Not even MOS supports any out-of-character claims. This was thoroughly debunked at the time of publication with multiple examples from Tomasi's run that fully supports a defiant streak. To fully support that he very much can and has before challenged his parents when determined. Bendis has no history of writing Jon any differently to any significant, jarring degree than Tomasi did. Be it in MOS or now.
And the "he grew beyond it" retort is weak. His buttons which are a key part of his personality is just gone? After one year and an adolescent? No way. That he and Damian eventually became close friends doesn't mean that you can hand wave away him physically starting a fight with him when verbally provoked as comparison to this very instance. Its very much in-character. There's nothing in that initial run to ever suggest that well, he did it once, learned his lesson, and now he'll never again get mad when someone badmouths him or people he cares about.
Last edited by Sacred Knight; 10-10-2018 at 05:46 PM.
"They can be a great people Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you. My only son." - Jor-El
I would love to hear a reason why Jon would think "there's something wrong with me!" after he was rejected by the frikking Teen Titans (something that he took fairly well, accepted and later teamed-up with them with no problem during a crossover), especially after all the things that happened during Tomasi's run where he gained even more confidence.
Because he heard about a future version of himself that got a bunch of people killed and he’s terrified? This idea that Jon is a flat character that decides he’s going to be a good, confident person and then never wavers from that characterization doesn’t really make much sense to me. He’s a kid. He’s going to have good days where he lives up to his parents and his own expectations, and bad days where he doesn’t. If he never struggled with, faltered, or failed in his goal of being a hero he’d be a Mary Sue.
Because he's ten. Because a person, especially a child, doesn't just magically lose all sense of self-doubt that may exist after one positive experience. He's still a very different child. And because its incredibly easy to imagine that he could have been affected more by stories of his evil future counterpart than he'd initially let on and keep it inside. That it didn't come up until then is hardly a reach of any kind. Its perfectly reasonable that these things still would have an affect on him and wouldn't just be cured completely after one adventure, or after one lesson. Hey in real life that'd be really cool if things worked out like that, but its not. And beyond being unrealistic doesn't make for an interesting fictional character anyway.
Last edited by Sacred Knight; 10-10-2018 at 05:45 PM.
"They can be a great people Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you. My only son." - Jor-El
That people, when it comes to issues of emotion, don't just have one lesson and then bam, they never have the issue again, is not something that needs to be explained. Its compounded when its a child but its true for any character. Its complete common sense. Emotions just don't change at the drop of a hat. Someone can steal something, learn their lesson, and never do it again. This is not at all the same thing. Someone just never getting mad again because he did it once and learned a lesson? Doesn't happen.
Damian also still has a temper. A huge one. He controls it better. Its not gone. Emotions are not easy. Furthermore in actual practice Damian is a lot older than Jon Kent with a lot more stories and growth under his belt. Jon has existed for two years. Take off the handcuffs just a little bit. Its unfair to the writers and it can only serve to make for a more bland character to boot.
Last edited by Sacred Knight; 10-10-2018 at 05:53 PM.
"They can be a great people Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you. My only son." - Jor-El
Poor portrayal is subjective. Seeing Jon struggle and grow with being a hero is far more interesting to me than “And then Jon decided to be a good person and he always was. The end”. That doesn’t line up at all with any kid I know. If you don’t like it so be it.
Last edited by Vordan; 10-10-2018 at 05:52 PM.
Still not seeing a justification for "Something must be wrong with meeeee!" coming out of nowhere.
Because there needs to be no justification. A writer taking a past event and expanding upon it is and always has been well within bounds. He took the situation with the evil alternate Jon Kent, and revealed it had an affect on him that he just didn't talk about at the time. I'm at a complete loss as to how that does not work, how that was not a perfectly organic door to walk through if a writer chose. And Bendis chose to.
"They can be a great people Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you. My only son." - Jor-El
Because that's not how it happened. Jon accepted what happened with the Teen Titans and even teamed-up with them.
"Something is wrong with meeeee!" is simply bad characterization.
After Sons of Tomorrow (the story he got rejected) when did Jon team up with the Teen Titans?
"Mark my words! This drill will open a hole in the universe. And that hole will become a path for those that follow after us. The dreams of those who have fallen. The hopes of those who will follow. Those two sets of dreams weave together into a double helix, drilling a path towards tomorrow. THAT's Tengen Toppa! THAT'S Gurren Lagann! MY DRILL IS THE DRILL THAT CREATES THE HEAVENS!" - The Digger
We walk on the path to Secher Nbiw. Though hard fought, we walk the Golden Path.
It IS what happened now. Bendis took that moment, and made it as something that affected him deeper than he initially let on. A completely valid choice. It contradicts nothing about the previous story told, because the way its crafted it still bothered him internally for another reason (the alternate version of himself), and it comes out here in MOS. It works perfectly fine. Its nothing forced, its completely organic, and thus the characterization is fine.
Last edited by Sacred Knight; 10-10-2018 at 06:09 PM.
"They can be a great people Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you. My only son." - Jor-El
So now the argument is that writers cannot portray Jon as having internal feelings he does not speak on immediately? If it wasn't in a Tomasi thought-bubble at some point during his time with the character, then that's it for the creative process.
I don't get the hoops you're jumping through to hamstring how the character can be written.
Last edited by Sacred Knight; 10-10-2018 at 06:16 PM.
"They can be a great people Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you. My only son." - Jor-El