The original Superman, Kal-El, has finally returned home after his time away traveling the stars, with his son, Jon Kent, keeping the super mantle warm in the interim. And after a particularly harrowing but ultimately heartwarming reunion between these two heroes, Jon reveals the best lesson his dad ever taught him when it comes to not just being Superman but being a good person too!
Technically still the “new” Superman in DC Comics, Jon Kent has worked as a Superman of the world more than any specific country or city. Helping to fight the good fight when it comes to natural disasters across the globe, school shootings, corruption, untrue biases in the media (helped along by his current boyfriend, Jay Nakamura, founder of the online news outlet, The Truth), and many more supervillain and non-supervillain related problems, Jon is doing a bang up job of continuing his father’s legacy, despite him thinking he doesn’t always do as much as he can or should to save the day.
A lesson revealed to readers in Superman: Son of Kal-El #18, written by Tom Taylor and illustrated by Cian Tormey and Ruairi Coleman, this issue acts as the penultimate part of the “Kal-El Returns” storyline that has been running through both Superman books as of late. Getting some quiet time alone with his father after trying — and failing — to talk some sense into his still vengeful and hateful new nemesis called Red Sin, Jon has a heart-to-heart with his dad, thanking him and bringing up a teaching moment he still holds dear to this day.
Jon Kent Learns a Pivotal Superman Lesson
Telling his dad that he’s thankful for “not raising me to hate people I don’t know,” Jon reiterates an important character-building lesson Superman is well known for adhering to himself. Unlike Red Sin, Jon doesn’t want to be hateful towards people simply because he doesn’t understand them or know them personally; a staple Superman trait that keeps Jon humble but also allows space in his heart for individuals that might just need a little more love, kinship, and hope in their lives — individuals like Red Sin or any number of other bad guys that can’t see past their own messed up biases.
Furthermore, Jon meets so many people in his Superman travels that he can’t possibly get to know even a fraction of them, so having a baseline of being an accepting and understanding person is an invaluable characteristic for him to have, especially as a hero that inspires all those he comes into contact with. Superman is an iconic DC Comics hero that’s as wholesome as he is great at throwing punches, so it’s nice to know Jon can continue in his father’s footsteps with a lesson everyone in comics — and real life — should take to heart.
