Spoiler warning for Superman: Son of Kal-El #14Superman’s boyfriend Jay Nakamura is upending even more about the Man of Steel in the best way possible. Now Jay is rewriting that classic movie moment where Superman saves a falling victim. But Jay Nakamura—alias Gossamer—is no victim in this story, and he’s out to prove that even Superman needs to learn how to let go.
Clark Kent’s Superman established countless superhero tropes across practically every storytelling medium, from comics to animation to the big screen. How many times has a Superman reader or viewer watched as Superman careened after a falling Lois Lane, only to save her moment before she crashed to the ground? But ever since Jon Kent came out as both DC’s newest Superman and bisexual, he has been rewriting the Superman game. Jon’s boyfriend Jay Nakamura is invulnerable, for one, in that he can phase through any object, avoiding all physical danger. And so Jay—much like the contemporary version of Lois Lane—refuses to play the “damsel in distress,” and in fact takes on a hero mantle of his own, with a costume to boot. Now he’s joining Superman as they fight for the freedom of Jay’s country, Gamorra, from the tyranny of dictator Henry Bendix.
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In Superman: Son of Kal-El #14 by Tom Taylor, Cian Tormey, Federico Blee, and Dave Sharpe, Jay continues to rewrite Superman history by toppling yet another classic superhero trope. In order the infiltrate the shield surrounding Gamorra, Jon needs to drop Jay—literally—above the island nation so Jay can then phase through the forcefield. But Jon is reluctant to do the dropping. In Jay’s words: “Right. You’re Superman. You’re practically programmed to catch people who are falling. Not so good with the letting go.” Jay then starts to phase through Jon’s arms, saying “It’s okay. I’ll let go for you.” It turns out Jon has nothing to worry about: Jay gets through the shield and completely holds his own in the field.
This is a sweet scene between the now-iconic couple of Superman and Jay Nakamura. Though Jay is a newer DC character and a recent addition to Superman lore, the couple is really settling into themselves. Jay in particular is proving himself to be a great complement to Jon’s new Superman, helping him learn big lessons along the way. Plus, this “letting go” moment is a great reference to and reversal of all those iconic “Superman saves the falling Lois Lane” moments. All in all, this is a touching scene between a history-making couple, and it proves that Jay Nakamura—Gossamer—is a real hero in his own right.
Many Superman fans come to the character through the movie franchise, and now they can see a new twist on an iconic Superman trope in comic book pages. Superman’s boyfriend Jay Nakamura has always been a confident reporter, and now he’s proving himself as a confident superhero. Now that he’s helping Jon Kent’s Superman learn to “let go,” the pair can start to work together as DC’s newest and literal power couple.
Check out Superman: Son of Kal-El #14, available now from DC Comics!
