Kneel Before Zod #3
Scheduled to arrive in stores: March 5, 2024
Cover date: May 2024
“New Kandor Now” – Chapter Three: “The War for New Kandor”
Writer: Joe Casey
Artist: Dan McDaid
Cover: Jason Shawn Alexander
Variant Cover: Lucio Parrillo
1:25 Variant Cover: Mirko Colak
Reviewed by: JP Rocha
The Khunds full scale attack started with an assault on multiple fronts. With the support of his robotic as well as mentally controlled drones, Zod is leading the front line on many of those fronts. Meanwhile, Ursa guards the city. Zod and Ursa are in touch by comms and Zod is able to coordinate the battle where he is needed with the help of the Eradicator AI.
The natives of Jekuul are no match for a race of warriors like the Khunds, but they and their warships are no match for Zod. As Zod and Ursa tear apart the Khund invasion force, the Khund high command, while frustrated, has a plan. Knowing that New Krypton has two yellow suns that power their Kryptonian enemies, they have a weapon that can give them an advantage. The chem-eclipse device is a system of multiple missiles that can target and affect the molecular structure of any star. The downside of the weapon is that its effects can be unpredictable; most likely it depends on the power of the star on how the effects will last.
After firing the weapon into one of the two suns, the effects are felt immediately, turning the yellow sun red. Zod and Ursa not only lose their powers, they are weakened and the Khunds take advantage. After inflicting heavy damage on Zod, short of killing him, the effects from the chem-eclipse device began to wear off.
With the Kryptonians recovering, the Khund high command signals the retreat. Humiliated, the Khunds re-show their power by launching bombs with the hope of inflicting some final damage. Still not fully recovered from his beating, Zod endures the full brunt of the retreating attack. The combination of not being fully powered yet and the final attack, slows him down even more. Now heavily damaged, Zod with the help of the Eradicator, work to find his wife, but does he find her too late?
Story – 4: A Khund fleet versus two Kryptonians and some drones. Even with those odds it is hard believe that the Khunds stand a chance against the will of Zod, but Casey makes us believe and gives us real stakes. In chapter three: The War for New Krypton in spite of his psychological state, Zod takes the war to the Khunds on multiple fronts. First it was his son and then it was his wife questioning the will of Zod. If he proves anything in this issue, it is that he is a force to be reckoned with.
Art – 3: Dan McDaid’s art style is right for this book. Cartoonish and edgy, the art has an energy that compliments a story with land, air, and space assaults. The storytelling flows well, supporting and enhancing the writing. The colors are clean and pop well. When New Krypton turns red from the Khund attack on the sun, the colors understandably get monotone and dark, building a sense of dread that compliments the turn of the war, in favor of the Khunds.Cover Art – 3: There is an extreme closeup in Jason Shawn Alexander’s main cover featuring Ursa holding up the chin of a beaten up Zod with one word, “Kneel”. This cover does not reflect this issue at all, but neither do the other two variant covers. I would still recommend the main cover of the three covers.
The Lucio Parrillo variant cover has a very sketchy style and seems to be on Earth and not New Krypton. The Mirko Colak variant has a basic Ursa pointing with a volcanic explosion in the background. Both covers are not very intriguing.
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