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Superman: Son of Kal-El #18 [Final Issue]

Scheduled to arrive in stores: December 13, 2022
Cover date: February 2023

"Security" - "Kal-El Returns: Part Six"

Writer: Tom Taylor
Pencillers: Cian Tormey & Ruairi Coleman
Inkers: Cian Tormey, Ruairi Coleman & Scott Hanna
Cover: Travis Moore and Tamra Bonvillain
Variant Covers: Simone Di Meo/Nathan Szerdy/Jim Lee, Scott Williams & Alex Sinclair

Reviewed by: Adam Dechanel
Click to enlarge


The Supermen and Justice League work together to rebuild the Kent Farm and install an invisible force shield even Clark can't penetrate when activated.

Nightwing and Lois arrive having investigated Red Sin and reveal all his secrets. Clark and Jon agree to be on the lookout for Luis Rojas (Red Sin). Unfortunately, having revealed their private lives to the world means everyone they love is a target.

Luis targets Jimmy Olsen as a hostage and plants a bomb in the Daily Planet, Clark races to find Jimmy while Jon evacuates the Daily Planet. When Jimmy's signal watch doesn't switch off, Jon grows suspicious and races to help his father.

Jon's powers shut down and he begins to remember how helpless he was at the hands of Ultraman and his time with the Legion of Superheroes. He remembers a gift from Brainiac-5 that would help recharge him, but when he activates it something happens much like it did during the Bendix attack.

Jon wastes no time and gets his father to a safe distance before taking Luis out at a distance.

Later on Stryker's Island Lex Luthor reaches out to Luis and manipulates him and his xenophobic thoughts to his own gain…

To Be Continued in "Action Comics #1050" 'Project Blackout' then be back next month with "Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #1".

4Story - 4: Some really nice moments, such as Diana and Martha bonding, and Clark imparting knowledge, but the main plot with Red Sin just felt a little flat. After such an amazing run, this issue introduced more plot elements. Ordinarily I'd be hyped but this was a final issue and it just felt like the middle chapter of a book. You may feel differently, but what if you didn't want to follow the title to the relaunch and just wanted to read this title from start to finish? Maybe if this storyline had another two issues to flesh out the villain and did't involve a crossover I'd feel differently. It was still a great read but I just felt it would have been nicer for the book to go out with a bang.

4Art - 4: I enjoyed the art though there were a panel or two where Clark looked a little too bulky in my opinion. At first glance the art looks a little sparse but if you take a second look there is far more detail hidden in the panels than you might think. I liked that I had to reread the book to catch the finer details.

5Cover Art - 5: Love this cover. I wish Jon and Luis actually had the fist fight. The composition, line work and color palette give it a real action and peril vibe.

4Simone Di Meo Variant Cover Art - 4: This cover is so fun, mainly as it succeeds so well where other artists sometimes struggle. Showing a snapshot of super speed in a way that feels epic and realistic. I love the colouring and the motion blur. More please!

4Nathan Szerdy Variant Cover Art - 4: I know this is celebrating Lois' new role as a TV investigator, it just feels a little too futuristic. The art is beautiful but the concept feels a little too tech based for Lois. My viewpoint probably doesn't make much sense but if they had substituted Lois for Oracle then perhaps it makes my odd opinion a little clearer?

3Holiday Variant Cover Art - 3: I probably would have erased the 2014 tag from the cover. It's a fun look at a time in comics when this art style was still popular. Not sure why they dusted this old piece of New 52 piece out as a holiday variant? It's nice to see the trinity regardless but this comes across as lazy. I would rather have seen something new from Jim Lee depicting Jon celebrating the holidays.

Mild Mannered Reviews

2023

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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