Superman is flying high in the month of July and DC is doing their best to put the character’s best foot forward. This included the return of Treasury Editions. These oversized comics were a big part of DC’s publishing line in the Silver and Bronze Age, and Superman Treasury 2025: Hero for All #1, by Dan Jurgens and Bruno Redondo, is the perfect way to bring them back. This oversized issue sees the Earth attacked by two familiar faces for Superman fan — Maxima and the Cyborg Superman — and also brings back a character that fans of Superman and particularly Jon Kent will recognize as well — the alien princess known as Glyanna.
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Superman Treasury 2025: Hero for All #1 is excellent, and a big reason for that is Superman creator extraordinaire Dan Jurgens. Jurgens has been writing excellent Superman stories for years, and is the co-creator of Jon Kent. Jurgens has always been an expert with Superman’s brilliant supporting cast, and his work on Jon Kent helped define the character. Glyanna first appeared in Action Comics #1051, and her return in Superman Treasury 2025: Hero for All #1 was completely unexpected. Glyanna plays an important role in Superman Treasury 2025: Hero for All #1, swerving readers and giving them a twist no one expected.
Glyanna Used Jon Kent’s Naivete Against Him
Glyanna came from the planet P’luhnn, where the strongest is the ruler. Glyanna’s family ruled the planet for years, but Glyanna was convinced to overthrow her parents. However, the people of P’lunhh loved Glyanna’s parents, and nothing she could do would stop a rebellion against her. Glyanna decided to flee to Earth, looking to enlist the help of Superman to retake her throne. She landed on Earth and met young Jon Kent, using the boy’s naivete to spin him a yarn about her being overthrown by evil aliens. However, Jon revealed that Superman wouldn’t have helped her regardless, as the Man of Steel doesn’t really believe in the strong ruling over the weak, especially in a monarchical situation. Glyanna then decided to go in a different way. She took Jon hostage, taking him back to P’luhnn and bearing him in one of 120 lead cells. She told Superman that the only way he could get Jon back to was to help her retake her planet. Of course, Jon was no fool, so he started tapping a message to his father, which would have allowed Superman to find him. Glyanna drained the oxygen from the cell, telling Superman that he had to help her or that Jon would die. Of course, this was Superman, so he was able to save Jon and keep the people of P’luhnn from falling under her yoke.
Glyanna was a rather interesting character. She first appeared when Action Comics became an anthology book in 2023, and was always in one of the better stories month in and month out. Jurgens was joined by artist Lee Weeks, who he had previously worked with on Convergence: Superman and Superman: Lois and Clark. The two of them gave readers Jon Kent, and it was really cool to see the two of them bring Jon Kent his own villain. Glyanna wasn’t the first powerful alien princess to enter Superman’s life, but Jurgens and Weeks were able to take this trope in a completely new direction. Glyanna is probably the best Jon Kent villain of them all — in fact, she’s basically the only Jon Kent villain, who mostly fought against villains who had battled his father or other DC villains. Glyanna returning in Superman Treasury 2025: Hero for All #1 teamed Glyanna up with another alien princess — the former Justice Leaguer Maxima — and she is sent to find Jon Kent. Eventually, Glyanna decides to betray Maxima and Cyborg Superman, and throws in with Jon, helping him battle against the conquerors. It was a cool subversion by Jurgens and opened up a whole new facet of Glyanna to be explored down the road.
Glyanna and Jon Kent Actually Make a Great Team
One of the biggest problems with Jon Kent as the years went on was that he never really became his own character. Jon’s age jump, where he was held in an alternate universe until he was a teenager and then came back to the present not long after he disappeared, did a lot of damage to the character because no one knew what to do with him. He didn’t really have his own rogues gallery or supporting characters, and his stories mostly revolved around getting involved in other people’s lives, like his boyfriend Jay. Glyanna was one of the few characters that could be said to be a hundred percent part of Jon’s life, and getting to see her again was a treat.
It’s hard to know whether Superman Treasury 2025: Hero for All #1 is in canon — comics like these aren’t always — but if it is, this change in Glyanna could be used in Jon’s future adventures. Jon is a character with a lot of potential and giving him an erstwhile ally/enemy like Glyanna is just what he needs to make him his own character.
Superman Treasury 2025: Hero for All #1 is on sale now.
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