Does Mr. Oz Have Superman's Powers?

It has been two weeks since Mr. Oz, a seemingly-villainous character who has been lurking around the edges of the Superman titles for years, announced to the Man of Steel that he was in fact Jor-El, Superman's own father, inexplicably saved from Krypton's destruction.

In this week's Action Comics #988, the character does explain -- more or less -- how he survived Krypton's destruction and came to be on Earth. Along the way, he answers a question that some fans have been asking since the first rumors started to bubble up that Oz would be Jor-El: Does he have his son's powers?

The answer was likely clear to most during "Only Human," the fill-in arc by Suicide Squad scribe Rob Williams that immediately preceded the events of Action Comics #987 and the current "The Oz Effect" storyline.

In Action Comics #986, Oz loses his patience with Lex Luthor and, his patience gone, fires off a blast from one of his eyes, slashing the Superman shield -- also known as the crest of the House of El -- off of the villain-turned-hero's Apokoliptian battle armor.

The speculation even then was that Oz was using heat vision; rumors that he was Jor-El had started to hit the internet not long after San Diego Comic Con this summer, and a blast from the eyes, combined with the melted/damaged Superman sigil, seemed to cement the idea for some fans.

In Action Comics #988, though, he cinched the deal: in a flashback that explained where he came from and why he was so distrustful of humanity, Jor-El told his son about the moment when his heat vision kicked in and suddenly he had his Kryptonian powers.

The heat vision ripped through some bad people, but before he was able to truly confront the source of his frustration, he was teleported away, and from there the story goes in another direction.

"To this day I don't know if it was as simple as being in the sun…or if my controller let my powers emerge," Jor-El tells Superman in the issue.

But either way -- he's got those powers. That's one question solved.

You can get Action Comics #988 at your local comic shop or digltally on ComiXology.