Heart to Hearts and Trips to the Zoo In SuperChat

Kal-El is back. And he’s brought change with him — change that are making a lot of people nervous. Now that he’s back home, though, Superman’s focus is clear: his family comes first, above all else.

Watch him deal with the fallout of claiming Olgrun’s Fire in Action Comics #1,048, written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, drawn by Mike Perkins, colored by Lee Loughridge, and lettered by Dave Shapre, with a backup story written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, drawn by David Lapham, colored by Trish Mulvihill and lettered by Dave Sharpe. 

Meanwhile, Jon is over the moon (and a lot of other planets along the way) to have his father returned to him. There is one conversation, though, that Jon’s been dreading — there are some things that are never easy, not even for Men of Steel. We talk about one of the most important conversations of Jon’s life, in Superman: Son of Kal-El #17, written by Tom Taylor, drawn by Cian Tormey and Ruairí Coleman, colored by Romulo Fajardo Jr., and lettered by Dave Sharpe.

Armaan Babu: I feel swindled. I was assured, Tony – assured! – that this was a crossover. Look at those covers! “Kal-El Returns” Parts 3 and 4! Though both books feature a lot of the same characters, however, there is very little connective tissue between the stories in those books.

I’m not too mad, though — because while they’re both very different stories, I’ve been enjoying them both. What about you?

Tony Thornley: Yeah, it’s an interesting crossover, because it’s entirely thematic. It’s a nice change of pace!

Dis(Ol)grun-tled Foes at the Zoo

Armaan: We once again open with a visit to John Corben (his frie- er, foes call him Metallo) — this time in a shiny, new, ultra-mobile body, courtesy of his visitor and would-be patron, Lex Luthor. Luthor wants Metallo to take part in some unspecified but undoubtedly nefarious scheme, but Corben wants nothing to do with him. Luthor, of course, is not a man who takes “no” for an answer, not when there are loved ones he can threatened, so it looks like a Luthor-Metallo team up is inevitable. 

One thing I’m curious about is why we’re getting so much focus on Metallo here. He’s never been one of the more interesting Superman villains, and the Kryptonite heart that makes him so dangerous is an effect that Lex can easily replicate.  My heartstrings are slightly plucked at the sight of a reluctant villain, but it’s been two issues of John Corben bookending Action Comics, and I’m no closer to understanding why I should care about him. I’m hoping there’s a big payoff for all of this build-up, but after the Warworld Saga? I’m starting to wonder a little if Phillp Kennedy Johnson is better at implying better payoff than actually capable of delivering. 

Tony: I like Metallo, but largely that’s because I hear Malcolm Macdowell’s voice whenever he’s on page. I think he can be an interesting villain, but I really don’t think we’re being given enough reason to care in this arc. It’s interesting how much the Superman titles can flip flop- it doesn’t seem like both Superman ongoings have been good at the same time since at least the New 52. This arc is slow and plodding. It’s mostly just building anticipation up to Action #1,050 but at least we do get that incredibly solid third act stinger.

Armaan: In the meantime, however, it’s time for the newest members of the Super-Family to partake in an important Earth ritual meant to strengthen the bond between the young and their caregivers: a trip to the zoo. 

Initially, I thought that the kids might be better served looking through the zoo at the Fortress of Solitude, but Lois is trying to get the kids used to Earth, the Metropolis Zoo is probably a better idea. Plus — you don’t get the chance to run into Bibbo at the Fortress! His interaction with the kids was very charming. 

Tony: Bibbo made me miss the triangle era so badly. Metropolis was such a living breathing entity, and there were so many rich characters. Maybe the new three-stories-per-issue format of Action coming up will use some of this supporting cast better. More Bibbo is not a bad thing.

Armaan: Unfortunately, this lovely day out is soon interrupted by a bunch of New Gods (Desaad, Kalibak, Metron and Orion) dropping in to spout their general New God nonsense: dire warnings of great cosmic importance, foolish mortals have done foolish things, and they’re here to fight about it. Specifically, they’re afraid of what Superman’s started: a seven-part quest that will ultimately awaken the god Olgrun, who has a 50-50 chance of becoming extremely evil once reconstituted. Since Olgrun’s Fire was used to bring Osul-Ra back to life, Osul-Ra has now become “Olgrun’s Heir”. It’s not made clear what that means exactly, only that the New Gods want him — and Superman’s not about to let that happen. 

Tony: I think you kind of skipped past one of the more interesting parts of this moment. This isn’t a group of New Genesis gods or Apokolips gods. Normally we’d get Orion, Forager and Lightray, or the Female Furies, or Kalibak and Kanto. Not so here. This is a mixture of Fourth World gods from both planets. That kind of made the whole moment feel way more dire to me. Olgrun has now been teased in a way that makes me near giddy to see where this narrative Chekov’s gun leads. Good opportunity to do some interesting stuff there.

Armaan: There’s been an…inconsistent but constant build-up of mistrust around Superman, ever since he came back. Is he really the best person to save the planet, or are his choices making things more dangerous than ever? Would Earth be safer without these aliens around? The kinds of questions Lex wants asked, because he has one answer: Earth should be for humans, and humans alone.

Lex’s motivations for villainy are either ambition, greed, xenophobia or some mix of the three. It’s the xenophobia that makes him the most blatantly evil. He gets petty, and increasingly direct in his approach, and it’s always disheartening to watch the doubt he tries to foster slowly sink into people’s minds. 

Tony: I’m all for good Lex content. We have gotten some hints as to where his story is going, both in the text and via solicits. I think Lex as an antagonist works better as the machiavellian businessman than Hannibal Lector, but I think there’s an interesting direction here.

Armaan: This book has been inconsistent in terms of art. This issue, we get Mike Perkins and Lee Loughridge. There’s a sense of drama to Mike Perkins’ art that I think is going to be especially effective next issue, as we focus on the New Gods — a sort of barbaric nobility about them. Lee Loughridge’s colors here use a lot of faded yellows, oranges and reds. It looks like the world is slowly being burned alive, it feels like doom. It doesn’t work so well in the lighter moments of the issue, but hey, Superman: Son of Kal-El is giving me the more joyful colors I need. 

Tony: It was so welcome to see Perkins on art! My goodness, I liked that.

Heart-To-Hearts with Fathers & Sons

Armaan: Sometimes I like my Superman comics to just be a little cartoon-y, and Superman: Son of Kal-El is a good place for that. Forget Olgrun, forget Warworld, forget Jon’s newest Phaelosian siblings — all that matters here is that Jon’s dad has come back home. 

Tony: Coleman is such a good fit for the art here. He depicts the sweet connection and awkwardness between Clark and Jon so well. In these first few pages, Jon feels like a teenager again, instead of the even more aged-up character we’ve gotten since taking the Superman title. I would really be onboard for Coleman taking over as lead artist Jon’s stories long-term after Adventures of Superman.

Armaan: We open with the two Superman racing across solar systems just for the fun of it. Jon is elated, Clark wears a calmer, pride-filled smile. Jon is thrilled, while Clark’s at peace after a rather tumultuous time away. Even the awkwardness that’s between them as Jon steels himself for his coming-out conversation is a light one. This is simple, wholesome, family fun. 

Tony: I’m glad that the “Clark is losing his powers/dying” story has been resolved, so that isn’t hanging over this. Taylor and Coleman do such a fantastic job at showing this moment as a father and son reconnecting after some time away. There’s awkwardness and tension, but it’s realistic. There’s still so much love between father and son here, which a lot of creators may have left out.

Armaan: Clark’s being patient, waiting for Jon to talk to him. It’s public knowledge on Earth at this point, but neither Superman has addressed it. Clark turns to his own father for advice here, good ol’ Jonathan Kent Sr., who mentions that Jon may have been storing up a little unintended resentment for Clark leaving, leading to a little broken trust. He reassures Clark, however, that like the Kent farm, there is still time to rebuild. It’s simple, heartwarming stuff. 

What’s less simple, however, is the introduction of our new villain: The Red Sin. The boy seems to have lost his parents somehow, and has a certain hatred for Jon. Beyond that…I am not sure I know what to make of him. Tony?

Tony: My only problem here is that we only have an issue with him before the series relaunch. Red Sin’s human form is a bit of an enigma but relatable. Taylor does just enough to make us interested. Then he powers up, and it seems like instead of being this same young man with red sun powers, Red Sin is instead some sort of possession? This is definitely an interesting new villain, but he has no time to develop before potentially being shelved for later.

Nonetheless, he kicked Jon’s ass, and that’s something Jon hasn’t experienced yet, especially not with red sun. I like that part of the story a lot. He’s scary but also there’s something new to him in relation to our hero that makes the story way more interesting. Also, Taylor deserves credit for not going with another Kryptonite villain.

Armaan: Recovering from Red Sin’s attack, Jon is visited by a worried Jay, who is being boyfriend-y enough for Jon to realize he can’t put the conversation off any longer. 

It’s a conversation that goes well — and that was never in any doubt, not in a Superman comic, and especially not in a Tom Taylor one. I do like the moment of Clark trying to relate to his son’s experience, of having loving parents but still being worried enough to hide a part of himself from them. He acknowledges that it’s not exactly the same experience, but there’s something very recognizable in a man grasping at whatever he can to better connect to a loved one.

Tony: Especially Clark Kent, a man who is empathy incarnate. He doesn’t fully relate, but he does his best and he empathizes with his son. (Another good example of how badly Geoff Johns got the Rainbow Lantern Justice League so wrong in Blackest Night a decade plus ago.)

This issue is just a fantastic distillation of the concept of SUPERMAN. When Taylor gets it right, he really gets it right.

Daily Planet Headlines

• Idle wondering: has there…ever been a moment when Lex Luthor decided to take on a supervillain name? Even Doctor Doom puts a title in front of his name to sound more impressive, but Luthor’s always just been Luthor. Surely in 80+ years of comics he’s at least been tempted?
• More classic Superman supporting cast please! Jimmy Olsen, Cat Grant, Keith White, so on and so on. The book is so much richer with them in it.
• Clark and Lois getting a second chance at raising a pre-teen with the twins will be fun.
• Looks like the secret identities are going back in a box! Good!
• Tony forgot to pick up Death of Superman Anniversary Special, so we’ll cover it next time!

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.