Jon Kent just unlocked a power that even his father couldn’t achieve, but it was the first signs of him one day exceeding Superman.
WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Superman #32 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Scott Godlewski, Gabe Eltraeb and Dave Sharpe, on sale now.
Jon Kent’s latest adventure alongside his father has helped him build his confidence and reaffirm the belief Superman has in him. During their time on Thakkram, the duo went up against an old enemy of Superman’s known as the Shadowbreed. But as the problem continued to escalate it became clear to father and son that Superman did not have the skills necessary to stop them. But Jon did. To defeat the Shadowbreed, they needed a Kryptonian whose heat vision was more refined than Superman’s, and Superboy had already demonstrated versatility with the power. Jon ended up not only defeating the Shadowbreed, but also proving that he is shaping up to be a better hero than his father.
In the midst of their final confrontation with the Shadowbreed, the Kent family’s sole remaining ally, Qarath O Bakkis arrived to explain the nature of the only weapon that could stop the Shadowbreed. The radiation bomb that was being built to defeat them used hyperviolet light, a light between the ultraviolet and X-ray spectrums. But even though this weapon was based on Superman’s heat vision, Clark admitted that he didn’t have the nuance to actually use the hyperviolet spectrum. But Jon could. Recalling his son’s previous unique twists on heat vision, Superman encouraged him to try.
It took a few misfires to get it right. Just because Jon had the capability didn’t mean he could do so right away. But with enough faith in himself and some extra time bought by his father, Jon managed to perceive the hyperviolet spectrum and unleash a new kind of heat vision in a brilliant display of power that made even his father watch in awe.
It was a pivotal moment for Jon. Up until then, he had been having doubts about his worthiness to take over the title of Superman one day. This was in spite of the objections of practically everyone around him, including his father. He had been developing his own unique skills for some time now, but he labored under the assumption that his father could probably do the same things if he put his mind to it. So this victory over the Shadowbreed is a much-needed confidence boost as Jon did something that not even Superman could achieve.
It underscores just how much Jon might be an improvement over Superman in the years to come. Even Batman once stated way back in Superman #20 by Patrick Gleason, Peter J. Tomasi and Rob Leigh, that Jon, as a Human-Kryptonian hybrid, should be far stronger than Clark is one day. And it seems that prediction is coming to pass. Jon just unlocked an ability his father, after living more than twice his life, has never been able to achieve, and he did it in just a few seconds.
And as it has been shown in Future State, Jon’s time as Superman would eventually lead to world peace. Of course, this was also alongside the Justice League, but it’s still an accomplishment Superman has never been able to claim for himself. And now the beginnings of how Jon will distinguish himself from his father are beginning to take shape.
In the present, Superman already believes that one Jon will be better than him. He knows beyond a shadow of doubt that when Jon is ready to step up as the Man of Steel, he will be the hero that all others are measured against. If there was ever any doubt that Jon was going to be greater than his father, it was washed away by the fact that Superman believes in him. He’s rarely ever wrong about a good thing.
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