In this review of Action Comics #1101, Superman is back, but so is Zod. Can the General be stopped before regaining his powers?
ACTION COMICS #1101
Written by MARK WAID
Art by MONTOS
Main Cover: GUILLEM MARCH
Variant Covers: ARIEL OLIVETTI, MIKE CHOI, MARK SPEARS
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: 8/12/26
This review contains spoilers
Action Comics #1101, the second part of the “Kingdom of Zod” event, begins with Green K crystals spreading rapidly across Earth. The story then syncs up with the rescue of Superman from the time stream as seen in Action Comics #1100.
The sphere gets pulled from the stream and ends up in El Caldero where Supergirl is fighting Eradicatrix, a battle that started in Supergirl #16 (the first part of the event). With their anti-K force fields running out of power, the Super Force team starts to succumb to the K-Plague.
Zod continues to siphon his powers from Lois while she questions him about his true intent.
Superboy Prime and Superboy (Conner), along with the non-Kryptonian members of Supergirl’s team, try to take out the Krypto-Knights.
Back at Steelworks, John Henry has discovered a possible weakness in El Caldero’s Green K, but needs to travel to the Emerald City to test it further.
Superman and his younger self, along with Booster Gold, Martian Manhunter, and Mary Marvel leave the sphere, but are quickly infected with the K-Plague.
With the transfer of power complete, Zod soon realizes through x-ray vision that he’s lost track of Prime and Conner. The final-page reveal has them blasting through the wall to his lair, setting the stage for a superpowered showdown.
Analysis
While you could read Action Comics #1101 on its own, it’s definitely written as part of the larger event kicked off in Supergirl #16. If you haven’t read that one, you might be a little lost on what’s happening, so go check that one out (or read my review of it). Mark Waid does a good job of continuing what Sophie Campbell started there, although he has a lot more bouncing around going on in this issue.
We’re juggling Zod’s backstory at the beginning, the Green K-Plague spreading, Superman’s return, Supergirl and her team fighting Eradicatrix, and Zod taking back his powers. With as much as is happening, you’d think this would be an oversized issue (it’s not), but Waid manages to keep things tight and efficient.
The entire Green K situation is part of Zod’s plan of revenge against Superman. He’s angry over the loss of New Kandor, his wife, and son, which is understandable, but the approach he’s taking for retribution is not bound to work out in the end. It does make for some fun scenes, though.
The artwork by Montos and the colors by Ivan Plascencia look great. In fight sequences, of which there are many, Montos keeps the action fresh with a variety of angles and page layouts. There’s some excellent facial details on closeups of Zod when he’s arguing with Lois that are standouts of the issue. Plascencia uses a wide range of colors, some bright, some dark, to make the drawings come to life.
Final Thoughts
Action Comics #1101 is the second part of the nine-issue “Kingdom of Zod” event. It presents the reader with an onslaught of emotions, exciting battles, and beautiful artwork. Have fun, comic lovers!
