Superman: Son of Kal-El #3 review

In Central City, Superman and son Jon rescue hundreds of people – and pets – from a building hit by an unnatural disaster.

A young superhuman at the scene denies all knowledge of causing the building to fall, but her costume rather unsubtly hints that she was involved.

Jon is called away by new pal Jay to a protest in support of the boatload of refugees he recently rescued. And he puts his money where his mouth is, insisting that if the police are arresting the demonstrators, they take him in too.

He really is his parents’ son! I’ve not really been too excited by the prospect of Jon setting aside supervillains for social justice causes but here the son of Superman makes a convincing case.

Writer Tom Taylor also gives us a fun meeting between Jay and the Kent family, a brilliant rooftop chat twixt father and son, and reassurance as Jon mourns his dad, even though he’s not dead… yet?

I still don’t entirely trust Jay but the fact that Superman takes to him immediately implies that he’s probably OK… you’d have to be a pretty special liar to not alert a guy whose super-senses are always on. And his reaction on meeting Lois seems sincerely sweet.

This issue also gives us more of the mysterious Henry Bendix, and he’s a real stinker.

The best moments are the conversations Jon has with his dad, and the teamwork between them – when Superman comes back from his Warworld adventure in Action Comics, I’d love this book to be retitled Superman & Son, showcasing both Men of Steel. Or even better, give Lois, Martha and Jonathan regular roles in a series entitled Superman Family.

The artistic highlight of ‘The Truth Part 2’ is that opening rescue at a building named after the most famous artist to base himself in Central City, Carmine Infantino. And John Timms’s layouts have the verve of a Flash artist, the tilted panels leading the eye across the page and adding a dash of tension.

There’s another great moment later when a hero falls, and you can feel the hit on the pavement. In fact, barring an off-model Cat Grant and a single page with very weird Jon faces – he looks like an Auton from Doctor Who – the art is terrific throughout.

Dave Sharpe’s letters are easy on the eye, and Gabe Eltaeb’s colours look terrific, I especially like that he uses slightly different blues for the father and son super-suits.

I see what Timms is going for with the cover, and he’s pretty much nailed the perspective, but the overall effect isn’t great, with too much of Superman hidden behind the cover furniture. I do love the sheepishly proud look on Jon’s face, though.

A more than decent issue ends on an explosive cliffhanger. Roll on next month.