Superman: Space Age Justifies Man of Steel's Controversial Pa Kent Story
screenrant.comWarning: The following contains SPOILERS for Superman: Space Age #1 and Man of Steel.
A new Elseworlds tale starring Superman is able to make the controversial version of Jonathan «Pa» Kent presented in the movie Man of Steel make sense. Many fans of the Superman comics took issue with the cinematic version of Pa Kent played by Kevin Costner, who is hesitant to encourage his son's heroic idealism. Superman: Space Age #1 makes this idea work, however, by developing its version of Pa Kent more fully and convincingly, giving him a reasonable motivation for trying to instill caution in his superpowered son.
The 2013 Superman movie Man of Steel was divisive for many reasons, but the controversy regarding Jonathan Kent was one of the largest points of contention. This version of Jonathan Kent was scared of losing his adopted son, and fearful of how the world would react to the revelation that someone like Superman existed (going so far as considering if Clark should have let classmates drown rather than risk revealing himself to the world). This was a marked difference from how Pa Kent is presented in most Superman comics and media adaptations, where Superman's adoptive father believes everyone has a responsibility to help those in need above all else, especially those who have more to give.
Related: Superman’s Forgotten Legacy Redefines His Son's Name & Identity
Superman: Space Age #1 by Mark Russell, Mike Allred and Laura Allred also features a version of Jonathan «Pa» Kent who is reluctant to see his son seeking a life of active heroism. The key difference, however, is that Superman: Space Age goes into deep detail regarding Jonathan Kent's background as a soldier during WWII and how he accidentally killed a child in the
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