Written by: Tom Taylor
Art by: Clayton Henry
Colors by: Jordie Bellaire
Letters by: Wes Abbott
Cover art by:Clayton Henry
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: March 7, 2023
Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #1 kicks off a new mini-series starring Clark and Lois's superpowered son. When Ultraman undertakes a mission to kill every Kal-El across the multiverse, a pair of heroes enlist Jon Kent's help to stop his former tormentor.
Is It Good?
Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #1 is a decent start to Jon Kent's latest adventure. Clayton Henry's art is great, the action is cinematic in scale, and using Ultraman as a threat works on a physical and emotional level for the Super Son. That said, the plot has a fundamental flaw that will make you say, "huh?"
When last we left Jon Kent after his now-canceled solo series, a magic spell wiped the memories of his secret identity from everyone on Earth but for a few people in his close circle. Now, Jon Kent flies into action when the entire network of Lord Industries satellites comes crashing to Earth. Visitors from another universe arrive to lend aid, deliver a warning, and ask for help.
The pacing is solid, the dialog is generally excellent, and the overall narrative flow is buttery smooth. Technically, this is a well-written comic with big stakes, plenty of action, and a super challenge for the Super Son.
Also, Henry, Bellaire, and Abbott deliver top-notch art in this issue. Henry's formwork is fantastic, Bellaire's coloring work is exceptional, and Abbott gets to use a little creative trickery to distinguish more than one disembodied voice.
Now for the down point. The visitors are Val-Zod and Lois Lane/Red Tornado. They plead with Jon to accompany them to stop Ultraman from killing all the Kal-Els across the multiverse. Tom Taylor weakly explains why the visitors approach Jon by suggesting Ultraman has a device attuned to Kal-Els that weakens them.
Isn't Ultraman just another Kal-El? Wouldn't wearing a device that weakens Kal-Els also weaken Ultraman? Okay, let's say it doesn't work that way due to Ultraman's genetic differences. If Val-Zod could hop between universes to gather Jon, why couldn't he gather other Kryptonians? Wouldn't ten or twenty weakened Kal-Els still be enough to overwhelm Ultraman? He's powerful but not that powerful.
What we have here is Tom Taylor setting up a reason to pit Jon Kent against Ultraman, but it's a weak setup with a weak rationale. Again, the overall execution of the writing and art is great, but the thought put into the plot is severely lacking.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Bits and Pieces:
Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #1 looks great, reads great, and gives you plenty of super action for the cover price in a story that sets up Jon Kent's long-awaited confrontation with Ultraman. Unfortunately, the setup that gets Jon involved in the fight has more plot holes than a wheel of Swiss cheese, so the setup feels more contrived than it should for a moment this big.
7/10
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