Kon-El Superboy Appreciation 2019

[Masterff]

You've never read a story with Lois in your life.

I read MANY stories with her and saw also the Films etc.

BUT! I always prefered the "Partner in Crime" Relationship like Cassie and Conner had.

[Masterff]

These are just same arguments made by superwonder fans. No offence last time i checked lois was pultzer price winner not clark. She has went to apocalypse and back just in the current continuity. She had survived assassination from both league of shadows with talia and deathstroke.these are just in current one. So, i say she does good by herself. But superman does save lois lane duh! Just like he would save anybody even league members like wonder woman, batman or flash. The only reason she gets into trouble is because she searches for truth risking even her life. You know be a superwoman who fights for truth, justice and the american way.

It depends on the Time-Line:
Clark has 2 Pulitzer Prices and has written "the Janus Contract" and "under a yellow Sun" which both have won an award...

Superman/Wonder Woman was also not a good couple, because it wasnt so deep..

I like the Cassie/Conner relationship at most, because she wasnt the damsel in distress, but a strong woman, who can handle much at her own and she wasnt the annoying Woman who Wonder Woman is...

[Masterff]

I can understand the beat down he received in Reign. I mean he's still a kid. He looks to be about 14 in this. A full grown Kryptonian versus a Kryptonian teen. He put up a fight with some nice moves and despite getting pummeled he kept fighting on. That's impressive considering Eradicator took Steel out with one punch and was even with the Cyborg. When the kid grows, he'll turn into a real beast.

In YJ, he put up a fight and displayed tactics. If he had his full kryptonian powers there wouldn't be a need for the rest of the team which would hurt the dynamics somewhat. I do believe he's do for an upgrade. Everyone on the team has changed and he hasn't which is a theme we've seen but haven't delved into deeply. I think the motherbox or possibly Halo herself will "fix" Conner giving him his full Kryptonian abilities and possibly fixing his aging situation.

As for romantic interest, I have no idea. In Young Justice he's engaged to M'gann which I'm super happy about. These two are also together in the Smallvilleverse. I would prefer they hook up in the comics too but she looks to aged up to around 19 - 23. Of course that never stopped Conner lol. Reign Conner will undoubtedly join the Titans and is easy to see him attracted to Donna which is going to weird but interesting. Pre flashpoint he was with Cassie but broke up before Flashpoint and looked like he was being pushed into Rose's direction. Rose was there in the new 52 and even in Smallville. The new YJ comic under Bendis may reintroduce Conner and Cassie but I don't know how much of the new 52 relationships are still present and how much new history we'll be exposed to in the coming issues.

Had Cassie and Conner broke up?

I remember one of the last Stories where Cassie was invited by Martha Kent to come over for dinner to the Kent Farm and there the decided to be together again..
Then if I remember right was the last Superboy Series in Smallville and there he tried to reach her, but couldnt reach her...


Dont hope that he gets Rose...

My biggest hope would be for Cassie, but also Zatanna,Power Girl,Raven,Knockout would be nice...

I still hope for Cassie, because they have the nicest relationship,its also plausible that both will get older and still look young because of them being half-kryptonian and demigoddess..
Its just perfect because they could be forever together...

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Kon and Jinny Hex might be kinda fun for a while.

I rather see him with someone new than repeating the past.

[manwhohaseverything]

I read MANY stories with her and saw also the Films etc.

BUT! I always prefered the "Partner in Crime" Relationship like Cassie and Conner had.

Prefering something is fine. Your understanding of lois is only on surface level(from what i gather, sorry if i am being too presumption). She is also a character that has 80 years of conflicting portrayals and many great stories.
And as for being partners in crime. Lois and clark are partners in daily planet as reporters. Heck! She has become superwoman with powers, taken on the oracle role for superman. Did plenty of other stuff. Her being a reporter at a time(40s) when woman around the world did not do that is a statement in and of itself. She is one of the bravest person in comics,who has done many fantastic things.

[13th Superman]

Had Cassie and Conner broke up?

I remember one of the last Stories where Cassie was invited by Martha Kent to come over for dinner to the Kent Farm and there the decided to be together again..
Then if I remember right was the last Superboy Series in Smallville and there he tried to reach her, but couldnt reach her...


Dont hope that he gets Rose...

My biggest hope would be for Cassie, but also Zatanna,Power Girl,Raven,Knockout would be nice...

I still hope for Cassie, because they have the nicest relationship,its also plausible that both will get older and still look young because of them being half-kryptonian and demigoddess..
Its just perfect because they could be forever together...

What your talking about happened after his resurrection in Adventure Comics # 2. They broke up after that in Teen Titans # 91 when there was a clash between Cassie leading the Titans and being in a relationship with Conner.

Also while it's nice to imagine them when they're older, for comic purposes they are going to be teenagers for a long time. I don't know if you've read the new 52 issues or Bendis' first issue with YJ, but Cassie is now Zeus' granddaughter so she is a quarter goddess now.

[Kon93]

Imo Reign and YJ versions both has the same strength and durability,just by how much their punches affected much more powerful opponents and how much they can take from those in the same range(cause I see lobo and eradicator in the same tier).i think they differ in accessory powers.Reign has heat vision and flight,and YJ has super hearing and infra red vision.i personally want them to split the difference and give him heat vision and super hearing,the 2 powers black zero and sins of youth SB had.then add TTK,what a freaking perfect powerset.smallville SB showed how he used hisTTK for flight,and the new 52 used it for supersenses which no other version has done,even though the original imo had it during the Joe Kelly run.

We want him to succeed dont we?we like that he always tries and he always gets back up,but it's been 7 or so years now,and superman is not around,he needs to step up and he cant if he is the guy that gets literally stepped on by guys superman can handle or atleast stay even with.

I think we see a big push for SB liking Donna in the DCAU and Titans.

[Kon93]

Who here thinks Reign SB actually has tactile telekinesis instead of what we ASSumed he had in the movie? TTK would mimic his flying brick abilities easily,and at the power levels he has shown.his heat vision is a byproduct of being a solar battery.

This is my new (wrong) theory.black zero had TTK that mimicked superman's flying brick powers and heat vision.all he needs now is super hearing and learn that he has TTK,then learn to use it.

[Konja7]

Who here thinks Reign SB actually has tactile telekinesis instead of what we ASSumed he had in the movie? TTK would mimic his flying brick abilities easily,and at the power levels he has shown.his heat vision is a byproduct of being a solar battery.

This is my new (wrong) theory.black zero had TTK that mimicked superman's flying brick powers and heat vision.all he needs now is super hearing and learn that he has TTK,then learn to use it.

It's difficult, because Lex mention that Superboy has the strenght of Superman. Then it is implied that his power is super strenght.

It is very unlikely that other media will give Superboy TTK as a main power (or even as a power). He is the clone of Superman, so he is expected (especially for a new audience) to have krytonian powers as his main power.

[Vakanai]

It's difficult, because Lex mention that Superboy has the strenght of Superman. Then it is implied that his power is super strenght.

It is very unlikely that other media will give Superboy TTK as a main power (or even as a power). He is the clone of Superman, so he is expected (especially for a new audience) to have krytonian powers as his main power.

Pretty much this. People expect a clone of Superman would have Superman's powers, not be lacking them and having some unrelated power. I just recently learned of this whole TTK thing, and I have to admit it makes *no sense* at all to me. Don't get me wrong, I think old school comic book fans of the character have every right to love it since they grew up with it, but you have to know it'd be a hard sell explaining that to a general audience and people getting it and not thinking it is weird or random (I know, he's always had it, but a new audience doesn't know that and would think it is random). So yeah, for the cartoons, definitely start with Superman's powers, and maybe down the line give him TTK and explain it as its own thing, a kind of power up granted by such and such event. Works a lot better for those of us not up on comics history. Not saying he can't have TTK in other media, just that starting with TTK isn't a good move outside of comics. Work up to it somehow.

[Konja7]

Pretty much this. People expect a clone of Superman would have Superman's powers, not be lacking them and having some unrelated power. I just recently learned of this whole TTK thing, and I have to admit it makes *no sense* at all to me. Don't get me wrong, I think old school comic book fans of the character have every right to love it since they grew up with it, but you have to know it'd be a hard sell explaining that to a general audience and people getting it and not thinking it is weird or random (I know, he's always had it, but a new audience doesn't know that and would think it is random). So yeah, for the cartoons, definitely start with Superman's powers, and maybe down the line give him TTK and explain it as its own thing, a kind of power up granted by such and such event. Works a lot better for those of us not up on comics history. Not saying he can't have TTK in other media, just that starting with TTK isn't a good move outside of comics. Work up to it somehow.

I've understood that Superboy wasn't a clone of Superman in his first origin (he was the clone of a human). That's why he has TTK (not Kryptonian powers).

However, this origin was retconned/changed. In his new origin, he was really a clone of Superman.

Later, he start to develop Kryptonian powers (and he mantains his TTK).

[Vakanai]

I've understood that Superboy wasn't a clone of Superman in his first origin (he was the clone of a human). That's why he has TTK (not Kryptonian powers).

However, this origin was retconned/changed. In his new origin, he was really a clone of Superman.

Later, he start to develop Kryptonian powers (and he mantains his TTK).

Again, not something you can drop on a new audience. Currently and probably forevermore his origin is a Superman/Lex clone and will be explained to people as such. Even if it was a retcon, it is a retcon that has stuck and will be the origin new people are presented with. Doing TTK as a primary starting power with that origin won't make sense for people. Don't know how you explain him gaining TTK later on, but it has to come later on and be removed from his origin in these things to keep it kind of easy to get into.

But didn't know the clone origin was a retcon, neat.

[Sacred Knight]

Yeah, back in post-Crisis continuity, part of the explanation of Superman's powers at the time was that he had a protective "aura" surrounding him that lent to his invulnerability and such (and was also used at the explanation as to why every part of his costume except his cape was extremely difficult to tear despite being normal fabric; it clung so close to his skin it was within the impenetrable aura). After Superman died and Cadmus briefly stole the body, he was still invulnerable enough that they couldn't stick him with needles or anything to extract DNA. So they couldn't clone him. The best they could do was clone a regular human, alter that clone to mirror Superman's appearance, and then they managed to tap into some of that aura surrounding Superman, and merged that with the clone. That was the original source of Superboy's powers, and why in some ways they were similar to Superman's (Flight, general invulnerability) in other ways different (vulnerable to fire, had TTK).

So its just another reason why it would be hard to drop on a new audience, certain key elements are no longer part of canon. That aura element was tossed a long time ago, so for instance what would be the means of a difference in his powers now? Not saying that a new reason couldn't be made up, just that the retcons ended up being easier. I'll always argue not better, but certainly easier.

[13th Superman]

He was originally cloned to be the closest genetic equivalent to a Kryptonian that Cadmus created based on data they researched on Superman's body. He was genetically modified to have Superman's appearance. His ttk was derived from a study of a bioelectric aura that Superman's body generated. They tried to mimic it with a telekinetic field on the new clone. That's how he flew, could approximate super strength, invulnerabilty and mentally manipulate whatever he touched. His genome was made to be so much like a Kryptonian's that he was a solar battery and weakened to Kryptonite. He was also encoded with abilities like heat vision, super hearing, etc. designed to emerge as he grew older. So on the surface he would have appeared to be an exact Superman clone.

With the retcon, nothing on the surface would have changed for the most part. You would still have a clone who looks like Superman displaying Superman-like abilities. His special ability to mentally move matter with contact like making things explode or disassemble would be the major distinction.

The primary reason for this the was to emulate three of Superman's major powers. Flight, strength and invulnerabilty. When he gets these powers naturally, the reason for the power gets undercut. The only way for them to really matter is to give them purpose again. In Young Justice, Conner's powers are watered down so having ttk could help bridge the gap in power. Chris Kent had ttk which helped to bolster his weaker kryptonian powers. Also note that Chris had all the kryptonian powers like heat vision but they were at a much weaker level. That would be a great way to introduce the power to the audience. They would immediately understand that he's not a perfect clone and needed an add on to help.

Of course I'm biased and have followed the character for a long time. I could be blinded by the fact that maybe it is a little complicated to explain ttk. It may seem simple to me but could be hard for Audiences to grasp. Audiences will probably ask why only ttk and not full blown telekinesis or some other easy way to boost his powers. I can easily understand the need to simplify things. People want to get to the heart of the character without having to overly think about certain things.

[Midnighter]

Being as he's half human it'd be just as easy to explain it as a meta-gene power if they need to change the reasoning.