Superman: Son Of Kal-El #8
Superman and Aquaman get help from a very unlikely source in Superman: Son of Kal-El #8, by writer Tom Taylor, artist Cian Tormey, inker Raul Fernandez, colorist Federico Blee, and letterer Dave Sharpe. This is yet another great issue that shows how Jon does things and builds the battle between him and Henry Bendix.
Superman, Aquaman, and the Gamora Guard face off against the sea monster. As the GG tries to kill it, Superman and Aquaman try a different way. The GG's attacks on the monster cause a massive tsunami. Superman and Aquaman are able to use their powers to stop most of the wave, and Superman is able to come up with a way to get the monster away from the city without killing it, where Arthur and Jackson take it home. There are still deaths, and a member of the GG harangues Superman for not killing the monster sooner. In Gamora, Bendix holds a conference, revealing why his country has been creating post-humans and offering them as products to replace the superheroes to the world's nations. Later, Superman and Jay talk about what happened that day, and Superman accepts a job at the Truth with him.
Taylor keeps doing interesting things with Jon as Superman. He's all about finding new solutions to problems, and Taylor does a remarkable job of presenting that. While his father almost certainly wouldn't have wanted to kill the monster or fight it, Clark was often about pragmatism more than anything else. He would have tried to fight off the monster as quickly as possible without hurting it too much. Jon tries not to fight at all; instead, he thinks his way through things and tries to save everyone, including the monster.
Bendix is such a great villain, and the way Taylor is using is positioning him as Jon's Lex Luthor. His control over the Gamora Guard, the way he uses them subtly against Jon without ever actually attacking him, is a great choice. Bendix and Luthor are both brilliant, but Luthor is an angry man at his core; Bendix is more calculating and cold. His plan to replace the superheroes with post-humans of his own design is an inspired one and a great choice for Taylor to make.
Tormey's art is pretty great throughout. The sea monster looks amazing, like a giant crab. It's intimidating, yet Tormey can capture the fact that it's still just an animal. There's nothing sinister about it, which is very fitting for the story. Beyond the monster, there are a lot of very cool panels throughout this book. Tormey, Fernandez, and Blee do a great job on this one.
Superman: Son Of Kal-El #8 continues building Jon as a hero and Bendix as a villain. It will be fun to see how they play off each other in the future, especially with the developments of this issue. Tormey and the art time do a great job on the art, making this one a joy to read.
