Superman: Son Of Kal-El #13
Superman and Jay meet Dreamer and get a vision of what the Rising means for the superhero community in Superman: Son Of Kal-El #13, by writers Nicole Maines and Tom Taylor, artist Clayton Henry, colorists Marcelo Maiolo and Matt Herms, and letterer Dave Sharpe. This is a pretty stellar comic, one that finally lets readers in on what the Rising entails.
With the world baying about Jay’s identity as the Truth, Superman volunteers to take him to the Fortress of Solitude. When they get there, they’re met by Dreamer, who has something to show Superman. She shows him the future, as Bendix and his post-human corps make Gotham into a superhero killing trap that takes the lives of Superman and the Justice League. Afterwards, Superman tells Dreamer about her descendant from the Legion of Superheroes, Dream Girl, and gives her a gift from the future. Superman and Jay decide to take action from Gamorra, while Bendix prepares an object lesson for Nakamura, whose mother is the former President of Gamorra.
The set piece of this issue is the Rising, and it’s a doozy. This book has been building up to this moment for its entire run, with Bendix’s plan finally laid out for all to see. It’s the perfect plan to end the superhero community, driven by a familiar hatred to Superman fans. Bendix is Jon’s Lex, down to his motivations. The plan that readers see unfold is exciting, and it will be interesting to see how it all plays out in the coming issues. This is one of the coolest moments of the book so far, bar none.
The debut of Dreamer is a big deal, and Maines and Taylor do a great job with her. She’s mostly just a bystander in the issue, but readers who don’t know of her character from other media get a glimpse of who she is. The whole exchange where Superman tells her how Dream Girl thinks Dreamer will be the greatest and an inspiration for a thousand years in the future is pretty great, and hopefully Dreamer’s future will be bright.
Clayton Henry pencils this issue, and it looks amazing. His character acting is top-notch, and the Rising pages look phenomenal. Dreamer looks perfect as well. The colors by Maiolo and Herms are slick and really make the art pop. All in all, the art is fantastic; Henry’s line work is detailed and clean, capturing the action and brutality of the Rising wonderfully, and Maiolo and Herms’s colors are brilliant.
Superman: Son Of Kal-El #13 is the best issue of this book so far. Maines and Taylor bring Dreamer into the DC Universe proper, and her role in this issue is wonderful. Henry, Maiolo, and Herms are a fantastic art team, really bringing the script to life. This issue is so much fun.
