In an action-packed variant cover for DC Comics’ Superman: Son of Kal-El #10, Jonathan Kent’s heroics take center stage, showing that he is doing Kal-El’s legacy proud while his father is away battling Mongul on Warworld. The art shows how he is helping people all over the world in situations similar to the ones his father famously charged into. In doing so, Jon has truly become Earth’s champion, offering the same level of protection humanity is accustomed to from Clark Kent’s Superman.
This aligns with Jon Kent’s level of determination in the face of Henry Bendix’s dark geopolitical maneuverings, highlighted by his decision to help refugees from Gamorra when the rest of the world refused to get involved. Even though Bendix recently escalated Superman’s powers to dangerous levels, trying to make him too powerful to render aid in delicate situations, Jon Kent has not stopped trying to rescue everyone. He is driven by the same inner strength and altruistic desires his parents have championed for so long.
The variant cover by Rafa Sandoval - shared on Twitter by series writer Tom Taylor - features a steely-eyed Jonathan Kent who is literally in the middle of the world’s problems. For instance, he is performing a mid-air rescue of a damaged plane, helping to build a rock wall as protection against a tidal wave, and lifting an occupied vehicle out of water, among other feats of strength. Writer Tom Taylor, who is joined by artist Cian Tormey for “The Rising” storyline underway in Superman: Son of Kal-El, has specifically made Jonathan’s role on Earth central to this series. This lets him breathe as his own hero without losing sight of his father’s lessons, affirming that Clark Kent and Lois Lane’s parenting skills match their heroics.
According to DC’s tease of what’s to come in Superman: Son of Kal-El, part of Bendix's plan is to discredit heroes, which is diabolical since any failure to rescue someone in need would hit Jon particularly hard. With such an ominous global debriefing, the variant cover for Superman: Son of Kal-El #10 serves as a beacon of hope that things will be better when this issue arrives in April. Given the visual evidence of his efforts to aid people around the world, there is little doubt that Jonathan Kent is ready for Superman’s full responsibilities, ably answering the challenges he inherited in a way that shows Jonathan Kent is mature beyond his years.
The sheer number of times that Kal-El has saved the world, risking himself against the likes of Doomsday and thwarting countless schemes from his arch-nemesis Lex Luthor, has earned him global acclaim as the world’s foremost savior. Now, Jonathan Kent’s ability to doggedly pursue the same ideals, as shown in this variant cover from Sandoval, show that he has truly taken up Kal-El's mantle as Superman.
Source: Tom Taylor