Jon Kent Stands up to Batman and Clark Faces Warworld in this Month’s SuperChat

As Superman leads a revolution on Warworld, something deep beneath the planet rumbles — and we find that this conflict with Mongul is a lot bigger than anyone imagined in Action Comics #1042 and #1043, written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, drawn by Ricardo Frederici and Will Conrad, colored by Lee Loughridge, and lettered by Dave Sharpe.

Back on Earth, Jonathan Kent deals with Batman’s suspicions about Jay, and learns a little more about both his allies and his enemies in Superman: Son of Kal-El #11, written by Tom Taylor, drawn by Cian Tormey, colored by Frederico Blee and Matt Herms, and lettered by Dave Sharpe.

The Martian Manhunter backup story  in Action Comics #1,042 is written by Shawn Aldridge, drawn by Adriana Melo, colored by Hi-Fi and lettered by Dave Sharpe, while #1,043’s story is written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, drawn by Will Conrad, colored by Lee Loughridge and lettered by Dave Sharpe. 

Armaan Babu: Look, up in the sky! Is that a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s — oh, no, wait, it’s a plane after all, bringing Tony Thornley back to catch up on chatting about all things Super. How’ve you been, Tony, and what’d you think of what this month’s Super-books have to offer?

Tony Thornley: What a month, and we’re headed into a pretty huge summer for the Man of Steel and the entire DCU!

You’re Wrong, Batman

Armaan: So, first up, we’re checking in with Jonathan, but before we get to that, I just want to appreciate the work that Frederico Blee and Matt Herms have done with issue, especially right here at the beginning with the establishing shot of the cabin the Kents are hidden in for their safety. Jay’s leaving a message for Jon, and while it’s orange light filtering in through Jay’s windows, it’s nighttime blue where the cabin is. You can almost feel the cool night air coming off the page. The colorists do amazing things with lighting in this issue — you can almost see the air. 

Tony: I first came to know Blee through his really poor work on Marauders- it was competent but white washed several characters of color, etc. The way he’s improved over the last two and a half years is a really good thing. I will always judge a color artist by how they handle light and he does a really great job overall.

Armaan: Not to mention the tension, as Jon steels himself to say those three little words every superhero desperately wishes they could: “You’re wrong, Batman.”

As we saw last issue, Batman claims to have reason to believe that Jay Nakamura isn’t all that he seems. It’s, of course, Batman’s nature to be suspicious, and with Clark out of town, I can see Batman being a little extra paranoid to protect his best friend’s son — especially given that he’s had to move the Kents due to his failure to keep them safe.

I wish we could have seen a little more from the Jon/Batman confrontation than Jon speeding away after what basically a surly teenage “You’re not my real dad!!” moment, but what did you think of Batman’s conversation with Jonathan Kent, Sr.? 

Tony: I think there’s some good and some bad there. Jonathan standing up to Bruce, and stunning him with the revelation that he and Martha knew Alfred really well? I think that was great. I think back to the Batman Annual that Taylor did during the King era- titled “Father’s Day”- and it’s still probably my favorite story from Taylor. 

I do think the specifics of the dialogue are hokey. It’s overly saccharine and that’s not Jonathan. Jonathan is always a little rough around the edges. He’s a good man, a fantastic father, but he’s also a rough Kansas farmer. He should struggle to communicate a little, dance around the more tender topics, that sort of thing.

I grew up on a farm. I know dozens of Jonathan Kents. This just doesn’t ring true to what the character should be.

Armaan: It worked for me, but then again, I do tend to enjoy a lot of saccharine things. Honestly, a lot of obviously saccharine, going-for-the-feels moments are what made me enjoy Taylor’s work in the first place. At the same time, it’s easy to understand just why this page doesn’t work for everyone, and I think you said the why of it best!

Jon speeds away from his authoritative parental figure to hang with his cool older brother figure instead, dropping in on Nightwing for advice. Now, I love it when Superman drops in on Batman and just hovers around while Batman is doing life-threatening action stuff with criminals because he doesn’t want help. What we get here is a lot funnier: Jon overcompensating with politeness, asking Nightwing if he can help round up the baddies; he doesn’t want to step on anyone’s toes, and Nightwing telling him to go ahead. It’s the superhero equivalent of two people being stuck at a door, saying, “No, please, after you.”

It’s a one-page gag, but damn if the action doesn’t look great as Superman swoops in and blows the fire out in seconds. Cian Tormey does a lot to show off Nightwing’s gracefulness, and keep the art lively. Even when they’re just sitting back and relaxing in the evening sun, these feel like bodies in motion. 

Tony: We’re back to what I said about Tormey last time he guested- I think I might like his work on the series a little more than others. He makes Jon feel a lot more awkward, a lot more immature. There’s still a confidence there, but when he missteps, he immediately draws inwards.

Armaan: Nightwing proves to be a much better listener than Batman, and after hearing Jon out, suggests that maybe talking things out with Jay is a more honest, open, on-brand approach for a Superman — which is when we find out more about Jay, the Revolutionaries and the experiments Bendix has done on them all. 

It’s through Jay that Jon finds out that Bendix has advanced the classic Suicide Squad technology – that is, putting bombs in people’s heads – to accomplish much more than just explosions. 

Tony: The action of the back half of the issue? I really liked that. This is the first time I felt Bendix was a threat. Once again this series is using the shared DCU better than almost any other series as well. Wally West and Ray Palmer felt essential, as Superman, Flash and the Atom try to remove the bomb from Inferno’s head. It’s tense, paced well and is solved in a uniquely Superman way. What did you think?

Armaan: Oh, yeah, I enjoyed this. Just before Kal-El left for Warworld, we saw that Jon is doing new things with his powers, his various vision powers especially. Taylor hasn’t touched on that too much, but using three kinds of Super-vision to perform microsurgery on a guy before he can explode? That’s cool. The last time we saw that was in JLA #51, and it took the combined powers of Superman, the Flash and the Martian Manhunter to make it work. 

Out of the Box Thinking

Armaan: Over in Action Comics, well…we have a lot to talk about, with these two issues. One thing’s for sure — as ambitious as this whole saga was, it appears that we may just be in the first chapter of something truly epic. It’s been a long time since DC’s revealed that an epic storyline is just a smaller part of an even more epic storyline and it hasn’t just exhausted me, but Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s just been hitting it out of the park with every issue. I’m in for the long haul.

First, we’ve got Ricardo Frederici back, giving Esad Ribic a run for his money in terms of the grandiose feel of every panel. We’re back to a fantasy gladiator comic again, and it looks magnificent!

Tony: I was so disappointed to lose Daniel Sampere, especially to a line-wide crossover. Frederici has stepped up and gone from an able replacement to doing something pretty special here. The series has become as much a fantasy book as it is a superhero or sci-fi book. I think we can attribute the majority of that to Frederici. 

Armaan: So, Superman is back, and the revolution is now in full swing. Clark’s new name – the Unbloodied Sword – is on the lips of every rebel as they defeat prisoners, take their iron, then invite them to join the rebellion, which is a very Warworld way of recruitment. Now that Superman’s on the war(zoon)path, though, Mongul’s minibosses bring in the big guns — and we finally find out where Manchester Black’s been in all of this.

The man known only as Teacher has built up quite a grudge for Manchester Black after having been scarred by him in their initial encounter. He’s been holding Black captive, torturing him, experimenting on him, and using the Orphan Box to bring Black’s nightmares to life. As if that wasn’t enough, Omac is here, working on Mongul’s side in the hopes of having Lightray returned to her. 

As she fights Clark, she asks him why he came to this planet when he knew he wasn’t at his best, and Clark’s mini-speech here may go down as one of the most inspiring Superman moments for me, as he asks, “Should we do what’s right only when we’re stronger than our enemies?”

Tony: Good grief, Johnson gets so much right with Clark Kent as a character.

Armaan: It’s somehow both a great Superman moment and one you realize wouldn’t come up too often — more often than not, Superman is stronger than his enemies. It’s his default state. Everything about the Warworld Saga, though, is far from default Superman, but who he is still shines through so strongly. 

Tony: That’s exactly something I feared with this story. This could have easily turned Superman into a fascist (as we’ve said before), but it’s done so much right to prevent that. This is a story about Superman doing the right thing at its core, but Clark had to fall for it to happen. I continue to like that, and I’m glad that increasingly we’re learning that the Authority wasn’t slaughtered. They’re going to come through different, but that doesn’t mean for the worse necessarily.

Armaan: Towards the end of the battle, Superman steals an Orphan Box — something that appears to be channeling the powerful, enigmatic Genesis energy, which is when we cut back to Earth. Thao-La, who’s been previously suffused with Genesis energy, is still in a coma, but she’s been charged up erratically. Lois Lane visits the one person she knows has been studying that energy, John Henry Irons, and we find out a little more about it. One of its main properties is that what affects the energy in one place affects the energy in all places — no matter how far across the universe the energy may be scattered.

Its more significant property, however, is this: the Genesis energy might be sentient. 

We’ve seen the Genesis energy bring dreams to reality. Create Atlantean Kaijus. Re-empower Phaelosians, and give them a few extra abilities. Finding out that this energy is sentient, well, like John says — something BIG is happening. 

Lore Galore

Armaan: We’re now at Action Comics #1,043, and oof, Tony. This is a dense one. There’s clearly been a lot of lore being sprinkled into the background, but this issue is not content with mere sprinkles. We’re getting the whole sundae. A two page spread dedicated to the witch holding the Enchantress captive. A back-up tale giving us the origin of Mongul. A myth carved into the very heart of Warworld that talks of a god’s soul, split in seven, destined to be reunited by either someone worthy or devastatingly unworthy. 

Tony: This issue was almost a little too much. I think I actually mixed in a few items from this issue as we were talking about the previous above. I’m an anti-decompression guy, but sometimes there can be too much plot.

Armaan: And that’s not even counting all the teases! The connection between the baby-in-a-jar named Orphan and the entity known as Darling. The reappearance of the hooded figure who instigated this whole mess. 

All that, and they still find room for plot progression in some pretty major ways. There’s so much happening all in this one issue, Tony, I’m not going to just ask you what your favorite moment is — I’m going to ask for your top three.

Tony: I’m glad to continue to see the Authority survived. Lightray now is the only question mark, and I have a feeling, considering the end of the Superman and the Authority mini, that Johnson may have a big surprise for her, rather than just simply “Mongul killed her but Genesis will ressurect her.” Clark continuing to be the rebellion leader without bloody-ing his sword is fantastic, and Johnson’s narration as Clark journals through the rebellion? I love that.

Armaan: While the strange, lore-heavy explanation of the witch was cool, and the origins of Warworld itself even cooler, the moment that stuck out to me the most was the separation of Orphan and the machine known as Darling. I’m so…distressed by that. We know so little about what Orphan is, it’s the weirdest and least explained part of Mongul’s army of henchmen so far. When the child is separated from Darling, we get a few lines about how one can’t feel the other anymore, and my heart goes out to them. The lettering here is what breaks me, as Orphan’s thoughts weaken. “I can’t feel you…I…I can’t.” 

Orphan’s clearly a big deal. The reality-altering, Genesis-harvesting boxes are clearly connected to the child. Superman and team take the child with them after saving Manchester Black from Teacher, using the latter’s own Orphan Box against him, and the fact that the child’s being given that little extra attention in an issue already crammed with strange ideas suggests to me that the child may be key, down the line. I’m just not sure how. 

Tony: You know what this keeps reminding me of? Thanos and the Black Order. Now we’ve gotten them explained all to hell but the weirdness and the scary factor of Mongul’s henchmen is so similar to that first couple of Black Order stories.

Let’s also get into the United Planets and Mongul. We get at least part of the backstory of the UP’s betrayal a few issues. The Durlan president of the United Planets has struck a deal with Mongul not to interfere with Warworld, which is why they didn’t give the Authority support. However, Thanagar has developed a Warworld-breaker starfighter, which Mongul is not happy about. It’s a cool twist, and shows that even as young as the UP is, it could still be corrupted in the same way we’ve seen in other stories involving them.

One part of me wonders if this where we might get the long hinted at J’onn J’onzz is RJ Brande story (which you have to admit would be a cool way to incorporate the criminally underused Martian Manhunter), but that’s clearly a ways off. What do you think?

Armaan: The United Planets is made out of politicians, not superheroes, and they will always choose what they think is the most practical option instead of fighting for the impossible — even if the most practical option is apparently groveling before the mightiest power in the room.

Speaking of power, though — we’ve got a hell of a reveal here. At the heart of Warworld is a gem that’s going to bring back a long forgotten god, and Superman is at the heart of that myth. We’ve seen references to him being part of some prophecy — I assumed this would be time-travel shenanigans, but no, we’re sticking hard to old school fantasy with a little Chosen One-ing, here. 

There’s so much I loved about this sequence — the color choices for each panel of the myth, making the components of this story feel like gemstones in their own right. I love the idea that a god can be destroyed, but redeemed if put together by the right person with the right MacGuffins. Mostly, though, I enjoy that in the DC Omniverse, the story of Superman is woven right into the fabric of reality, plucked out when myths are made across the multiverse. We’ve seen this idea played with across various DC Crises, but Superman’s story is a fundamental and pervasive part of DCs many, many worlds. 

Given the nature of Superman’s powers, writers are constantly having to either depower him or up the scale of things, just to give him a challenge. We’re seeing both happen here, and it feels appropriately grand. I’m so excited by everything this saga is giving us — and I’m hoping that none of it is ending anytime soon.

Daily Planet Headlines

• It’s nice to have a back-up linked to the Superman universe. The Martian Manhunter story wasn’t bad but it was forgettable and disconnected.
• Missing Jimmy Olsen pretty badly. So glad we’re getting new Jimmy material soon.
• The little detail that the Necropolis just keeps moving, on its own, is very cool.
• Warworld Saga continues to sell itself as a video game with the new reveal that the entire planet is a puzzle waiting to be solved.
• We still don’t know why the Phaelosians are a secret that the United Planets is desperate about keeping…but it feels like answers are close.

Armaan Babu

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.