A sweet kid offering a hot dog to Krypto. That’s the first thing I see on Jae Lee’s lyrical image. Then I spot, behind the boy’s back, a bear trap. It seems there’s only one good boy on this cover.
The story reminds those of us who were here for the first issue of this mini series that the little lad is young Lex Luthor. It’s just days since Krypto landed on Earth after escaping the death of his homeworld, and it seems he’s not yet absorbed enough solar radiation to gain superpowers – crashing through a fence caused bleeding. When Lex found the forlorn dog on the streets of Metropolis he asked its name. This issue we find out he wasn’t that interested.
‘Dog.’ That tells a story. But what is Lex, who comes from a ‘good’ home in Smallville, doing in a Metropolis shanty town?
Guess who doesn’t know they’ve had a sizeable insurance policy taken out on their behalf, with Lex as the beneficiary? Lex plans to kill relatives Peter and Kathryn with a bomb programmed to vanish without trace. He fulfils the cliche/truth that the villain doesn’t see themselves as evil; his relatives would simply be fulfilling their potential as sacrifices to launch his career. But would killing them be enough?
As Superman comics go, this is as dark as it gets. As dark as the Phantom Zone mini-series, or Lois Lane micro-series When It Rains, God is Crying. So dark, it comes with a trigger warning.
It wasn’t a tough choice, not reproducing any of the seriously nasty moments here. I don’t know why writer Ryan North has included them – yes, they show us what a vile child this Lex Luthor is, but his plot against his chosen guardians does that. What the cruelty doesn’t do is tell us anything novel about Krypto; yes, he’s scared and confused and angry, but what animal wouldn’t be? The comic is a well-done look at a version of Lex, but this is meant to be Krypto’s series, it shouldn’t be using him to reflect other characters back at themselves. A Krypto comic should be something you can share with a child, not a ‘Teens and up’ book with a content warning.
Mike Norton, as last issue, has produced a chapter with excellent storytelling, and a strong portrayal of Superman’s pet, which makes Krypto’s pain all the more heartbreaking. Lex, funnily enough, is a little less consistent, visually, but he’s certainly a stinker.
Ian Herring helps evoke the bleak milieu with grim tones, while Luca Gattoni puts the words on the page with appreciated attention to detail.
So, craft wise, this is a fine comic. I can’t see myself ever going back to it, though.
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 
God, this sucked. I’m beginning to think Squirrel Girl was a fluke because I dropped North’s F4 a long time ago. Like with these versions of Krypto and young Lex, the F4 family just didn’t feel like the real deal. By his extensive history, Lex shouldn’t be to the point of killing others to meet his goals since his jealousy and feeling of betrayal by Superboy/Superman is what drives him to be that heartless. He had potential. This Lex is a born sociopath. I’ll probably read at least one issue more but that’s a crapshoot. My dream Krypto is the one with thought balloons and human level intelligence. A dog with a dog’s nature and Superman’s powers is nightmare fuel to me and it’s not just because I have cynophobia.
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I’ll take your Krypto, please. This issue was the perfect time for both powers and brains to kick in, but he remained a victim, he certainly didn’t have the agency of a space canine.
I am still enjoying the FF, after the boredom of Hickman, the hard science seems positively frivolous. Last month’s H.E.R.B.I.E. spotlight was a delight.
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Hey there, Martin. Good review. I’ll push back on your thinking that this Krypto story isn’t something that could be given to a kid to read. I know that I read all kinds of quality children’s literature growing up where animals were in danger or dealt with mature themes (Charlotte’s Web, Where the Red Fern Grows, Stone Fox, The Chronicles of Prydain series). The kids are gonna be fine, I assure you.
None of which diminishes your own personal disappointment with the story. Your point of view is totally fair and valid. I’d probably prefer a Krypto story that’s a little more “all ages” in tone than the one we have here. Which isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy the issue we got. I thought it was really well done.
There’s no denying that Lex was very much front and centre in this issue. I do think we got enough of Krypto’s reactions to get a sense of where his puppy head was at, and we also got to see a snapshot of his distaste for bad guys when he turned on Lex and left him in the dust.
I’ll be curious to see what the remainder of the issues are like. I suspect that once Krypto meets some of the saner, friendlier residents of the DCU, the tone of the story will also reflect that.
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Great thoughts, Murray, thanks for sharing ‘em. And yes, we do have a fair few books for kids with unpleasant, powerful moments. I suppose I’m just uncomfortable with this approach being applied to Krypto, with visuals you wouldn’t get in a prose novel.
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