By Zack Quaintance — There is a new number one issue and a new name for the flagship Superman comic book this week, and it is Superman — Son of Kal-El #1, from the new creative team of writer Tom Taylor, artist John Timms, colorist Gabe Eltaeb, and letterer Dave Sharpe. That’s a whole lot of new for one comic, and if that weren’t all enough, this book also features a new Superman — Jonathan Kent, the son of Clark Kent and Lois Lane. And while his power set remains the same, the central premise of this new book involves Jon taking a new approach to the job his father has always done, that of being Superman.

As a result, this new Superman book is about a thematic mix of legacy and evolution. The book opens with something I don’t think we’ve ever seen before — the birth of Jon Kent, which, of course, happens during an intergalactic invasion of earth because comics. Superman is concerned for the planet as an entire support system of Justice League heroes urge him to focus on his milestone while they beat back the aliens, or robots, or whatever. It doesn’t really matter. The point is to remind us of the two much-loved, iconic characters that gave birth to Jon Kent as our hero eventually drops in with a family retrospective voiceover that reminded me of Brian K. Vaughan’s framing device for Saga.

The most important narrative accomplishment for this voiceover is, to my mind, to continue to establish Jon as something apart from his father. He is as he himself notes, of two worlds. He is a risk his parents took. He was surrounded by four of the greatest heroes in the world at his birth, which is a legacy (there’s one of our themes!) that’s a bit to live up too. It’s a great premise and a great opening, one that both humanizes our new Superman while at the same time giving whatever this run of comics will become a set of inherent overarching stakes. It establishes a central question: can our hero live up the legacy of his father? While also reminding us he is different, he is of both Earth and Krypton, rather than cast off from one to find shelter in another.

That last point is rather important to the other guiding theme for this comic, the notion of evolving the Superman concept. Wonder Woman lays it out there, he will have the compassion of Superman. The fierce commitment of Lois Lane. The book then sets out to show us exactly what that will look like in practice. And off we go.

Tom Taylor does a great job continuing with the narration from there, delivering us a new younger Superman who is as empathetic as his father yet more interested in overarching societal ills, like his mother. The adventure that Jon actually experiences in the second half of this comic is relatively familiar Superman-ing. He eschews violence in the face of compassion, he talks down a person others perceive as a threat, and he uses his abilities to minimize any and all danger around him. It’s all vintage Tom Taylor too, who has through his career in superhero comics rooted much of his work in almost-quaint empathy, a notion that people can and should always be good. While some of his past work has felt saccharine, his best work walks right up to the precipice and never crosses over (see the current run of Nightwing). This book is definitely of the latter variety. John Timms art is colored here by Gabe Eltaeb, and while I’ve had a mixed response to Timms work in the past, I really enjoyed it in this single issue, especially for the literal fire (that also later becomes symbolic!) in the center of the book.

The conflict is there throughout the back half: Jon is a young man with a ton of power. He tells one of his friends, I don’t want to put out fires and ignore the cause. Now, the challenge is making that happen in practice, and it’s a story I’m excited to watch unfold on the page as the same issues rage in the wider world around us. This is, in effect, a great concept for Superman in our year 2021, and it feels like a welcome evolution for this tentpole superhero comics title.

Overall: Superman - Son of Kal-El #1 us an interesting mix of legacy and evolution to create a new trajectory for Superman that speaks to the challenges we face in the year 2021. Part Clark and part Lois, this book is all about Jon, and I’m excited to see where that goes. 8.5/10

REVIEW: Superman - Son of Kal-El #1

Superman - Son of Kal-El #1
Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist: John Timms
Colorist: Gabe Eltaeb
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Publisher: DC Comics
Jonathan Kent has experienced a lot in his young life. He’s traveled the galaxies with his Kryptonian grandfather and lived in the future with the Legion of Super-Heroes, who were intent on training him for the day his father, Clark Kent, could no longer be Superman. There is a hole in the Legion’s history that prevents Jon from knowing exactly when that will happen, but all signs point to it being very soon. It’s time for the son to wear the cape of his father and bear the symbol of hope that has told the world who Superman really is. Join writer Tom Taylor (Nightwing, DCeased) and artist John Timms (Infinite Frontier) as they usher in a whole new era for the House of El!
Also, “Tales of Metropolis” continues. Jimmy Olsen gathers his misfit heroes, including Ambush Bug and Gangbuster, to find out who the Projectress really is and why she set her sights on Bibbo!
Price: $3.99
More Info: Superman - Son of Kal-El #1

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Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.