WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Future State: Superman: House of El #1 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Scott Godlewski, Gabe Eltaeb & ALW's Troy Peteri, on sale now
The legacy of Superman extends beyond just the Man of Steel, with Future State confirming that the family-line beginning with the Last Son of Krypton carries on for centuries into the future. However, it turns out one of those descendants might be one of the most dangerous to ever wear the Superman symbol on their chest.
As introduced in Future State: Superman: House of El #1, Pyrrhos is the son of Superman and Circe, and he became one of Future State's most dangerous figures.
Centuries after the present day, the descendants of Superman are still going strong. They fight to preserve life from their base on the Earth's Moon, known as the Fortress of Sanctuary. Alongside their ally Brainiac 4, the descendants of Superman -- including the noble Ronan, his Blue Lantern sister Rowan, the peaceful Brandon Kent, his half-Tamaraian daughter Theand'r, Brandon's brother Khan-El and his wife Alura find themselves fighting an increasingly desperate battle against the Red King, who has taken control of the armies of Apokolips and New Genesis, including the new Black Racer. With his armies of modified Doomsdays and Parademons, the Red King's army quickly proves dangerous to even the House of El, with both Brainiac 4 and Brandon Kent dying in the conflict.
Eventually, the battle forces the hand of Pyrrhos, the Red King himself. Pyrrhos is revealed to actually be connected to the House of El, and the "cousin" to the armies he's been decimating. This is because Pyrrhos is the son of Superman and Circe, born under mysterious circumstances and raised by his mother to become one of the most dangerous beings in creation. With all the power of Superman and none of the morality, Pyrrhos proves how dangerous such a powerhouse could really be. Circe even found a way to banish Superman to a different dimension, one full of chaos and darkness, leaving Pyrrhos with few real threats to deal with. She'd hoped that Pyrrhos would be the ultimate weapon against Superman and the legacy of the House of El.
But shortly before his death, Brainiac 4 was able to find a way to bring Superman back to the core reality. Confronting his son, Superman proves to be far too fast, powerful and experienced for Pyrrhos to really land a single blow. But Superman still has hope for this dark son -- even revealing that the dimension he just escaped is in danger and in need of their own Superman. Offering his hand to his illegitimate son, Superman offers Pyrrhos a noble purpose -- one that Pyrrhos even seems to accept by ultimately flying away with Superman to begin his new work. Superman promises to return someday to see his family again and reveals how proud he is of their accomplishments, leaving them knowing they've continued the legacy of Superman well.
The revelation of Pyrrhos still offers many mysteries, however. For instance, he raises the question of when Circe began focusing on Superman as a target? It may have something to do with her more consistent antagonist, Wonder Woman, being absent from the present DC Universe in the aftermath of Dark Knights: Death Metal. Circe raising her own personal Superman could lead to widespread death and destruction across the DC Universe. If she could, then the Red King could become the ultimate counterpoint to the heroic Jon Kent, who has grown to embody all the things Superman fought for in the first place.
The fact that he could conquer both Apokolips and New Genesis suggests just how powerful he is. There's even a chance that being raised by the magical Circe could lead this son of Superman to have less of a weakness to the mystic arts, which would make it even harder for someone else to defeat him. If Circe could accomplish this plan and get her own son of Superman, it could make her an even more dangerous threat. Hopefully, even if Pyrrhos is born in the mainline DC Universe, his father will get the chance to help him grow into a Superman the universe can be proud of instead of fear.