Adventures Of Superman: Jon Kent #3
Jon Kent finds himself in a world of injustice in Adventures Of Superman: Jon Kent #3, by writer Tom Taylor, artist Clayton Henry, colorist Jordie Belleaire, and letterer Wes Abbot. Taylor gets to combine how two most important works in a story that is loads of fun.
Superman and Wonder Woman discuss what to do about Jon, as the young hero awakens in the Hall of Justice’s medcenter. As surprising as that is, Lex Luthor being the one taking care of him is a huge shock. After a conversation with Luthor, Superman comes into talk to Jon when an alarm sounds. Star City and Gotham are under attack, and Superman sends the League out, telling Jon to stay there. Jon doesn’t and races to Gotham to help Damian Wayne. He finds himself in a fight between Damian and Batman. Jon stops Damian from killing his father, and Batman escapes. Superman shows up and impresses upon Jon that this is a different world. Jon asks to see it himself and Superman allows him to. As Jon explores the world, Wonder Woman tells Superman that this whole thing is a bad idea, as Jon will discover the truth. He does and Superman confronts him.
Injustice is probably Taylor’s most important work for DC, as it is what made the company take notice of him. Fan perception of him was colored by this project for better and worse, but it’s undeniable how well he built this world. That’s why it’s so cool to see him return to it and look at it through the eyes of Jon Kent. Jon is a pure hero, one who barely even uses violence. Putting him in a world where his father is a monster is a very interesting choice and it plays out very well in this issue. Taylor captures a wonderful vibe in this issue. Readers know what this world is, but Jon doesn’t. Taylor is able to capture that feeling, of Jon wrestling with this “utopia” and just how wrong it feels around the edges. It’s a huge triumph of the issue that Taylor’s able to pull this vibe off.
Another great little wrinkle thing to the story is how Taylor writes Injustice Superman. Jon is his dream; Jon is all he wanted out of life. He sees this young boy and sees something that should be his. Taylor plays with that emotion a lot, humanizing Injustice Superman like never before. It also gives readers an idea of what is coming in this book. How far is this Superman willing to go to keep Jon? To mold him into what he is now. There’s a actually a parallel between this Superman and what Ultraman did to Jon. Ultraman kept Jon prisoner and one gets the feeling that Taylor is going to build something interesting out of this.
Henry and Belleaire have been masterful so far in this book and this issue shows that off. Henry’s style is all clean linework, with just the right amount of detail. Every image in this book is crisp and beautiful, but the character acting is where it really shines. It’s easy to see the emotion of the characters, reading what’s going in on their head behind what they’re saying. Belleaire’s colors are an important part of the tone of this issue, helping Taylor capture the mood of the story.
Adventures Of Superman: Jon Kent #3 is a fun comic to read. Some fans groan at Taylor combining Jon and Injustice, but for fans willing to give it a chance this is a killer story. Henry, Belleaire, and Abbott are the key to all of this, as their art takes a good script and makes it fantastic.
