Superman Vol. 1: Son Of Superman (Rebirth) Paperback – January 10, 2017

After five years of the love-it-or-hate-it New 52 where DC’s pantheon of superheroes where altering into younger, edgier, and less experienced versions of themselves, DC is has ushered in a new era known as Rebirth. DC’s Rebirth is not about another reboot, but more about honoring and accepting the companies entire 75+ years in comics. This means many of the most loved aspects about these characters has returned in their more approved status. For Superman, the original big-blue boyscout has returned to the forefront and it is one of the best Rebirth titles of the bunch.SUPERMAN VOL.1: SON OF SUPERMAN collects DC COMICS REBIRTH: SUPERMAN and issues #1-6. After the death of the New 52 Superman in Superman: The Final Days of Superman, the world is without the Man of Steel. The current Superman here hails from the pre-Flashpoint era who married to Lois Lane has entered into the new world after years of staying out of sight. The many years of hiding, Clark and Lois had a son Jonathan who they are trying to raise, also deal with Jon’s emerging superpowers. So trying to keep a strong family bond and teaching Jon life lessons is Superman’s current outlook on life. With things slowly working out for the Kent family in this Rebirth world, an ancient Kryptonian instrument known as the Eradicator is out to bring Krypton back to life with Superman’s son as the key.Because the new REBIRTH era is about installing the older feelings of classic characters, it is a mighty breath of fresh air for many heroes coming off of the 5 years of the edgy and darker NEW 52. Beyond the front cover of his angry glowing red eyes that is here, this is the quintessential Superman that is calm, loving, wise, and just likable again being the family man and farmer. This is helped greatly by the creative team of Peter Tomasi and artist Patrick Gleason who did top notch work together on a similar father-son angle in BATMAN & ROBIN in the New 52. The family aspect for Clark, Lois, and Jon can be a bit overly cheerful considering, but for those many people looking for the fuzzy warm feeling of the ideal Superman, it feels pretty great.Tomasi makes a decent balance of the Kent family dealing with the current landscape and world building of the Kents morals and values, with the other parts plenty of action with the big villain of the piece being THE DEATH AND RETURN OF SUPERMAN fame The Eradicator (it’s not a spoiler since its in the description and his picture is on the back cover). So fans get a good balance of soft and happy moments of the Kent living on the farm and a good helping of action as the Super-family take on Eradicator to see his beef with Jon’s emerging powers. Additional winks and nods are filled throughout for long time fans to take in, especially a certain Kryptonian canine and Bat-cameo from the creative teams past work on BATMAN & ROBIN.Long time collaborator Patrick Gleason does majority of the issues collected here and his art is topnotch level. Gleason’s cartoony style is vivid and lush with bold 2-page spreads that show the awe and somber moments wonderfully, while diving into action sequences that goes over the top like fighting on the moon! (And maybe even a secret lunar Bat-Cave?). Veteran artist Doug Mahnke does the SUPERMAN: REBIRTH #1 and issue #5 with guest artist Jorge Jimenez doing issue #4.While I am giving Amazon a 5-star rating, it’s more around 4 ½ stars. The first thing is the common flaw among the whole REBIRTH line in that it caters heavily on older fans who know the DC lore and not so much for new readers. I will say SUPERMAN is one of the few that is not so bad for new readership to catch up on, yet it still suffers a bit for explaining things that lead here. So as you to the opening SUPERMAN: REBIRTH #1 getting readers up to speed of who and what has happened to get to this point, there is still a little hazy patch of clarification as to how this Superman came to be (there is a purposeful mystery in the whole REBIRTH universe about this in other series that look like they will be answered in the future. If you want a good prelude on this Superman, read Superman: Lois and Clark). Even this version of The Eradicator is explained almost as if readers should already know who he/it is (Tomasi does give a new/extended origin so its not too bad). Beyond the introduction for new readers, the overall story near the middle does get a little stale and the Eradicator could have been a little better done.Beyond the gripes, for old school fans that want out of the dark and broody Man of Steel that the New 52 and current films have shown, SUPERMAN under the REBIRTH banner is a return to glory for the big blue boy scout. It has plenty heart, nostalgia, action, and great art to give fans that feeling they have longed for some time. It may not be breaking ground in terms of Superman stories, alas Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason’s work on The Man of Tomorrow is one of the strongest REBIRTH titles to show the return to DC’s roots and good sign of things to come. *Cue John Williams famous 1978 theme music*

What a great father son bonding time between Clark and his Son!I wish that was me with Superman as my dad!

Oh, boy. To understand Superman’s first volume under the Rebirth movement, you need to understand that the Superman in this book is the Superman we knew in the 80s, 90s, and early-2000s. This is the Superman who married Lois Lane, the Superman who fought against Doomsday and died, the Superman who returned from the dead.Why is this confusing, you ask? Well, this Superman is now living in an alternate reality, one that arrived around 2010. DC calls it The New 52 universe. In this softly rebooted universe, everything and everyone got a facelift, modernized, updated. The Superman in this new universe wore a suit more like armor than tights, had a romance with Wonder Woman, and wasn’t much of a talker. He died in battle, though, and so the pre-New 52 Superman, who had been hiding out on this alternate Earth with his wife Lois and their son Jon, decides to don the red and blue again because, yeah, Earth needs a Superman.Batman and Wonder Woman don’t know this new Superman. No one does. They don’t know if they can trust him. They honestly don’t know what to think of him. This is a really interesting dynamic because this classic version of Superman was the beacon of hope in his old universe—he was the gold standard. To suddenly be an alien twice over adds an interesting dimension to the character, one that the creators were sure to touch upon. I can only hope they continue to use it to drive stories.But the real heart and soul of this book is the arrival of Superman as a family man. Let’s face it—our classic Superman has always been a dad. He may not previously have actually had a child, but he basically epitomized the traits we hope for in every great father—brave, selfless, compassionate, assertive, reliable, strong, and even a little boring.Now Superman acts like a dad for good reason—he is one! Their son, Jon, is just beginning to develop powers, and watching Superman guide his son through these changes is charming in and of itself.Jon, who I believe is around ten or so, is an incredibly likable character. He’s not too naïve, not too sassy, not too polished, but not too rough, either. They’ve hit a nice tone with him, one that I hope they can continue.I do believe Lois is getting a bit lost in the mix in this first volume, though. In my opinion, her inclusion in the action feels a bit forced, and, honestly, there’s a moment at the end of this book where I really questioned Superman’s judgment in allowing a very human Lois to be anywhere near the cataclysmic battle taking place.As much as the creators have hit the right note with Jon, they are missing the mark just a bit with Lois. They’ve all been hiding out on this new Earth in order to protect Jon, and so Lois must be content as an anonymous novelist, doing house chores, and sort of playing the role of house wife. It never felt quite true to the character, but neither did the big action scene in which she participates. Granted, like Superman himself, getting Lois just right can be tricky. I trust Tomasi and Gleason will eventually find the right chord for her.So, yes, much of Son of Superman worked very well. Seeing Superman as a father is something I very much enjoy, especially because I am a father myself. It’s fun to be able to relate to him even now as a forty year old man. Seeing Superman through Jon’s eyes breathes fresh life into the hero, and watching Jon struggle to become a hero in his own right is going to prove fertile ground for future stories.But speaking of story, Son of Superman faltered with its main conflict. The Eradicator is back, but I think this is the New 52 version of the character—I was never clear on that, to be honest. Anyway, as an ancient piece of Kryptonian technology, he’s taken it upon himself to destroy Jonathan Kent, whom he views to be an impure blight against Kryptonian genes due to his human heritage. Plus, as it happens, he’s got a bunch of Kryptonian souls living inside of him.Frankly, I found the whole Eradicator plot a bit of a stretch, even by comic book standards. There are dozens of directions they could have taken in this first volume, why they chose yet another character with an “S” on his chest and very convoluted motive is something of a mystery. And the dozens of Kryptonian souls trapped inside of the Eradicator really took me out of the story. It seemed like such a significant event just to kind of throw in there as an aside … it felt forced and unnatural to the general cadence of the book. In fact, everything with the Eradicator felt a little clunky to me.Furthermore, along those same lines, the art in Son of Superman is flat-out superb. Patrick Gleason draws a heroic Superman, a charismatic Jonathan, and a self-reliant Lois. But his style tends to be a little cartoony—a bit exaggerated. There are a few installments in the book, however, where both Jorge Jimenez and Dough Mahnke fill in on the pencils. Both are superb—I’ve been a Mahnke fan for a long while now. But, their style tends to be a little darker, a little more realistic, a little more chiseled. Like the storyline itself, the shift in art could be abrupt and jarring. All of the art is wonderful, don’t get me wrong, but the flow is disruptive from installment to installment due to contrasting styles.Son of Superman is not perfect, but it’s a bold, uplifting direction for Superman and I commend the creators for embarking upon such risk. Taking one of your flagship characters and making him both a husband and a dad is unconventional to be sure, but I have no doubt this creative team in particular will provide captivating stories to come. I think we’re all ready for Superman Dad … I know I am.

Sweet sweet innocent Jon. What a beautifully optimistic and innocent character. And the relationship of the Kent family is amazing to see.

Superman is back! The New 52 Superman was an interesting take on the character, but I have missed the "real" (if such a word can be applied here!) Superman, and now he is back. The addition of Jonathan White, the new Superboy, is a great choice for DC - it allows us to see an aspect of the character that has, up until now, only been hinted at: Superman as a father. Having a son developing his own powers, wanting to follow in his father's footsteps and be a hero, but, at the same time, being alternately super and also vulnerable, means that Superman will have to grow and develop alongside his son. I also enjoy the interplay between Superman and the New 52 heroes, especially Batman and Wonder Woman - the "trinity" of the DC Universe now has one member that the others distrust. DC has tried for years to make Superman "relevant" with mixed success, but transporting the Superman and Lois Lane we all knew and loved from the "original" timeline, complete with 10 year old son, to the darker, more paranoid New 52 timeline, has succeeded. With luck, we will be able to enjoy these adventures for some time to come!