Superman: Father of Tomorrow #3: Sorcerer Lex Luthor

Superman: Father of Tomorrow #3 continues the epic Elseworlds comic miniseries by writer Kenny Porter and artist Danny Earls. What if Jor-El, not baby Kal-El, escaped Krypton’s destruction and crash-landed in Kansas? Becoming family to the Kents as “Jordan Kent”, this adult Jor-El uses both his powers and his brilliant scientific mind to forcibly improve Earth. With his incredible powers and his advanced alien technology, Jor knows he can save Earth. The only question is: how far will he go to save this new world?  

The year of Superman is slowly becoming the decade of Superman. DC has been putting out a lot of great Superman content since “Superman” came out in 2025. With the amount of content being pushed out, some is better than others, but either way, I am excited to see the Super Family in the spotlight. This new series seems intriguing, and Kenny Porter has the opportunity to explore some interesting themes with this Elseworld story. This twist to the Superman story works well because it can explore themes like survivor’s guilt, scientific morality, and human nature. Similar to Kara, Jor watched his world burn, but he has many memories and knowledge from his time on Krypton. His introduction of advanced technology brings up questions of morality, as humanity attempts to weaponize the advancements he provides. He also must grapple with human nature and the way his world has changed. I am putting some trust in Porter as I think he can handle the weight of making this story great. However, something needs to happen in these issues. This miniseries has a limited number of issues to get this story across, and this third issue feels too filler. Nothing consequential happens, and the story does not really progress in this issue. We already know that Jor-El is trying to save humanity from the first couple of issues. Yes, this issue shows that he is slowly being overcome by grief, but I think it could be hammered home harder. Despite this, Porter still manages to deliver a compelling story.

The story is supported incredibly by the art and colors by Danny Earls and Nick Filardi. The more muted color palette by Filardi perfectly parallels the darker themes presented in this story. The panels in this story blend exceptionally and match the pacing of this fast issue. If I had one complaint about the art, it would be that some of the faces look strange. At first, I could not tell if it was the proportions or colors causing strangeness, but it is definitely the proportions. They are distractingly off proportions. It’s especially apparent in the character’s hands.  Everyone looks slightly alien. Maybe it’s intentional? However, this is a minimal issue and does not distract from the overall story.