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Superman: One-Shots
Superman: Last Stand on Krypton #1
"Last Stand on Krypton" is the sequel to Last Son of Earth and conclude's Steve Gerber's alternate take on the Superman Mythos by coming "Full Circle" back to our Boy's adopted home to see how his "Mom & Dad," Lara & Jor-El, are doing in their attempt to "revive" Kryptonian Culture.
64 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
2 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
Steve Gerber
639 books66 followersSteve Gerber graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in communications and took a job in advertising. To keep himself sane, he wrote bizarre short stories such as "Elves Against Hitler," "Conversion in a Terminal Subway," and "...And the Birds Hummed Dirges!" He noticed acquaintance Roy Thomas working at Marvel, and Thomas sent him Marvel's standard writing test, dialoguing Daredevil art. He was soon made a regular on Daredevil and Sub-Mariner, and the newly created Man-Thing, the latter of which pegged him as having a strong personal style--intellectual, introspective, and literary. In one issue, he introduced an anthropomorphic duck into a horror fantasy, because he wanted something weird and incongruous, and Thomas made the character, named for Gerber's childhood friend Howard, fall to his apparent death in the following issue. Fans were outraged, and the character was revived in a new and deeply personal series. Gerber said in interview that the joke of Howard the Duck is that "there is no joke." The series was existential and dealt with the necessities of life, such as finding employment to pay the rent. Such unusual fare for comicbooks also informed his writing on The Defenders. Other works included Morbius, the Lving Vampire, The Son of Satan, Tales of the Zombie, The Living Mummy, Marvel Two-in-One, Guardians of the Galaxy, Shanna the She-Devil, and Crazy Magazine for Marvel, and Mister Miracle, Metal Men,
The Phantom Zone
, and The Immortal Doctor Fate for DC. Gerber eventually lost a lawsuit for control of Howard the Duck when he was defending artist Gene Colan's claim of delayed paychecks for the series, which was less important to him personally because he had a staff job and Colan did not.
He left comics for animation in the early 1980s, working mainly with Ruby-Spears, creating Thundarr the Barbarian with Alex Toth and Jack Kirby and episodes of The Puppy's Further Adventures, and Marvel Productions, where he was story editor on multiple Marvel series including Dungeons & Dragons, G.I. Joe, and The Transformers. He continued to dabble in comics, mainly for Eclipse, including the graphic novel Stewart the Rat, the two-part horror story "Role Model: Caring, Sharing, and Helping Others," and the seven-issue Destroyer Duck with Jack Kirby, which began as a fundraiser for Gerber's lawsuit.
In the early 1990s, he returned to Marvel with Foolkiller, a ten-issue limited series featuring a new version of a villain he had used in The Man-Thing and Omega the Unknown, who communicated with a previous version of the character through internet bulletin boards. An early internet adopter himself, he wrote two chapters of BBSs for Dummies with Beth Woods Slick, with whom he also wrote the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "Contagion." During this period, he also wrote The Sensational She-Hulk and Cloak and Dagger for Marvel, Cybernary and WildC.A.T.s for Image, and Sludge and Exiles for the writer-driven Malibu Ultraverse, and Nevada for DC's mature readers Vertigo line.
In 2002, he returned to the Howard the Duck character for Marvel's mature readers MAX line, and for DC created Hard Time with Mary Skrenes, with whom he had co-created the cult hit Omega the Unknown for Marvel. Their ending for Omega the Unknown remains a secret that Skrenes plans to take to the grave if Marvel refuses to publish it. Suffering from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis ("idiopathic" meaning of unknown origin despite having been a heavy smoker much of his life), he was on a waiting list for a double lung transplant. His final work was the Doctor Fate story arc, "More Pain Comics," for DC Comics'
He left comics for animation in the early 1980s, working mainly with Ruby-Spears, creating Thundarr the Barbarian with Alex Toth and Jack Kirby and episodes of The Puppy's Further Adventures, and Marvel Productions, where he was story editor on multiple Marvel series including Dungeons & Dragons, G.I. Joe, and The Transformers. He continued to dabble in comics, mainly for Eclipse, including the graphic novel Stewart the Rat, the two-part horror story "Role Model: Caring, Sharing, and Helping Others," and the seven-issue Destroyer Duck with Jack Kirby, which began as a fundraiser for Gerber's lawsuit.
In the early 1990s, he returned to Marvel with Foolkiller, a ten-issue limited series featuring a new version of a villain he had used in The Man-Thing and Omega the Unknown, who communicated with a previous version of the character through internet bulletin boards. An early internet adopter himself, he wrote two chapters of BBSs for Dummies with Beth Woods Slick, with whom he also wrote the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "Contagion." During this period, he also wrote The Sensational She-Hulk and Cloak and Dagger for Marvel, Cybernary and WildC.A.T.s for Image, and Sludge and Exiles for the writer-driven Malibu Ultraverse, and Nevada for DC's mature readers Vertigo line.
In 2002, he returned to the Howard the Duck character for Marvel's mature readers MAX line, and for DC created Hard Time with Mary Skrenes, with whom he had co-created the cult hit Omega the Unknown for Marvel. Their ending for Omega the Unknown remains a secret that Skrenes plans to take to the grave if Marvel refuses to publish it. Suffering from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis ("idiopathic" meaning of unknown origin despite having been a heavy smoker much of his life), he was on a waiting list for a double lung transplant. His final work was the Doctor Fate story arc, "More Pain Comics," for DC Comics'
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 16, 2022
When I finished reading Superman: Last Son of Earth, I was left wanting to read more about the world Steve Gerber had created in his Elseworlds tale. So when I learned that he had written a sequel, I read it with much eagerness. Set ten years after the events of the first series, it opens with Kal-El's return to Krypton after leaving Earth in disgust at the demands of its survivors for more access to Kryptonian technology. When he arrives he discovers a society on the cusp of conflict, as Jor-El's revival of more "primitive" Kryptonian ways face opposition from the planet's ruling council. But as the two sides prepare for conflict, a ship arrives bearing two more visitors from a strange planet, dramatically altering the situation for both sides.
It's a fine premise, but one that isn't quite as entertaining as Gerber's previous book. It doesn't help that he plays with some of the details of the Superman mythos in order to elevate the level of the conflict. My disappointment was more with the absence of the Green Lantern element from the first story, and with the surprisingly abrupt conclusion to the tale — one without even a "The End" appended to the last page. That it feels incomplete only adds to my dissatisfaction with a book that, while enjoyable enough, doesn't measure up to the tale that preceded it.
It's a fine premise, but one that isn't quite as entertaining as Gerber's previous book. It doesn't help that he plays with some of the details of the Superman mythos in order to elevate the level of the conflict. My disappointment was more with the absence of the Green Lantern element from the first story, and with the surprisingly abrupt conclusion to the tale — one without even a "The End" appended to the last page. That it feels incomplete only adds to my dissatisfaction with a book that, while enjoyable enough, doesn't measure up to the tale that preceded it.
January 26, 2018
The sequel to “Superman: Last Son of Earth”. Previously, a human Clark Kent was sent from a dying Earth to Krypton and raised there as the adopted son Kal-El, becoming a Green Lantern there. Over the course of the previous story, a great many events happen, but in the end he find himself back on Earth–becoming a savior to two worlds.
In this sequel, Kal-El returns to Krypton in order to see if he can help save his adopted home–not from planetary destruction–but from a long, slower, self-inflicted death of culture from a society seeking safety over vitality. Of course, trouble is right behind and it wouldn’t be a superhero story without yet another fight with Elseworld versions of classic villains and a world at stake.
I love Elseworld stories, especially Superman ones, because the best ones remind readers what the important parts of a given character really are. In Superman’s case these aren’t that he is the last surviving son of Krypton, or that he can fly, or that his powers come from Earth’s yellow sun. It’s not important for him to have Kryptonite as a weakness, because physical conflict itself shouldn’t be (and isn’t) what Superman stories should hinge on. Instead, it’s his physical strength and heroism that enable the true value of Superman stories: discussions around trust, risk, sacrifice, perception, and the ability of people to be Supermen and Superwomen in spirit at all times such that on the occasions we *do* find themselves in a position of power–we can in those moments be mentally and spiritually prepared to be Supermen and Superwomen for others in practice.
In this sequel, Kal-El returns to Krypton in order to see if he can help save his adopted home–not from planetary destruction–but from a long, slower, self-inflicted death of culture from a society seeking safety over vitality. Of course, trouble is right behind and it wouldn’t be a superhero story without yet another fight with Elseworld versions of classic villains and a world at stake.
I love Elseworld stories, especially Superman ones, because the best ones remind readers what the important parts of a given character really are. In Superman’s case these aren’t that he is the last surviving son of Krypton, or that he can fly, or that his powers come from Earth’s yellow sun. It’s not important for him to have Kryptonite as a weakness, because physical conflict itself shouldn’t be (and isn’t) what Superman stories should hinge on. Instead, it’s his physical strength and heroism that enable the true value of Superman stories: discussions around trust, risk, sacrifice, perception, and the ability of people to be Supermen and Superwomen in spirit at all times such that on the occasions we *do* find themselves in a position of power–we can in those moments be mentally and spiritually prepared to be Supermen and Superwomen for others in practice.
May 5, 2023
An Elseworlds story and the follow-up to 'Last Son of Earth'.
Kal-El has helped to rebuild the devastated planet Earth but finds himself rejected by those in power, suspicious of his upbringing on Krypton. He returns to his adopted homeworld to discover a schism in Krypton's culture spurred by his own actions there. As tensions between the faction led by his father, Jor-El, and the forces of General Zod escalate, Lex Luthor arrives as the spark of open conflict.
I enjoyed seeing this story return to Krypton, with that part of this reversed Superman story being what I found most interesting in 'Last Son of Earth'. I liked the way that Kal-El's own actions have caused a revolution among some Kryptonians and put them into opposition against the established authorities and their desire to maintain the status quo.
We also get a delightfully unhinged version of Lex Luthor here, whose lunacy means that he feels like a true chaotic threat.
Ultimately, however, despite the good stuff this book has, the overall product is just okay rather than exceptional.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
Kal-El has helped to rebuild the devastated planet Earth but finds himself rejected by those in power, suspicious of his upbringing on Krypton. He returns to his adopted homeworld to discover a schism in Krypton's culture spurred by his own actions there. As tensions between the faction led by his father, Jor-El, and the forces of General Zod escalate, Lex Luthor arrives as the spark of open conflict.
I enjoyed seeing this story return to Krypton, with that part of this reversed Superman story being what I found most interesting in 'Last Son of Earth'. I liked the way that Kal-El's own actions have caused a revolution among some Kryptonians and put them into opposition against the established authorities and their desire to maintain the status quo.
We also get a delightfully unhinged version of Lex Luthor here, whose lunacy means that he feels like a true chaotic threat.
Ultimately, however, despite the good stuff this book has, the overall product is just okay rather than exceptional.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
September 7, 2023
When I started I didn't know this was a sequel. But I managed read a plot summary of the first one before I was about to be confused a lot.
In the first one, We see a situation where Clark Kent is sent to Krypton by Jonathan and Martha when Earth was about to be destroyed by an asteroid. The baby gets adopted by Jor el and is named Kal el in Krypton.
This book begins when a full grown Clark Kent visits his home planet, Earth and uses Krypton's advanced tech to build a livable environment post the asteroid strike.
When Earth's council seek to him all the war fare tech of Krypton and he refuses they admonish him. He leaves to Krypton only to find it split between two factions , one led by his father and the other one by general Zod.
From earth, the council sends Lex Luthor to bring back Krypton's tech.
While it is an interesting plot summary, the narrative doesn't hold enough intriguing content to keept you hooked. It could have been better.
In the first one, We see a situation where Clark Kent is sent to Krypton by Jonathan and Martha when Earth was about to be destroyed by an asteroid. The baby gets adopted by Jor el and is named Kal el in Krypton.
This book begins when a full grown Clark Kent visits his home planet, Earth and uses Krypton's advanced tech to build a livable environment post the asteroid strike.
When Earth's council seek to him all the war fare tech of Krypton and he refuses they admonish him. He leaves to Krypton only to find it split between two factions , one led by his father and the other one by general Zod.
From earth, the council sends Lex Luthor to bring back Krypton's tech.
While it is an interesting plot summary, the narrative doesn't hold enough intriguing content to keept you hooked. It could have been better.
June 27, 2019
This sequel to earlier Elseworlds story by same team has a great Mort Weisinger-era vibe. It's minor Gerber, but great if you love Superman and great comics artist Doug Wheatley. Your mileage may vary. Mildly recommended.
June 7, 2012
I loved its prequel: I hated this book. It practically undoes the awesome of "Last Son of Earth."
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews