DC Comics reviews 5/2/23 – The Flash #798, SHAZAM! #1

Adventures of Superman Jon Kent #3

One of the toughest, but probably fair criticisms of Tom Taylor’s Superman Son of Kal-El series was it lacked action for a superhero title. It’s not like Taylor hates portraying violence in his comics — see DCeased, Injustice, Dark Knights of Steel — so much as he was showing a different way a hero can solve conflict.

Taylor takes a similar ideology to this series, which finds Jon now in the world of Injustice. There are major differences like Superman and Lex Luthor are close friends, but in other ways things are similar like Wonder Woman and Flash are close allies to The Man of Steel. And Damian isn’t getting along with his father, Batman, either.

Injustice Superman isn’t hiding what he’s done to make his Earth safer, but Jon soon realizes why this Earth is drastically different than his own and it terrifies him. It’s not like Taylor would forget what he wrote, but it’s nice to see Jon again face the reality of a Superman that’s too proactive in making changes for the world even if the intentions are noble.

Clayton Henry’s art is outstanding. He sells emotion so well and smoothly lays out his panels making for incredibly crisp and clear action sequences. Jordie Bellaire may be the hardest working colorist in all of comics, but it’s for a reason as the colors complement Henry’s style with richer, deeper red and blue hues.

Taylor and Henry have crafted a very strong arc for Jon Kent. With so many Super folks in Metropolis in Earth-Prime this almost feels like a better place and use for him especially since he’s operating in a world so different from his own. Maybe if the book stays at this quality, DC might consider expanding it to an ongoing series?

Rating: 9.5 out of 10