From one crisis to another...
Jon Kent has to move fast if he's going to protect his loved ones. Superman: Son of Kal-El #13 presents him with a ton of information, and all of it needs to be acted upon ASAP – which is definitely a familiar feeling for heroes in the DC Universe.
Spoilers ahead for Superman: Son of Kal-El #13
Upon delivering his journalist boyfriend, Jay Nakamura, to the Fortress of Solitude, Jon encounters Nia Nal, AKA Dreamer, who reveals she's broken into Superman's safe house by traveling through a rescued animal's dreams.
Nia was created for the CW series Supergirl, where she's played by Nicole Maines. This issue marks her mainstream DCU debut, with Maines co-writing alongside series writer Tom Taylor. Artist Clayton Henry, colorists Marcelo Maiolo and Matt Herms, and letterer Dave Sharpe complete the series' creative team.
After introducing herself, Dreamer tells Jon and Jay that she's had a vision of the future in which the entire Justice League is wiped out – much like what happens in the current Dark Crisis crossover event. However, in Dreamer's vision, the team isn't decimated by Pariah, but by Henry Bendix, the current big bad of the Son of Kal-El title.
Dreamer's vision shows a potential event one week in the future: Joker is killed and Joker gas mixed with Kryptonian particles is released in Gotham, killing the entire Bat family and the heroes they call in for back-up, including Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and the Green Lantern.
Even Jon is killed by the gas, since he attempts to inhale it and blow it out of Earth's atmosphere to stop the spread, causing Kryptonian particles to rip apart his lungs. As he dies, Bendix tells Jon that the time for heroes is over, and the time for human rule has begun.
It's a brutal look at another potential end for the Justice League and their mentees, though this ongoing takes place outside of (and presumably before) the events of Dark Crisis, in which Jon plays a pivotal role.
However, Jon may have a better shot at preventing Dreamer's vision from coming true than he does of saving the world in the Justice League's absence. Jay wants to destroy Bendix by releasing the truth about his crimes and then stoking an uprising on Bendix and Jay's home – the island nation of Gamorra, where Bendix is the despot "president." This may have more success than Superman attempting to fight the villain single-handedly.
If only such a strategy could bring down Pariah...
Jon Kent and Nia Nal could become some of the most iconic LGBTQIA+ superheroes in comics.
