Warning: Spoilers ahead for Superman #6, in stores today.
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Today’s issue of Superman from writers Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason, with art by Gleason and Mick Gray, resolves the “Son of Superman” arc that kicked off the series with Superman: Rebirth #1 and establishes a new status quo for the Man of Steel…and his family.
In an issue that saw the return of a beloved supporting character thought dead, and the elevation of Superman as Metropolis’s #1 protector, probably the most important element takes place on the book’s final page.
Thats the reveal — complete with a stylish new logo — that Jonathan White/Smith/Kent has officially been named the DC Universe’s new Superboy.
Jonathan Kent was first introduced in Convergence: Superman by Dan Jurgens and Lee Weeks, who took the infant into his preteen years in Superman: Lois and Clark, an 8-issue miniseries currently on sale in trade paperback. He made his first appearance in costume (but wasn’t explicitly named on the page) in Superman #2.
Due to the nature of Lois & Clark, Jon did not know that his father was Superman until very recently. He is still — even in this issue — wrapping his head around the dishonesty that being a superhero sometimes demands.
For those not yet up to speed, the current Superman in the comics is from a different version of the DC Universe that ended when Flashpoint happened in 2011. For a time, the rebooted DCU had its own Superman, but he recently died, leaving behind mysteries as to the nature of both his and the old/new Superman’s relationship to the universe he inhabited.
The pre-Flashpoint Superman had previously been rebooted following a 1985 event story, Crisis on Infinite Earths, and ultimately married Lois Lane in 1997’s Superman: The Wedding Album. The pair remained married despite a number of minor continuity rewrites until the 2011 reboot. A 2015 series titled Convergence revealed that the post-Crisis, pre-Flashpoint Superman was alive, powered down, and living with a pregnant Lois in space (it makes sense in context, promise).
Besides his monthly supporting role in Superman and Action Comics, Jon Kent is expected to appear in Super-Sons, a new series also starring Batman’s son Damian Wayne (Robin), soon.
Introducing Jonathan to the Justice League was a big step: in the early issues of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman visited Lois and Clark’s home and asked about the boy — something that made Jon paranoid of this world’s superheroes for at least part of the “Son of Superman” storyline.
Superman #6 is available at your local comic shop or on ComiXology today. You can check out preview pages from the issue in the image gallery attached.
