Warning: SPOILERS for Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #2The Injustice version of Superman has finally debuted in the central DC Universe, and his arrival has changed the DCU forever. With one murder of a major villain—Earth-3's Ultraman—this version of Superman has made a reality-changing impact on the future of DC's multiverse.
Injustice's Superman makes a dramatic and deadly entrance in Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #2 by Tom Taylor, Clayton Henry, Jordie Bellaire, and Wes Abbott. The main conflict of the issue is between Jon Kent and Ultraman, who imprisoned Jon on another Earth for many years. But just when Ultraman seriously threatens Jon—and his mother Lois Lane—Injustice Superman arrives and unflinchingly snaps Ultraman's neck.
This twist concludes the issue, as Ultraman slumps forward and Jon looks on in shock, having just seen a version of his father kill someone without any regret. There doesn't appear to be any chance of Ultraman surviving this particular attack—but this Superman is far more concerned with meeting (and saving) the son he never got to have.
Will Injustice Superman Replace Ultraman as an Interdimensional Threat?
Ultraman has been a staple villain and a major player across the DC Universe since the 1960s. He hails from Earth-3, a world where the Justice League is actually known as the Crime Syndicate. Ultraman is an alternate version of Superman—with all his Kryptonian powers—but he's been corrupted by power and greed. Meanwhile, Injustice Superman has his origins in the Injustice video game and its prequel comics—a world where Superman becomes a fascist dictator after being tricked into killing a pregnant Lois Lane. In the post-Dark Crisis DC Universe, this Injustice world is an official part of the DC multiverse, and now Jon Kent is meeting this corrupted version of his own father for the very first time.
DC and the Adventures of Superman creative team have been hyping the arrival of Injustice Superman to the main DCU for some time now, so his appearance isn't much of a surprise here—but the consequences of his appearance certainly are. The death of Ultraman is a huge change that essentially removes a classic and perennial threat against not only the DC Universe at large, but Jon Kent in particular, especially given his personal history with his father's doppelgänger. But this deadly bait-and-switch implies that Jon will have a new arch-foe in the shape of Injustice Superman, and it also suggests that he may just take Ultraman's place in the larger scope of the multiverse.
Injustice Superman Is About to Become a Major Threat
Without Ultraman, there will be a villainous hole in the multiverse, and Injustice Superman is primed to fill it. And he'll make a great replacement, given the character's emotional complexity. Surely fans will see the Injustice version of the Man of Steel in conflict with Superman Jon Kent in coming issues—and perhaps even with other heroes from Earth-0, especially now that Ultraman is off the table.
Check out Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #2, available now from DC Comics!
