Nearly a decade after fans were forced to say goodbye, one of the most beloved iterations of Superboy is back. With DC K.O. fast-approaching its end, DC Comics is already looking to the next phase of storytelling. We’ve had a lot of amazing stories in the All In era, and DC will continue building the hype with its upcoming Next Level initiative. The publisher gave fans quite the peak at what they could expect next March, and one of the most exciting sagas will be told over the Superman collection of comic books.
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Superman is missing, and the Man of Steel’s various titles are all placing a special emphasis on the junior Kryptonians with “Reign of the Superboys”. From Action Comics to Superman, all the titles will feature a Superboy in some way. And most curiously, Superman Unlimited #11 will be starring Jon Kent. Jon’s facing down a fourth-dimensional demon, one who is destined to become Jon’s nemesis in the future. The issue’s solicitation teases the “final moments of Jon Kent, Superman”, while also mentioning a special appearance by Superboy. And if that wasn’t enough, the issue’s cover features a Super Sons-era Jon!
Jon Kent is Back as Superboy, But Has He Really Ever Left?
It feels only like yesterday that we were in the Rebirth era and that we had multiple titles featuring Superman’s son, Jon Kent, in the role of Superboy. It made for some great stories, seeing Clark being a dad to a half-human/half-Kryptonian and watching Jon and Damian pal around in Super Sons. However, those days came to a close when Brian Michael Bendis took over the Superman corner of the DCU, and one of his first (and most lasting) changes was to age Jon Kent up from an 11-year-old to a 17-year-old.
This was a tough pill to swallow, and despite many fans hoping something would be done to restore Jon to his previous age, nothing ever happened. In fact, DC Comics has stood firm on Jon remaining fully-grown. Jon was made Earth’s Superman a few years after being aged up, and even after his father returned, Jon stayed in the role. There was an issue of Shazam! earlier this year that briefly had Jon get de-aged back into his Superboy form, but the subtext of that issue was more or less ‘we can’t go backwards, only forwards’.
Interestingly enough, though, in the near-decade since he was aged up, the Superboy version of Jon has popped up quite a bit. Aside from the de-aging story from earlier this year, DC Comics has released new stories set in the Super Sons’ era, and time-displaced versions of Jon have popped up in books like The Flash. Even though we’ve been told repeatedly that the classic Superboy is never coming back, DC Comics keeps revisiting that well. So the question is, is this upcoming appearance of Superboy another tease or something more permanent?
This is the Moment Superboy Fans Have Been Waiting For
It’s hard to piece together how Superboy is going to return in the upcoming Superman Unlimited issue from just the solicitation alone. But it does mention Jon fighting a fourth-dimensional monster and, in the DCU, the fourth dimension is time. We could very well see Jon de-aged as a result of fighting whatever threat he meets in this issue. The fourth-dimensional entity could also pluck a young Jon out of the timestream and have him join the modern-day DCU. But with the adult Jon nowhere to be seen on the released cover art, I’m putting my money on de-aging.
Can DC Comics really follow through on that after staying firm for all these years? After all, while classic Superboy has his fans, adult Jon has his fans, too. Then again, Superman Unlimited #11 is being written by Dan Slott, and if there’s a writer out there who’s not afraid to make big changes to a character, it’s him (just look at Slott’s run on Spider-Man). Personally, I hope this isn’t just a tease. Jon’s been a bit stagnant for a while, and I think turning back the clock would honestly be the best move for him.
Now I’m a seasoned-enough fan to know not to get my hopes up based on covers. This is DC Comics doing its part to market “Reign of the Superboys” by tossing out things to get fans excited. I’ll admit it’s working, and I am cautiously optimistic. I would love to see Jon back as Superboy, but given DC Comics’ reluctance, I’m not going to hold my breath. At least until DC Next Level has a few months under its belt and we have an idea of whether this is a legit status quo change for Superboy or not.
Are you excited to see Superboy back in DC Comics? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts on the ComicBook Forum!
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Image courtesy of Universal Pictures.
