WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Superman: Son of Kal-El #2, on sale now from DC.
For much of his history, Superman has maintained a secret double life as the Last Son of Krypton and as mild-mannered investigative reporter Clark Kent, with the latter persona giving him the chance at a normal, civilian life amidst all of his demanding superhero responsibilities. With Superman publicly announcing both sides of his identity to the world, outing himself and his family to the general public, his equally powerful son Jon Kent now lives as a major public figure as a direct consequence. And as Jon inherits the mantle of Superman and similarly attempts to have his own shot at a normal life out of the spotlight, he learns firsthand just how difficult maintaining a secret identity can be.
In Superman: Son of Kal-El #2 -- by Tom Taylor, John Timms, Gabe Eltaeb and Dave Sharpe -- Jon prepares to start his university studies at the nearby Metropolis College and creates the alter ego of Finn Connors to blend in with his classmates. Sporting a blonde wig, sunglasses and a track jacket that masks his superhero physique, Jon drives to college to begin classes in a used jeep, expressing his interest in majoring in media to potentially follow in his parents' journalistic footsteps. These plans at anonymity collapse faster than a speeding bullet when a disturbed college student opens fire at a crowd of students on campus, with Jon leaping into action and absorbing the brunt from the assault rifle before apprehending the gunman. Though no one is visibly harmed in the incident, the Finn Connors persona is no more, with Jon having ditched the wig and sunglasses and gunfire publicly exposing his superhero outfit.
While the students are jubilant that the new Superman goes to their school, Jon is less than thrilled, planning to drop out as he abandons all pretenses at having a quiet, unassuming life away from his superhero identity. The secret identity was not without its practical expenditures either: Jon reveals that Batman and Oracle personally went through lengths to create a false identity for him to inhabit, calling in favors in an effort to create a whole backstory that would be relatively untraceable by the authorities. But despite the setback, Jon is already making a name for himself as a the new Superman and a markedly different one from his father.
The secret identity incident at Metropolis College also stands as a subtle rebuke of one of Man of Steel's more divisive moments. In the 2013 film, Jonathan Kent was concerned for his son Clark's wellbeing, knowing that him going public with his powers would make him the center of unwanted attention for the rest of his life. To that end, Jonathan pondered whether it was justifiable for Clark to let a bus full of his classmates drown rather than the boy stepping in to singlehandedly lift it out of the river all for the sake of concealing his abilities.
Here, Superman is understanding and supportive of his son ditching his secret identity to save others from harm, with the lengths undertaken to create an alter ego not even comparable to his son saving scores of classmates. Jon didn't hesitate to ditch his fresh attempt at a secret identity and his father couldn't be prouder of this decision. Finn Connors may not have been long for this world but Jon Kent's Superman is here to stay.