Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #6 – Tom Taylor, Writer; Clayton Henry, Artist; Jordie Bellaire, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: The conclusion of Jon Kent’s sojourn into the Injusticeverse is here, with the young Superman alone in a hostile world and facing off against a twisted mirror of his father who is about to execute Batman and Harley Quinn. When the issue opens, he’s about to make his move—and that means taking down the members of Superman’s inner circle. For Flash and Damian, he offers compassion and help escaping the regime. For Hawkgirl and Green Lantern, he takes them out quickly without much room for dialogue. But as for Wonder Woman, it’s a longer battle. While the fight is brutal, it also sort of emphasizes that she’s the character done the most dirty by the Injustice universe. I’m not sure why she heel-turned this far, why she seems to be even more extreme than Superman, and there doesn’t seem to be any hope for her to turn over a new leaf like Flash.
However, the real emotional meat of this issue is Jon’s showdown with this world’s Superman, which opens with Injustice Superman showing just how far he’ll go—crossing the line into hurting innocent civilians, which is an even bigger red line than his brutality towards his enemies. But Jon doesn’t allow himself to be baited into losing himself the same way, instead delivering a brilliant speech that offers hope but also makes clear that he knows this Superman is a monster. There’s also a great moment involving a message from Lois Lane that shows what a key role she’s played in making Jon who he is. However, a lot is left unanswered at the end about the Injustice world—this isn’t ultimately Jon’s world, and he’s just passing through—and there have been many questions about where Jon is going next. The ending sets up the next DC event, as a fast-paced but ultimately strong series comes to an end.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
