Kneel Before Zod #4 Review

      

     

Written by: Joe Casey
Art by: Dan McDaid
Colors by: David Baron
Letters by: Troy Peteri
Cover art by: Jason Shawn Alexander
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: April 2, 2024

Kneel Before Zod #4 ignites General Zod's fire for vengeance when he hunts down the Khunds who murdered Ursa.
Is Kneel Before Zod #4 Good?

"Good" is a relative term concerning Joe Casey's Kneel Before Zod #4. Some pieces are very strong and work well, and others don't make a lick of sense. How much priority you place on one versus the other will determine this issue's fate.


When last we left General Zod, his planet of New Kandor came under attack from a rogue sect of pirate Khunds. What should have been an easy victory turned out to be anything but when the Khunds unleashed a weapon that temporarily turned the planet's sun red, giving the pirates time to inflict heavy damage. By the time the weapon wore off, Zod was badly beaten and Ursa (and her unborn child) lay dead.

Now, General Zod instructs the Eradicator A.I. to either destroy or teleport away New Kandor(???) after sending the bottled city of Kandor into unknown space in a transport pod. Zod flies off into space to find the retreating Khunds and decimate their battleship with all aboard. However, Zod forces their leader to divulge who gave them the intel they needed to stage a successful attack, and Zod receives a major shock when he learns it was his son, Lor-Zod, who turned over the information after he was captured by the Khunds. Lor-Zod offered the information to buy his freedom and to spite his father.

In his rage, Zod detonates the Khund battleship's white dwarf reactor, setting off a massive explosion he could not escape. Burnt, scarred, and unconscious, Zod's body is picked up by a passing ship to end the issue.

What's great about Kneel Before Zod #4? If you've been itching to see General Zod cut loose with all his Kryptonian fury, this is it. Zod reclaims his status as the destructive powerhouse who can give Superman all the trouble he can handle and more.

What's not so great about Kneel Before Zod #4? What in the world is Zod, and Joe Casey by extension, doing? Why would Zod blow up or teleport away New Kandor after the attack, especially when Eradicator and most of the planetary system survived? Why would Zod send the bottled city of Kandor away into deep, unknown space? What was the WMD Zod built? Why would Lor-Zod tattle on his father, knowing the attack could put his mother in harm's way?

Casey gives readers, big dramatic moments based on weird, confusing, out-of-nowhere decisions. After four issues, I still have no idea what this maxi-series is about other than following General Zod.

How's the Art? Dan McDaid's pencils are good, his inks are decent, albeit not sharp, and David Baron's colors are solid. In short, the art is perfectly fine.



About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces:

Kneel Before Zod #4 ends one phase of the General's life before sending him off to the next with big action and explosive developments. That said, Zod makes odd choices that don't make sense, and the plot has yet to materialize.

6/10