In this review of Superman Unlimited #14, young Jon’s true identity is revealed. Is he Lois and Clark’s son or something else?
SUPERMAN UNLIMITED #14
Written by DAN SLOTT
Art by LUCAS MEYER
Main Cover: TAURIN CLARKE
Variant Covers: RAIKO, JUAN FERREYRA, STEPHANIE HANS, MITCH GERADS
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: 6/17/26
This review contains spoilers
As Superman Unlimited #14 begins, an assault on STAR Labs by Professor Thaddeus Killgrave gives Tomorrow Man the perfect opportunity to help Superboy train, but when Volcana shows up, her fiery powers cause young Jon to experience PTSD from his time on the volcano world. Tomorrow Man is able to talk him down, though.
When Dabney Donovan clones try to rip the kryptonite heart from Metallo’s chest, the two Jons rush off to save him. As the chunk of kryptonite bounces across the floor, Superboy flies to save it and is unaffected by the glowing green rock.
During all of this, Lois continues to have doubts about whether Jon is truly her son or not. She goes to Steelworks to check on a red sun enclosure she asked Steel to create, just in case it’s needed for Superboy. While she’s there, a sample of El Calderan Green K breaks loose from its container and begins spreading kryptonite crystals throughout the facility.
Lana uses her Superwoman powers to try slowing down the spreading kryptonite, but she becomes infected, her eyes turning a glowing green and her fingers turning into green crystalline claws.
Tomorrow Man and Superboy arrive to help, but when Steel realizes that Superboy isn’t hurt by the kryptonite, he tries to get the boy to go into his enclosure. Jon fights back, taking Steel’s hammer and tossing him through the building. At that point, older Jon realizes this is not the younger version of himself.
The issue wraps up with Robin and Batman monitoring the situation from a Batcave. Batman knows the explanation for Superboy’s strange behaviors. It turns out this is not Lois and Clark’s son after all. He’s actually Ultraboy, the son of Ultraman and Superwoman from Earth-3.
Analysis
Writer Dan Slott packed a ton of stuff into Superman Unlimited #14. I liked how he keeps the issue moving at a steady pace. I never felt a slowdown in the story and was compelled to fly through this issue. We get plenty of action with both Jons fighting various villains. Lois gets to do some investigating at different locations. Even Beppo makes a return to the story and we get to find out that he’s safe and doing well at Steelworks.
The El Calderan Green K taking on a life of its own and infecting Lana was unexpected. We only see her infected for one panel, so the repercussions of this should be shared in an upcoming issue, but for now we can only speculate. Obviously, the experimentation done by the Donovan clones has altered the kryptonite in some way, although it is still deadly to those with Kryptonian DNA. I’m glad to see the El Caldero kryptonite still playing such a big role in this title. Slott does a good job of connecting the whole story.
The big reveal for Superman Unlimited #14 is, of course, that young Jon is Ultraboy. We’ve been given loads of clues for the last few issues, so this isn’t altogether unforeseen. It’s going to open some old wounds for Lois, who has been hoping it really was her son, but I think she’ll be able to handle it considering the fact that she was already planning an enclosure for the boy.
The next issue promises a fight between the Damian and Jon, but the kryptonite batarangs we saw him preparing at the end of Superman Unlimited #12 probably won’t help him out much. Between him and Batman, they’ll have something worked out to slow down Ultraboy and I’m looking forward to whatever that will be.
Slott got in a couple of great Easter eggs in this one. When Lois visits the Kents to tell them of young Jon’s arrival, Martha adds in, “It’s like it’s raining Superboys.” in reference to the “Reign of the Superboys” storyline. While that one was fun, I liked the second one even better. When we first see Metallo being tortured by the clones, he screams out, “Somebody save me!” For all fans of the Smallville television show, that one will bring a smile to your face.
The artwork for Superman Unlimited #14 by Lucas Meyer and David Messina, along with Giuliano Peratelli’s colors, are great, once again. My favorite parts came toward the end when young Jon turns on Steel with glowing red eyes and then floats above older Jon while holding Steel’s hammer.
Final Thoughts
Superman Unlimited #14 is packed with action, villains, and revelations. The “Reign of the Superboys” storyline is finishing strong as we head toward the return of Clark Kent. Have fun, comic lovers!
