REVIEW: Superman: Son Of Kal-El #13

Superman: Son Of Kal-El #13 brings us The Arrowverse’s Dreamer, as she makes her DCU debut in this issue, “Dreams and Nightmares”. Tom Taylor and Nicole Maines weave a tale of dangers yet to come in this latest chapter of The Rising arc.

Dreamer is also featured on all three covers of this issue and, as is customary, we’ll take a look at those first. Travis Moore and Tamra Bonvillain encapsulate Dreamer’s debut by having her smashing through dream visions like one would a window. The amount of detail on each shard depicting different characters from DC has a very George Perez aspect about it and I can’t help but wonder how intentional that is. Nevertheless it’s another great cover from this artistic team. 

Al Kaplan’s cover teams up Superman and Dreamer. As Superman is racing towards an unseen location, Dreamer appears to be astral projecting herself through the dreamscape. Her starry silhouette adding a striking visual to the night sky background. 

Not satisfied with merely doing the interior art, Clayton Henry and Marcelo Maiolo contribute to the variants. Standing atop the Daily Planet globe, Dreamer shows Superman various dream visions. All three visions suggest a happy outcome; here’s hoping Jon’s dreams can come true. 

As mentioned, Clayton Henry and Marcelo Maiolo take on the interior art in Superman: Son Of Kal-El #13. Their expressive style lends itself well to the foreboding nature of the story. Several gruesome scenes are handled with tacted and clarity while still bearing the weight of what’s happened. Their rendition of Dreamer is instantly recognisable from her live action counterpart from the Supergirl TV show, and if that wasn’t good enough, I also really enjoy their version of Kelex. They also do a nice job of altering their tone just enough between reality and dream. 

Tom Taylor brings along Nicole Maines to properly bring Dreamer into the mainstream DC Universe. Nicole is the actress who played Dreamer in the Arrowverse and it’s exciting to see her staying connected to the character. Although Dreamer’s first comic book appearance was in DC Pride 2021, that story unquestionably took place within the Supergirl show.

This time, however, she seeks out Superman to warn him of things to come.  Maintaining her ties to Dream Girl from the Legion of Super-Heroes, Jon quickly connects who she is and gladly accepts her help. Taken to a dream sequence where Bendix has devised and inacted a terrible plan, Jon is now armed with knowledge of a possible future. Never content to be on the side lines, Jay then convinces Jon the people of Gamorra need to rise up if they have any hopes of truly defeating Bendix. Joined by a new ally and armed with the knowledge of what’s at stake, the conflict between Bendix and Superman grows with intensity. 

Superman: Son Of Kal-El #13 is a great issue that perfectly reminds us of the stakes Bendix’s plan has. Not only that but Dreamer’s addition to the series certainly is a pleaser for Supergirl fans but also Legion Of Superheroes fans.