Superman #31
Scheduled to arrive in stores: October 22, 2025
Cover date: December 2025
“Man of Apokolips – Part I” [“DC K.O.” tie-in]
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Eddy Barrows & Eber Ferriera
Cover: Dan Mora
Variant Covers: David Aja, Seba Fiumara, Jorge Fornes, Ariel Olivetti
Reviewed by: Adam Dechanel
On the Watchtower Superman and several Justice League members converse with Time Trapper. He shows them how they can succeed against Darkseid; crown a King Omega somewhere in the heart of Apokolips, while participating in the K.O. Tournament.
A skeptical Superman travels to the newly repaired Fortress of Solitude to consult with the hologram of Jor-El. Though the simulation can’t elaborate on anything other than Kryptonian history, it does reveal Jor-El’s original plan to save Krypton if he had sufficient resources to succeed.
In Lexcorp, Superman interrupts a medical exam on a familiar face and asks Mercy for help. She reveals that though Supercorp is dissolved she has been monitoring JLU comms and their talks of a mass evacuation of Earth. In response to the information Lexcorp has built an ark called a Supership using Brainiac’s miniaturizing technology, capable of housing entire countries on board. Superman asks Mercy to create twelve ships as soon as possible and he’ll supply JLU members to speed up the process.
Clark heads home to meet Lois, Kara, Ma and Pa, explaining that they must evacuate on one of the ships while he goes to enter the tournament.
Lois has other plans and heads to the Fortress in one of the small escape ships to confront Jor-El. She is less trusting of the simulant than Clark. Having had a difficult time with the real Jor-El she knows he can hide truths and suspects the hologram shares this trait. She pushes with her journalistic instinct until the program crashes and a back door program initiates. Lara Lor-Van appears and unlike Jor, her guild was historian so she gives Lois the information Clark had asked for but was unable to access. A horrified Lois realizes it may be too late as Superman is in deep space. At this moment Superboy Prime and the dark version of Sun Boy crash land into the Fortress, and after some revelations, Prime has one for Sun Boy and Lois too…
To Be Continued…
Story – 5: Sorry no spoilers from me! Suffice to say that though the plot sidelines a lot of the main storyline arc in favor of setting up the big event, there is still a lot crammed into the book to enjoy. I thoroughly enjoyed that Lois still has a difficult relationship with Jor-El, hologram or not. Also that she decided to dig deeper where Clark took things at face value. It further reinforces why they work so well together. I love that a certain villain is back and I also enjoyed the story’s cliffhanger. Prime as a good guy is really growing on me.Art – 5: Oh how I wish there was an artist’s edition of this book! The visuals, the line works and depth are stunning this issue. Dear DC, please consider bringing back sketchbook pages to the books!
Cover Art – 4: A somber Superman cradling a heart kneeling in a pool of blood… is it Planet Earth’s? is it Darkseid’s? …or someone else’s? Huge visual impact, I dislike the use of the white space but it’s a personal preference. It packs a punch regardless.Variant Cover (David Aja) – 4: Another Aja iconic moment! I really like the image but that negative space swallows up so much of it, it feels like it is missing some of the wonder and joy. I may be alone in this but I am not a fan of the white blocks.Variant Cover (Seba Fiumara) – 5: Powerful, determined, epic. Superman on a mission, with the visual comparison to the power of the sun. It feels very much like still from a Superman movie, definitely shows that Superman is strong of mind and body!Variant Cover (Jorge Fornes) – 4: Reminiscent of a house ad in the 90s, nostalgia is key here. It looks fun and shifts focus to Booster Gold over Superman; for me that’s the up and downside. Booster’s side of the story hasn’t been touched upon at all so this does pique my interest!Variant Cover (Ariel Olivetti) – 4: A beautifully illustrated cover featuring two of the dark Legion members. They look fantastic! One is Timber Wolf but the other… a potential spoiler! I look forward to learning how they factor into the story. Despite my hunger to learn more I am still perplexed as to why this is a variant, especially without context.
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