The announcement came down Monday by the comic book giant ... namely, that Jon Kent -- Clark Kent and Lois Lane's son, who's the new Superman -- is indeed both into guys and girls. Not just that ... but a male relationship will be explored within a forthcoming issue.

This new series, titled "Superman: Son of Kal-El," got underway back in July ... and it follows young Jon as he navigates taking on the red cape and the responsibilities as Earth's superest of heroes -- while his pops steps back. Starting in November, DC says Jon will officially come out ... with promotional photos of him kissing his pal, Jay, surfacing to tease the release.

The adventures of Jon are way more relevant and timely than anything Kal-El ever dealt with -- thus far, he's battled climate change crises, stopped a school shooting and even addressed immigration head-on ... not with fists, but with protest!

As for this new move to make him bi ... the series' lead writer, Tom Taylor, says they didn't want to pass up the opportunity to make Superman as modern (and inclusive) as possible -- saying the idea of making a new Superman another straight white savior seemed lame.

Of course, this comes on the heels of DC announcing that their latest version of Robin/Tim Drake would also be bisexual ... which was hinted at and way less explicit as this is.