Superman: Son of Kal-El 2021 Annual #1 – Tom Taylor, Writer; Steve Pugh, Clayton Henry, Artists; Romulo Fajardo Jr, Steve Buccellato, Colorists
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Jon Kent has inherited his father’s planet—and with that his enemies. As this issue begins, a flashback to one of Superman and Luthor’s earliest battles drives home Luthor’s greatest weakness—his ego. He gets hilariously played by the Justice League while on the cusp of his greatest triumph, and in the aftermath he and Superman begin a game of chess—both figurative and literal—that continues to this day. In the present, Jon receives a message from Batman that Superman has a message for him—his own AI in the Fortress designed to guide Jon on his journey as Superman. Between that and the rapidly diminishing ice around the arctic, Jon decides it’s time to take up his father’s battle against Luthor. Who, conveniently, has just resurfaced after his time with the Legion of Doom. He has a convenient cover story and has just blackmailed his way back into his fortress. And he’s ready to take on the newest Superman.
It might be tempting to say not too much happens in this issue, because it’s well over halfway through the issue before Jon and Luthor even meet. But the buildup to that meeting is fantastic. And once they do, it’s clear that this isn’t going to be the same-old, same-old. Jon isn’t interested in playing out old patterns again and again, and he quickly points out to Lex that the destruction of the planet isn’t something he can escape easily. A chess game between them has a clever and unexpected end, but the ending makes very clear that Lex Luthor isn’t a problem that Jon can outreason. The end of Death Metal kind of hinted Luthor might be turning over a new leaf—for the twentieth time—but Tom Taylor clearly has a different opinion about whether that’s possible. One thing’s for sure—this version of Luthor comes off as a fiercer enemy for a young Superman than any we’ve seen in a long time.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
