Superman: Father of Tomorrow #2 – Kenny Porter, Writer; Danny Earls, Artist; Nick Filardi, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: The first issue of this series had an interesting concept, with Jor-El arriving on Earth as a grown man and becoming Superman, but it had to cover a lot of ground and didn’t quite get to explore new territory right away. This issue does a much better job of showing us what kind of Superman he would become – and how it would affect the rest of the DCU. It’s twenty years later, the golden age of heroism has begun, and Superman is the elder statesman of the group. He’s used his science to transform the world, brings in villains with non-violent means, and has become a mentor to both his tech advisor Lex Luthor, and his close friend Lois Lane. But there’s trouble afoot – Lois’ father continues to obsess over the alien threat, while Luthor wants to harness the power of Kryptonian tech to create non-lethal weapons for the government – something Jor-El is completely opposed to.
Kenny Porter does a great job of fleshing out these relationships, particularly the tension between Lois and her father as she comes to rely on Superman more and more for support and advice. I really like that this series makes clear that there is definitely NOT anything romantic between Jor-El and Lois – in fact, Jor-El still seems to be a very lonely man underneath it all, clearly still mourning the planet he lost and keeping himself at a distance from his new one. He’s only allowed a few people in, even keeping the Justice League at arm’s length – and when he’s betrayed by one of his closest confidants, he takes it very personally. He’s a master of science, but vulnerable to magic like any Kryptonian. That sets up the fight at the beginning of the issue, but also leads to a fascinating end-of-issue reveal as we catch up with an iconic figure who might be taking on a very different role in this verse.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
