2022 has been a year of amazing comics featuring the most iconic heroes and villains, from the consistently well-written Son of Superman to the ongoing X-men series. It's hard to stand out among many well-produced series and graphic novels. The story and art must pops and capture the readers' imaginations as well as their attentions.
The "Warworld Saga" is one such crossover story arc. Eisner-nominated writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson teamed up with phenomenal artists like Riccardo Federici, Will Conrad, and Lee Loughridge to produce a story that had glorious moments of character and world-building while returning Mongul to the forefront of DC Comics villainy.
10 Lois Lane Hold Her Own In "Warworld Saga"
Lois Lane played an instrumental role in the Super Family while Superman was off-world. As Superman formed his team for Warworld and fought Mongul-Who-Is, his wife and partner, Lois Lane, kept a calm head and remained focused.
During the lead-up to "Warworld Saga," Lois assists Superman with keeping the Phaelosians safe and protected. She even went as far as to fight Warzoons herself to protect Thao-La. When Amanda Waller tried to take the genesis fragment, Lois was ready to fight and protect her family. Lois demonstrated the strength it takes to be Superman's partner and closest ally.
9 The Culture Of Warworld Emerges
Warworld is not just a planet of misery. Within the brutal and enforced hierarchy of the Warzoons, lies a deep and entrenched culture. These beliefs of strength and worth are carried over into the spiritual. Just as Superman believes in the guiding light of Roa, the Warzoons of Warworld believe they carry the souls of their fallen in life and death. This belief molds how they present themselves in chains and how they interact with one another.
The belief in strength even affects the relationship between mothers and their children. People are either strong or exiled, and they kill to prove strength. Patricide keeps the Mongul line alive. Strength is the way of Warworld.
8 "Warworld Saga" Expands Kryptonian Culture And Society
Superman's publication history has scattered history lessons of his homeworld. It is how readers have been able to piece together an idea of what life on Superman's homeworld resembled. The "Warworld Saga" continues this trend by giving longtime fans more lore about the societal structure of Krypton.
The "Warworld Saga" introduces history surrounding heresy in the Kryptonian social structure. Phaelosians are introduced as the descendants of heretical Kryptonians. Their ancestors didn't worship gods like Roa; they worshiped great philosophers and scientists. This addition to the lore of Krypton paints a more vibrant collage of Superman's homeworld.
7 Mongul Fans Get A New Brutal Dictator
Mongul-Who-Is highlights his rule with a cunning his father, Mongul-Who-Was lacked. The Son of one of Superman's greatest foes took time in his methods of conquering. He didn't just fell his father and continue the ways of old. Mongul-Who-Is took time to learn the history of Warworld and the technology available to him.
Mongul-Who-Is created a system of enslavement and propaganda that gave the victims of his brutal regime hope in enslavement. He converted Warworld's engine to expel red sun radiation to keep Superman weakened.
6 The "Warworld Saga" Is More Science Fantasy Than Superhero
The "Warworld Saga" reads differently than other stories that came out this year. Philip Kennedy Johnson and artists took the concepts and history of the Superman mythos and expanded it to become more than just another story of heroics. The capes are replaced with metal armor and the heroes are thrust into a world of hardship and suffering.
Kennedy Johnson brings magic and technology, clashing together with interplanetary politics. Readers go from seeing the invasion of worlds and their enslavement to the response of other planets. There is a scope and scale that executes like deep breaths. Each exhalation bringing the readers closer to an epic conclusion more similar to John Carter of Mars than a clean superhero ending.
5 The Authority Returns In "Warworld Saga"
As a lead-up to "Warworld Saga," Superman formed a new iteration of The Authority in the tie-in series Superman and the Authority, written by Grant Morrison and with art by Mikel Janín, Jordie Bellaire, Fico Ossio, and Evan Cagle. It was a team that, like Batman and the Outsiders, do the unsavory superhero work.
With their return and inclusion within the "Warworld Saga," readers are given a clear direction of how intense this story arc gets. Writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson writes them with intent and demonstrates the brutality of battle on Warworld.
4 The United Planets Return
The politics of the galaxy within DC are often overlooked, except when the Green Lanterns are involved. The United Planets are a United Nations-style council of planets. They include worlds with the goal of peace and co-existence. A goal that is often in danger due to cosmic threats and villains.
Readers are given a wider scope by including the United Planets. In most adventures, the actions are contained, but the "Warworld Saga" has ripple effects. Maintaining peace is hard in the galaxy and the moments with the United Planets foreshadow future stories and the impact of Superman's actions.
3 Superman's Resilience Is On Full Display
The powers granted to Superman by the sun make him and his Kryptonian family nearly invincible, except for a select few hazards. This has led to many instances of Superman shrugging off dangers that would take the lives of most others.
During "Warworld Saga," Superman is stripped of his invincible status and proves that it is only one aspect keeping him fighting. Superman is tortured by the sight of his friends' deaths, physically beaten. Witnessing slaves killed in the arena, he doesn't stop fighting. He endures the physical and mental pain to save others. He proves to be more than just his powers by standing up and enduring.
2 "Warworld Saga" Expanded The Super Family
Following the events of "Warworld Saga," the Kryptonian legacy has now extended farther into the galaxy. By allowing Osul-Ra and Otho-Ra to wear this sigil of the House of El, Superman has effectively made them an informal part of the family. This coupled with Thao-La joining the ranks of the House of El has increased the ranks of the Super Family.
Outside the Super Family, the Kryptonian diaspora has also seen an increase. As Zod works to build new Krypton, which he succeeds at from Action Comics #996 by Dan Jurgens, Will Conrad, and Ivan Nunes, and there are more Daxamites who sit on the United Planets. With the freed and empowered Phaelosians, the Kryptonian legacy continues to spread.
1 "Warworld Saga" Reminds Readers To Fight For A Better World
The "Warworld Saga" pulls readers in and hits them with instances of reality. Warzoons and the slaves are exposed to constant propaganda. Propagandists on Warworld drive the belief that Mongul-Who-Is is right and slavery is freedom. This, along with invading innocent people, mirrors events in real life, past and present.
Superman's determination to bring truth and freedom to all the citizens of Warworld, with its parallels to real life, is a reminder to be active and fight against real evil. The story, characters, and devices may be fiction, but the dangers of invasion, propaganda, and genocide are merely heightened reflections of reality.