Review: Superman Father Of Tomorrow #2

Superman Father of Tomorrow #2 came out last week, pushing the story forward quickly. Almost too quickly. I guess if this mini-series is going to tell us the life story of Jor-El on Earth, you can't dawdle. Last issue, Jor-El landed, befriended the Kents, spent years in hiding, and then revealed himself to the world. Looking on were grade schoolers Lois Lane and Lex Luthor.

Writer Kenny Porter pushes us forward at least 2 decades with Lois and Lex adults and friends/colleagues of Jor-El. Jor has allowed the use of Kryptonian tech around the world for good purposes. And between his super-powers and his super-science he is extremely powerful with few weaknesses. There are heroes and villains on this world. But we are dropped right into the action without know how these relationships or characters came about. 

Because we have no background, one of the characters betraying our hero doesn't seem to carry the weight it should. Still, perhaps the rest of the series sits in this time period and we'll learn more. If issue one was just the origin, setting the stage then maybe it will all even out.

Danny Earls brings a sort of rougher take on what could be a stream-lined tech-run world. But given the character interactions and the introduction of magic into the world, it feels right. I like seeing his take on classic villains and heroes in this new world.

Overall though, I felt a bit lost at sea and so I didn't like this issue as much as the last. On to details.

Klarion the Witch Boy has ignited three volcanos to keep Jor-El busy. With Superman busy, Klarion, Atomic Skull, Livewire, and Silver Banshee try to rob some banks.

The other villains are pretty easy to capture but Klarion and his magic are a new threat making his capture a little tougher. But we see how Jor-El uses both his super-abilities and his super science in all his captures. And we learn that Jor hasn't faced magic a lot; it is an unknown weakness.

I liked Earls take on the villains.

Lex is working for Superman, helping with the super-heroics but also the implementation of Kryptonian tech around the globe. Unfortunately some of that tech has been reverse engineered into weapons. 

Luthor wants to be proactive and has an idea. He could use Kryptonian tech to make Controller Chips to insert into villains brains. Of course, noble Jor-El wants nothing to do with this 'perversion'.

We just met this adult Lex so seeing him work and then turn on Jor-El by offering the tech to 'the butler' felt a bit quick and almost anti-climactic. 

Who is 'the butler'? Think Alfred is acting as a middle man for Bruce Wayne buying this tech?

Lois is working for the Planet but also a close friend of Superman. 

We see her meeting General Lane, who in main universe fashion, is worried about Superman. We see the Parasite in chains in a government facility. It's hard to know if he created the Parasite there or if Superman uses the place as a prison.

Anyways, Lois wants nothing to do with her military father. She is much closer to Superman, a father figure she is missing.

Love that last panel showing Sam is sad about this. He wants to have a relationship with Lois. This can only fuel his dislike of Jor-El.

In a montage, we see that Superman has fought some super-villains like Starro and Mongul. It is these threats that make him want to continue to make the world better.

He even has a League around him. The Atom, Dr. Light, Mr. Terrific, and the Flash all exist here.

They seem a little too jovial in our brief encounter with them. Perhaps they haven't had a true threat?

Like the goggles on Barry. And always wonder why creators pick certain heroes to highlight.

The Parasite is let free or escapes and starts a fight with Superman. He absorbs Superman's power and lashes out. But we again see Superman using tech and powers. First he tries a nanite cluster to shut down Parasite's hypothalamus. And when that doesn't work, he uses a red sun generator to depower the Parasite and beat him down old school. 

A cursory scan shows Lex had already put a chip in Parasite's head ... without Jor's knowledge.

Was Lex controlling the Parasite? Was the government? Why didn't it work? Who did the surgery?

I really would have liked to see more of Jor's friendlier relationship with Lex before jumping to all this treachery. We don't even know when the tipping point came between friend and foe.

This is the last straw so Jor-El fires Lex.

On the way out, Lex vows revenge.

I mean, we all know Lex is usually going to go evil. But as I said, there was no punch here on the betrayal side because we didn't get lured into the friendship.

With all the issues still churning around the globe, Jor confides in Lois that he thinks solving the world's energy crisis will lead to total peace. Unfortunately Lane is eavesdropping on his daughter.

You'd think the energy crisis might have been on the top of Jor's list instead of sitting on it for decades. 

We end on a decent cliffhanger.

Lex knows that between science and super-powers, the only weakness left to try and utilize against Jor-El is magic. So he meets up with John Constantine to explore the world of magic.

We are still learning this world and I hope we fill in some backstory. But this issue's leap forward and the fallout of that leap felt a bit drastic. Still, some fun ideas here.

Overall grade: C