Superman comes out of retirment when Magog's methods have finally gone too far. His Justice Battalion has inadvertantly resulted in the destruction of Kansas. When Superman does finally confront Magog, the brutal hero is horribly haunted by his mistakes: "A million ghosts. Punish me. Lock me away. Kill me. Just make the ghosts go away" (Waid Kingdom 101).

The Revelations supplement, as reported by Jesse Nevins, says this about Magog, from Ross:

"As I remember, Mark originally told me, `Make him look like everything we hate in modern superhero design.' Magog is a reference to a tribe in the Book of Revelation that will war against God's people (the people of Israel) in the battle of Armageddon. His appearance is meant to invoke a sense of pagan idolatry, with the golden arm and ram's horns reminiscent of the golden calf from Bible lore. There is also a sense of Egyptian style in his staff, which focuses his power, and the scar around his right blind eye in the symbol shape of the `eye or Ra.' As much as we wanted to hate him, we wound up liking his design a great deal."

The question becomes whether the New Breed are heroes or if they lack some requisite aspect of heroism. By Superman's standards, they have disregarded the basic responsibility that comes with their fantastic powers. The moral education he vows to teach them is not well received — not surprising, given that it is done under protest and while they are incarcerated by the Justice League.

What do the New Breed stand for then, if not traditional heroism? First, without question, they are effective — deadly effective. They present the permanent solution for combating crime: kill the criminals. Beyond Magog's elimination of the Joker, the New Breed have destroyed Arkham Asylum, Blackgate, and Belle Reve Prison along with all the supervillains contained in each. This could testify to their decisiveness and even to their courage, what with the caliber of villain they choose to terminate. Superman's holographic lecture is met with only anger from the New Breeder, Stripe: "Day after day, he talks to us like we're the bad guys! Who bagged Eclipso, huh? Who toasted Ra's Al Ghul? Guys like us, that's who! We saved lives, man!" (117) Second, they are contemporary, at least by 1997 standards. Third, the New Breed represent the proliferation of amoral comic book heroes, and these characters did not arise in a vacuum. They reflect the predilections of the comic book readership. Superman did not leave because of Magog's actions; he left because of the public's approval of Magog's actions. Only once it has gone too far does humanity begin to object, and, by that point, the power has been taken entirely from their hands — the phenomenon has taken on a life of its own. The New Breed, both metaphorically and literally, are society's prodigal children.