Superman Unlimited #5 (2025)

At the Daily Planet, Tee-Nah has finished installing a new drone projection system that will allow Lois to interact with employees and offices all over the world through holograms. Lois tells everyone to keep investigating the Kryptonite market and any possible crimes related to it. Some activities are more notable than others, but the most urgent seems to come from Emerald City, capital of El Caldero. According to Ron Troupe, the Kobra Cult is planning to steal the country's Kryptonite reserves, something that Lois finds hard to believe, as El Caldero has a literal mountain of Kryptonite. Tee-Nah insists that a mountain of Kryptonite can be stolen with a shrinking ray, like the one she carries in her purse, and Lois has a private conversation with Clark. She mutes the drone above them so that she and Clark can talk without interruptions and Clark informs her that he knows what Kobra wants: a Kryptonian sun crystal, similar to the one that constructed the Fortress of Solitude. Batman informed him the other day and the Calderans will unearth it shortly. A sun crystal containing details about Kryptonian technology could prove disastrous if it fell into the wrong hands, which is why Superman has to retrieve it. Lois does not think that Superman entering into El Caldero, nicknamed the "Kryptonite Kingdom", is a good idea, but Clark assures her that he has a way around that. Superman, outfitted in a lead armor and driving the Supermobile, enters Emerald City. Despite its green appearance, very little of the city is built with Kryptonite and Superman is surrounded by the Krypto-Knights. He expects heavy resistance from the country's military, only for the military and the general public to welcome him with open arms. Even President Castilho is more than happy to see the Man of Steel visit his land. Ron, who had been stationed in Emerald City for three months, informs Superman that the Calderans began this celebration the moment Superman entered Calderan airspace and does not think that Superman should visit El Caldero for the danger it represents to him, but Superman tells Castilho of his mission. He needs to retrieve the sun crystal before other, more dangerous, individuals do, and as the Last Son of Krypton, he feels personally responsible for it, but Castilho replies that Superman is no longer the last surviving Kryptonian and that the crystal is the property of El Caldero, so it should remain there. Before the discussion can continue, Superman is hit by a psionic reaction from the crystal, which informs Superman of its location. Superman believes that the crystal must be mentally linked to him, which is why he can sense its presence. Castilho, as a sign of goodwill, gathers a crew to explore the Kryptonite mines alongside Superman so they can locate the crystal together, followed by Ron and his camerawoman, even though they will lose their connection to the Daily Planet once they enter the mines. As they venture deep into Tunnel One, the biggest shaft in the mines, Castilho explains that the tunnel was originally dug to save Superman after he was buried deep beneath the Kryptonite asteroid he stopped from colliding into the Earth. Back then, Castilho was just another miner working hard to earn a living, but when he saw Superman in trouble, he gathered as many miners as he could and tried to save Superman. The miners worked hard and ultimately saved Superman, who had been protected from the Kryptonite radiation with his solar aura. That was the first time Superman and Castilho actually met, and even though Superman forgot about it, Castilho would never forget it. The crew steps into a place with miners and excavation machines still at work. Castilho is confused by this, as he had ordered everyone to return to Emerald City to celebrate Superman's arrival, but the miners are not Calderans, but Kobra cultists trying to extract the sun crystal. The mission leader attempts to kill Castilho with a drill but Superman protects Castilho, at the cost of damaging his anti-Kryptonite armor. While the Krypto-Knights engage the cultists, Ron tries to patch Superman's armor while Castilho runs after the ringleader. He ultimately tackles the cultist and seizes the crystal, which activates and displays a message from Jor-El and Lara. In the message, Jor-El and Lara tell their son their family has kept secrets even from Krypton's council and now, they will pass on that knowledge to his son. This confirms that the crystal belongs to Kal-El, for it is a family heirloom, but Castilho is unwilling to share it because he thinks he can use it to help his country. He intends to keep it secret from everyone, including the Kobra cultist, and attempts to strange him to death, but he is watched by Ron's camerawoman, who attempts to run away, until Castilho grabs her. The woman's wig falls off and she is revealed to be Lois, who had followed Superman to El Caldero.