Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent

Jon Kent may have taken down Henry Bendix and saved Gamorra from his totalitarian reign, but now he’s about to face down an even worse threat.  You see, back when he was traveling the multiverse with another version of his father Jor-El, he wound up trapped for years at the mercy of Earth-2’s evil Superman, Ultraman.  Now this vile Man of Steel has decided to make it his job to go around and start killing Supermen from other universes, as Jon is informed by a couple of heroes who are trying to stop him.  Their plan is to take the fight to Ultraman himself, and while that seems like a tall order for the Son of Superman, there’s a new power in his arsenal that may help even the odds.

Sounds like a pretty decent setup, but maybe not something that can sustain a whole volume if it’s just going to be a grudge match between two Super-people.  Fortunately writer Tom Taylor has anticipated that and this final volume of his adventures of Jon Kent may be about something else entirely.  Something that at first seems just as predictable (and it ultimately is), but actually winds up having a lot of little details that elevate its plot.  Details that keep it from being entirely a good guys vs. bad guys story and one that hinges on having its characters talk things out in a way that leads to a surprisingly emotional ending.

Clayton Henry illustrates the majority of this story and his bright and energetic style is very superhero-friendly.  It’s just that the story being told, and especially its setting, feels like it needed an artist with a bit more grit to their style.  Like that of Darick Robertson, who handles one of the issues here.  I wouldn’t say the onetime artist of “The Boys” takes things as far as that series did, but he makes things feel a bit more serious, which works for his issue.  That’s not a dealbreaker for the miniseries as a whole, however, as it winds up being a more satisfying wrap-up to Taylor’s time with the character than the previous volume of “Son of Kal-El.”