Warning! Spoilers ahead for Superman #7!The Chained, Superman’s powerfully destructive new enemy, is using one ability to destroy everything in his path. In his quest to do the right thing, Man of Steel has unleashed a monster on Metropolis. With a power shared by one surprising superhero, the Chained might be too much for Superman and his allies to handle.
Since returning to Earth, Superman has taken a leap of faith and begun working with his oldest enemy, Lex Luthor. While imprisoned, Luthor handed over control of LuthorCorp to Superman and rechristened it SuperCorp. Clark has used SuperCorp as an invaluable tool to discover the new threats facing Metropolis.
Superman recently used the files at SuperCorp to dig into a secret project known as ‘Project: Chained’, a prison Luthor worked on to hold powerful prisoners indefinitely. Believing no one deserved such cruelty, Superman released the sole project’s subject. However, the Chained immediately attacked upon hearing Luthor’s name and ventured out into the city to seek revenge.
In Superman #7 by Joshua Williamson, Gleb Melnikov, Dan Jurgens, Norm Rapmund, and Edwin Galmon, the Chained interrupts Perry White’s ceremony to announce his candidacy for mayor. The Super-Family arrives to stop his rampage, but are overwhelmed by his show of force. Superboy gets close to the Chained, who recognizes that Conner is similar to him. The Chained attempts to bring down a pair of populated buildings, but Superboy manages to hold everything in place using his tactile telekinesis. The Chained makes an escape and Superboy mentions to his team that the villain is somehow using an advanced form of Conner’s tactile telekinesis.
Tactile telekinesis has been Superboy’s claim to fame for a while, and he’s been able to push his special ability to the point where he can disrupt electric signals. However, the Chained has made much better use of Conner’s tactile TK. Though it seems like the Chained is using regular telekinesis, he’s actually using a greatly enhanced version of Superboy’s power. It isn’t clear how the Chained has gotten so strong or why he and Conner can sense each other’s power. But with such a vastly improved version of Conner’s tactile TK, the Chained could easily destroy the city that did him wrong.
Superboy’s tactile TK goes above and beyond mere object manipulation as Conner can completely disassemble machines by touching them. If the Chained has similar powers but doesn’t need to touch anything, then that spells danger for Superman’s city. The Chained nearly leveled two buildings and that was without even trying. As the Chained readjusts to freedom and his power grows, who knows what else he’ll be able to do with his souped-up tactile TK. He might even be able to destroy the city without laying a finger on it. Hopefully, the Super-Family can crack the secrets behind the Chained’s powers and stop him before it’s too late. Superman #7 is on sale now.