Supergirl #16
Written by Sophie Campbell
Art by Joe Quinones and Paolo Villanelli
Colors by Joe Quinones and Arif Prianto
Letters by Josh Reed and Becca Carey
Cover Art by Guillem March
Supergirl #16 kicks off DC’s 2026 Kryptonian family crossover, called Kingdom of Zod. The House of El has gone through a lot of changes over the last few years in the DC Universe, with new members joining and old foes becoming new allies. This issue serves as a great introduction to not only the overall story but the evolving relationships between the members of the House of El. Let’s get into it. Spoiler Warning Now In Effect for Supergirl #16 (Kingdom of Zod, Part 1)!
Setting the Stage
The first six pages of Supergirl #16 are designed to get you caught up on what the Kryptonian contingent of the DC universe has been up to and why there is so much Kryptonite in El Caldero. General Zod has lost his wife, his son is in the wind, and he, of course, blames the House of El for all the misfortune that has befallen him. Kara is the de facto Kryptonian team leader with Kal-El gone, and she’s leading an expedition to El Caldero to deal with the massive Kryptonite issue.
We get a nice recap of events that occurred in Superman Unlimited, but to wrap it up as best I can: a massive Kryptonite asteroid was stopped by Superman from destroying Earth, but it still crash-landed in the South American nation of El Caldero. The economy of El Caldero now revolves around the Kryptonite and the technology it has provided them.
Supergirl needs to find a way to get back the Sun Crystal, a crystal that is both her birthright and the power source of the new Kryptonite Fortress. Since Superman’s disappearance, talks with the government about possibly reacquiring it have ceased, and it’s going to take Kara and the entire Kryptonian family to figure out how to get it back. A fantastic splash panel featuring Kara flying above the Earth and vowing to complete Superman’s task takes us to the title card.
Whew! I know that was a lot, but I need to express just how much I appreciate Sophie Campbell taking the beginning of this issue to give readers all the needed context for this massive crossover story. I’ve seen massive events refuse to address the groundwork that was laid before it, and it can cause some confusion among readers. Campbell lays it all out within the first six pages, which features some killer art from Joe Quinones, Paolo Villanelli, and Arif Prianto, so by the time the story really kicks off after the title card, you have everything you need to know as it begins.
I read a lot of different comics each week, and as someone who hasn’t been keeping up week to week with Superman Unlimited, where a lot of the foundation of this crossover was formed, I greatly appreciated the exposition in the beginning of this issue. You want to draw readers in with big crossover events, and giving them context and needed information before really kicking things off can make a world of difference.
Superboy v Superboy: Dawn of Emotional Trauma
Kingdom of Zod truly kicks off with a scene spinning right out of the pages of Action Comics #1100 with Connor Kent and Superboy Prime locked in combat above the skies of Metropolis. Connor refuses to believe that Prime has changed; he can’t get over the fact that the person who killed him is now allowed to have a second chance. No matter what his cousin Kara, Lois or anyone else in his circle of friends and family says, it goes in one ear and right out the other. He doesn’t want to hear it. There’s a part of me that doesn’t blame him.
How would you feel if the person who killed you was now accepted into your family home? Prime’s recent turning over a new leaf has been great to see for him as a character, but don’t get it twisted: he’s done some absolutely heinous stuff, and I can’t blame Connor for flying off the handle like he is in the beginning of this issue. Prime has done a good job being a better person so far, but Connor’s reaction shows he still has a long way to go before all sins can be forgiven.
During this emotional brawl, Kara questions her leadership skills. If she can’t stop this one little fight, how is she supposed to lead them in Kal’s absence? She learns a lesson of leadership really quickly: never be afraid to call on some help when you need it. With the fight continuing to ramp up, Kara calls in Krypto and both of them get the two Superboys to stand down. Kara basically tells them to cut it out because they have bigger fish to fry. Connor still doesn’t like it, but he backs down and listens to his cousin.
Meet The New Boss
The group finds out that the new leader of El Caldero wants to speak exclusively to Lois, and they now see an opportunity to possibly get into the Kryptonite Fortress and get the sun crystal. Kara doesn’t want every member of the family to be exposed to this dangerous fortress, so she decides to only take the two Superboys, along with a team she calls SuperForce.
SuperForce consists of Lena Luthor, Leegra (who’s some sort of really cool shark person), Phantasmogoria (an ecoplasmic projection of a girl named Luna), a badass swordswoman named Nightflame, and Thundergirl. A very interesting group of people thrown together to say the least. Supergirl, Connor Kent, and Prime each are given a device for their arms that can protect them from Kryptonite poisoning, but only for an hour once they touch down in El Caldero.
The group makes their way, disguised as Lois’ Daily Planet crew, to El Caldero. Pretty quickly after touching down, the jig is up as General Zod reveals himself to the group as the new leader of the nation of El Caldero. He takes control of Lois using his quantum connection to his own Kryptonian powers and turns her on the group. For some added context: when Lois was Superwoman recently, it was Zod she has unknowingly stolen her powers from. The battle commences between Zod’s forces and Supergirl’s forces, with each side getting in some heavy hits on the other.
One of the highlights of the ensuing battle is when Connor Kent actually stops one of Zod’s warriors from hiring Prime while watching his back. It's a gesture that shows that maybe somewhere deep down, Connor can learn to give Prime that second chance he wants from everyone. I’m eager to see how their relationship continues to grow. The battle continues as SuperForce makes their presence known and continues to battle Zod’s forces. Zod captures Lois as the battle rages on, but the real twist comes at the end… I won’t spoil exactly how this first part of Kingdom of Zod ends, but let’s just say the Kryptonian members of the squad might want to check if those devices on their arms are working…
Final Thoughts and Rating
This was a great introductory issue, and I want to talk about the art again first. This issue contained two drastically different art styles, but I enjoyed both, and neither felt out of place. During Supergirl's retelling of the events of the Kryptonite meteor and during the battle of the Superboys over the skies of Metropolis, we are treated to one style, while the parts of the story that take place on El Caldero are a different one. I don’t remember reading a comic recently where the issue has two very distinct art styles, but it worked for me, and I enjoyed the different takes on the characters that we got within the same issue. I think if I had to pick one over the other, the art style during the Superboy battle is more my cup of tea but ultimately, I liked both takes.
Another artistic highlight from this issue was that while the Kryptonians and their allies are on El Caldero, every few panels we get a visual K-Shield meter so we can see in real time how much more time the group has until their Kryptonite protection runs out. It was a cool addition and reminded me of an action movie when you consistently see the timer running down on a bomb the hero needs to deactivate. It did a good job adding just that little bit more of suspense.
Campbell did a great job introducing the start of this nine-issue crossover. It can't be easy being the one who has to set the stage for the rest of the story to follow; it can’t be stated enough how crucial it is to stick the opening salvo. Crossover storylines and big events are always something companies hope will generate a lot of hype and ultimately a lot of revenue, and if that first issue doesn’t grab readers, it can become an uphill battle.
Campbell set up the board well, and they got the pieces making their initial moves. Supergirl’s drive to become a good team leader, the relationship between Connor and Prime, Zod’s loss of his family and what it did to his mental state, the massive amounts of Kryptonite, the eventual reappearance of Superman and what all this is going to mean for the DC Universe going forward are the main story beats running through the veins of Kingdom of Zod. I’m very excited to see where it’s going.
General Zod begins his reign over the Kryptonite Kingdom of El Caldero in Supergirl #16. Kingdom of Zod is off to a promising start thanks to a great narrative from Sophie Campbell and an art team that used not one, but two different art styles to bring this issue to life. Kara Zor-El and her allies are in for a fight of their lives going forward, and if this first issue is any indication, we are in for another great Kryptonian family crossover.