Superman Confirms One Hero is the Strongest in the Universe

Warning: contains spoilers for Future State: Superman of Metropolis #1

While superheroes can be mediums for a wide range of interesting and thoughtful stories, the genre’s beating heart is still a primal need to see two powerful beings beat each other senseless. This is why, even long after comic fans have settled into adulthood, the question on everyone’s mind is still ‘who is the strongest hero?’ For DC, the unambiguous answer has always been Superman. No matter the version, Superman is simply the strongest. As boring as it might seem, the first superhero really has been the most powerful, at least he was until now. Future State: Superman of Metropolis #1 reveals that another Kryptonian has dethroned Superman as the strongest person in the entire DC universe.

Life hasn’t been easy for Clark Kent’s son and inheritor of the Superman mantle, Jon. After a company used cells harvested from Brainiac to create an artificial intelligence, Brain Cells, whose only goal is to ‘better’ humanity, the population of Metropolis has become cybernetically enhanced. Things only grow more complicated when the military intervenes to try and wrest control of Metropolis back. Seeing no other way to stop the bloodshed, Future State’s Superman shrinks Metropolis. This earns Jon the ire of not only the military but, far worse, Supergirl. The Last Daughter of Krypton arrives at the Fortress of Solitude and flies into a rage as Brain Cell’s pseudo-kryptonite core amplifies her anger. Brain Cells uses the ensuing chaos to blast Supergirl with a Kryptonite beam and fly the bottled Metropolis up into space.

In the story’s resolution by writer Sean Lewis and artist John Timms, Jon confronts Brain Cells up in the space station where it’s holding Metropolis. Brain Cells berates Superman, saying he’s irrelevant and dangerous. While Brain Cells sends an army of Clark Kent clones to attack Jon, the artificial intelligence becomes aware of a problem which it will have to deal with, Supergirl has woken up, and she wants to crumple Brain Cells like paper. With a grow ray in hand for Metropolis, Supergirl dodges through a barrage of drone ships. After one blast fails to knock her out, Supergirl laughs and claims that she is the strongest person in the universe. After arriving on Brain Cell’s ship, she reminds the A.I. what she’s capable of. Jon, Kara, and Brain Cells then work together to fix Metropolis.

While Future State has been inconsistent about how similar Jon is to Clark, DC has always had a clear line about the difference between Superman and Supergirl. While Clark is hardly lacking in confidence, it’s far more subdued. In contrast, Supergirl is open about her confidence. It’s a fine line to walk between arrogance and confidence, but this comic shows how it’s done. When Supergirl tells Brain Cells that she’s the strongest person in the universe, it doesn’t feel like she’s being arrogant, it feels like she’s stating a solid fact.

Jonathan Kent might be the star of Future State: Superman of Metropolis #1 but its Kara who is proving to be the breakout character. DC has been more heavily investing the character recently with things like her own T.V. show, but comic fans can only hope that Supergirl gets to be more than Superman’s cousin and Jon’s mentor in future comics.

About The Author

Evan Mullicane
(362 Articles Published)

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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