A Classic DC Trope Just Saved Superman’s Son from a Fate Worse Than Death

The son of Superman has just broken through to Amanda Waller’s biggest asset, and it could shift the balance of DC Comics‘ Absolute Power.

Absolute Power #3 finds many of the world’s last remaining heroes regrouped on the Amazonian island of Themyscira in the hopes of evading Amanda Waller’s sights. Unfortunately for them, Waller’s Brainiac Queen still manages to hunt the heroes down, bringing a twisted Jon Kent along with her to help usher in their destruction. Luckily, setting foot on Themyscira uninvited is all that’s needed for Jon to fall into a mystical trap. That, in turn, is enough to not just break the Brainiac Queen’s hold over him, but for the young Superman to share the truth with his former captor.

Written by MARK WAID Art by DAN MORA Colors by ALEJANDRO SÁNCHEZ Letters by ARIANA MAHER Main cover art by DAN MORA Variant covers by IVAN TALAVERA, CARLA COHEN, TREVOR HAIRSINE, MIKEL JANÍN, MARC ASPINALL, MIKE DEODATO JR. & JÃO CANOLA, STEPHEN BLISS, JOHN TIMMS, and MARK SPEARS

The son of Clark Kent and Lois Lane, the Jon Kent of the primary DC Universe made his comic book debut in the pages of Convergence: Superman #2 in the story “Superman Again” by Dan Jurgens. Initially, Jon was born amidst the backdrop of a Multiversal cataclysm that saw the most iconic figures of numerous realities collide for one epic storyline. Since the retcons that came about since then, however, Jon has been given a decidedly more ordinary if still somewhat explosive origin story.

While it wasn’t long before Jon took up the mantle of Superman for himself, that hasn’t helped him to escape some of the more dire scenarios the DC Universe could throw at him. Most recently, this came in the form of being captured and experimented on by the Brainiac Queen. Thanks to her gruesome, malevolent efforts, Superboy became another techno-organic agent who was ultimately under the control of Amanda Waller. Not to mention someone who Waller could turn against his fellow heroes during her war against the world’s metahumans.

The Brainiac Queen herself first appeared in Superman #14 by Joshua Williamson and Rafa Sandoval. Created by Brainiac, the Brainiac Queen was supposed to be the culmination of all of her progenitor’s greatest efforts. While she was powerful enough to kill and consume an entire army of Czarnians, the Brainiac Queen was ultimately felled by the combined might of the Superman Family. Following her defeat and fall to Earth, the Brainiac Queen was collected and pieced together by Amanda Waller’s forces. They helped her brainwash the entity into believing Waller to be its mother, leading it to serve dutifully in her war against the likes of the Justice League.

Absolute Power #3 is on sale now from DC Comics.

Source: DC Comics