Superman: Son of Kal-El #4 – Tom Taylor, Writer; Daniele Di Nicuolo, Artist; Gabe Eltaeb, Hi-Fi, Colorists
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Of course, everything about this title became a lot more high-profile in the last week as it was announced that Jon Kent would be coming out of the closet and beginning a relationship with Jay Nakamura. A lot of people had opinions—but really, it shouldn’t be a huge surprise given their interactions, and it makes every scene between them take on a new meaning. But there is another month and one more issue before that, and this issue is another big winner from Tom Taylor and Seven Secrets artist Daniele Di Nicuolo. When we last left off, the young post-human Faultline had been weaponized by Henry Bendix and aimed directly at the Kent house, only shortly after Superman left Earth. That leaves Jon as the sole line of defense for his grandparents and Jay—or so he thinks, because a shocking reveal about Jay has us questioning everything we know about the young reporter.
So Jay’s a post-human and a Gamorran refugee himself. That is a fascinating twist, and one I did not see coming. Even amid this big-scale story dealing with Jon making an enemy out of a powerful foreign leader, Taylor has not lost sight of the human elements of this story and is making some very pointed comments about the way refugees are frequently demonized. It was great to see Wink and The Aerie again, another LGBT power couple in the DCU. The Kent house has been destroyed one too many times, and the way they took it in stride almost felt a little like a gag, but Taylor is doing a great job of showing Jon’s growing pains as the new Superman of Earth. And his showdown with Bendix at the end of the issue has shades of some classic Superman/Luthor showdowns. This might be about to become one of the most important books in the DCU, but long before that it was already one of the best.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
