NYCC: Legendary Superman Writer Dan Jurgens Returns to Lois & Clark Timeline

By Russ Burlingame

Dan Jurgens, one of the most beloved Superman writer/artists of the last 40 years, is once again returning to the character in 2023 with Lois and Clark 2: Doom Rising. The story, a direct sequel to Jurgens' 2015/2016 miniseries Superman: Lois and Clark which teams him with that series' artist Lee Weeks, sends the Kents back to their farm in California, where a young Jonathan Kent is rocked by the revelation that his father had died years ago and been resurrected. Spinning out of the events of Jurgens's story in the upcoming Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special, the story gives fans a chance to see Jon in his youth, back before Jor-El absconded with him to outer space, and the son of Superman came back as a man in his own right.

In Superman: Lois and Clark, DC's Rebirth Initiative had not yet happened, and the Superman starring in the comic was actually the pre-New 52 version, who had been "rescued" from the end of that timeline along with Lois and their newborn son following the events of Convergence. The family lived under assumed names in California, while Clark wore a black-and-silver costume and secretly served as a hero, being sure never to be seen. After all, the world already had a Superman, so Clark was able to focus on his family.

"I think that doing the Lois and Clark series with Lee was such a highlight and we had so much fun doing it and building this family relationship between Lois, Clark and Jon. 'How do they interact? And how was Jon raised?' There are a lot of things that we wanted to continue to explore," Jurgens told ComicBook.com. "So when we had the chance to do it coming out of the 30th Anniversary Special, we set up the means by which it would work. What happens is we saw enough destruction in Metropolis, that Perry is able to tell everybody, 'Look, Metropolis is a problem. The streets are a problem. We need to get everything fixed up here. So for a few weeks, everybody gets to work at home.' So they decide to go back to the farm in California, which is where [Superman: Lois and Clark] took place, and have a family vacation where Lois and Clark keep working. But it also takes us on a new adventure for Jon, and continues to let us explore these ways in which they function, and to see Jon grow up. Because I think there was always going to be a lot of fun stories of how Jon grew up."

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When Superman: Lois and Clark wrapped up, Jon Kent had just learned the truth about his parents' history. He had also put on his dad's old cape for the first time and levitated a few inches into the air, setting in motion the chain of events that would eventually lead to Jon becoming Superboy (and eventually Superman).

"[Superman: Lois and Clark] was the story of Jon's powers really starting to emerge, and us getting this feeling that he's going to be special," Jurgens said. "So this gets us into a little bit more of these stories of Jon learning what it means to have powers, how to use those powers, how does it mean to interact with people? What is his responsibility and how do Clark and Lois react to that? So I think those all have some very fun moments, because they're all going to provide insight to the three characters."

In a way, while Jurgens's "Doombreaker" story in The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special is a sequel to the 1992 story Doomsday!: The Death of Superman, the story in Lois & Clark 2 is a little bit of a spiritual successor to Funeral For a Friend, the quiet, character-driven story that centered on Superman's supporting cast and how they dealt with a world in which the Man of Steel was suddenly gone. Jon's reaction to Clark's death (even though he is years removed from it) will drive the anniversary story, and that story will be a springboard for Lois & Clark 2, giving a bit of an intermediary step between the Jon who was a very young kid without power or responsibility in the first story...and Superboy, a role he had already embraced by the time Rebirth got into gear.

"There's been a lot of stories [since Superman: Lois and Clark], but I think some of that material skipped over some of what made Jon special in the first place," Jurgens explained. "If you go back to that moment at the end of our series where he kind of finds the cape and everything, he puts it on and levitates up a little bit. There's obviously a certain level of charm, but at the same time, that posed a lot of questions. 'What is next for Jon?' We saw some of it, this is how we get to go back and show a little bit more of it -- but more of it as it pertains to him and his parents alone."

Lois and Clark 2: Doom Rising launches in January, as a backup feature in a newly-reformatted Action Comics.

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