Superman’s new secret identity in DC Comics was an epic fail

DC Comics is shaking up the world of Superman, with Clark about to get trapped in an extended adventure on the gladiatorial Warworld. Who is going to take care of Earth in the meantime? The duty will fall to his son, Jon Kent, but Jon is still figuring out what it means to live up to his dad’s very big boots.

This week, he experimented with the idea of having a secret identity. Or, to put it another way, he experimented with looking absolutely obnoxious. Now, a white windbreaker and jeans is not the worst thing a person could put on. But a floppy blond wig, Jon? The sunglasses? Driving a giant red jeep to school?

Trying to pull off the name Finn Connors?

What else is happening in the pages of our favorite comics? We’ll tell you. Welcome to Monday Funnies, Polygon’s weekly list of the books that our comics editor enjoyed this past week. It’s part society pages of superhero lives, part reading recommendations, part “look at this cool art.” There may be some spoilers. There may not be enough context. But there will be great comics. (And if you missed the last edition, read this.)

Image: Tom Taylor, John Timms/DC Comics

The good news is that “Finn Connors” was just a fakeout on the part of writer Tom Taylor and artist John Timms, and in the first 10 minutes of his first day of school Jon had to spring into super-action and blow his cover. Honestly, Jon, I think this is for the best.

Please burn that wig.

Image: Al Ewing, Bob Quinn/Marvel Comics

Cable: Reloaded is the character’s first Krakoa-era adventure since he was resurrected as a grizzled old dude and sent his teen self back to the future. The relatively self-contained one-shot both celebrates and lovingly teases classic ’90s Cable stories and doesn’t miss a single opportunity for wordplay like the above. It kind of rules.

Image: Robert Venditti, Wilfredo Torres/DC Comics

We have a full review of Superman ’78 #1 for you, but I’d just like to celebrate how Wilfredo Torres nails the tightrope act of drawing the likeness of real actors into a comic in such a way that they’re completely recognizable, but just stylized enough that they don’t fall into the Uncanny Valley.

Image: J.H. Williams III, W. Haden Blackman/Image Comics

Echolands is a new series from Batwoman (2011)’s J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman, and you might be wondering why this double page spread is so dang wide. Well, each issue of Echolands is the same size and proportion of a usual comic — but the fold is on the short end of the book, not the long, creating these huge horizontal spaces for Williams to fill with his painstakingly detailed art.

Image: Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo/DC Comics

I’m a simple Batman fan. Make a whole plot about Alfred leaving his surprisingly large fortune in well-invested back wages to Dick Grayson upon his death, and Dick turning around and pouring the millions into a not-for-profit called the Alfred Pennyworth Foundation, and I put it in the round-up. Also it gives me a big, warm, fuzzy feeling.

Image: Kelly Thompson, Elena Casagrande/Marvel Comics

Elena Casagrande is so good at turning out double page spread battle scenes in Black Widow that it’s not even, like, remarkable when it happens at this point. Except for this page spread with more than 60 (!!!) panels! Holy cow!