Warning: contains spoilers for Superman: Son of Kal-El #8!
DC's evil version of the son of his more famous father Clark Kent, is the new Superman as of 2021 - and his new series, Superman: Son of Kal-El, demonstrates his courage and comion as he saves the planet. In the latest issue, however, what can only be described as an evil Nick Fury introduces readers to the evil Avengers.
As Clark Kent has Lex Luthor as his arch-nemesis, so too does Jonathan Kent have his own sworn enemy: President Henry Bendix. As the authoritarian leader of the island nation of Gamorra, Bendix's rule is absolute - but Superman remains a constant thorn in his side, and has plans to circumnavigate the powers of the new Man of Steel. The plan is called The Rising, and in a manner similar to the Kingpin in Marvel's current event Devil's Reign, he seeks not only to rid the world of superheroes, but to create and control his own.
The first stage of Bendix's plan is to involve Superman in the death of a Gamorran citizen, which goes off without a hitch. Jonathan must repel a massive creature from Metropolis' shores - and since Superman doesn't want to fight the creature, he decides to turn it away from the city. Unfortunately, Bendix uses a machine to directly control one of his Gamorran agents, moving him directly in the path of the monster and killing him. Now that Superman has been suitably implicated, the second stage of the plan is considerably easier: create his own, easily-controllable heroes.
Of note is the beginning of Bendix's speech to the public of Gamorra: "There was an idea." While he goes on to mention the Suicide Squad as the progenitor for his Rising initiative, fans of Marvel will immediately Nick Fury's quote from 2012's Avengers film, introducing the concept of the Avengers to the MCU. It is perhaps Fury's best-known quote and impossible to miss; this is certainly intentional on the part of writer Tom Taylor and the Superman: Son of Kal-El creative team.
Readers are still in the dark regarding the exact nature of the powers of Bendix's controllable creations. However, since even one of them was able to threaten an entire forest in the first issue, they are a credible threat. Superman continues to fight the evil version of Nick Fury, but exactly how he will defeat him remains to be seen.
