Superman: Son of Kal-El #7 – Tom Taylor, Writer; Cian Tormey/Raul Fernandez, Artists; Hi-Fi, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: This continues to be unlike any Superman book before, as Jon Kent takes on not just supervillains but the actual threats facing society today. At the end of last issue, we found out that Jay Nakamura’s missing mother was not just still alive, but was the rightful President of Gamorra before Henry Bendix staged a coup. In some ways, Jay is as much the star of this series as Jon is, and this issue gives him a bigger role. His organization, The Truth, has been in the background of the comic so far, but this issue gives us a closer look at them—and it includes some familiar faces. We knew Taylor still had plans for the original members of the Suicide Squad he created, and the presence of Thyacaline and Chaos Kitten is a great surprise here. Jon may be taking on a new—and very different—kind of secret identity, but he’s not going to have too much time to dwell on it—because a massive threat is coming.
The alliance between Luthor and Bendix has been teased for a while, but what’s unique about it is that Luthor is undeniably the less dangerous of the two. Under Taylor’s pen, Bendix is turning into something close to Marvel’s Doctor Doom—a global villain who knows how to manipulate politics to get away with things as a supervillain a standard criminal never could. When he unleashes a massive, monstrous threat against Metropolis and gets Luthor to stand down, it’s an opportunity to bring in his own superhero team, the Gamorra Corps. But not all is what it seems with this crew, and the issue builds to a shocking finale as we discover just how far Henry Bendix is willing to go. I’m also really enjoying the frequent guest stars from other LGBT heroes in this book, as a massive crab leviathan is the perfect opportunity for Jackson Hyde to show up. Top-notch just like every issue before it.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
