REVIEW: Superman: Father Of Tomorrow #4

Superman: Father Of Tomorrow #4 continues Kenny Porter, Danny Earls and Nick Filardi’s exploration of Jor-El’s journey to make the world a better place. So far, it’s safe to say this story and universe has intrigued me and with each issue that is released, I look forward to the next even more.

But before we get into the issue itself, lets take a look at the covers. The main cover is by Danny Earls and Nick Filardi and teases the introduction of this universes Batman! This is a very bold design and in turn a striking cover as we see Jor-El enter Gotham City. I love the subtle hints which link this Batman theme to that of Batman: TAS.

Gabriel Hardman’s variant gives us another look at the Batman of this universe, this time featuring Robin! This is a great cover that is striking on the eyes as we see this trio work together for the first time. I particularly love the homage to the iconic Dark Knight Returns cover by Frank Miller.

Jerry Ordway’s variant is filled with classic comic book goodness! I’m a huge fan of Ordway and this cover reminds me why. I love the line-work used to showcase the shading, it has a huge impact on this piece, making it incredibly eye-catching.

Superman: Father Of Tomorrow #4 opens up in Gotham City as Batman and Robin take on Scarecrow. This is our first introduction to these two heroes and they fit exactly as I’d expected in this universe. Scarecrow releases his toxin on Gotham City and uses fear to create a bloodthirsty mob. Superman interrupts the situation and based on the way he and Batman interact, they are very familiar with each other. It turns out Scarecrow is using some of the Kryptonian tech that Jor-El introduced to Earth and he uses this opportunity to ask for Batman’s opinion on unlocking the Kryptonian tech’s full potential. This moment brings us a snippet of Batman’s origin story and it’s just as tragic but is very different to the one we know.

It seems Batman isn’t the only one who has a negative opinion of Superman sharing his technology as he puts his ideas to the UN and surprisingly gets them rejected. This is all thanks to General Lane who has altered footage to give Superman a bad rap. This leads to a fight as we see a plethora of reimagined heroes and villains take on Superman and the action here is actually quite brutal! As Superman tries to protect himself and his technology, we see a tender moment between Martha and Jordan Kent which gives us a huge reveal that I’m eager to hear more about. Meanwhile we come back to Lex Luthor and the Tower of Fate as we learn he has killed countless magic using heroes. Constantine himself gets wind of this and vows to avenge his friends, with Lex becoming his new self ‘Hex Luthor’, I think Constantine might not know what he’s in for!

The interior art is by Danny Earls, colours by Nick Filardi and letters by Lucas Gattoni. I have to say the art is so striking in this issue and it really suits the tone so well. The art has a dark underlying tone to it and this really draws you into the grittiness of it all. This art combined with Kenny Porters writing really makes this something special.

(8/10) Superman: Father Of Tomorrow #4 is another great issue of an Elseworlds story that has me incredibly intrigued. With everything that was teased or revealed in this issue, I can’t wait to get some answers in the coming issues.