Superman: Son of Kal-El #11 – Tom Taylor, Writer; Cian Tormey, Artist; Federico Blee/Matt Herms, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: Tom Taylor is obviously one of the hottest writers at DC right now, but I don’t think any book of his is quite on the level of this groundbreaking reinvention of the Superman mythology. It’s amazing how he can get just as much drama and passion out of simple conversations as he can out of pitched action. This issue follows up on the cliffhanger last issue as Batman seemed ready to expose Jay Nakamura’s secrets. Needless to say, Jon doesn’t react well and Batman doesn’t exactly help the situation. While Jon seeks Jay out for answers—and gets them, in a dramatic segment that ties together this run with the previous Suicide Squad run—Batman winds up having his own key conversation with Jonathan Kent as the man who raised Superman weighs in. Some of the character beats, like the secret friendship between Jonathan and Alfred over the years, are among the best quiet moments in this book so far.
But when the story turns on the afterburners, it’s thrilling and terrifying. Jon’s conversation with Jay brings to light just how twisted Bendix’s backup plans for maintaining control of his assets are, and that reveals that a dangerous threat may have been under the League’s nose this whole time. This leads to a race against time, a microscopic surgery—which is an oddly specific plot point that’s shown up twice in a month—and a great demonstration of Jon’s commitment as a hero. The villain team of Bendix and Luthor continues to be terrifying, but this issue also indicates which of them is about to become the much bigger threat. While the action is great, this wouldn’t work nearly as well if it didn’t have us invested in Jon, Jay, and the rest of the cast. The presence of the Revolutionaries this issue is a pleasant surprise, as Taylor continues to build one of the best bodies of work in the DCU at the moment.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
