The Last Days of the Planet Krypton

Why and How Superman Came to Earth

Oct 23, 2008

Nearly everyone on earth knows that Superman came to earth from Krypton and knows that his father Jor-El sent him here in a rocket when Krypton exploded.

It would seem impossible to construct a book with a satisfying ending, when anyone interested in reading the book knows the ending. Kevin J. Anderson tackled that difficult task with great success in The Last Days of Krypton The journey to Krypton’s demise is super fun.

Kevin J. Anderson

Mr. Anderson is a science fiction writer of note, having written written novels and/or comics for Dune, Star Wars, X-Files, JSA, Titan A.E., StarCraft, Star Trek, and many others. His accomplishment with telling the final days of doomed Krypton is singular because he weaves together so much Superman mythology into a single cohesive story.

Growing up with Superman

For those who grew up with and have stayed in touch with the Superman legend for 50 or more years Anderson brings together so many things that were elements of the legend during that time. Disparate parts are made part of a whole. It is amazing how Superman movies of recent vintage are brought together with comic book elements of 30, 40 and 50 years ago. Siegel and Schuster would be proud.

For baby boomers that grew up with Superman, so many things about his origin were just taken for granted. They were part of a mythology that only required a suspension of disbelief and needed no deep background of support. The willingness to believe in superheroes is natural to children. Though questions about the Phantom Zone intrigued even children.

For grown boomers to return to childhood stories and be given a deep historical background of things simply accepted as children there is a real treat in this book. It awakens childhood fantasies with a grown up presentation. Anderson plausibily explains elements of the Superman legend, and avoids shattering a fantasy by trying for scientific explanations of things like the galaxy where Krypton is located. Leaving hard science to others, there is enough science to support the story, but not too much to distract the reader from the mythology.

Unasked Questions Answered

As children, questions about why things happened in Superman’s world did not matter, they were accepted. To interest adults, some rationale for the mythology is needed. Anderson does an excellent job of filling in voids that young boomers did not worry about, but are fun for grown-ups to ponder. There are either answers or explanations in the book for the following:

Over the years, there have been many portrayals of Superman and his family from comics to television to movies. It is easy to plug those memories from comic versions of Brainiac to Marlon Brando’s Jor-El into one’s mind while reading Mr. Anderson’s prose. For anyone who loved Superman as a child and followed the various incarnations with any interest as an adult, The Last Days of Krypton is a joy and a pleasure.

The copyright of the article The Last Days of the Planet Krypton in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Fiction is owned by David J. Shestokas. Permission to republish The Last Days of the Planet Krypton in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.