52 arc improves in Vol 4 because the last 3 have been duds 😒👎.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Again, I think this arc is alright, I'd say around 6 out of 10. Lobdell writings is tolerable and Rocafort's art really elevates the material here. HOWEVER, this is yet another new 52 Superman tpb that runs over the same material as other, more complete volumes. The most frustrating part is that Superman #0 isn't in the superior H'el on Earth book for some reason, so completionist will need this for that issue (I don't think it's that good anyway, but the exclusion is frustrating nonetheless). I suppose you could just buy it as a single issue, though.

Anyway, the main problem here is that the story threads through the Superboy and Supergirl publications, so you're essentially reading a novel with half the chapters missing. I understand DC was trying to just collect the main Superman mag here, but this thing is full of crossovers and many of these compilations don't work at all. Which is especially frustrating for new readers: I've been wanting to get into new 52 for a while, but the publication history is so confusing I ended up just pirating most of them to have any sense of order. I thought the point of these things was to take away the confusion of having to jump between runs and Google reading orders, not add to it! Unless you really need #0 or you have the other Supergirl/boy stuff already, get this instead:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1....