DC has just dropped a major bombshell, unveiling a brand-new Superman ahead of its next Man of Steel series, and this isn’t just another reboot. This bold new take completely rewrites the very beginning of Superman’s story, reshaping the foundation of the hero’s legacy in a way fans have never seen before.
DC’s May 2026 solicitations are out, and among them is the announcement of a brand-new Superman series, but it won’t be Kal-El wearing the iconic “S” shield. Instead, the mantle is taken up by his biological father, Jor-El.
Written by Kenny Porter with art by Danny Earls, Superman: Father of Tomorrow #1 arrives on May 27, 2026, kicking off a bold new Man of Steel series. In this reimagining, it isn’t a baby Kal-El who crash-lands in Smallville, Kansas, but Superman’s father. This massive deviation from classic Man of Steel lore cracks open the door to what could be one of the coolest Elseworlds reinventions of the hero yet.
Jor-El Debuts as DC’s “Man of Steel and Science” in Brand-New 2026 Series
Main Cover by Danny Earls for Superman: Father of Tomorrow #1 (2026)
DC teases that this Elseworlds series will begin with the classic Superman origin: a lone rocket escaping destruction, racing through space, and ultimately landing on a small farm in small-town Kansas. There, a kindly couple approaches the alien craft as its door opens, but instead of a baby, out steps a man named Jor-El, the sole survivor of the planet Krypton.
The synopsis for the debut issue further teases, “As Jor-El fits in to his new home, he realizes that he can help the world, not just with his newfound powers but with his intellect as well. Witness how a Man of Steel and Science saves the world.” The emphasis on Jor-El’s character-defining intellect shaping his version of the DC hero underscores just how unlike any Superman story this will be.
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The fact that DC is dedicating a series to Jor-El taking on the Superman mantle feels especially fitting, given that DC has already explored Thomas Wayne as Batman and Hippolyta as Wonder Woman. With Jor-El becoming the Man of Steel, the Trinity will now have all seen one of their parents step into their legacy.
It will be interesting to see if DC ever decides to take this a step further and create a separate Elseworlds series where the Thomas Wayne version of Batman, the Hippolyta version of Wonder Woman, and the Jor-El version of Superman meet and form their own version of the Justice League, much like their children did.
Of course, that’s a question that won’t be answered for a long time, if ever. The more pressing question surrounding Superman: Father of Tomorrow is how DC will explain why Jor-El is the one who takes the escape rocket. Did he abandon a baby Kal-El and his wife, Lara-El? Do Kal and Lara not exist in this universe? Were their pods destroyed? We likely won’t know the answers to these pressing Superman questions until May.
Superman: Father of Tomorrow #1 from DC Comics is available on May 27, 2026!