‘NEW FIGHTS’

DC Comics’ Newest Superman, Jonathan Kent, Is Here—and Queer!

Tom Taylor, the author of the series, reveals that the new Superman has new, real-world problems.

Just in time for National Coming Out Day, some super news has arrived. The New York Times reports that DC Comics has announced that the new Superman, Jonathan Kent, will be romantically involved with a male friend. Jonathan, the son of Clark Kent and Lois Lane, has already faced modern foes that his Man of Steel father never confronted: climate change-caused wildfires, high-school shootings, and unfair deportations in Metropolis. Tom Taylor, the author of the new series, Superman: Son of Kal-El, said replacing Clark Kent with another regular Superman archetype would feel like a “missed opportunity.” Taylor told the Times that a “new Superman had to have new fights—real-world problems—that he could stand up to as one of the most powerful people in the world.”