Warning! Spoilers ahead for Superman: Son of Kal-El #2
In the latest issue of DC Comics' absence of his father Clark Kent. However, donning the iconic cape certainly creates quite a bit of pressure, and Jon wants to make sure he's doing right by his family name and the symbol of hope on his chest. However, it seems as though Jon will intend to be more proactive than his father as well, actively seeking out truth and justice while also helping to motivate it along with greater and stronger effort.
In Superman: Son of Kal-El #2 from writer Tom Taylor with art by John Timms, Jon Kent tries to have a secret identity, going by the name Finn Connors in order to attend his first day of college. However, the new Superman is forced to sacrifice his secret identity almost immediately in order to save the school from a shooter, motivating Jon to realize that he might always be in the public light as Superman while still "living in the biggest shadow in the universe." Furthermore, the original Superman soon finds Jon sitting on the moon, contemplating the complexities of the Earth and its vast amount of problems.
In Jon's mind, there's a lot on Earth that clearly needs fixing: forests and oceans struggling and ice that's melting, inaction motivated by fear and greed, division due to tribalism and countless borders, and more. As a result, the new Superman questions the original Superman about his actions in response (or lack thereof), asking, "Why don't you do more?"
It's an incredibly valid question for someone as powerful as Superman. Why couldn't he unite the world with his power, bringing the planet together and motivating positive change and healing it on multiple fronts? His powers could physically generate change while also influencing others with that same immense power, which would be respected and listened to. However, Jon's father responds that he's always held back from leading in such a proactive manner due to the fact that he wasn't born on Earth. In his mind, the original Superman is a guest/alien refugee who can help and guide, but anything more than that just isn't his place. However, that's not the case for Jon.
Kal-El certainly believes that his son could be the leading force for positive change on Earth that he never felt he could be, which is certainly a lot to put on Jon's shoulders. However, despite the pressure, it should no doubt feel pretty empowering for the young hero that his father has such confidence in his future and abilities, especially when his father is the Superman.
Receiving a key to the Fortress of Solitude and being given a new Superman suit from the original Man of Steel, Jon's Superman heads out into the world at the end of the issue and it looks like his first actions of proactivity have already begun, saving a sinking boat full of asylum-seeking refugees. Hailing from the nation of Gamorra, no other country is willing to save them as they don't want to get on the wrong side of the nation's leading tyrant Henry Bendix. However, the new Superman chooses to do the right thing, regardless of what his actions and intervention might cause in the long run as he seeks to lead and generate positive change in the DC Universe going forward.
