Warning: SPOILERS for Lazarus Planet: Assault on Krypton #1Jon Kent's Superman started a romantic relationship with journalist Jay Nakamura in 2021, but with the flirtatious introduction of new character Ash, readers have to ask: is Jon Kent about to enter his first major love triangle?
including new Lazarus-induced powers, a new conflict in his miniseries, and a new "frenemy" to challenge his perspective—and maybe his love life.
Superman meets a young thief named Ash in a story from the one-shot Lazarus Planet: Assault on Krypton #1 by C.S. Pacat, Scott Godlewski, Alex Guimarães, and AndWorld Design, and they quickly strike up a contentious, but not totally hateful, relationship. Jon stops Ash's thieving spree just as magic Lazarus rains hit, giving them both new and temperamental powers—electric powers for Jon, and volcano powers for Ash. The two team up to help people around the city in the disaster's aftermath, with Jon advising Ash on how to act more like a hero. By the end of the issue, Ash pretends to have lost the new volcano powers. When Superman tells Ash he has to turn the thief in to the authorities, Ash says, "You're sweet, Boy Scout. Maybe when I get out you can take me flying."
Jon Kent's Superman Gets His Own Version of Catwoman
Of course, Ash—who, much like Gotham's Catwoman, appears to be a morally gray thief—escapes using the not-totally-lost volcano powers. Jon finds a note in Ash's apartment: "You ever have a really bad day?" Ash signs it with a doodled heart. It's perhaps too early to say for certain if Ash will disrupt Jon's romance with Jay Nakamura, but there's certainly some tension apparent in this story—there's no doubt that Ash is flirting with Superman, even if Jon isn't necessarily flirting back. If Ash becomes a recurring character in Jon's new miniseries, Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent, it's possible the new character will serve not only as a narrative foil—the Red Superman to Jon's Electric Blue, the thief to his hero—but also as a source of tension between Jon and Jay.
Will Superman Fall for This New Morally Gray Character?
It's of note, too, that Ash has been gifted volcano powers; Jon was notoriously held captive in a volcano for much of his teen years, and even notes his own anxieties with volcanoes in this story. If Ash's introduction is the beginning of a love triangle for the young Superman, he'll be a soap operatic source of tension for Jon Kent on multiple levels. Anything could happen next with these characters—and that's what makes Superman's new ing character so exciting.
Lazarus Planet: Assault on Krypton #1 is available now from DC Comics!
