WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Future State: Superman of Metropolis #1, from Sean Lewis, John Timms, Gabe Eltaeb and Dave Sharpe, on sale now.
In the wake of Dark Nights: Death Metal and the timeline of the DC Multiverse being warped again, DC has offered new glimpses of a potential future timeline with Future State: Superman of Metropolis positioning Clark's son, Jon Kent, as the new Superman.
However, Future State: Superman of Metropolis #1 proves that it's not an easy job as the city's embedded in turmoil and on the verge of destruction. Many citizens are viewed as dissidents, with the government sending the army in to corral them so they don't end up in a bleak state of affairs like Gotham. But in the process, we discover the House of El is having its own [rpblems, as Supergirl has become Jon's greatest enemy.
As he's grown from adolescence into his teenage years, Jon has had a lot of brutal fights over the years. And his cousin, Supergirl, is testing him more than ever before. This is all because of Brain Cells, a new version of Brainiac formed from the villain's skin after Kara burned it off, which has been co-opted by Trojan Industries, a new evil corporation that puts LexCorp to shame.
Trojan has placed tech into the citizens, promising to make them better-evolved, but Brain Cells has been corrupting them and sowing seeds of war with the government. To buy some time, Jon shrinks down Metropolis using the tech that Brainiac used on Kandor, but this is what angers Kara so much. Knowing that this was done to her homeworld enrages her, and she travels to the Fortress of Solitude looking for a fight and to stop history from repeating itself.
However, this is all part of Brain Cells' plan as he's able to elevate her anger levels as he can interface with Kara's Kryptonian physiology. She's already on edge as she can't believe Jon would do something that could hurt Metropolis. But when Brain Cells ramps up her emotions, she turns into an enraged warrior. Subsequently, she and Jon duke it out, with Kara also revealing she didn't think Jon was ready for the mantle of Superman, as he's too human. Clearly, there's some resentment and even hints of jealousy in her reservations, even if those negative thoughts are being amplified by Brain Cells.
In flashbacks, Supergirl isn't the same hero as before. Jon recalls how she rescues citizens before flying away in a cold fashion, which isn't what they want. They need relatable heroes they can thank and discuss real problems with, not gods to potentially fear. Jon's doing just that when he can to follow in his father's deeply human footsteps, but something has broken Kara that has her behaving the opposite.
Eventually, Jon's able to distance her from Brain Cells in their fight. And when this allows Kara to snap out of it, you can tell she regrets coming after Jon with such vigor and that she can't trust the government or Brain Cells. However, the villain makes off with Metropolis by end of the issue, giving these two heroes a challenge that will test their already-frail relationship.