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When one looks in the box, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the cat.

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DC Comics recently debuted a prequel comic for the new Superman movie Man of Steel, in theaters on June 14, which focuses on Krpytonian society and its efforts to explore the galaxy and better itself as a species. It also offers some overt and thematic hints about what we might ultimately see in Man of Steel.

Warning! Full spoilers for the comic ahead and speculation regarding the movie.

The comic itself is penned by director Zack Snyder, screenwriter David S. Goyer, and Superman scribe Geoff Johns and is a download-only exclusive bundled with purchase of advance tickets through certain vendors. The story concerns the adventures of Kara Zor-El, a top candidate of the planet-wide Kryptonian program to send a fleet of seedships to other star systems and create new Kryptonian colonies. While on a training mission, her lover Kell is murdered by the psychotic Dev-Em.

Dev-Em, it turns out, has committed Krypton’s first murder in centuries and is sentenced to indefinite imprisonment. He escapes, however, and stows away on the seedship that Kara is captaining. While she and her crew are in their sleeping capsules, he steers them towards the Sol system, which Krypton is not supposed to be colonizing since it is already inhabited with a primitive humanoid species.

A superpowered fight between Kara and Dev ensues now that they’re in proximity to a yellow sun, and the ship crashes into Greenland during the most recent Ice Age. Dev has been ejected into space. Kara survives the crash and leaves the ship, departing for…she knows not where. Fast forward to present day where NASA satellites detect a beacon signal originating from under the ice. Meanwhile, on a fishing boat, a young dark-haired man stares towards the horizon, the beacon sounding in his head….

At first glance it looks like we’ll be seeing this crashed ship in the movie (in fact, it’s clearly visible in the trailer) and that it will give Clark some much-needed background on his people and the grand society they had built. Kara also wears a familiar S symbol on her flightsuit and we get a glimpse of some very familiar crystals in her possession. It seems logical to conclude that Clark enters the crash site as a man and departs as a Superman.

Do Kara and Dev survive the events of the comic, however? Will Superman be joined by a Supergirl? We don’t know, but the struggle between Kara and Dev could very well echo the struggle between Superman and Zod in Man of Steel. Kara represents the very best of Krypton and Dev represents the very worst. Dev is a poison, a diseased mind cast out from paradise, and Kara is relentless in countering his actions. Kara believes in the growth of her people while Dev only believes in his own personal desires. Replace “Kara” with Superman and “Dev” with Zod and most likely you’ve got the driving theme behind the plot of Man of Steel.

With that all in mind, let’s watch that awesome trailer again:


Chris Lough is the production manager of Tor.com and was very skeptical about this movie last year but now can’t wait. Can. Not. Wait.

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Chris Lough

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An amalgamation of errant code, Doctor Who deleted scenes, and black tea.
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