Superman: Son Of Kal-El #4
Superman deals with Bendix's attack and its aftermath in Superman: Son Of Kal-El #4, by writer Tom Taylor, artist Daniele Di Nicuolo, colorist Gabe Eltaeb and HI-FI, and letterer Dave Sharpe. Taylor again captures the epic Superman feel this book needs, doing a fantastic job.
Superman laments his father's leaving and sits down to dinner just as Faultline hits the house. He gets his grandparents out and realizes that Jay is a posthuman himself, with powers. He goes back to check on his grandparents as the Justice League shows up to deal with Faultline. He races back to stop them, but not before Wonder Wonder is knocked away. The League listens to him and leaves, at which point he sees his grandparents off and talks to Jay about his powers. Jay makes a call to someone, and he and Superman make their way to Metropolis to meet two of Jay's friends, Aerie and Wink, who have info on the Gamorran posthuman program. Jon reads it and brings it to his mother, who agrees that it's valid but urges Jon to be careful with Bendix. He confronts the Gamorran president, confirming he's lying in his denials about the attack. Bendix has a trap for Superman, though, one which involves the fire-powered person from the first issue, which has an interesting effect on the new Man of Steel.
Taylor gets how to write a Superman story, even if he's not writing about Clark. The book opens with some slo-mo day-saving, showing that Jon has learned his lessons well and goes from there. The fact he has the wherewithal to race back to the crater to talk the Justice League down from attacking Faultline shows just how much of a seasoned hero he is. He even beats the Flash there, which is pretty impressive. That's not to say he's faster than the Flash, but it's a big deal anytime Superman beats a Flash, especially Wally. Wally and Jon have a nice chat about taking over for one's idols, and it's a great moment of bonding between two fan-favorite legacy characters.
While Lois cautions Jon about going to Gamorra, there's no doubt that's pretty much exactly what Clark would have done in the same circumstances. In fact, Taylor goes out of his way to show Jon reacting to threats the way his father would. It feels like Taylor is trying to reassure readers that even though Jon has his differences, he's still Superman. Even the trap at the end of the book is something Clark would fall for, although he certainly would have known it was a trap going in, something that Jon doesn't. He has the moves, but he's missing a bit of the skill, which makes sense.
Di Nicuolo's art feels like Timm's art a bit, but his linework is lighter. It all works, capturing the action of the scenes therein. He also has a knack for character acting, something which definitely makes a difference as the book goes on. All in all, the art is still at a high level, with the opening pages of Superman saving the day acting as the book's highlight.
Superman: Son Of Kal-El #4 feels like Taylor's way of reassuring readers that Jon is just as good a Superman as his father. It works splendidly; he also builds up the threat of Gamorra and shows just how good Bendix is at playing this game. Di Nicuolo's art looks great and really helps the script along. This is a fun comic that makes a case for why Jon deserves to be Superman.
