Warning: contains spoilers for Future State: Superman/Wonder Woman #2

Superman is a character that has always been defined by his faith in humanity. Though his actual religion varies wildly depending on when he’s being written and who’s writing him, this singular belief in the potential of people is vital to the character’s core. This doesn’t mean that he doesn’t believe in the many gods and goddesses of the DC Universe though. At least, it didn’t for Clark Kent. Future State: Superman/Wonder Woman #2 reveals that Future State’s Superman, Jonathan Kent, doesn’t believe in the gods at all.

The new story from writer Dan Watters and artist Leila del Duca, sees Superman and Wonder Woman facing two sun themed threats. Superman is weakened by the red sunlight of the artificial sun Solaris while Wonder Woman is looking to calm the prideful sun-god Kuat. Though Jon would normally be up to the task of defeating Solaris, its red sunlight has significantly reduced his power. Meanwhile, Wonder Woman challenges Kuat to a race around earth’s orbit. A challenge made difficult by the fact that her chosen mount is anything but tameable. After Superman easily calms the headless mule Yara planned on using to race Kuat, the two realize an obvious solution to their problem. They swap opponents.

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Wonder Woman prepares a Kryptonian laser to subdue Solaris while Jon meets with Kuat. Kuat is furious to see Superman instead of Wonder Woman, reasoning that Yara is a demigod and that beating her in a race would help his myth. Jon tells the angry sun deity that he’s never believed in the gods, but that anyone who could beat Superman in a race would earn their share of myths. With that, the race around the solar system is on.

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Kuat easily outpaces Jon in the early phases of the race, but that’s all part of Superman and Wonder Woman’s plan. As soon as Yara weakens Solaris enough that his red sunlight leaves the solar system, Jon springs into action and laps Kuat. Though the sun god is angry and accuses Jon of cheating, Future State’s Superman punches the sun hard enough to knock Kuat out cold.

While it is nice seeing atheist representation, especially from a character as positive as Superman, some might question how Jon could not believe in the gods in a place like the DC Universe. Gods of all pantheons aren’t just mythology in DC, they’re a fact of life. It seems especially silly for Jon to say that to a literal god. Future State’s Wonder Woman introduced more gods to DC as well, expanding DC’s range of deities. Taking the statement literally makes Jon come across as just ignorant.

What’s important though is to look at the statement in context. In this issue, Jon describes a time when climate change almost ended the world, but that humanity managed to turn it around. Even outside of this series, the world of Future State has been marred by strife such as the Four Riders of the Apocalypse unleashed by the Teen Titans, the Magistrate’s takeover of Gotham, and the military’s assault on Metropolis. Each time the world was threatened it wasn’t saved by any of DC’s gods, but by people and by heroes. He’s seen the worst in people and still has faith in humanity because he’s also seen the best in people. Regardless of why the gods didn’t intervene in such matters, it’s easy to see why someone like Future State’s Superman would turn his back on the divine.

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Evan Mullicane
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Evan D. Mullicane is an editor, critic, and author based out of California’s Bay Area. He received his bachelor’s degree in creative writing from San Francisco State University in 2016. In his free time, he enjoys reading graphic novels and writing fantasy.

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