Man of Steel Prequel Review
By: Jay
Zack Snyder’s Man of
Steel movie is almost here and the promotion machine is in full effect
with theater trailers, TV spots, toys and other related merchandise all coming
at us everyday. Now DC has released an official Man of Steel Prequel Comic! This comic is a Walmart
exclusive download that comes with the advance screening tickets.
We are at the beginning of
“Krypton’s Great Age of Expansion” where thousands of scout ships are about to
set out to terraform other planets. Kara Zor-El earns her place as a Captain on
one of the ships. Something happens during her cryo-sleep that sends her ship
crashing to Earth.
This book is as official as it
gets. The story is by Man of Steel writer David S. Goyer, and
Director Zack Snyder along with Geoff Johns. The script is by Sterling Gates
and art is by Jerry Ordway. This is a 40-page comic that you get for a free
download with the advance screening tickets, so the tickets are really worth
it.
The story mainly focuses on
Krypton’s past, but there is no mention of Zod or Jor-El in this issue. Instead
this book focuses on Superman’s cousin Kara Zor-El. Unlike the comics Kara
wasn’t sent away to watch over her infant cousin Kal-El. In the Man of
Steel Krypton seems to be divided into guilds, an idea that Geoff
Johns used during his run on the Superman books pre-New 52. Kara is a member of
the Explorer Guild, and is a part of a group of six candidates that are vying
for four spots on an exploration crew. Kara’s group includes some familiar
names like Dev-Em , Nam
The story is pretty solid, but
without seeing the movie yet, I am unsure how it all fits in to the overall
story of Man of Steel. The story does set up a few things, like the
reason why a Phantom Zone would be needed, and the fact that there is a
division among the Kryptonian people on how things should be. How much of this
will effect the movie? We don’t know, but if they are sticking to some of the
classic themes of the Superman mythos, then you can see where these events will
lead. I also really like this new take on Kara’s origins and I'm looking
forward to seeing if she plays into the movie at all. We also get clues
that Man of Steel is set in the larger DCU by mentioning the
Thanagarians.
Ordway’s art in this book shows a
beautiful Krypton and overall is really well done. I have only one slight
issue, and that is the stylistic changes. When we see characters from the movie
like Jonathan Kent in the beginning and Clark at the
end the art is almost photo-realistic, while the rest of the art in the book is
more traditional comic book style. The art is not bad at all. I just would have
preferred a more cohesive look, either one or the other. There is also a little
gem near the end of the book in a tent painting of Kara’s ship that resembles
the classic cover of Action Comics #1.
The book succeeded in getting me
more pumped up for the movie, so DC really did what a book like this is
supposed to do. Right now I am really curious as to what, if any, role does
Kara play in the movie? Are they planning a Supergirl movie
already? Will any of these characters be featured in the movie? This is what a
prequel comic for a movie should do, get the reader asking these types of
questions, and wanting to see how events from it play out in the movie. I hope
DC releases this in another form, perhaps for those who go see the movie, they
will get a code for a free download of this book as well, or even giveaway a
printed version of this book at the theaters.
That is what I think about this book.
Let us know what you think about the book, or about what you want to see in
the Man of Steel in the comments. Don’t forget
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previews on Comic Frontline.
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