Action Comics Preview Teases How Superman and Son’s Secret Identities May Come Back

December 25, 2022, 11:48am

DC may have revealed the method that Superman and Jonathan Kent’s secret identities are returning. One of the big changes to come from Brian Michael Bendis’ tenure on the Superman franchise included the world becoming aware that Clark Kent is Superman. Of course, once Superman’s secret identity was revealed, it was only a matter of time until Jon Kent became a public superhero as well. Jon became the Man of Steel of Earth while his father was off in space fighting on Warworld, but Kal-El’s return to Earth is leading to a relaunch of DC’s Superman titles.

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The first part of this relaunch comes in Action Comics #1050, and a preview teases how DC is going to put the Supermen’s secret identities back in the vault. Comicbook.com exclusively revealed the news that Superman and Jon Kent were getting their secret identities back, but now the Action Comics #1050 preview offers clues on exactly how that might happen. It involves Lex Luthor kidnapping Manchester Black and hooking him up to an old-time villain device, with nodes connecting to his head. This is important because Manchester Black has telepathic powers, so once the device is turned on, Manchester Black could potentially influence the world to make everyone forget who the Supermen are.

Action Comics Creative Team Discusses Returning Superman’s Secret Identity

Things aren’t all good for the Kent family; there are some hiccups in the process that restores their secret identities, and someone important to them faces dire consequences when it happens. Don’t worry, though; Superman doesn’t have to sell his marriage to the devil to make it happen or anything like that.

“The stories we’re about to tell in Action Comics, Superman, and Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent are a celebration of everything Superman is, from the Super Family to the Daily Planet to the most iconic love story in comics, Lois and Clark,” said Action Comics writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson. “Some elements of the Lois and Clark dynamic can only be there with the secret identity. And even just on a deep-down gut level, something about seeing Clark Kent in the tie and glasses again, ripping open his shirt to reveal the S-shield underneath, just feels AMAZING. It’s an image that puts John Williams’ music right in your ear, and you feel like you can fly. That’s how we want every Superman story to feel.”

“The truth is a very important thing for Clark Kent,” added incoming Superman writer Joshua Williamson. “For someone to steal that from him is a tragic moment and created a lot of interesting drama and story possibilities for the Superman line in 2023. We wanted to play with all the pieces of the great and iconic Superman mythology that we all love. When this challenge was presented to us, we wanted to make sure it was not just magically being put back in the box. There are dangerous repercussions to how this happens that lead to more story to explore. And you’ll see the start of that in Action Comics #1050!”

You can find the preview of Action Comics #1050 below. The issue goes on sale Tuesday, December 27th.