The Deadliest Superman Is Trying To Kill Every Kal-El In The Multiverse
Spoilers ahead for "Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent" #1 by DC Comics
The deadliest Superman in DC's Multiverse, Ultraman, is making it his personal mission to kill every version of Kal-El from different realities, putting him in direct conflict with Jon Kent's Superman.
In DC's new "Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent" #1 miniseries by Tom Taylor, Clayton Henry, and Jordie Bellaire, the son of Kal-El is teaming up with Earth-Two's Superman, Val-Zod, to take on the uber-violent Ultraman and try to stop him from wiping out heroes who share the Kal-El name from across the multiverse.
Jon finds out about this in the debut issue, when Val-Zod and Lois Lane's Red Tornado travel from Earth-Two to DC's Prime-Earth to let the Superman family know about Ultraman's murderous intentions. The alternate universe heroes ask for the new Superman's help, but the mission is incredibly complicated for the young hero, due to his personal history with Ultraman — because the evil Superman not only represents one of Jon's greatest fears, but is responsible for one of the most challenging times in his life.
Who Is Ultraman and what is his history Jon Kent's Superman?
Ultraman is one of the most powerful villains in the DC Universe. The Superman of Earth-3 is basically the worst-case scenario version of Superman, as he has a much darker origin than his Prime-Earth heroic counterpart. In his backstory, his father manages to save him from Krypton's destruction after killing those who are also trying to escape. Ultraman crash-lands in Kansas but murders his adopted parents and eventually becomes the leader of the Crime Syndicate — the evil version of the Justice League. The villain group goes on to take on the Justice League and have shown up as foes for DC's mightiest heroes on numerous occasions.
Jon Kent's Superman has a very personal history with Ultraman, as he is responsible for taking years off the hero's life. After a young Jon Kent ended up on Earth-3, he was imprisoned by Ultraman, as the villain trapped him inside a volcano for years. However, when Kent broke free and returned to his timeline, he discovered he had only been gone for weeks but had been rapidly aged through the ordeal from a child to a near-adult. In "Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent" #1, Jon alludes to being taken, sharing his frustration regarding how Ultraman stole his childhood away, robbing him of years that he should have had with his parents.
Ultraman isn't the only villain Superman will face
While Jon Kent attempts to stop Ultraman from murdering different versions of his father from across the multiverse, he isn't the only villain who will cause major problems for the young hero. Tom Taylor will be returning to the world of "Injustice" in "Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent" as another evil Superman from Earth-49, as well as the alternate versions of Wonder Woman and Batman will appear in future issues of the miniseries. Taylor even revealed that the "Injustice" version of Damian Wayne, a close friend of Jon, will appear in the storyline.
"There is a different Damian Wayne in the Injustice world," he explains. "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."
Ultimately, the rise of Ultraman and the tease of the "Injustice" world colliding with Jon Kent's attempt to save Kal-Els from different timelines makes his mission even more difficult. Not only is Jon going to have to travel across worlds and battle the evil Superman, who cost him so much of his life, but he will have to deal with the dark world that is Injustice at the same time. It's asking quite a lot of the superpowered hero — but Jon is up for the task, as he proves what makes him a special hero like his father. "The Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent" #1 by Tom Taylor, Clayton Henry, and Jordie Bellaire is in comic book stores now.