So yes, the young Jon Kent rescued from a volcano is not the version we knew, but his Earth 3 counterpart, the son of Ultraman of the Crime Syndicate. And having been ushered towards a red sun cage by Steel in the middle of a green kryptonite crisis, he’s freaking out. With Steel’s hammer.
As the ‘real’ Jon, currently in the guise of Tomorrow Man, tries to calm down his younger doppleganger, his mother, Lois, is on the phone to her in-laws.
Well, you can guess who Lois is hoping will soon be racing to her side from Kansas. And he’s not alone.
Meanwhile, Robin the Teen Wonder arrives, having worked out just who Young Jon is.
Despite Damian Wayne’s suppositions, though, Jon is more confused than manipulative. And scared. But more new arrivals see him only as a threat.
That’s not JSA member Jade at the back of the picture, but Superwoman Lana Lang, green from having absorbed dangerous energy that’s exploded from kryptonite samples. And driving the Supermobile, Lois Lane. With Krypto and Batman too, that’s a lot of power in one panel.
But it’s not sheer numbers that stop young Jon, it’s the empathy of his regular Earth counterpart.
After keeping his face hidden from everyone for fear of L’il Jon learning they’re the same person – which he now knows they’re not – Big Jon reveals all.
Aha, Txyz, the trickster villain from Superman Unlimited #11 proves as untrustworthy as expected. Back then I thought he was simply throwing a paradox at Jon, but it turns out the ‘Ultraboy’ swap was deliberate. And Txyz is up to his old tricks – or future tricks, if he’s to be believed.
And it’s Jon’s choice that leads to the issue’s surprise guest, and the promise of big excitement in future.
Writer Dan Slott certainly sticks the landing here, with an action tale that’s also a character piece, showcasing both Jons while also providing good moments for Lois, Steel, Damian and more.
The only off-note for me was the nod to last year’s Superman film, but rather than a dopey Martha Kent terrified of a tablet, it’s Jonathan who’s the tech dunce. Still, he gets the job done so far as warning Smallville about the Green K storm goes.
I’m pleased Earth 3 Jon doesn’t turn out to be evil here, just terrified that the peaceful new life he’s found is a lie, and hobbled by amnesia. Let’s just hope homeworld conditioning doesn’t kick in down the line, though – remember, there’s currently an opening for a new Ultraman.
With Lana still a Kryptonite Woman at issue’s end and Batman promising to help solve the problem of infected K-metal, I guess this will feed into the upcoming Zod crossover in the Super books. And hopefully that will bring an end to the Kryptonite meteor business that’s both powered and dragged down this series.
As was obvious from the start of this storyline, ace reporter Lois Lane knew instantly Tomorrow Man was her son. Hopefully that terrible black mask will soon be dumped – Jon’s put it back on for the final page! The rest of the outfit, I don’t mind at all.
There’s a lovely moment with Lois and Jon, as she finally gets a sense of closure so far as the aging up of her son – well, from her point of view, Jon did age normally, just away from her – goes. Along with this, the idea of Jon as a reporter is dumped, he’s going to decide himself what he wants to be.
Lucas Meyer again shows he’s the best superhero artist at DC, with striking storytelling, strong figurework and mastery of mood. The splash page this issue is a perfect example of his skills, a dynamic moment as ‘Jon 3’ whacks ‘our’ Jon with Steel’s hammer, Beppo the Super Monkey silently screaming at the rear as John Henry Irons ensures he can’t join the fray.
And to be pithier, how cool is that Bat-bike!
It’s just been announced that Steven Wacker has returned to Marvel as Editor-in-Chief, presumably with a mission to reinvigorate the sleeping giant, and if he’s seen Meyer’s work he’s going to be scouting him. DC needs to offer Meyer a big fat exclusive and get him on a Satellite JLA book. You’re welcome, DC.
Add in the eye-popping colours of Giuliano Peratelli, attractive letters of Dave Sharpe and intense cover of Taurin Clarke, and we have quite the package.
The last five issues have been the most consistently great since Superman Unlimited began – I really hope the current creative team sticks together awhile… Justice League of America permitting.
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 
hanks to you, I’m reading this book regularly. I even got and read it yesterday to be ready for the inevitable review. Slott does love his gimmicks but stories like this show that he doesn’t need them when he writes from the heart. I do want a resolution to promised between Damian and Jon. That way we can both get what we want. And doesn’t Earth 3 change between appearances. If Jon-3 is on Prime Earth when it happens, his parents will be different and no longer his parents!
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I’m glad you’re enjoying this storyline, hopefully the quality will continue.
And it’s true, Earth 3 does seem something of a shapeshifter.
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I don’t care for the bait and switch of this storyline and the contemptuous line “. . .been laughing for months,”. It’s clear that DC has no idea what to do with an adult Jon Kent, and now we have the possibility of an evil young Jon as well? The full face mask says it all: they have dropped the ball and refuse to pick it back up for reasons of “who knows”? Great review!
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Jon’s age up was cemented the minute they okayed his being bi. Very few comic writers even seem to know how a bisexual person acts IRL. I suspect that use it to make a character effectively gay without using the word gay. They seem to fear too the online backlash should they portray the newly bi characters with a partner of the opposite sex, as if they’re erasing the gay rather than portraying how most bi people’s love lives go. Returning Jon to prepubescence would also de facto un-bi/gay the character and get the feared online backlash, which in this age of lower sales would theoretically to them cost sales.
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I understand the premise you’re supposing, but what sales are driven by Jon at all? I do think too much is made of potential backlash, but fear is usually illogical. Thanks for the reply.
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That’s a great point, it’s obvious the online heat around him being bi didn’t translate to solo title sales, and his supposed fanbase has moved on.
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Almost every exec/boss seems cowed by the online zeitgeist even if it seems spurious to us.
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I reckon you’re right on all counts. I was talking to a DC writer a couple of years who said there was no way DC would go back on the older Jon business. But I kept my fingers crossed.
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Thanks for the kind words. That perhaps barb went right over my head! I must have been asleep.
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I was hoping that Slott and DC had figured out a way to have Little Jon alongside the aged-up version, but then the ending (and the surprise guest) took that away. That was disappointing. Maybe, they will get there eventually. I jumped (back) onto this title for the Little Jon story (and Beppo!), but I’ll probably jump back off. There is too much good Super-stuff now (Superman, Action, Supergirl) to stick w/ a book that I find average at best.
Super Captain
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I’m sorry you were disappointed, Super Captain, but I see why. I shall try to keep you up to date, Beppo and all.
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My theory about Earth 3 is that it is actually a distinct multiverse of its own that is linked to ours and it seems to change from time to time just like the regular multiverse does.
I also think that the Threeverse is not evil, it just leans that way and Jon should be able to grow up a decent person on Earth Prime (I still think Earth Prime should be our real universe and the DC Prime should be 1) because he is being raised by decent people. Maybe he might be a bit more aggressive, but still a good guy.
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That’s a top theory, it shall be my new head canon.
And cheers for the optimism, I’ll go with that too – the notion that certain Earths were predisposed towards good or bad never made sense.
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I liked the resolution to this story. But I don’t know why Jon put the mask back on in the end. Weird. I feel like had Ultraboy stuck around, he would have ended up as another Chris Kent, and that would be a shame.
I know this is a very minor nit-pick, but it would have been fun to see a cameo of Fire & Ice (& L-RON) helping out with Smallville’s emergency alert. They are still there, after all.
I wish Steel and Lana would be highlighted more – perhaps giving Steel a monthly series again? I feel like Lana the Kryptonite Woman is going to be handwaved away before her next appearance.
As for Earth-3, my head cannon has always been that since those with the super powers powers are not moral, they would change time whenever things didn’t go their way – consequences be damned. (Though I still maintain that the Crime Syndicate in JLA: Earth 2 by Morrison and Quietly was from the Anti-Matter Universe. I have no issue with there being universal variations of the bad guys, too.)
I concur that Earth-3 is not totally evil: there are heroes there (historically Luthor, but also Jokester, The Riddler, Lady Sonar, etc.), it’s just that they are the underdogs and unlikely to ever achieve true victory.
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Oh, I bet you’re right about Lana’s green period likely being handwaved away, the way her powers have come and gone are utterly handwavey, so much so they may as well call her Handwaveywoman.
That’s a great point about Fire and Ice, Jeff, it feels like something Dan Slott would do, too.
Yes please to more Steel, John Henry is criminally underused. And doesn’t he still have a JSA Lost Child great-uncle or something out there?
I’d love to see more of the good guys from that Crime Syndicate mini. And that’s an excellent theory about Ultraman and co likely tweaking their timeline. I never liked the Morrison/Quitely version.
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Well there you go:
https://bleedingcool.com/comics/morgan-hampton-to-write-new-steel-ongoing-series-for-dc-comics/
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Manifested, as they say.
Definitely a strong answer to the accusations that DC had forgotten it’s Black characters. Steel, Static, and Vixen all getting ongoings? Great news! I am eagerly awaiting all three series!
I feel like we’ve pretty much had the Morrison/Quitely version of the Crime Syndicate ever since they debuted in Earth 2. The Silver Age versions were evil, but I feel like that take is what gave us the sadistic versions we still see (even in the pages of World’s Finest).
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silly WordPress… this was me….
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I’ve never read a Static comic, just guest appearances. I’ve not read much Milestone at all, just the Icon trade, which I liked. I was put off the line by the odd colouring.
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