The following article contains spoilers from Superman: Son of Kal-El #17, on sale now.

During his father's absence, Jon Kent stepped up as Earth's Superman but it has been no easy task, fortunately, he had help learning the ropes. The greatest assistance came in the form of Nightwing. The two bonded so quickly that Nightwing has become the hero Jon admires most save for his father and Superman: Son of Kal-El #17 (by Tom Taylor, Cian Tormey, Ruairi Coleman, Romulo Fajardo Jr., Dave Sharpe) cemented just how highly he thinks of Nightwing's skills.

After his first battle with Red Sin ended with a visit to the Justice League infirmary, Jon was alarmed to discover that his father was not investigating the new villain. He only calmed down when he learned that Nightwing had been given the task of looking into it. It was a simple, quick scene, but Jon's immediate acceptance that Nightwing was handling a job for Superman not only shows his trust in Nightwing, but also highlights how skilled he is to be given such a task.

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Nightwing Is Jon Kent's Biggest Hero

Clark Placates Jon

Jon always admired Nightwing, right from the moment they first met. During Jon's early days as Superboy, he got lost after flying too far from home. It was Nightwing's kindness that helped him calm down, and from that day on he became one of Jon's favorite heroes. In fact, their meeting had such an impact on Jon, that during his imprisonment on Earth-3, he secretly hoped it would be Nightwing who found him instead of his own father. That admiration grew when Clark asked Nightwing to look after Jon while he was away on Warworld.

During that time, Nightwing recognized the similarities between the two of them. Both are successors and sons of a great heroic legacy, and the task of filling in those colorful boots is a daunting one. Fortunately, Nightwing wanted to give Jon the wisdom of his experience filling in for Batman by helping the young Superman turn the role into his own. To that end, he became Jon's mentor, teaching him the ins and outs of being a hero. It is no surprise then that Nightwing was the only other hero Jon would trust enough to go after a villain who could threaten even a Kryptonian.

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Nightwing Can Handle a Job for Superman

Jon Kent Relaxes

The phrase "A job for Superman" is meant to convey just how dangerous and impossible a task is. Only someone with the powers of Kryptonian can do it. Almost only. Jon's faith in Nightwing highlights how secure he believes the job is in his mentor's hands. Ironically, one of the most human heroes in the DCU is the one given the assignment of tracking and possibly confronting, a Kryptonian killer.

This also props up how talented Nightwing is on his own. Both Supermen turning to him to investigate not only speaks volumes about his worth as a detective but also demonstrates that they believe he would be safe if it did come down to a fight. Nightwing's heroism, kindness, and wisdom, make him an ideal mentor for Jon, and one he has formed a close connection. This, coupled with his prodigious abilities, now make him the hero the Superman family trusts most when they need outside help to protect their home city.