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Warning : spoilers for Action Comics # 1039 are onward .
As the world ’s first superhero , Superman ’s origin story inDC Comicsis foundational to read his character . His position as being the Last Son of Krypton informs his perspective as a sub , drive him to protect Earth so it does n’t suffer the same lot as his home satellite . Superman ’s root as a refugeefrom a faraway satellite has continued to make him relevant to contemporary times , an idea that circulates in part four of the " Warworld Saga"fromAction Comics#1039 , by Phillip Kennedy Johnson , Riccardo Federici , Lee Loughbridge , and Dave Sharpe .
jail on Warworld , Superman is without his powersas the satellite is drenched in the rays of a ruby sun . Clark is forced to fight in prizefighter battles alongside other " strays , " or individuals captured from societies that the Monguls have long since destroyed . Not used to throw to fight without his powers , Clark is taken in by another captive refer Kryl - Ux , who chasten him for his lack of preparation . As he let to know his fellow prisoner , Clark correctly identifies that he is Phaelosian base on his speech patterns , to which Kryl - Ux answer , " That word is nonmeaningful now … But yes , IwasPhaelosian once … Then Warworld issue forth . Now my family ’s house isashes … There isno oneto left to smile for me … And thischainis my only bequest . "
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Kryl - Ux presents a dark and tragic inverse of Superman ’s character , had Clark never made it to Earth , where he was able to flourish thanks to the solar system ’s yellow Dominicus . He offers an alternating imaginativeness of Superman whose story is base in oppressiveness , rather than authorization . Kryl - Ux ’s story challenge the optimism of Clark ’s origin story , because his shape so close resembles Superman ’s . In doing so , Action Comics#1039 boldly examines theSuperman mythos outside the kingdom of index , reestablishing the lineament as a hero of the crush without needing to use his powers once .
Kryl - Ux ’s refusal to identify as a Phaelosian in the present contrasts aggressively with how Clark still describe as Kryptonian , despite the death of his home man . For Clark , being Kryptonian is a reference of power , literally , as his alien physiology makes him exceeding on Earth , but it also endows him with a responsibility to continue his family ’s legacy . In equivalence , Kryl - Ux ’s Phaelosian identity is entwined with his own oppression with the loss of his family and ethnical heritage . Kryl - Ux saying that , " thischainis my only legacy " is significative of this fact , symbolizing not only his strong-arm captivity , but also the problem of his own heritage . The " Ernst Boris Chain " of his lineage truly is his only bequest , as he no longer has any child . His existence in the present is tied to a past tense that no longer exists . This powerfully contrastsSuperman ’s status as the Man of Tomorrow , whose legacy is often presented in progressive and futurist terms , despite Krypton ’s death .
Superman ’s interactions with Kryl - Ux on Warworld have illustrated the universality of his character ’s most basic question : how does one build a bequest from death and loss ? While Clark ’s chronicle on Earth is an uplift one , Johnson ’s writing reexamines it with a vital edge , identifying how it would be so much more tragical if he was n’t as rosy . Now more than ever , Superman ’s story is sharpen on legacy , between the consequence ofAction ComicsandJon Kent’sSuperman : Son of Kal - Elseries . The " Warworld Saga " has explored the gloomy side of this theme , providing fans with a compelling alternating look atSuperman ’s signification beyond his powers .
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