The Man of Steel Meets the Xenomorph: Superman/Aliens - Explained

march 2021 marks the beginning of a new era for the alien franchise as it relates to its comic series after a legendary 30-plus year run at dark horse the alien comics are now being published by marvel this will see a fresh start with new stories new continuity and maybe just maybe down the road we'll see some alien crossovers with marvel's gallery of heroes already a slew of variant covers have been released on various marvel titles teasing just that but of course the prospect of the world's mightiest superheroes facing off against the xenomorph is hardly anything new back in the 1990s and early 2000s darkhorse would occasionally team up with dc to bring us special stories that thrust their heroes into the nightmarish world of alien among these heroes were batman which i explored on the channel previously and of course the man of steel himself superman in 1995 writers dan jurgens and chuck dixon unleashed superman aliens into the world this was the first of the dc dark horse crossovers with alien unlike the batman story which felt very much self-contained in a one-off adventure the superman story weaves together a good deal of superman comic continuity superman's previous adventures hold consequence to his actions as he encounters the xenomorphs in this story one of the key references is a 1988 story arc written by john byrne referred to as the supergirl saga in this story an incarnation of supergirl leads superman into what is referred to as a pocket universe a skewed reality in which things have gone terribly wrong in this reality lex luthor commonly known as superman's archenemy is in fact a good man with good intentions however he ends up making a grave mistake after making contact with three beings claiming to be survivors of the destruction of krypton superman's homeworld lex develops technology to free them from what they refer to as the survival zone in actuality they were prisoners of the phantom zone a prison meant for the worst and most irredeemable criminals of krypton these beings were general zod quexul and zora upon the release and destruction of the phantom projector zod declared himself king of the world with zora as his queen and quexul as his whole army for years the war waged on as mankind resisted their pitiful little armies ineffective against the incredibly powerful beings lex formed his own resistance team formed in a location called the smallville citadel protected by a force field and tried to develop new ways to combat zod zod's response to this was simple and diabolical eliminate any resistance by eliminating all life on earth he zora and kuexul dispersed from three different points under the ocean of earth the kryptonians used their indestructible bodies to board down through the crust of the molten core of the planet millions of gallons of seawater gushed down behind them and at moment of contact with the core was instantly transformed into superheated steam which blasted back out boiling the seas and ripping away the slender envelope of earth's atmosphere with the atmosphere gone the blistering rays of the once life-giving sun did the rest turning the planet into a single dead scar the entire population of the world died only the smallville citadel and those within survived in a desperate final gambit lex was able to send supergirl across a dimensional barrier to find superman who enters the pocket universe and hears the tragic tale he vows to join lex and the resistance to defeat zod once and for all in this battle against the incredibly strong trio of evil kryptonians the smallville citadel is destroyed supergirl is burnt to a crisp and superman remains the lone survivor against his enemies in the pocket universe these events led to one of the most crucial issues in superman history superman vol 2 issue 22 titled the price here superman acts as judge jury and executioner against zod zora and quexul retrieving gold kryptonite from lex's lab superman strips the trio of their powers which seems to do little to sway them confident they'd find a way to restore their powers they mock superman and assure him there's still nothing he could do to fully stop them what superman does next is what he describes as harder than anything he's ever done before also left by lex was green kryptonite a substance deadly to these particular three he exposed them to the substance as they begged for mercy slowly dying before him as all he could do was watch as they gasped their last breaths before this event superman had never killed another being the toll of this act carried a heavy burden and an incredible guilt that would never fully leave him the guilt was so unbearable that for a time after returning to his own universe superman left earth in a self-imposed exile this led to the next major story arc superman exile in which superman is captured by the evil ruler mongol and brought to the planet war world where he's forced into gladiatorial combat it is there that he forms a psychic link with a mysterious ancient being with ties to krypton the cleric who is able to retrieve superman from warworld and confront both of their pasts the cleric uses an ancient kryptonian artifact known as the eradicator to explore time in space and peer deep into superman's heroic soul this act of introspection gives superman a new lease on life and deems it necessary to return to earth and remain the hero he was meant to be in terms of more recent continuity at least at the time the superman alien story was set not too long after the death of superman arc and during this specific time in the superman series lex luthor was not present after a fight using a kryptonian war suit in the conclusion of the 1994 story arc the fall of metropolis lex is left let's say incapacitated while in a vegetative state other shareholders were left to control xcorp and this led many to make a mad dash for power as we see in this story lexcorp's space program run by dr cheryl kimball had a particular interest in new discoveries discoveries that some may say would give weyland yutani a run for its money not too long ago in our history events that transpired in the silent vacuum of space went unnoticed by man times change satellites were launched into orbit to act as centuries ever alert for approaching interlopers the mission was a simple one sound the alarm clark kent and lois lane waited outside of the lexcorp building in metropolis a mysterious invitation had beckoned the reporters at the daily planet to cover what may very well be the biggest story in mankind's history still clark remained wary any idea why we've been called here lois he asked zip but even though lex luthor is no longer at the helm lexcorp is still the most powerful business entity in metropolis if they want a spur of the moment appointment with the press they get it the lexcorp representative came out to greet them and guided them to the elevator they were invited by dr kimball who was waiting for them on the roof ever met this mysterious kimball lois never if i remember my lexcorp organizational charts correctly and i'm sure you do clark interjected she continued kimball is the head of lexcorp space program not good tell me about it this private corporation has a space program that may exceed nasa's clark rubbed his chin thoughtfully what troubles me is that it's buried in secrecy outside these walls i doubt there's a person alive who has the lowdown on this program thanks clark you've just given me an idea for my next series of stories designed to net a pulitzer hey what if i not now we're here they left the elevator entered toward the roof and found the helipad ready and waiting looks like we're going on a trip lois said the mysterious dr kimball approached the two daily planet employees kent lane thank you for coming i am dr cheryl kimball and i'm about to give you the story of the year board the helicopter please it's time to leave i usually like to know where the stagecoach is going before i climb on my satellite has detected an incoming object we're heading out to meet it as the helicopter took off and made its way out of the city clark expressed his concern about this new discovery but doctor what if this object has hostile intent kimball scoffed science and research should never be regarded in terms of benevolence or malevolence the only thing that matters is discovery itself that seems a rather narrow view doctor look kent i didn't want reporters tagging along for this trip but there are those in the corporation who feel it's best to take the lid off our triumphs and considering the contact we've already made lois's eyes lit up contact what contact the incoming probe has been transmitting radio signals all along it's garbled almost unintelligible but i think you might find it interesting have a listen folks kimball played the signal distorted sounds waved in and out as clark listened on the headphones an alarming realization dawned on him impossible it sounds like kryptonian i strain to identify individual words in all the static no go this object blazing to earth's atmosphere could it be from krypton he probed kimball for further clues have you managed to decode this message doctor the computers are working on it aha i finally found it on radar was it launched before the planet exploded was it sent here to find me i have to get away to check this out on my terms clark lifted his glasses his eyes beginning to glow red hey does anyone smell smoke lois looked over clark what are you oh good gosh almighty the pilot shouted struggling at the controls we're overheating big time hang on people i'm gonna have to set her down he did just that clark had spotted a stretch of beach nearby where they made their descent clark wasted no time in finding an answer to the mysterious object's origin thought i saw a road nearby maybe i can get help he began to run off the pilot shocked shouted back at him relax kent i'll have this baby flying in no time you'll have to forgive my colleague lois told him when he gets it in his mind to do a job he does it i'm 100 feet off the ground before anyone can reply to lois i feel a sense of urgency and excitement a space-faring craft from krypton what if there's someone on board if there is someone inside they're in trouble the craft hit the atmosphere at the wrong angle it's coming in hard and fast burning up as a result have to catch it and guide it i markings they look like kryptonian markings it's unmanned at least i don't have to worry about someone drowning the metal feels like the matrix chamber that first carried me to earth it is kryptonian it has to be from the helicopter dr kimball angrily viewed the events transpiring did you see that superman took my satellite right underwater lois quickly came to his defense looked to me like he prevented that thing from exploding on impact kimball wasn't buying it that overrated publicity seeker is going to steal my secrets who gave him the right to interfere with someone else's discovery that same question dr kimball might be asked of you i thought you were a reporter lane not a den mother hey something's happening superman emerged from the water carrying the chamber and placing it on the deck of the lexcorp recovery ship it's in tough shape half the components must have melted and it took in a lot of water somehow i get the feeling that it's dying feel compelled to touch it contact the probe strikes an instant telepathic link garbled messages and fragmented images bombard my mind melding in a flash allowing me to hear its message before it's too late i glimpse a planet krypton people scientists discussing the planet's impending doom they have an idea a way to survive they build a dome over a city and plant explosive charges at key geographic points beneath it when the planet explodes it stays intact and is pushed into space the city is still out there their resources are exhausted they're dying the location directions and contact is broken the power is gone it's dead by now the lexcorp helicopter had made its way to land on the ship kimball descended down the stairs superman in her sights superman what the hell have you done to my discovery you're lucky i was here to help doctor if it had survived re-entry its message would have died at the bottom of the ocean when the power ran out i want to know what that message was superman word for word can't trust her with a possible kryptonian connection this is a distress buoy it was sent by the remnants of a city that desperately needs help we have ships that can get us to that city tell me how to get there and i'll give them what they need in exchange for their technology no one goes but me doctor as soon as you realize that we can work something out it takes two days to work out the details in exchange for transportation to the space city she expects first look at all the technology i bring back i agree praying i won't bring back anything lex corp can turn into weaponry the lexcorp text prepared superman for his voyage the coordinates had been set and the vehicle prepared you're lucky superman kimball said as he began to board you and lane are the first civilians to ever walk the halls of this space station and lane never could have been included if you hadn't insisted it's important for this to be reported to the world dr kimball not to mention the fact that i knew lois to do something reckless to get here on her own he thought i envy you you know you're doing something i've always dreamed of a journey through space traveling to another planet please let me come along how about me said lois i can cover this story much better if i'm actually there sorry miss kimble lois i have to do this one alone wish me luck good luck superman i hope you find what you're looking for lexcorp and superman have never been the best of friends but still i wish you success lois and dr kimball watched as superman left toward his mission what's in this for you dr kimball lois asked the hard driving push you've exhibited seems almost obsessive you of all people should understand the nature of a woman doing her job lane lexcorp has been on the cutting edge of technology ever since lex founded the company we have a clear-cut mandate do whatever it takes to stay on top superior alien technology will help me do exactly that if i come off as abrasive so be it but with lex luthor physically unable to command somebody has to push hard i need this lane i won't stop at anything to get it great superman is running all over the cosmos trying to save lives while your primary interest is a corporate profit the ship handles like a dream thanks to the assistance of the technicians in programming the guidance systems i hardly have to do anything at all gives my mind a chance to wander i think of myself as human a native of earth even if there are other kryptonians out there that won't change when krypton blew up i was only a fetus in the matrix chamber that carried me to earth where i was born the kents found me raised me made me the man i am today but i did meet other kryptonians once that other universe a pocket universe i guess had a benevolent lex luthor in it he freed three kryptonian natives of that parallel universe from some kind of stasis zone they were in but they were as evil as evil gets they laid waste to the earth of that dimension turning it into a desolate barren atmosphere i couldn't let them do the same in my universe to my earth so i exposed them to their native type of kryptonite they died now i can't help but wonder what i'll find out there if there are other kryptonians there i don't want to be faced with this same situation again killing those people was the worst thing i ever did i was in agony tortured to the soul though the people i killed only existed at the whims of a being known as the time trapper i had betrayed the core of my being i'm no killer it's a measure of desperation that i will never resort to again no matter how deadly the threat hyperspace i'll arrive at the city soon dr kimball we copy you superman our telemetry screen shows you are nearing the destination should have it in visual any second got it it's just like the probe communicated to me a domed city on the remnants of a planet i don't tell kimble what affects me most the city looks like krypton weird there's a bit of an atmosphere here probably artificially generated cold though we're far from any sun my body acts like a solar battery storing and processing energy in the vicinity of a sun i'm weaker now a side effect that will continue the city looks deserted no lights no power of any kind as though it were dead what's that sound nothing must have been my imagination looks like a main entrance those marks on the door scratches as though something was trying to claw its way in superman used his x-ray vision to get closer look inside with his powers limited he could not get a full view fuzzy image but it looks like a crude barrier has been put up why can't see through these walls at all even the glass dome is making it tough must be a combination of lead in their base as well as a result of my dwindling powers all the doors have those same scratches what's that a bus looks like it tried to crash its way out and ended up doing a high dive off dead man's curve so what were they running from blood i'm not the first one who's been here moaning somebody is still alive in here this door feels like it was welded shut humanoids still alive too not by much though they need help and they need it now i can't tell if they're kryptonian but no matter what i'd say their best chance of survival is earth despite the thin atmosphere i move the four survivors into my ship they're unconscious and near death for all i know they won't survive the journey to earth but it's my only option dr kimball what have you found superman survivors in tough shape i've programmed this ship to bring them back to you this is not a mash unit i want the technology superman not patience as soon as you've offloaded these people send the ship back dr kimball until then i'll stay put but you'll be stranded lois exclaimed radio contact ceased and superman sent the ship to its destination lois's words hang in the air for an eternity with my powers fading she's right for now this desolate rock is home might as well give this transporter going over to see if i can determine what happened those people were trying to get away from someone or some thing interesting some kind of crab dead now maybe this was the thing that was trying to claw its way into the city unfortunately no way to know now even though this entire rock has a delicate atmosphere the city itself probably has a more delicate one i don't want to upset it by crashing my way in the indirect approach seems more practical i'll tunnel my way right under the barrier and into the middle of the city a cavern what is all this some kind of strange rock formations systematic and organization yet organic in appearance seems weird unsettling creepy more and more this place seems to wreak of death what's this some kind of viscous substance whoa it burns like an acid superman turned at the sound of a loud hiss from the darkness the hideous creature made its move leaping onto him and grabbing his wrist before he could make a defensive blow it clawed and snapped and drooled with demonic fury what the hell are you he shouted no answer but ugly moves incredibly fast we end up in the dirt no matter though looks fairly harmless i'll clear some room and try to reason with him it wait i know you've never seen me before but i'm no threat i'm here looking for other beings who look like me coming after me anyway huh i guess you didn't understand what i said for all i know you aren't even intelligent the beast struck a clawed hand across superman's chest he screamed out in pain you cut me he pushed the creature away get off he yelled didn't want to resort to punching out a life form that's probably just trying to protect its territory from a stranger but if it won't listen to reason it's going down superman struck his assailant with all his force it let out a piercing screech and fell backwards seemingly knocked out cold that takes care of that didn't expect anything like that thing it sure didn't look kryptonian what's going on here a fierce hiss echoed from behind him in the alien's tail wrapped around his neck what the superman escaped the grasp and faced the creature head-on you should have quit while you had the chance he grabbed lower part of its jaw i can keep your jaws propped open until until he observed in shock the second set of jaws from within the pharyngeal fang struck out landing to gash into superman's forehead such force would have easily killed any other prey but superman's powers though limited prevented an otherwise ghastly death the strike was still painful and enough to leave the man of steel bleeding and screaming the creature's jaws were badly damaged upon impact leaving an ominous mix of the alien's blood and his own pouring down his forehead face feels like i went a couple more rounds with doomsday time to take off the gloves try to cut him wound him enough to slow him down superman struck and more of the alien blood poured upon him my eyes blood is like some kind of acid dazed and in blinding pain superman moved back but the alien angrier and more ferocious than ever before advanced the creature grabbed at its prey screeching in anger and pain and forcing superman's head into the dirt he was nearing unconsciousness but forced himself to persist he let out another blow and knocked the alien back the pain of the acid was taking over eyes feel like someone's putting needles in them can't see anything but blurs heat vision doesn't work i'm really messed up good thing i still have a healthy degree of invulnerability or the beast lunged at him once more clawing at him and pushing him up against a cavernous wall you just don't quit do you it tore at him it was face to face more of the acidic blood poured superman was overwhelmed this enemy could not be subdued and his own strength was dwindling by the minute it was then he heard a call from not far off the words were not english but he understood them hey you and the colors move back that voice speaking kryptonian shots from some unknown weapon let out hitting the alien and forcing it back away from superman yes no more no more he yelled out knocking it to the ground himself and continuing to swipe blindly at the air the figure appeared staring down the beast which was already rising up once more stay back mister it's about to get a little warm around here from the shadows emerged a young girl bearing what appeared to be a flame units she aimed at the creature slinky ugly well done get it while it's hot she shouted and fired flames erupted from the weapon and engulfed the ugly bastard it screeched in pain and hit the ground narrowly avoiding the blast superman attempted to rise to his feet can't see but that must have been a flamethrower my my my the girl exclaimed you look like you could use some ice she helped him up and guided him away come on let's get out of here before more of the critters show up you mean there are more of those things out there he asked in disbelief more of them she replied almost amused only about a couple million where are you from anyway i'm from she interrupted staring at the mess left behind after his brutal encounter wow you even got the creep's blood on your face so why hasn't it eaten its way through your skull by now let's just say i've got special abilities i'm like a solar collector give me enough sun and i can take more than the average guy sure got it they moved on the girl guiding him by the cape what was that creature anyway i've never seen anything like it you you really are from off rock aren't you off rock yeah as in not from the bubble you must have come here in a ship yeah that explains your funny accent sometimes i have a hard time understanding you i don't get the chance to speak the language often i came from a different planet a place called earth never heard of it but if it has living people there no critters then it's okay by me have a seat and let me check out those eyes of yours superman sat slumped against the wall still exhausted and blinded as his savior sifted through supplies this stuff really burns he said rubbing at his face and the light just seems to irritate it even more try this she unraveled medical strips and began wrapping around the wounded area normally we treat these strips with an herbal medication our medicines have been gone for years how'd you find out about us distress buoy you mean one of those things finally worked those were launched years ago hundreds of them before i was born so long but how did this get so out of control what happened here here in this place was called argo city argo yep nowhere else could be this bad no supplies hardly any food those monsters have wiped out most everybody so what should i be calling you sue cal call me cow and you kinda like yours i'm kara if in space no one could hear you scream it was especially true of argo city survivors inside the ship sent back to lexcorp by superman as the insides of one particular passenger were ravaged and distorted by the alien embryo inside there would be no help to come as he cried in pain and terror a monster ripped through his chest and was born on the lonely vessel as it made its way through space heading for earth the alarms on lexport station blared as the ship approached no one manning the craft concerned spiked that its arrival would be anything but graceful condition red condition red the computer voice warned will somebody please shut that thing off kimball yelled alarm system terminated dr kimball the lex corp tech announced but that doesn't change the situation the survivorship that superman sent is going to ram into us in less than two minutes impossible the ship's guidance system is fully automated it should land itself in our docking bay oh it'll land all right said lois we just won't be alive to talk about it you're an observer here lane if you want to stay you'll have to keep your opinions to yourself try contacting the ship again all frequencies sweep still no response the text said frustrated keying in on all possible frequencies their flight and communication systems must both be out let's try to establish a link between our computer and the ships superman wouldn't have sent a damaged ship something must have happened along the way if we can get the computers talking we might be able to override their controls and pilot the ship no chance evacuate while there's still time the tech shouted dr kimball pushed him aside taking control herself i built this station i won't give up kimball may not be my kind of person but she knows her stuff thought lois i just want to know what happened out there dr kimball's maneuvers were successful and the ship was able to dock after decontamination procedures were completed kimball sent in medics to investigate and to aid any of the injured passengers the decontamination required 10 minutes possibly leaving the medics with not enough time to save the passengers their findings were unfortunate too late for this one said one medic as his colleague choked over the site the way his chest is torn apart the controls must have exploded and really ripped them up three of them are unconscious but alive dr kimball called over a command get them to the infirmary double quick lois stared off into the mysterious site is it okay if i stay here and look over the ship kimball agreed as she made her way to the infirmary with the medics fine i'm not letting these people out of my sight of course you won't thought lois as she made her way closer to the ship you can't wait to pick their brains for some key scientific discovery that will make your career i'm more interested in this ship without it clark is stranded on that barren asteroid i can't shake the feeling that he's in real danger these controls look like they exploded and the slimy substance weird unearthly that ship sat there isolated for 10 minutes before we got to it what did that cost us and most of all what's happening to clark cara guided kyle through the sewer systems of argo following a shortcut to further help this way cal there's a makeshift med room right around the corner lead the way cara she stopped at a hole in the wall wait time for an ugly check cow waited and tuned into his own senses that creature's acidic blood may have blinded me he said but my hearing is better than normal sounds clear kara agreed let's go to survive here means you have to keep one step ahead of the uglies they made their way to the makeshift med room how can this city be so empty it seems big enough to hold hundreds of thousands of people argo was stranded a long time lack of supplies and food can wipe out folks pretty quick add an army of bloodthirsty killing beasts and people die even faster are you sure this medicine will help not at all i've seen that acid blood eat through floors over a foot thick sometimes four levels in a row seems to me that it should have eaten away most of your skull must be those special abilities you mentioned she raised an eye dropper filled with a medicine over cow's eye hold still the medicine did its work seemed to help as cal rubbed his eyes and began to see with some clarity you seem to know your stuff he told kara how old are you anyway 16. around here though you grow up real fast there's still so many questions i have so much i want to know it's depressing talking about it isn't exactly fun you know cara is tired worn down by this excruciating life but if i'm to help her and any other survivors to cal surprise kara rose her head and began to tell her story see eight years ago we thought we'd bottomed out we were totally isolated on this rock and pretty much out of hope our distressed buoys hadn't attracted the rescuers we prayed for our machinery generators computers and food synthesizers were dying at a very speedy rate we didn't have the raw materials necessary to repair them with people starving and our infrastructure collapsing our society began to do the same argos ruling council faced the worst kind of revolt that of a starving populace our hopes were ignited when we finally spotted an approaching space freighter but the ship came in hard and fast and crashed not far from the city we are all distraught but we hope there might be materials we could use to survive we sent out a scout team and they found that the entire crew of the ship was dead before it even crashed we had no idea why they also found a cryogenic unit inside the ship inside was an egg laying ugly a queen they assumed she was dead and of no use in time they stripped the ship of everything we could use and left it it should have been left forever but a couple of years later some idiot decided to check up on the abandoned freighter he'd heard the rumors about the dead beast on board and thought it might be something that could be carved up and eaten he shut off the cryogenic unit and let it heat up turns out the queen wasn't dead neither were her eggs for us that day marked the beginning of the end cal rose energized it's not the end yet i won't accept that there must be a way to save what's left yeah a 2 million man army with heavy firepower might do the job cal began to take flight he looked down at cara hold on i have to try something she gazed up in shock you how can you do that you don't even have a hover pack like i said i have some special talents but i intended to fly a lot higher and faster we're so far from the sun that my body has lost a lot of energy at best i'm at 20 efficiency he came down to the ground you can't be the only survivor here kara where are the others there are only a handful of us left come on i'll show you what's left of the city of argo as they walk through the ruins of the city cal made further inquiries those eggs of the queens how are they able to breed into such a threat the uglies can adapt to just about any environment imaginable cara answered and they breed as much as they want as long as they have enough hosts see the aliens start out as hand-sized creatures that pop out of the eggs they find a face to lock onto impregnate a human being with an alien embryo in the gut who will later break out grew some stuff you know it was then cal turned away considering his earlier actions i i saw one of those it was next to those survivors that i sent to earth oh my god what have i done on lex porch kimball and the station's physician monitored a surviving passenger sent from argo he was clearly distressed but the language barrier presented a problem the physician reported his findings to kimball our exam wasn't in depth but from what we can tell he's perfectly healthy dr kimball if only we could understand what he's saying take the exam to the next level mri x-rays the works before they could proceed the being let out a blood-curdling scream he doesn't sound healthy to me doctor do something it appears to be his stomach could be a reaction to the station's atmosphere no it's more than that look at his chest with an audible crack the being's chest ripped open crimson dots of blood sprayed over the doctor's face the beast emerged blood poured from the being's chest as the baby demon howled dr kimball looked down in wonder and in fear what what is it it was inside his body the physician said the newly born alien leapt from its host and scurried across the floor with impossible speed catch it kimball cried out catch too late it's gone now we know what happened to the others on the way here we have to assume there are two of those creatures running loose on this station the other doctor rubbed his head staring at the trail of slime left behind from the grotesque parasite we should also assume the other two survivors are in the same condition isolate them kimball demanded at least the two that escaped are small they shouldn't be much of a threat cal hurried through the city running and leaping as cara made an attempt to stay close behind what's the big rush you're running around like a madman you don't even know where you're going i have to find a ship some way to get back to earth haven't you been listening to me there's no way off this rock if there was we would have used it years ago cal stopped in its tracks still determined we have to find a way and we have to do it fast my people are supposed to send that ship back for us but if i sent those creatures to earth i've got a feeling we'll never see it suddenly the sound of shots rang out from not too far away both cal and kara looked back gunfire coming from the box car exclaimed the box car appointed the direction of the gunfire source that's the last safe place on argo the uglies must have finally found it we have to get there but it's an hour's run i can get us there faster at least i think i can cal grabbed cara lifting them both up into flight it seemed to be working though not perfectly hang on he said cara gasped in delight wow this is great i don't tell her that it's taking every bit of effort i can summon to do this and as much as i want to help her i'm even more concerned about lois back on the station lois's own concerns were certainly growing along with lexcorp text davis she tried to piece together the events that unfolded you sure that will tell us what happened the tech nodded this computer records everything that happened in the ship's cockpit miss lane if one of those little critters kimball told us about what's inside we'll soon know all about it if one of those monsters really did burst out of that man's chest and superman is in terrible trouble how long before the ship can be repaired and sent back to him before davis could reply he stopped dead in his tracks and let out a gasp of pain he struggled and his chest heaved something was ready to rip out of his chest lois stood back in shock as the razor-sharp end of the full-grown alien's tail lifted him up into the crevice above lois gashed in horror trying to call out but nothing could be fully uttered can't talk the words don't come legs frozen can't move can't run she stood still in fear as davis's lifeless body thudded to the floor and the hideous parasite descended and advanced upon her what are you it takes us nearly five minutes by the time i get us there i feel so exhausted i'm almost a normal human kara pointed the way i was right the uglies found the box find a gun and start blasting cal blow those buggers to hell kill them she doesn't understand the price i paid when i killed once before it's not necessary never the last resort he found a discarded weapon on the ground he considered its usefulness but these creatures are so incredibly ferocious and my powers are nearly gone this gun seems quite capable of evening the odds of killing them he held the weapon imagined being able to take down these creatures with a great deal more ease he read it himself and stalled no he threw the weapon away he would not resort to it but it would make the fight much harder one of the creatures advanced and we'd have to continue fighting hand to hand the two were sent tumbling you want my head don't you cara says you guys are bothered by the heat it takes everything i have just to fire a low intensity blast the heat ray vision shot out skimming the side of its head i could use a little help over here cara called out she was struggling against one of the aliens which had her in its grasp shoot him she pleaded no i can handle these guys he moved in punching the alien and knocking car free from its hole are you nuts she screamed they'll tear you to shreds not if i move fast enough and hit them hard enough threw punches at the beast which had evaded and clasped its claws around his entire head he moves quicker than i expected should have kept the gun kara gasped and called over to cow can't breathe cara strangling her with the tail he reached out and attempt to free her stretch got it i have to pull as hard as i can and make sure i dodged that acid the tail snapped in half and the alien howled it fell to the ground cal watched over making sure it wouldn't spring up for another attack he's beaten wounded into unconsciousness and i didn't have to kill him to do it kara was hardly impressed he's only one out of one hundred you might feel good about being a saint cow but i'm out to win a war at lexport lois was still being pursued by the monster aboard i finally get my legs moving just in the nick of time too that thing that alien looks like it has every intention of tearing my head off i have to no i'm locked in she keyed into the station intercom lane to command center if you don't open these doors i'll never write another column again kimball keita and herself to reply we can't the computers have detected an unknown biological entity they're programmed to seal all contaminated compartments but we can override computers the tech observed just like you did when you brought the ship in dr kimball i never heard your suggestion mister you better see to it that it never shows up on the record lois's communications were cut short as the alien smashed the intercom talk about fast unable to escape the docking bay she made her way to the ship only place to hide move your butt lois move it now what the canopy how do i close the canopy where's the switch what would it look like no choice should be as simple as my pc the canopy closed she was safe at least momentarily got it what a lucky stiff all i've succeeded in doing is buying some time that canopy won't last long without monster pounding on it if i keep playing with the buttons i might get the airlock 4 shield open and so she did lucky again looks got to run out the airlock opened and the vacuum of space pulled back the alien it struggled and kept grasping at the canopy lois looked up let go you ugly son of a let go now i have a new problem the pull of the vacuum is so strong that it's pulling the ship out of the airlock kimball was observing all of this on the security monitors she couldn't help but be just a little impressed smart woman close that airlock i do not want that creature sucked into space where we'll never get it back the tech followed her orders as the airlock began to close the alien finally made its way into the ship by crashing through the canopy's glass it's in lois screamed in that split second releasing its clawed grasp to attack lois the force of space pulled it out just before the airlock closed it was sucked out of lexport's docking bay and consumed by the darkness of space lois crawled her way out of the vehicle thank god i made it why did they close the airlock though did they do it to save me did the computers do it or did kimble do it with the intention of saving the alien she certainly seems like the type who'd value discovery of new life over the existence of an old one and if this creature is typical of what clark's experiencing how will he ever survive he was barely doing just that in the midst of a brutal fistfight with hordes of alien assailants been fighting for almost an hour and they show no sign of letting up these creatures are relentless there are too many here and more coming retreat is our only option cara get all your people in one location i'm getting you out of here now made it wear the rest dead he and i are the only ones left okay hang on i think i can fly us out of here you think that doesn't exactly inspire confidence i don't mention that flying is no longer an option all i can do now is jump fortunately i can jump pretty high for the first time i realized the man is in tough shape it's one of those moments that makes me wish i had some real medical skills but even if i did it probably wouldn't help no don't you dare leave me alone i don't want to be the last one he's gone she thinks she's the last survivor of an entire planet i know exactly how she feels cara we have to move on no i'm tired terribly terribly tired i have been fighting and struggling and battling and going to war since i was a little girl i feel like i'm 200 years old i feel like i'm drowning in a gruesome nightmare that will never end let them come for me i don't care anymore all i want to do is sleep cal felt a deep sympathy for his companion and all that she had been through after all of this it was true she needed rest go ahead karo you deserve it i'll stand watch cara went to sleep and standing watch cal lept atop one of argo's highest towers and observed the city strange she's distraught because she feels that she's the last of her kind while i'm elated to find another kryptonian when the time is right when i know we're safe i'll tell her where i'm really from first we have to get past those killing machines vision powers don't work much now but i can still see well enough to know there are hundreds in the city and thousands outside the odds are overwhelming if lexcorp doesn't send their ship back here soon cal's thoughts were cut off by a large cracking sound that rung through the city the site he witnessed brought on terror they pierced the dome now those devils will pour in fuel lines rupturing this whole city is going to blow the blast was enormous sending the tower crumbling down as car awakened below the tower can't fly kara looked up to see the destruction and cal falling certain to meet a horrible fate cow cow i have to hope i'm still invulnerable enough to survive he fell hard crashing into the ground debris tumbled over him burying him in concrete and stone the rubble remained stagnant silent as a grave until finally cal emerged he called out to kara no answer she has to be alive cal thoughts i must find her have to get to her before those creatures too late one of the uglies lunged at the prey it had found his calls to kara must have given away his location the hissing drooling beast wrapped itself around him not now get off me he flipped over trying to escape its grasp i said get off more followed hissing and screeching and piling onto the weakened kryptonian he swung and punched and struggled and they came at him in even larger numbers cara he calmed don't worry i'll i'll do nothing too many scratching clawing biting cara sorry the world went to black in his mind a memory played out superman superman this psychic vortex is the product of your mind it will tear us apart if you do not provide another focus i'm sorry cleric i was resisting any thoughts of this place but i never can for long it always comes back to this tell me about it what happened to this world they did they rendered this world lifeless they killed five billion people general zod kwexul and zora three super criminals whose power rivaled my own from a krypton that never should have been i do not understand it's not easy to explain a monstrous cosmic entity called the time trapper somehow stole a split second of eternity and created this pocket universe a skewed reality where these three escaped krypton's doom and used their powers to render this duplicate earth lifeless then they in this world were not real no cleric they were very real and they were guilty the verdict is so recorded the sentence shall be death there was a certain element in this reality which removed the criminal's powers and other whose radiations were fatal to them alone i used both substances on them i acted as judge jury and executioner since that moment i have known little peace there were no alternatives alternatives yes a few i could have simply left them powerless on this dead world to die of asphyxiation or i could have brought them back to our reality with me but then what zod had boasted they'd find a way to get their powers back if they'd ever made good on that threat no force on earth could have stopped them you see i couldn't risk transporting such dangerous creatures to any other world but i couldn't just leave them there i was the only force for justice left in that sad reality they had killed an entire world i couldn't let such a crime go unpunished i hate what i did that day but nothing in my power could erase it i buried them here amid the desolation they'd created but i'll never bury my shame it was the first time i'd killed other living beings i swear it will be the last i understand my son i too had the lives of others on my conscience i too went into exile but your exile has deprived the world of a great hero your family of a loving son end your exile claim the legacy that is rightfully yours and fulfill both our destinies after all you've seen all you know of me you still want me to have it my son i have looked into your soul yours is the heart of a true hero if you have sinned it was in the cause of justice cleric i believe that life is a precious gift then do not seek to escape from it as i did embrace it prove yourself worthy of being superman by living and working for the preservation of life i are the sole survivor of krypton you and this artifact are all that remain of that world i have guarded it for 200 millennia take it learn from it as long as you endure krypton lives on no telling how much time had passed cal began to awaken disoriented and in pain head hurts where no oh no he realized where he was where the drones had taken him the heart of the infestation the home of its matriarch these must be the eggs cara mentioned and that thing over there has got to be the queen have to get loose i know what happens next he looked over at the egg nearby it's opening not me you won't get me he struggled making a fist trying to collect all of his remaining energy to fight back the small hand-like creature that kara described made its way out of the egg it moved towards cal's face intent on fulfilling its purpose it successfully made contact my throat it's forcing something down my he grabbed at the thing's tail trying to remove it the attempt failed and it tightened its grasp his hand loosened and again superman fell into darkness the proud mother stared down another victim a new future birth and future drone for the hive and perhaps more than that lois ran down the halls of the lexport station shaken by her encounter and looking for further answers and most importantly looking to survive clark calls me a survivor the day perry hired me he told me i had spunk whatever i've got i'm going to need it all today weird deadly aliens are loose on lexport and they've got to be stopped at any cost it's them or us she found her way into an observation room dr kimball and another researcher were separated by a plexiglas divider looking into the next room viewing the struggling beings ready to give birth at any moment look at that said kimball two more of those creatures are emerging right before our eyes this could be the most incredible boon to lex corpse weapons research division ever once those creatures have emerged from their hosts they will grow into life forms that are very nearly invulnerable even their blood has acidic properties we can use lane approached catching her breath from the mad dash across the station don't be an idiot kimball we've got to get rid of those while we have the chance i fought one of those creatures and was damn lucky to survive they're dangerous too dangerous kimball scoffed forget it lane that room is sealed tight we'll control the creatures learn from them as we would any other discovery lane looked into the other room through the glass but those people are beyond hope lane there's nothing we can do to prevent those incredibly powerful little organisms from being born that much was true as anticipated the monsters burst from their hosts almost in unison screeching a wretched cry of birth these two were destined to grow and become as large as the other beasts on the station it was already too late to save the hosts she couldn't prevent the births maybe not but there is something we can do to stop them from growing up she rushed into the room as kimble yelled for her to get back she grabbed a nearby can of aerosol spray just what the doctor ordered she frantically released a spray throughout the roman over the newly born specimens lit a match and let it go to work a burst of flames filled the room and lois knocked herself back she stared into the flames watching the parasites burn let's see you survive that you little monsters this was hardly a pleasing development to dr kimball you stupid meddling fool this is not some ridiculous morality play about who deserves to live and who deserves to die this is science no said lois this is justice kimball took a swing at her here's your justice lois fell to the floor as kimball made her way to the weapons locker you've hampered our efforts but you haven't killed them somewhere on this space station a fully grown adult alien full of incredible biological secrets is waiting for me i'll find those secrets right after i've reduced you to nothing more than a bad memory again cal drifted back from the darkness and tried to sort out his clouded mind ugh feel wrong feel upside down unconscious have to come out of it what happened oh yeah that thing latched onto my face tried to force something down my throat then i blacked out but it looks dead it failed how do i get out of this the monsters all peered over him from close by the call of a familiar voice shouted out back off uglies or i'll turn you all to ash kara materializing out of thin air how the transport units you developed that kind of one side cal she fired the flame units answering cal's question not me remember that alien ship that brought the beasties here in the first place the transport unit was one of the things we dug out of the wreckage it has limited range and its power is almost drained but it delivers the goods hang on this pocket controller will zap us out of here and put us back together in the main units hurry cal said they look hungry she keyed at the device it hummed and fizzled and then went silent cal turned toward his companion tell me that doesn't mean what i think it does no power carr said the main unit is dead and so are we they remained in place cara fired the flame unit as a warning and the creatures came to advance further weird they aren't attacking in fact they're getting out of our way but that doesn't make sense unless unless she aimed the flamethrower at cal get out of my way or i will burn this man to a crisp the queen hissed and stalled seeming to understand cow however did not cara cow those marks on your face you you're infested you've got one of those things inside you and it's a queen i threatened you and they backed off because you're carrying a queen no wonder they won't harm you but i feel fine i can't be carrying one of those things oh you're carrying one there's no doubt about that come on let's move it she led the way and cal followed along what do i do now there's always been a way before look i told you before there's no hope no one ever survived being infested i will kara i have special abilities powers if i can get nearer to a sun to recharge i will survive they made their way out of the cavern back to the outskirts of the dome what is it with you do you get paid by the word for being such an optimist don't act tough and jaded with me cara you believe in the future too or you wouldn't have beamed yourself into such a sticky situation to save me so thanks again you seem to have a knack for pulling my butt out of the fire more than i've ever done for you it's not that big of a deal maybe i'm just hoping you can get me off this rock see i don't mind dying i just don't want to die here cal took a closer look at cara your face one of those monsters locked onto you too that means cara i don't want you to worry about this all i have to do is get you to a son and we'll both survive this horror as a kryptonian you'll get powers too you'll be fine kryptonian but i'm not kryptonian are you telling me you are of course you must be too you speak kryptonese i know it sounds a little different from mine but i thought that was just an accent cal i don't understand how you can possibly be from krypton i was taught that no one could ever leave that planet because they were genetically linked to it to leave means instant death but why kara why are you why is argos so linked to my home planet this argo named after its sister city on krypton was originally on the planet audelene this was the planet of my ancestors long ago a traveler came to our planet in a great space-faring ark this cleric was the greatest prophet my planet had ever known he was a sad lost soul for he had recently left krypton with 100 000 kryptonians bound for paradise but he didn't know of their genetic link to the planet those kryptonians all perished shortly after their departure the cleric was an inspiration to my ancestors they wanted to follow his guidance but his despair forced him into exile clark took a deep breath i know the cleric i encountered him on a lonely asteroid in one of the greatest adventures of my life she continued even though he was gone his teachings were embraced odileen revered the kryptonians and as tributes adopted their language in many aspects of their culture we believe them to be spiritual protectors but how did you get off planet i thought it was impossible my father joral developed a cure he sent me to a planet called earth before i was even born krypton died a horrible death cara just like odelin i'm the last wow no wonder you look so disappointed you thought argo was from krypton cal cara took out a photograph handing it to cal i want you to have this it was taken when i was only six years old you'll make it off this rock i know it if i don't at least this will survive kara stop being such a defeatist hey i know my odds of survival are zero okay after that building collapsed i went looking for you and the aliens got dragged me in front of a small grouping of eggs one of those things got on my face and well i'm dead and i know it cal paused taking another deep breath wait a minute the air seems thinner the atmosphere pumps are giving out cara couldn't help but laugh now we have our choice of deaths be eaten from the inside or smother in a vacuum cara i told you i'd get you out of here and i will i'll take you to earth you'll love it there there's a very special woman named lois who will help you ease into earth's society kara closed her eyes she briefly imagined this possibility if only i could believe that i've always wanted to live in a peaceful environment of a semblance of family you're sure i'll fit in on earth that i won't stick out positive this lois you mentioned she's your mate pretty much but i want you to know one thing cara you speak kryptonian you know the culture and history to me your family now let's stop talking and get to work on leaving here you suppose that ship that crashed here long ago could be beneficial that old wreck is surrounded by a couple of million beasties walking back there is like walking into a war zone kal and kara began to run heading through the dying city if you know a better way to get off this rock i'm all ears cal said okay you win you want to go down there on a suicide run i'll be there with you cal began to keep mindful of the breaths he was taking if we don't find something to breathe soon it won't matter the air is getting really thin cara led ahead guiding cow to a possible solution well that's one problem we can solve easily enough she said is that the transporter device you mentioned yeah looks like yesterday's garbage now here this looks to be your size a spacesuit you want to breathe right she handed him the suit she remembered another item of interest she wanted to return to him a torn piece from his cape emblem intact i found this in the rocks back when i was looking for you seems like you and this symbol go together pretty well i can't argue with that let's go to work lead the way cal we know the aliens won't harm me because of the queen i'm carrying we also know they'll rip into cara without hesitation so we need to protect her for that we need a diversion i don't know how intelligent those creatures are but they went for the vehicle big time gave us the perfect opportunity we needed to break free the sky cycle is already overheating what's wrong it needs air intake to cool the engine in this vacuum there's no coolant and we'll have to get down there by foot are you crazy you can't make that jump watch me hang on i've still got enough of my power to slow our descent but i can't see a thing my flamethrower will take care of that the flames load up a wall of sharp grinning teeth into view on your planets do they ever say i told you so back on lex sports lois faced off against dr kimball who aimed her weapon at her intent on firing you want to shoot me i don't think so she kicked the weapon out of kimball's grasp i've been in this situation once or twice before and know how to handle myself she struck at her across the face knocking her back you're cold kimball no wonder you fit in well at lexcorp kimble struggle to rise back up you're dead do you hear me you are dead the clasp of alien claws inched towards her the creature let out a hiss wrapping its tail around kimball's neck the creature briefly turned to lois as the terrifying sight was becoming all too familiar to her oh boy take a breath stay calm she said quietly kimball shouted out in panic help me for god's sake help me she reached out why she asked bluntly the alien advanced on kimball ready to land a deadly blow lois looked over at the discarded weapon i was tempted to let her get shredded she deserved it but for once i had a weapon and a clear shot lane fired and the beast released its grasp from around kimball's neck letting out a shrieking scream of pain kimball and lane both realized she caught a gush of acid blood on her arm lane quickly grabbed her moving away from the creature she let out another shot and the two escaped into another room lois locked the door and left the alien waiting on the other side made it we have that sucker trapped get security down here and we can nail him for good kimball made her way to the security monitor she turned it on we can even watch him from this view no he's gone kyle and cara were carefully navigating through the threat of xenomorphs as they made their way to the ship are we getting close cal asked near as i can tell kara said the wreck should be just around the next bend that and a few million aliens right leave the role of skeptic to me cal if you get as bad as me we're really cooked the light of the flame unit illuminated the giant ship as they spotted an entrance that's it wow i never realized it was this big let's climb down and find out what's inside just to be sure keep that flamethrower pointed at me so those nasty buggers are held at bay this looks like a good place to enter cara made her way in what exactly are you looking for anything that can help us off this asteroid chances are that a ship this size had a lifeboat or something for the crew cal remained optimistic but cara stalled at the site before her eggs that could only mean a queen cal exclaimed as the large matriarch loomed over and bared its fangs easy cal said quietly no way cara shouted already impatient she won't do anything to you she gives me the perfect chance to do this kara cuts loose with a 30 second burst of flame frying every egg inside the ship i don't tell her that i disapprove i guess i understand how she feels move it i don't trust that queen to stay off our backs right behind you ace with a little luck we'll find something intact blast this wreck looks to be stripped clean it will take us days to search it what about those super eyes of yours do you have enough juice left to scan it the easy way my powers are almost totally shot but i have to give it a try i concentrate as much as possible focus on one thing making my x-ray vision work almost it's a strain but it works the images are fuzzy but i can see well enough to discover one crucial fact this ship is so big that there are a number of levels below this deck that were blocked by the wreckage no one ever got to them which means that the area is mostly intact transportation booths judging by the lights on the control panel it may be operational the power core also functional and nearby life pods cara we're in luck follow me what did you find a way back home word traveled fast on lexport texts were recharging the power core a routine operation and discussing the latest word of possibly shady goings-on you guys hear the rumors about some weird monster on board the space station on tech set operating the computer his colleague focused on his work didn't make much of this nothing to worry about i guess if it was they'd sound the alarm gyroscope checks out 100 percent the tech nodded behind him event slowly opened okay primed the batteries for recharging alert control to expect the usual power surge the beast snatched down grabbing the tech by his head it opened its jaws drooling onto his face as he trembled trying to find words it tore him as it hissed wildly and ripped clean lower part of his body from the upper torso and threw it directly into the gyroscope this let out a deafening crash the other tech looked on in horror the gyro oh man with the batteries wide open it'll blow the station began to shake wildly then slightly steadied as its orbit failed what was that lois shouted it must be balance control said kimball without that the earth's gravity will pull us into re-entry right away lexport began a descent back down to earth argo is dying above us calamitous final explosions are shredding and ripping the proud city without mercy even though argo isn't kryptonian as i thought earlier i feel overwhelmingly saddened by her death maybe it's because i thought of it as kryptonian maybe it's because we're so close to death ourselves cara was also feeling a sadness for the city's destruction so long argo you weren't much but you were home i'm sorry cara i know what it's like to lose a home she had loosened the grip on her flame units enough to let her guard down as an alien left from behind and snatched at her suit cow help cal grabbed at the flamethrower isn't it enough that we're stranded on a dying rock with very little chance to live do these monsters have to pursue us into the grave itself i'm tired of it tired of your god-forsaken relentlessness tired of your ruthless ways and most of all tired of your ugly faces he fired at the creature car avoided the flames the beast was not back though not dead cara let out a grin as he handed the weapon back to her nice to see you use deadly force cow i might just make a fighter out of you yet i told you before that i won't kill sentient beings cara i plan to adhere to that principle yeah well stick close okay i can feel those critters crawling all over the place and the minute you get two feet away they'll make breakfast out of me what's that one of the ship's escape pods but we'll never fit out of this jettison chute assuming it works we'll have to find another way to get it out of this old hulk let me see what i can do i became somewhat familiar with the technology of this species after we stripped the ship if these controls are set up the same as the other stuff i've seen look i got the hatch open that's a start cara but the jettison tube is still jammed the only way to get this pot out of here is to blow up this ship so it turns over and clears the path but we don't have enough explosives for that stay here i'm going back to the power core that should do the job sounds reasonable but you have to stay here and prep the ship you're the only one who knows the way to this earth of yours you need to program the computers and clear this debris it's too dangerous for you the engine area is festering with aliens cal i'm carrying i'm not gonna make it no matter what happens but you if you can get off this rock i've told you before that i don't want to hear that kind of talk we are both going to get out of this then let me be the one to blow this wreck you need one heck of an explosion since i'm familiar with the technology here cal interrupted seeming to agree on one condition on one condition there's a way that might work do you still have the pocket transporter control right here there's a transporter booth right next to the power core since that area of the ship is still functioning we can assume it does too as soon as you've rigged the ship to blow jump in and i'll bring you right into the pod the condition was agreeable they hugged hoping the plan would work kara began to tear up before i go cal there's one thing i want you to know you've been a spot of light that i never thought i'd see here i love you for that cow she made her way off tears still streaming down her cheeks flamethrower at the ready i love you too cara hurry back okay watching her run off down the hall is tough but car is right i have to stay i'm the only one who can clear this area and i have to do it while there's still time before the ship blows before the monsters come a feeling of terrible pain suddenly struck him don't feel good have to get into the pod my chest on fire oh god it's happening that thing in me is trying to get out right here cal cara announced into her communicator you better be ready to go because i'm almost done the light show is going to start in about two minutes that's it i'm heading back for the transport booth be sure to beam me out before she blows okay the pain excruciating if i didn't have some small measure of my powers left i'd be dead by now is this the fate that awaits kara i can't let that happen there must be a way to save her from this kara i've got the control i'm ready cal do it now bring me back wait one thing might work stay there cara whatever you do don't leave the booth why are you talking like hey the device activated flickering but only briefly then it stopped cara looked around cal it didn't work cal she heard a noise from behind her something's coming don't leave i know what i'm doing stay in the booth they're trying to get in got to keep them out with a ferocious swipe the alien queen crashed at the transporter booth as cara lept out of the way time to bug out she shouted cara get back in the booth cara radio silence no the pod's launch sequence has started he heard her on the communicator once more it's the queen cal she's here the ship will blow any minute i have to get out and help cara before pain so intense the pod is starting to move that means the whole works is going to blow the blast is a hundred times more powerful than i expected the city asteroid and aliens die in a blinding flash of light kara it had to be kara as the pod's computer takes control and guides it on its survival run and all the remnants of a proud people are vaporized i can't help but feel like i've lived through this before kara i failed you if you'd stayed in the transporter tube you'd be here with me now and you'd be fine i found a way to save you from the alien inside ah this is it it's coming the pod is making the jump into hyperspace one chance if the pod drops out of earth's solar system close enough to the sun my powers will return already feel stronger i'm back but it's still trying to get out ah hurts okay you little parasites i'm betting i can outlast you and keep you from carving me up and that's a bet i'm not going to lose ugh it works it's gross and weird but i eventually regurgitate the creature the festering oozing embryo had emerged from superman's throat both he and the parasite floated in the cold of space it was done he was safe from the violent birthing process that inevitably taken the lives of so many others still superman was not in the best of shape i feel wasted totally emotionally as well as physically all i want to do is rest but the lexcorp station is in trouble almost in earth's atmosphere close to burning up this will be tough gravity has a good grip on it but i won't let anyone else die today we're turning over dr kimball observed how in the world is that possible lois had a feeling she knew what was happening superman superman must be back relieved at the return of her savior lois momentarily forgot about the threat still on board soon this flooded back to memory as the hissing creature appeared before her and kimball but it's back too let's move we can't he's blocking the exit the alien grabbed at lois it opened its drooling mouth ready to move in for the kill oh god lois whispered the monster bit down not upon its prey but on a steel-like arm that had intervened the bite broke apart all of its teeth it fell back lois gasped superman he stared down at the creature his powers were back but so was a rage he had rarely felt before i tried to let your kind off easy resisted the idea of killing you the explosion that destroyed the asteroid that killed your companions was too powerful i only wanted to clear an escape path but kara must have set off a chain reaction that blew everything i look at you and all i can think of is an entire city of people who died and god help me i can't help but wonder if you should join them his eyes lit up red with his powers at full capacity it would be very easy to turn this beast into dust to have an answer for the sins of its species for all of the death and despair and loss this contemptible creature contributed to it would be quick and it would be just superman caught himself in his anger no i went down that path before i won't do it again dr kimball grabbed at a possible weapon secured to the wall maybe you won't but i've made a mistake too the mistake of letting these creatures live this welder was designed to seal a whole breach in seconds chances are it can unseal you she fired and the creature went down in a quick and blinding sizzle superman looked on almost satisfied lois turned to him superman i've never seen you like this before what what happened out there death bloody heinous death more than i want to think about or even talk about he walked away he rested slumped over the rails overlooking a viewport staring down at planet earth lois followed and gently took him by the arm he sighed clark sometimes it helps to talk i found a city that was as close to visiting krypton as i'll ever get i met this girl cara there she was truly something special despite the harsh circumstances she was raised in she was a spirited survivor someone who kind of made me feel like a big brother for a while there i almost felt like i had a little sister she saved my life lois she deserves to be alive standing here in my place right now are you sure she's dead isn't there some chance she could have made it out i came close to saving her i really did see she had one of those creatures embedded inside her while she was in the transporter tube i realized there was something i could do to save her from the alien inside her i used the transporter to teleport the alien right out of her body but it took precious time and before i could transport her to safety everything went to hell the chances of her making it to an escape pod were zero and even if she did she doesn't have any idea where earth is or how to get there i saved her from the aliens lois but i couldn't save her life she died with the asteroid all i can do is remember her and hope that she has finally found peace [Music] superman aliens proved to be a big hit for the summer of 1995 enough to see the man of steel face off against the xenomorph and further dark horse dc crossovers this included the sequel superman aliens 2 god war and the ambitious multi-franchise crossover superman and batman vs aliens and predator it's sad to know these days are behind us but i am looking forward to the days ahead with all the possibilities before us with the marvel heroes and the stories they could tell especially if they're done with as much care as superman aliens jurgens and dixon crafted a carefully considered story that offers a plausible meeting of worlds within its own context for non-alien readers the xenomorph and its life cycle is presented and explained well with its ability to infest and destroy an entire world highlighted to clearly show what a terrible threat this species is for non-superman readers enough of his backstory is referred to with the supergirl and exile arcs to understand his struggle the conflict against the aliens here is done in a clever way that presents a significant and sincere challenge to superman the knee-jerk reaction to hearing the prospect of a superman vs alien story would be probably one of dismissal initially one may instantly think there's no big challenge there superman could zap a whole bunch of aliens with his heat vision or blow them all away with his powerful breath and that's the end of the story hardly worth two panels let alone a three issue miniseries the story that we see in superman aliens very effectively presents this conflict by giving superman both a physical and moral challenge in encountering the aliens he's far off on another planet away from the sun the source of his powers and as he mentions is only working with about twenty percent of his strength he's still able to put up a good fight against the aliens but it's a fight that terribly drains him especially since he initially downplays their threat and even though these are relentless remorseless nearly unstoppable killing machines unclouded by conscience amongst all delusions of morality he can't kill them he won't that's his code they're still living beings and he won't betray the promise he made to himself i think that's an important aspect that perhaps otherwise could have been justifiably overlooked so in all senses they remain true to his character in a story that weaves together the established continuity and the character traits against a formidable new alien foe i thought it was exceptionally done one worthy of both are beloved aliens and worthy of superman superman no doubt is one of the most iconic characters in pop culture history as a kid growing up in the 90s i loved my comics i loved reading aliens and i also loved superman i was first introduced to the character through the death of superman story arc which was a huge deal at the time it's actually hard to describe now what a significant event this was with a story that affected and crossed over into all dc comics they all connected through this tragedy of losing a hero i remember going to school and trading borrowing different comics from friends and trying to piece together this larger story to this day it remains one of the most ambitious multi-comic events ever pursued and of course eventually i discovered the movies the christopher reeves starring series which may still be the definitive superman to many people i recently revisited the 1978 richard donner film which i don't say lightly may be the finest superhero movie ever made i think it's a masterpiece but i like the new stuff i think henry cavill has proved himself to be a great superman on his own terms in his turns as the character in man of steel batman v superman and justice league if i could take a moment at the end of the video here i'd like to talk about this new cut of justice league that was released the zack snyder cut like a lot of people i was highly anticipating it and almost still in disbelief that they actually made it happen and was finally able to watch it in all four hours of its glory i really enjoyed it and it truly does the heart good to see the studio put their faith and plenty of money into restoring the original vision the theatrical catch was quite poor it was hardly all it could have been and there are plenty of factors that contributed to its failure i think we as alien fans know better than most the consequences of a film having a concrete release date and a troubled production but justice league was especially troubled marred by personal tragedy hastily completed and sent out into the world anyway but here we are after years of the fans demanding it supporting zack snyder's vision with a new version restoring cut footage adding newly filmed footage newly completed special effects and a story that feels much more focused certainly that four hour run time allows for plenty of exploration of the story and its characters and i personally love that they went that big for it i think it delivered on the hype and from what i've been seeing so far i think the fans and supporters of this cut have gotten what they wanted it's kind of funny how this all turned out that one of the biggest movies of 2021 was basically already released in 2017 and maybe this will turn the tides a little bit i've heard that henry cavill has given up the role of superman but i hope that's not true and i hope that maybe the positive response to this snyder cut may inspire him to continue on and affleck is batman for that matter i have to admit i never ever thought the snyder cut would see the light of day at least in this form so i feel anything's possible now so i do hope we'll see more from cavill as superman i think there's a lot more he could do with the role if given the chance one of the things that struck me about this particular cut of justice league is that unlike the theatrical version we go through this movie truly feeling superman's absence throughout the whole thing we're anticipating his return which we don't see for i think two and a half hours but when he's finally back the impact is huge when he finally sorts everything out and joins the team the impact is huge very good handling of the character so i'd truly love to see more but if you've made it to the end of this video those are my thoughts on the snyder cut in case you may have been curious but i'd be very curious to hear your thoughts on it as well so please comment below and share your opinion on the new justice league if you've seen it and as always i'd like to thank you very much for watching today if you enjoyed this video please make sure to give it a like and be sure to subscribe for all the latest videos from alien theory my very very special thanks goes out to alisain queen tier of the patreon hive if you'd like to join the hive and support the channel check out my patreon page for exclusive posts and contests in the meantime you can catch up with alien theory over social media follow at alien underscore theory on twitter and at alientheoryyt on facebook and instagram for more and until next time this is alien theory signing off you

Channel: Alien Theory

Views: 334,357

Rating: 4.8870449 out of 5

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Id: bIe65bHkf3E

Length: 97min 1sec (5821 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 21 2021