When Superman was first introduced, he largely stopped evil scientists and bank robbers. But with his son Jon soon taking over the role, the modern-day Superman will be taking on modern-day issues, according to Superman: Son of Kal-El writer Tom Taylor.
"Our story is about who [Jon] is today and it's about him finding who he is," Taylor said Saturday in Comic-Con@Home's virtual Truth, Justice, and A Better DC Universe: A New Future for The Man of Steel panel. "[And] how the son of Superman, the greatest hero in the world, becomes the next Superman for the current world."
"The question I'm asking myself as the writer is exactly the same question that Jon's asking himself: it's, 'Who am I? What is my role in this world? What is the Superman of today?' And you know that's a tricky question."
"You go all the way back to when Superman first came about in 1938 and he was quite a radical character," Taylor said. "As a character we needed at the time, his first story was about domestic violence. He wasn't punching space robots. And today it's about the same question. So for this Superman, for Jon Kent to say, 'You know, it's easy enough to punch a space robot, but it's harder to punch social inequity or the climate crisis,' for instance."
Taylor then playfully punched into thin air, adding, "I've tried it, it doesn't work."
"So it's gonna be questions that he's asking and we're gonna fill a cast of characters around him to help him answer that."
Readers got a look at the younger Superman in Sean Lewis and John Timms' Future State: Superman of Metropolis -- a Superman that was definitely different than his dad. While that story may have only been a "possible" future, it showed than Jon stands to handle things as Superman a lot differently than many people might be used to.