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Superman: Son of Kal-El (Single Issues)

Superman: Son of Kal-El (2021-) #13

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It’s the dramatic DCU debut of Dreamer! When every hero on Earth is threatened by Henry Bendix’s machinations, it’s a race against time for Dreamer to warn Superman before it happens! But will this mysterious new ally’s premonition become a nightmare for Jonathan Kent?

26 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 12, 2022

9 people are currently reading
18 people want to read

About the author

Tom Taylor

1,301 books1,052 followers
Once a professional juggler and fire eater, Tom Taylor is a #1 New York Times Bestselling, multi-award-winning comic book writer, playwright and screenwriter.

Well known for his work with DC Comics and Marvel, Taylor is the co-creator of NEVERLANDERS from Penguin Random House, SEVEN SECRETS from Boom Studios and the Aurealis-Award-winning graphic novel series THE DEEP. Taylor is also the Head Writer and Executive Producer of The Deep animated series, four seasons of which is broadcast in over 140 countries.

He is perhaps best known for the DC Comics series, DCEASED (Shadow Awards Winner), NIGHTWING (nominated for 5 Eisner Awards), SUPERMAN: SON OF KAL-EL (GLAAD Award Nominee), INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US, SUICIDE SQUAD, EARTH 2 and BATMAN/SUPERMAN as well as Marvel's FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN, ALL NEW WOLVERINE, X-MEN: RED, DARK AGES and SUPERIOR IRON MAN. Taylor is also the writer of many Star Wars series, which include STAR WARS: INVASION and STAR WARS: BLOOD TIES (Stan Lee Excelsior Award winner). Taylor has written for Marvel, DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, Boom Studios, Wildstorm, 2000 AD and Gestalt Comics.

He can be followed on twitter @TomTaylorMade.

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5 stars
54 (36%)
4 stars
58 (38%)
3 stars
28 (18%)
2 stars
9 (6%)
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1 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
Profile Image for Sid.
828 reviews86 followers
July 15, 2022
oooh they pulled breaking dawn part 2 plot twist. but i've learned that lesson ha you almost fooled me comic book! (no srsly, i liked this, and i like the dreamer debut)
Profile Image for Renan Fontes.
370 reviews
July 17, 2022
Pretty good issue. Bad future dreams are overdone, but if it means the plot starts moving, I'm for it. It's also a good move to frame Bendix as an actual threat. Not sure how much more set-up I can take before I get annoyed, but we're getting somewhere!
Profile Image for Amy Walker  - Trans-Scribe Reviews.
924 reviews16 followers
September 25, 2022
Superman: Son of Kal-El deals with the fallout from the previous issue, with the world having discovered the true identity of The Truth. Now that the world knows who Jay is it's put everything that he's worked towards in jeopardy. People feel like they can't trust him anymore, that his position as the son of the former president of Gamorra means that he's biased, and that he's been fabricating the evidence against President Bendix.

In order to get away from the pressure, and the potential crowds of angry people, Jon takes Jay somewhere where he get be alone and safe. The Fortress of Solitude.

Jon has barely told Jay that it's impossible for anyone to get inside than they discover a guest waiting for them, Dreamer. This marks the first appearance of Dreamer in the main DC continuity, and it's a lovely introduction to the character.

Jon kind of knows who she is, from stories that he's heard about her from her descendant in the Legion of Super Heroes. It's a bit of convenience, but it's kind of a welcome one as it means we don't have to do the cliched thing of them fighting before realising they're on the same side, or her having to convince him she's not a villain. Plus, him just talking to her is a much more Jon thing anyway.

It turns out that Dreamer has come to warn Superman of an impending attack by Bendix, and we get to see it in the form of a dream vision. This sequence is pretty dark, and features the murders of several beloved heroes. It's probably one of the darkest things that has been in this series so far, and the shock factor helps to hammer home how dangerous a foe Bendix really is.

Armed with this knowledge, Jon sets out to prevent the attack; but back on Gamorra, Bendix has decided to make an example of Jay's mother.

This is a really good issue, it furthers the main story, we get some great scenes between Jay and Jon, Dreamer is introduced to the main continuity, and we have the nightmare scenario in the middle too. It really feels like the Bendix story will be coming to a head soon, that Jon is going to find a way to take him out of the picture. But it' still not clear how he's going to be able to do that.
Profile Image for Kastie Pavlik.
Author 6 books44 followers
July 24, 2022
So it's not her first appearance, but Dreamer's debut works well with this story line and she makes a good ally for Jon since they're both on journeys to discover themselves and their powers. Jon may be further along, but he excels in mentoring and is stronger when he's with others he can empathize with and help to grow. I loved the dream sequence. It's got that Gotham grittiness to it, but with a styling that keeps in step with this title. But, the Batfam would have masks and that stood out to me. This issue and the last one have had little mistakes like this that are out of character and strain the storyline unnecessarily. Like with Jay removing his mask in #12 instead of it getting knocked off, or maybe the Batfam not having time to mask up, but they clearly could have when they reacted to Damian.
Profile Image for Gore.
243 reviews3 followers
July 13, 2022
While I don't entirely disagree with what Jay said, he has also proven how he is incapable in battle. Sure, he got the device out of that tentacle monster, but he also foolishly--and easily--revealed his identity. He's also been a person behind the scenes and never actually gotten into a battlefield, and fleeing his country doesn't count. I'm talking about man-to-man fights. So, I'm sorry, but Jay is just really annoying in this. He even retracted his words in the next panel after ranting about "resistance" and "the people's fight" and "can't be done by an outside force" but then tells Superman he needs to help. What? I did enjoy the dreaming sequence and getting to understand the new superhero's power technic's though.
874 reviews18 followers
May 25, 2023
Why can’t this series find a decent artist and stick to it? Not only are we stuck with Clayton Henry’s sub-par pencils but, together with the prosaic coloring, now we get a Jon with buck teeth (page 4, panel 5) in a face that looks like it’s shaped from baker’s dough. Don’t ask me what the colorists, Marcelo Maiolo and Matt Herms, are trying to accomplish with their skin tones; they range from looking like a bad watercolor with color-bleed (see again page 4, and notice the bizarre use of overly cool tones) to the high-schoolish, harsh use of color tone to define facial planes (eg see page 16, panel 1). Can we please make these visual tragedies go away?
363 reviews8 followers
July 24, 2022
The art goes from bad to worse with this issue, this time even the coloring is bad.
Please, this is currently (weather you like it or not), the on-going Superman title. Give it some means to achieve something or kill it but do not make it a sub-standard quality title just to milk the cow with the woke characters...

How can the Dreamer come to warn about the death of the JLA members when they are already all "dead" in their main title and in a on-going lineup wide crisis event?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Nicolo.
3,498 reviews206 followers
March 4, 2024
The Dreamer makes her debut!

This is the first comic book appearance of a character that originated from the Supergirl television show. She also has a backstory that includes a big Legion of Superheroes reference. She's actually an interesting character.

Regarding her powers, since she walks in and out of dreams, I wonder how the Lord of Dreams of the Endless feels about that.
Profile Image for Sara.
137 reviews
July 12, 2022
Excellent Dreamer Debut

Once again a great Comic but made even better by Dreamers Debut and Nicole Maines contribution. Really enjoyed it and hope it isn't the last we see of Dreamer!
Profile Image for Devin Wilson.
647 reviews1 follower
October 6, 2023
I've decided to dig in and just catch up on this and Nightwing, and even with that narrow focus... I just feel like this series has too many moving parts right now. I'm enjoying it, but it feels unwieldy.
1,765 reviews3 followers
July 12, 2022
Crossing the Supergirl TV show with the Legion of Super Heroes. It was a very nice introduction to the new Dreamer.
4 reviews
July 12, 2022
Dreamer Needs an Ongoing

Got this issue just to read the debut of Dreamer, and I couldn’t be happier! DC if you see this, she needs her own ongoing series!
Profile Image for James DeSantis.
Author 17 books1,203 followers
July 15, 2022
A solid start to the next arc. I'm not a huge fan of Jay TBH but I really liked Dreamer here. Art is iffy here. A 3 out of 5.
Profile Image for Craig Schorling.
2,374 reviews11 followers
July 26, 2022
This arc is heating up. The characters are still fun and compelling. The art is good too.
Profile Image for Marsh Myers.
Author 10 books107 followers
August 5, 2022
Kal-El's dream sequence about the end of the Justice League was terrifying.
Profile Image for Sofi.
53 reviews
February 2, 2023
5 stars for our queen Dreamer! Haven’t read the rest of the series yet, so I have some catching up to do, but I was too excited for Nia Nal’s comic debut to wait
Profile Image for Birr.
45 reviews
January 25, 2024
I literally binge read this series yesterday for Nia nal and now she's finally in the comics, i love her so much.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews

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