Superman: Son of Kal-El questions the character’s American values and sets Jon Kent on a mission that could see him go up against the USA… in a good way.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Superman: Son of Kal-El #1 on sale now.
“Truth, justice and the American Way” has been the motto of Superman since the 1940s. But now that the role of Superman has changed hands, Clark Kent’s son is looking to change things. Jonathan Kent’s Superman is set to oppose “the American Way” in his new series, potentially making the U.S. government his enemy. However, this new anti-American stance could potentially be a good thing.
Superman: Son of Kal-El #1 by Tom Taylor, John Timms, Gabe Eltaeb and Dave Sharpe opens with Jon fighting a forest fire caused by a scared, out-of-control metahuman. However, there are some noticeable differences. One is the acknowledgment of real-world wildfires and how they’re becoming more frequent. The other is what happens when he hands over the metahuman to the U.S. authorities.
Jon gains this young man’s trust, stopping the fire at its source, and hands him over. Jon assumes he’ll be taken care of. As he flies away and the young man apologizes for the damage caused, a soldier delivers a brutal blow to his head, knocking him out cold. The new Superman takes notice and flies back, ready to do what’s right. In the end though, he hands him over, stirring a lot of questions in the young hero about where he places his trust.
This incident leads to a very important conversation with Jon’s best friend, Damian Wayne aka Robin. Superman asks whether he was right to give the metahuman over to the government or if he’s worrying over nothing. Robin replies in the extreme negative, explaining that the authorities could be weaponizing the metahuman’s powers as they speak. Additionally, Jon probably could have helped more by taking the confused young man to the Fortress of Solitude or the Hall of Justice instead.
This incident has Jon reevaluating his father’s original role in the world. The opening issue of this new series tackles important issues such as climate change and police brutality. It frames Superman’s current role as reactionary, rather than taking a proactive stance and tackling the “root” of these problems.
Taking such a non-traditional role is bound to put him at odds with the U.S., but it wouldn’t be the first time that the government has been opposed to the actions of the Man of Steel. In the Action Comics #900 story “The Incident,” by David S. Goyer, Miguel Sepulveda and Paul Mounts, Superman renounced his U.S. citizenship as he was being viewed as a U.S. Agent when dealing with an international crisis. Unfortunately, some took his actions as a slight against America, not realizing the character was acting in the interests of the world as a whole.
Superman’s close relationship with the U.S. has been portrayed negatively in other stories as well. In The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, Lynn Varley and John Costanza, Superman was the only hero the U.S. Government allowed to operate freely. Although his intentions were good, this alliance led the public to see Superman as a puppet of America and put him at odds with Batman. In Geoff Johns and Gary Frank’s Doomsday Clock, the Man of Steel’s ties to America sparked the Superman Theory and lead to an international incident in Russia.
Considering how controversial Jon’s crusade could be and his father’s close connection to America, this new stance could potentially bring him into conflict with his father sooner rather than later. However, Clark Kent’s current stances in Action Comics and Superman and the Authority places his views somewhat in line with his son’s. In the former, he’s set to oppose the U.S. and Atlantis in an effort to do what’s right. In the latter, he views the Justice League and his past work as reactionary and feels they should have done something about the real problems in the world.
Still, there are other heroes who might disagree with the increasingly radical stance of the Supermen. Batman has shown his concerns about Jon since before he was born and is even more concerned about his growing power. However, Batman is no stranger to going against the law and would likely have no problem with Jon going against the U.S. The Justice League, however, is a different story. In Action Comics, they’re more concerned with maintaining the status quo than helping those really in trouble on Warworld.
Superman has always been an alien immigrant. While he has a duty to his adoptive home on a cosmic scale, Earth is as much his home as America is. Updating the old motto to become “Truth, Justice and a Better World” then is much more appropriate, deciding that putting America first belongs in the past and that Superman belongs to the world.
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