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Superman: Son of Kal-El #16

Scheduled to arrive in stores: October 11, 2022
Cover date: December 2022

"Reunion" - "Kal-El Returns: Part Two"

Writer: Tom Taylor
Artists: Cian Tormey & Ruairi Coleman
Cover: Travis Moore and Tamra Bonvillain
Variant Covers: Ariel Colon/Meg Huang

Reviewed by: Adam Dechanel
Click to enlarge


Jon remembers the first time his super hearing manifested back in the cornfields of Hamilton and how his father was there to comfort him through the pain.

A sad Jon wakes from his dream and realizes just how long it's been since he's heard from his father as he comes down for breakfast, he realizes that his mother is also experiencing the loss.

Pushing back the pain the two struggle on, Jon in particular struggles to continue on in the name of his father while maintaining his own relationships. He even has a touching moment with the survivor of The Rising.

Jon visits Lex to inform him of a robbery from a police evidence locker and of course Lex is less than grateful. As Superman races to stop an explosion, Lex swears that he will destroy the reputation of this 'alien masquerading as a teenager'.

Mercy is more concerned, explaining that the seized equipment is from an experiment called 'Red Sin'. And now it's in the wind.

Jon arrived at Stryker's Island to discover Ultra Humanite has escaped his cell. Superman is more than prepared and saves the day only for the guards to reveal the bomb was discovered and, in the process of being diffused, detonated outside the wrong cell... it was meant for another inmate.

As Jon soars away after the revelation he is stunned to hear a familiar heartbeat... his father, Clark!

Elsewhere the thief of the Red Sin tech is trolling message boards when the suggestion that Jon murdered President Bendix to save his boyfriend pops up.

The thief posts that he has the solution to end Jon Kent.

To Be Continued...

5Story - 5: Really enjoy the callbacks to previous storylines and that there is still an acknowledgement that Jon is struggling to be a superhero. It flows beautifully but definitely feels like the story is setting up bigger things.

I also liked that Clark's return was not a bigger chunk of this story because it would have felt rushed if he suddenly got thrust in to the story with the prison attack. Jon and Clark need a longer scene, as do Jonathan and Martha, and of course Lois.

I wonder if Tom Taylor's been watching "She Hulk, Attorney At Law"? The Red Sin plot seems very meta given the trolls that give Jon Kent similar treatment to Tatiana Maslany.

4Art - 4: The art has taken a noticeably cartoonier approach as of the last few issues. That's not a bad thing but I would like to see a little more detail in the line work as a lot of it seems to rely on Romulo Fajardo Jr.'s coloring to give the pages some depth.

5Cover Art - 5: 100% flawless. The joy, the art, the color palette. Just look at the happiness in Clark and John's faces. Just their expressions speak a thousand words.

5Ariel Colon's Variant Cover Art - 5: Ariel Colon's art here looks superb. Would have loved the title banner on the painting instead of plain text but I'm sure you'll agree that it looks epic. Jon looks a little like Michael J. Fox here, or is it just me?

4Meg Huang's Variant Cover Art - 4: I like the concept of the cover and the love of Nokia phones and Pogs (if you remember them!). It feels a little out of place on the book but it still made me feel happy.

Mild Mannered Reviews

2022

Note: Except for digital first releases, the month dates are from the issue covers, not the actual date when the comic went on sale.
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