‘Grandpa is completely insane’? To whom is this a revelation? Prior to leaving Earth, Jor-El had been revealed as the face behind Mr Oz, who had been kidnapping heroes and villains while manipulating wars and disaster on Earth. He fought Clark and tried to kill him. That Lois and Clark should ever let Jon join him on a space vacation because he suddenly presented as a reasonable man made no sense… the guy should have been locked up and given treatment for his mental health.
It was this move by new writer Brian Bendis in his Man of Steel mini-series that had me really worried about his tenure as architect of the Superman line. As it happens, I’ve really enjoyed what he’s been doing, while having qualms about the suddenly mysterious Clark/Lois relationship. But now we’re back to the Jon storyline and Lois compounding her appalling decision to take Jon into space with Jor-El by leaving him there because he’s good in a fight…
How would seeing how scary the spaceways are provoke any response in a sane parent but the desire to return home? Jon is a super-powered kid but he’s still a kid – and a massive target for Superman’s enemies.