One of the things about Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent that's a bit of a double edged sword is that this series is moving at a fast pace. This means that issues like this one manage to pack a lot of stuff into it, but it also means that we don't really get the chance to explore much with the characters beyond a scene or two.
The issue begins with Jon, Val, and Red Tornado preparing to leave Earth-0 to go challenge Ultra-Man. With the fate of the entire multiverse on the line they're having to take anything they can with them that will allow them to finish the fight quickly, and so Jon breaks the Phantom Zone Generator out of the armoury. During this, Lois and Jay have a nice moment as they watch the heroes preparing where they get to connect as civilians (yes, Jay has powers, but he's not on the level of Superman).
Jay asks Lois how she deals with having the person that she loves going off into battle, knowing that she can't do anything to help them, or to effect the outcome. She gives a wonderfully fun response whereby she admits that she obsessively buries herself in her work; something that she admits isn't healthy, but then perhaps this is how you get to be one of the best reporters in the world. It's nice to get this small focus on the partners, the people who are left behind when the heroes go off to do their thing. It's a conversation that you don't see in super hero comics much, and it feels incredibly human, mirroring the kinds of emotions that families of firefighters, or rescue workers must go through all the time, never knowing if the people they love are going to come home.
Lois also gives Jay a piece of advice, get Jon to promise that he'll come home, because Superman never breaks his promise. This moment, and the tender goodbye that Jon and Jay have following it, was one of the best moments in the book. For me, watching Jon doing things like fighting villains, or saving civilians isn't the stuff that makes him worthy of being a Superman, it's the small moments of kindness, of him following in his fathers example and being the kindest person he can be. Sadly, this could be the last time we get to see that for a while, as the team are heading out into the multiverse after Ultra-Man.
The trio land on an unidentified world (though if you've looked at the cover or any of the solicitations for the series you'll have a strong idea of which one it is) and are soon attacked by Ultra-Man. Val and Red Tornado get taken off the field pretty quickly as Ultra-Man sends them to the Phantom Zone; leaving Jon to face him alone. This leads to Jon finally unlocking the power that's been building inside him for a while now, and he transforms into Superman Blue. I know Superman Blue is a very, very divisive thing, and that not many people liked it; and that's understandable. Superman should always really be Superman. However, as Action Comics is showcasing we've got a lot of people with the same powers as Superman, so having one use something a bit different isn't a bad idea. Plus, if it's the other person named Superman it helps to make them different from each other too. So I'm not against this change for Jon.
Jon and Ultra-Man fight, and Jon's new power helps him to deliver a beating to the villain; but it's not enough to beat him. As Jon is lying, out of energy and trying to survive, Ultra-Man gets his neck snapped. By Superman. Bet you can guess which one. The Injustice Superman turns to talk to Jon, and pauses, and tells him with tears in his eyes 'you have your mothers eyes'.
So, Jon is in trouble now. Val and Tornado are trapped in the Phantom Zone, the projector looks like it's broken, Tornado is his way home, and now he's got a fascist Superman to deal with. I'm not sure what Taylor is planning with this series; though I'm not one of the people who believe that this is going to reveal that Jon is the Jon from the Injustice universe and the 'real' Jon is still out there somewhere and is still a kid. I really hope that that's not what they're going to do with it. But, if they use this opportunity to challenge him with a version of his father that he'd hate, with a version of Damian who killed his friend and mentor, with a world that needs a Superman that inspires hope, that could lead to some interesting things.
The artwork on the issue, by Clayton Henry, and Jordie Bellaire, is really nice throughout. I like the way that Jon is drawn in this book, he isn't just a copy of Clark, he's visibly younger, slimmer, and feels like he's full of energy. The book is able to convey emotions really well too, and there are moments where you see Jon experiencing love, and ones where he rages. It feels like Jon hasn't been pushed like this for a long while, and the art really sells that idea.
Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent is shaping up to be an interesting book, but this is still mostly set-up (albeit good set-up). The book can go a lot of different places from here; and I'm very interested to see what happens next.
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