REVIEW: Superman: Son Of Kal-El #2

Superman: Son Of Kal-El #2 continues the epic start of a brand new Superman title. I really enjoyed the first one and I have been very intrigued to see where the story and Jon’s Superman goes from here.

But before we get into the issue itself, let’s take a look at the covers. The standard cover is by interior artist John Timms and it is so clever! I love how Jon is hovering over the Superman emblem, which perfectly acts as a base for the city of Metropolis to stem from. Like I said this is a really clever piece and the colouring really allows it to pop and stand out from the rest.

The variant cover is by Inhyuk Lee and it shows an incredibly wholesome family portrait of The Kents. Lee has expertly created Jon by taking key elements from both Superman and Lois, for example he definitely has Lois’ teeth and Superman ears! The detail in his artwork is once again incredible and I love that he has included Krypto in this picture, who looks like a very happy boy in this image!

What I love about Jon Kent as Superman is the fact that despite this huge responsibility that is upon him, he is still your typical teenager. I really enjoyed seeing Lois Lane having to nag her son so that he isn’t late despite him being faster than the speed of sound as he describes. It really grounds the character for me, well both of them in fact and really makes them relatable in terms of a mother and son relationship.

This issue sees Jon Kent attempt to take on his own secret identity, Finn Connors as he embarks on a new chapter in his life. It’s interesting that though his father told the world his truth, Jon still wants his own life or at least some of it to remain the same. One thing I do love is the fact that he instantly signs up for the media department, proudly following in his fathers footsteps.

That is until an unexpected situation occurs which causes him to reveal his true identity. That unexpected situation is in fact a school shooter, which I thought this was a really great scenario to explore, as it is something that sadly happens all too often. It just goes to show how truly difficult it must have been for Superman to hide his identity all these years, it makes you wonder that perhaps he could have been on the scene a few valuable seconds earlier, which in some cases could have had a huge impact.

I love that Superman is back in this issue giving Jon advise, it’s great to see that he is still being supported and isn’t alone in this new endeavour. It is this moment that Jon asks Superman the all important question (one we’ve actually been discussing on the podcast recently), why isn’t he solving all of these problems instead of trying to inspire people to do better. His answer is perfect, and once again perfectly sets Jon on a path as to what kind of Superman he is going to be.

It’s here that we see Superman give Jon a new level of responsibility which symbolises that he really has taken the reigns of that role from this moment on, a brand new suit and the key to The Fortress. Firstly I adore the new suit, it looks great and feels a little more mature for him. Not only that but I love how he instantly steps into action to tackle another very real situation, the refugee crisis. I really like that writer Tom Taylor pays homage to the current problems of the world, not only does it make this title feel more realistic, but it really invokes emotion from the reader.

It was really great to see Superman stay to oversee the reaction of Metropolis to his decision and really stand up for what he’s done and what it means going forward in terms of his relationship with the law, government and the public. It’s certainly a step forward from the first issue and we’ve really gotten to see just how much he has grown in such short space of time and I cannot wait to see the ramifications going forwards.

John Timms’ artwork is spectacular in this issue there are so many fantastic moments. One of my favourites is the panel showing Superman and Jon sitting upon the moon gazing at how big the Earth is. It is simply gorgeous and so realistic, which is quite the contrast from the rest of the issue which is bright, vibrant and almost cartoonistic, especially when combined with colours by Gabe Eltaeb. I love their take on Superman, he very much has his own identity and he’s instantly recognisable, they’ve done an excellent job of making him a standalone character, with the help of Tom Taylor of course.

Superman: Son Of Kal-El #2 continues to set up just exactly what kind of Superman Jon is going to be as he really starts to get a grasp of what he wants to do with the world. This is an excellent and thought provoking read with fantastic artwork throughout.

Haven’t picked up Superman: Son Of Kal-El #2 yet? You can get the standard cover by John Timms here (UK), or here (US). Or if you prefer the variant cover by Inhyuk Lee, you can get that here.

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