Tom Taylor has been keeping a secret from you. When the critically acclaimed writer announced that he would be continuing Jonathan Kent’s story in Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent, he didn’t tell you why. Not only will the miniseries see a rematch between Jon and Ultraman, but it will also take DC’s younger Superman to a place he’s never been before. The battle with Ultraman will force Jon to explore the multiverse, and one of the places he’ll end up will be greatly familiar to fans of Taylor and his work for DC. It’s a place of war, a place of betrayal, and a place of…Injustice.
Yes, we can finally reveal that Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent not only continues Jon’s story that Taylor began in Superman: Son of Kal-El, but also builds on the legacy of storytelling he crafted for the popular DC video game franchise, which hasn’t been seen in a DC comic book since the Injustice 2 series concluded in 2018. But how exactly will Jon find himself in Injustice’s harrowing world, in which Batman finds himself fighting for survival against a tyrant Superman? We were as curious as you, so we sat down with Taylor for an exclusive interview about the upcoming series and its newly revealed twist.
Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #1 (Art by Clayton Henry)
You have been teasing for some time that there is a deeper reason for Jonathan Kent to be getting a new title.
Yeah, we’ve kept something hidden from the fans for a very long time. We have a sort of secret subtitle which we’re very happy to be announcing today. This is Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent…Injustice.
Wow! Okay!
Okay, indeed. A lot of people know the premise of this series: Ultraman, the man who kept Jon Kent, who enslaved him for so long, who essentially took his childhood from him, he’s out there in the multiverse murdering Kal-Els. Val-Zod, and someone who we won’t give away just yet, come to Jon Kent and let him know that they believe he’s the only one who could stop him.
So, that’s what everybody knows, but what they don’t know is where in the multiverse that’s going to lead Jon. One of those places—and a very important part—is the world of Injustice.
How long have you been wanting to bring Injustice into your Superman run?
Injustice for me is a very troubled time. I had so much fun on that book. Obviously, I was on it for years. I think I was originally hired for fifteen chapters, and I wrote over 150. But there’s a lot about Injustice that that rubs me up the wrong way. I don’t believe Superman, no matter what happens to him, can become that person. I don’t believe Wonder Woman becomes that person. So, for me, it’s a really interesting Elseworld, and throwing Jon Kent as sort of that beacon of hope and in a way, quite an innocent character and a character who wants the best for the world, throwing him into that world where his father has become a dictator gives us so much to play with. I’ve been talking about this story to all my friends who will listen for months, long before we knew where we were going with this.
Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #2 (Art by Clayton Henry)
The original Injustice saga kicks off with Superman reacting to the death of Lois and an unborn child that would have presumably grown up to be Jon. So, with all of this emotional baggage, how will the Injustice Superman react to Jon, the person that his son could have been?
I don’t want to give away his reaction. I have written their meeting and it’s a big one. I don’t want to give away exactly how that goes down, because so much of the beauty of this—we almost didn’t want to let people know. But we need to let Injustice fans know that we’re going back. The first meeting was a moment. I can’t really describe it yet. You’re just going to have to read it.
Where is this going to take place in the Injustice timeline?
It’s right at the core of it. Around Injustice 2: Year 5, which people know is around the game time. It’s a really exciting time and it’s one of my favorite times to write as well—who’s alive during that time, the dynamics and what that means for Jon. Because it’s not just his father. There are other characters, other players, and other people that he knows in that timeline who are different. And seeing him interact with their different personas, and what’s happened to them, and how he hopes to help is a huge part of this story.
Who are some of the heroes and villains of the Injustice world that you’re excited to play Jon off of?
Obviously, Batman. There is Superman, there is Wonder Woman, and how she reacts to Jon suddenly showing up. But I guess the biggest one—and I wasn’t going to give this away, but you know what, for anyone reading this I will—there is a different Damian Wayne in the Injustice world. Literally his best friend is essentially not on the side of the angels in this world. That is going to give us a very fun and entertaining dynamic and quite a tortured dynamic to play with.
I don’t know if you’ve realized this, but this is the 10th Anniversary of your first Injustice series. Did you ever think that this corner of the multiverse would have such a long shelf life?
I had absolutely no idea that this was the tenth anniversary. That is incredible. As I said earlier, I was hired for fifteen chapters. I thought that was going to be it at the time. We had no idea it was going to be the runaway success it became, let alone leading to Injustice 2 and writing 75 chapters of that. It is incredible that it’s gone so far.
Obviously, it’s a testament to the whole franchise—to the games, to everything Ed Boon and the team built at NetherRealm, to everything that all the artists have done on these comics. They’ve gone on to be megastars. We’ve got Bruno Redondo, and Dani Sampere, who just worked on Dark Crisis. It spawned a giant universe, but also some great talent as well.
Jon Kent and Ultraman. That is a rematch that we have been anticipating for some time, because this guy stole Jon’s life from him. How long have you been planning it?
A long time. It was something that I would have loved to have gotten to in Son of Kal-El, but there was just no space really, with everything we needed for Jon, and with the big saga that we told there. So, it was clear that this was the place to do that.
Ultraman is the catalyst for all of this. This is not a good person, and he’s already made Jon’s life hell. So, for him to be out there murdering Kal-Els, which we talk about what that does to their worlds and to other worlds. It’s kind of huge. There is this massive confrontation brewing, and you’re all going to get to see it take place.
Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #1 (Art by Jordi Tarragona)
You mentioned killing various Kal-Els. How worried should I be about some of my favorite versions of Superman across the multiverse?
Yeah, be afraid. I’m not spoiling anything. I mean we’ve already seen one dead in Action Comics #1050. You will see at least one more go, and there is something very difficult about watching Kal-El die. And Clayton Henry is such a great emotive artist. He’s someone who just gets some fantastic acting out of the faces of these characters. Losing our first Kal-El in Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent is a big moment.
Speaking of Clayton Henry, his artwork is phenomenal. Can you tell me more about your working relationship with him?
He’s just a phenomenal artist. He’s one of those guys that you see his art and you’re kind of drawn to it. He’s incredibly expressive. Every character, everything they’re going through, you feel it. Every time we email, every time we talk, he’s excited about this. He’s drawing a really massive issue right now, and it’s a bit of a mutual admiration society going on. But it’s just because the work we’re doing is so fun—it’s so bombastic, big, and full of cliffhangers and major moments, It’s superhero comics through an Injustice lens. Bringing that Injustice feel to in-continuity comics is a really exciting prospect.
Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #2 (Art by John Timms)
How are things going between Jon and Jay Nakamura?
When we open, it’s going quite well. Everybody in the world has forgotten that Jon Kent is Superman. Lex Luther has done something called Project Blackout, where he’s essentially erased Jon Kent and Clark Kent from people’s minds. Their secret identity is gone. People no longer know that Lois Lane is married to Superman. However, Jay Nakamura kissed Jon at the end of the giant battle for Gamorra. They don’t know that Jay is with Jon Kent, because Jay kissed Superman. The entire world still knows that Jay Nakamura is Superman’s boyfriend, so that leads to some stuff which we cover straight up in issue #1.
Now Jay has to hide his face when they go out in public. It’s quite a switch from the traditional secret identity trope.
It is. Jon Kent can walk around happily free. He actually says at one point that this is the most free he’s ever felt, just walking through a park. Jay is like, “Great,” as he’s all hidden.
Jon has been having some fluctuations with his powers lately. What can you tell us about that?
Jon has been having some major fluctuations with his powers. It’s been building to something for months, starting in Superman: Son of Kal-El and going through to Lazarus Planet in that great story written by C.S. Pacat. It’s been going somewhere, and yes, you can probably tell from the issue #1 cover that we are finally going to see that power unleashed for the first time in this title.
Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #2 (Art by Mike Perkins)
How far do you have things mapped out for Jon Kent? It sounds like you have plans within plans.
Definitely, I think everyone has plans for Jon. I’ve seen him showing up in a lot of places all through the DC Universe. It’s great to see our boy just continue to grow and continue to take over and continue to be present and save people in this universe. We have a big story planned here, and we certainly have discussed some plans for after this. But this was one of the reasons why this needed to be a miniseries. Because of the story we’re telling in this, it didn’t feel right to tell it in Superman: Son of Kal-El. This needed its own title. This is an event in itself.
This all sounds very exciting. Is there anything else you can tease?
One of the really exciting things is the return of Val-Zod, who I co-created with Nicola Scott. The page where he first shows up, Clayton has just drawn the absolute hell out of that. It’s a great moment. It’s really exciting to bring him back.
Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #1 by Tom Taylor, Clayton Henry and Jordie Bellaire will be available in print and as a digital comic book on March 7, 2023.
Source: DC Comics
