As I noted yesterday, each cove is showing a different important moment from Superman's tale. There's a couple of really interesting things happening on the cover. For a long while, and definitely since the first Christopher Reeve, there's been questions about what Kal's pod looked like. This one is an interesting mix of the motion picture version and the original Action Comics version, and that's actually a nice way of thinking about the way that stories, especially mythic ones, evolve. Aspects are folded into the "canonical" understanding.
Of course, there's also that sneering face above Krypton, which incorporates the new paradigm that the series is establishing into the canonical tale. Rogol Zaar's role in Krypton's destruction adds a new layer to the origin story, and uses that new addition to propel the story, continuously, forward.
This issue also uses the narrative to reset things - Kandor, the last remnant of Kryptonian culture, is found destroyed. I've always thought that there really were too many Kryptonians in the DCU. I get that some may have escaped, but the whole point of Superman was always that he was alone - the addition of Supegirl assuages that slightly, but not enough to reduce it's impact. But when we've got whole dimensions full of criminals, and at least 2 cities that escaped (Kandor and Argo), and ol' Supes starts feeling much less special. And with Supergirl, in the current continuity, leaving Earth to find answers about Rogol Zaar, Clark's uniqueness is re-established in the new paradigm.
One last thing. At one point, Superman brings Batman to Metropolis to investigate a series of fires. At one point, Superman races away, and Batman explains that if the most polite person in the universe has to leave without saying goodbye, there's probably a good reason. It's a nice moment of understanding about the relationship that the two heroes have.
More to come...
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