Even Superman Needs a Little Help From a Friend Somtimes in This Month’s SuperChat

Even a Superman needs help from a more street-level hero every now and again, no matter how much their methods may vary, and something both father and son are both aware of in this month’s Superchat! 

Jon Kent and Dick Grayson’s team-up continues as they investigate The Rising in Superman: Son of Kal El #9, written by Tom Taylor, penciled by Bruno Redondo, inked by Bruno Redondo and Wade von Grawbadger, colored by Adriano Lucas and lettered by Wes Abbott.

Up in Warworld, Midnighter abandons the Superman approach—but ends up inspiring rebellion in Supes’ name, nonetheless. Action Comics #1041, written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, drawn by Dale Eaglesham and Will Conrad, colored by Lee Loughridge, and lettered by Dave Sharpe.

Armaan Babu: It’s a nice father-son week on Superchat. Clark and Jon don’t get to interact, of course, nor do their stories have a lot in common with each other, but reading these side by side, it’s fun to get that “Meanwhile, up in Warworld,” thing as the both of them continue to work to inspire people as Superman. How’re you enjoying this week’s selections, Tony?

Tony Thornley: My goodness Armaan, the Superman titles are always such a light in tough weeks and these last two issues have been no exception.

Trust Falls Off Skyscrapers

Armaan: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; Nightwing is at its best when Taylor, Redondo and Lucas are just allowed to play, and this crossover is bringing a lot of that energy to Superman: Son of Kal El in this opening. Nightwing and Superman have both been superheroing for a fairly long time (though trying to think about how long is enough to give even the most avid tracker of continuity a headache), and they both know the routine well enough to have a little fun with it. There’s the graceful, mechanically brilliant way Nightwing takes out the henchman, a Redondo specialty; there’s the banter, but my absolute favorite bit is the way Nightwing falls as he’s thrown off a building—his hands behind his head, relaxed as a hero can be, casually watching Superman swoop in. Jon doesn’t even have to save him, he just over-the-shoulder tosses Nightwing his escrima stick/grappling hook for Nightwing to just glide on back in at his convenience. 

It’s the easy trust they have in each other that makes this so much fun. You don’t see superheroes getting to revel in what they do; it’s nice to see every once in a while.

Tony: These first few pages are just an absolute delight as far as the superhero side of it goes. I would really like Taylor to cut loose like this a lot more. The opening is fantastic and this entire issue keeps it up.

Armaan: As it turns out, the pair were perhaps more confident than was warranted. Bendix still, despicably, has complete control over every member of his Rising. He uses the one captured member to deliver Superman a message before making the poor henchman self-destruct in Jon’s hands. Jon shields Nightwing, in the nick of time…but is forced to confront, once again, that he can’t save everyone. 

It’s painful to watch. Especially for a Superman, for someone who is capable of so many seemingly impossible things. People have tried to limit Superman in so many ways—kryptonite galore, magic, psychic manipulation—but forcing a Super to recognize that people will die no matter how hard he tries to stop it has got to be the most painful of all.

Tony: I think that’s ultimately going to be what Bendix is able to do against Jon. None of these metas are going to be powerful enough to take on a Kyrptonian, and I have a feel that Jon will eventually recruit Kara, Conner and maybe even Clark to help. But the emotional toll and the public opinion… Those will both be much harder battles for Jon. And I enjoy the fact that this issue knows that, and leaves it a bit open ended.

Armaan: I really enjoyed what followed—after a quick heart to heart with Lois Lane (more Lois Lane in comics, please), Dick just sits down with Jon and they talk about being legacy characters. The weight of expectations, the imposter syndrome that’s got to feel especially strong when you’re wearing someone else’s signature costume. And how much Jon looks up to Nightwing. 

It’s moments like these that are what made Taylor’s various Elseworlds stuff so dear to me, especially in Injustice—forging these positive, familial connections between superheroes who have known each other for years, the kind of connections that everyone knows must exist but are rarely made time for on the page. 

‘Course, Dick Grayson isn’t the only one who cares about Jon, as we get a comedy of errors triggered by Jay walking through a wall, leading to much yelling and everyone practically fighting each other to be the one to protect Jon. It’s a mite over the top, but funny enough to work. This crossover was sweet (as a lollipop, one might say), and while it ended abruptly, I’m glad it exists.

Tony: Yeah, it was abrupt, but open ended in a way that I think is going to be fun to weave through both books later. I have to think Dick Grayson and Jon Kent are going to be interacting a lot over the next few months, between Dark Crisis and this storyline. I’m excited for that.

I’m also incredibly curious about Lois’s role with The Truth. Dick offered her a job. Is she leaving the Planet? Is she going to leverage both? That’s going to be fascinating to see grow coming out of this issue.

Midnighter, and Killing the &*%@ Out of People

Armaan: Y’know, I’ve never been entirely sold on Midnighter’s inclusion on a team handpicked by Superman. Midnighter’s a killer. That’s what he does. It’s about as anti-Superman as superheroing gets. But this issue? This issue sold me, I had a blast, and Dale Eaglesham on art is the perfect fit. I know Eaglesham’s work best from the most recent Secret Six series, and I gotta say, no one balances humor, gruesome violence and superheroic weirdness quite like he does.

There have been a bunch of artist switches in this saga, but more often than not, the art has really matched the tone of the story being told. Even in this issue, when the art switches over to a more classic style, it’s about the time that Superman comes back into the picture – shifting the story itself to a more classic tone.

Tony: I’d really like this book to get a consistent artist, and I know Eaglesham is probably not it, but his work was so welcome here. This issue just ruled. We’ve been wanting a bit more of a rebellion for the last few issues, and we finally got it.

Midnighter needed to be a part of the team to do the things the others weren’t willing to. Warworld proved that, and in this issue it means a bloody rebellion. I think this might be the most graphic violence a Superman story has ever had, but I think there’s an important distinction here. Midnighter is the only one being that violent. Kal-El is inspiring them (without even being present) to be better than that. Even through the violence, this is Superman distilled down to the ideal- which has been the theme of this run. We’ve talked about it several times.

I love that we don’t get Clark on page (outside of flashbacks) until the final page of the issue. Superman needs to be the myth before the battle of the rebellion is fully joined. While I don’t totally love the design, it has the impact it needs to. This is Superman, in full glory.

Gah, I loved it.

Armaan: I’ve also been loving how grumpy Midnighter is here. He’s trapped in a Superman story, no matter how hard he pushes back against it. Trapped on an alien world of warmongers who believe in violence above strength, using his skills to save his boyfriend and kill anyone who gets in his path? In many ways, this should be Midnighter’s time to shine, but everywhere he turns, it’s Superman’s ideals that shine brightest, it’s Superman’s stories that everyone cares about. By the simple fact that he’s doing good, Midnighter himself is being compared to Superman, and it’s really, really funny how grumpy he is about all that.

With Superman free and ready for action, though, in all his gladiatorial glory, it seems like we’re heading to an end to this saga – or perhaps just this arc of it – pretty soon, and I can’t wait to see how it’s resolved.

Metropolis Musings

• I still think the thing Jon’s book is missing is more of Clark’s supporting cast. Jimmy would be GREAT in this book.
• A Conner/Jon/Kara long term team-up book would be one thing that the DCU could really use. 
• Retellings of classic Superman stories as legends with the details sawed off? That’s very cool, I would love to see a book of classic DC stories just written as myths and fables. 
• “This lot shoulda known better” is a fantastic battle cry. Right up there with “It’s clobbering time!” as far as I’m concerned.

Armaan Babu

Armaan is obsessed with the way stories are told. From video games to theater, TTRPGs to comics, he has written for, and about, them all. He will not stop, actually; believe us, we've tried.

Tony Thornley

Tony Thornley is a geek dad, blogger, Spider-Man and Superman aficionado, X-Men guru, autism daddy, amateur novelist, and all around awesome guy. He’s also very humble.