The Superman of Future State, Jonathan Kent, just had to face the various legacies left behind by his father, literally.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Future State: Superman of Metropolis #2 by Sean Lewis, John Timms, Gabe Eltaeb & Dave Sharpe, on sale now
The Future State-era of DC Comics has forced more than a few unlikely figures into the spotlight. This includes Jon Kent, who has fully taken over the mantle of Superman from his father following his exile from Earth.
And in Future State: Superman of Metropolis #2, Jon is forced to face his heroic legacy head-on in the form of corrupted Superman clones from across the history of the character.
After shrinking Metropolis into a glass city out of fear over what terrible fates could befall the city, Jon Kent has found himself scrambling to keep it out of the hands of Brain Cells, the Future State incarnation of Brainiac. Brain Cells’ ship is full of weaponry and technology designed to keep the new Man of Steel at bay, with the demented AI convinced that he can protect Metropolis and help it prosper. He even reveals a powerful new technology to keep the new Superman at bay. By pulling duplicates from these recordings, Brain Cells is able to essentially create four copies of Superman to unleash against Jon, forcing the young hero to fight multiple versions of his father from across the history of the character.
The four variants of Superman are all reflections of specific phases of the character’s past. Each one uses their own histories and experiences as part of their reasons to “judge” Jon as a poor successor to the title of Superman. The Golden Age Superman recalls facing down the threats that came out of Nazi Germany and is disappointed to see Jon “falter” in his place. The Silver Age Superman remembers swallowing his fears during “the Red Scare,” and is crushed that Jon can’t do the same. Both the Death of Superman and New 52 incarnations of Superman reference their individual deaths and how they were willing to sacrifice everything if it meant keeping Metropolis safe — something they doubt Jon could muster.
All four versions of Superman tower over Jon and attack the young hero in unison while continuing to berate and belittle him. Jon tries to use humor to keep himself focused throughout the battle, but the Superman copies never relent. Their attack threatens to overwhelm Jon, especially when Brain Cells orders the copies to just beat him to death and get it over with. But Jon is quick enough on the draw to depower the entire ship and destroy the copies, earning him a victory over Brain Cells. While their verbal attacks against him failed, it’s clear that some of their words did get through to Jon.
Throughout the fight, Jon is forced to contend with his own place in the Superman legacy, realizing that can’t let fear and doubt keep him from being a good hero. Although he jokes that the fight against the Superman copies is a form of therapy, it may have genuinely been exactly what he needed. After proving himself to Brain Cells, Superwoman and even to himself, Jon is ready to face the realities of being Superman. He accepts his doubts and fears but learns to overcome them and not let them define his time as Superman. In the end, Jon is able to fully embrace becoming the new Superman. He dedicates himself to helping restore and protect Metropolis and confidently declares himself their champion going forward, earning the title of Superman in their eyes.
