Jon Kent Appreciation 2019

[DragonPiece]

Well, Bendis’s Superman has no issue with sending his child off with creepy individuals, so letting a creepy, smiling cult he’s never heard of before take Jon to a place where Superman can’t follow him probably seems like a great idea to Clark.

But Superman was very hesitant to do that, it was clearly shown in the MOS mini. And creepy cult? Weird way of thinking of the legion. So everytime the legion picked up Clark when he was a kid, did you consider them a weird cult then also?

[Sam]

But Superman was very hesitant to do that, it was clearly shown in the MOS mini. And creepy cult? Weird way of thinking of the legion. So everytime the legion picked up Clark when he was a kid, did you consider them a weird cult then also?

You realize I’m not being 100% serious, right?

Legion isn’t actually a cult. But they have been ridiculously smiley and enthusiastic in everything we’ve seen so far in this iteration. So I’m having fun with it.

[Jackalope89]

But Superman was very hesitant to do that, it was clearly shown in the MOS mini. And creepy cult? Weird way of thinking of the legion. So everytime the legion picked up Clark when he was a kid, did you consider them a weird cult then also?

Its tongue in cheek. Mostly.

[DragonPiece]

You realize I’m not being 100% serious, right?

Legion isn’t actually a cult. But they have been ridiculously smiley and enthusiastic in everything we’ve seen so far in this iteration. So I’m having fun with it.

sorry for my bad sarcasm detecting skills

[Frontier]

You realize I’m not being 100% serious, right?

Legion isn’t actually a cult. But they have been ridiculously smiley and enthusiastic in everything we’ve seen so far in this iteration. So I’m having fun with it.

I imagine it's just trying to present the Legion as the fun, optimistic, and happy group they are but I can't deny they kind of come off that way when you look at all the covers.


(Also, naked Dream Girl...)

[Sam]

I imagine it's just trying to present the Legion as the fun, optimistic, and happy group they are but I can't deny they kind of come off that way when you look at all the covers.


(Also, naked Dream Girl...)

Yeah, and that Millennium cover with the ring gives off serious cult bride vibes.

[Superlad93]

I just don't get that at all, honestly. For me it just looks like an incredibly diverse cast of hopeful and expressive young people in genuine celebration. In context it's that, and it's also the fact that they're getting their just as youthful and exuberant hero and inspiration to work alongside them. The the greatest day of their lives up to that point, most likely.

We'll have plenty time for stone faced grimacing, tears, shocking betrayals, and friend vs friend down the line. No shortage of that. But I personally think it's great that "handshake" that the Legion greets the oncoming readers with right now is smile .

[Blue22]

Yeeeeeeah as against this as I am, I didn't get creepy cult vibes until I read other people joking about it. That's when I went "ooooooh now I see it" I think it's the fact that Jon and Clark both look really creeped out by all that....enthusiasm XD.

Still think it's pretty cute cover though.

Well, Bendis’s Superman has no issue with sending his child off with creepy individuals, so letting a creepy, smiling cult he’s never heard of before take Jon to a place where Superman can’t follow him probably seems like a great idea to Clark.

This I will agree with though even if it's mostly a joke. They are gonna give Clark a means of reaching Jon, right? Because you'd think after he was allowed to leave home once, and came back as a 17 year old who'd spent years being tortured in a volcano, he'd be a little apprehensive about letting him leave a second time. Then again, I always figured letting him go with Jor El and then having Lois leave him after about a week was pretty much Bendis' way of telling us that his version of Clark and Lois don't really care about their child anyway. So maybe they're actually hoping he comes back older again so they can skip over even more of the whole "parenting" thing.

Clark: With any luck, he'll be my parents' age when he gets back.
Lois: With any luck, he doesn't come back at all.

[Superlad93]

This I will agree with though even if it's mostly a joke. They are gonna give Clark a means of reaching Jon, right?

Yeah, this is something I'm pretty no-nonsense about too. There has to be something at some point.

Going based off what Bendis has said, it's very much within the realm of possibility that Jon will be able to travel back and forth between eras. In issue 14 of Superman Saturn Girl even says that the goal of Jon joining the group to be mutually beneficial to both eras, so that would imply that he can't just go away forever. And then there's the fact that Bendis is very open about calling this version of the Legion his "Ultimate Legion" as a reference to his Ultimate Spider-Man run, and as you likely know, Ultimate Spider-Man took classic ideas and remixed and re imagined them for a modern audience.

So, with that in mind, looking back at old Superboy and the Legion books we actually find several ways for that era's Superboy to either communicate with the future or the present (time telephones), or just outright travel between the two eras of his own will (time travel via super speed). But what's most relevant is the fact that the Superboy of that era would usually go home after a while. Many of the issues would start with him time travel in. Also famous staple of the Legion was the fact that they'd have leave/vacation time where they'd all go back to their home world, and Superboy would time travel home.

If this is a true Ultimate take then chances are pretty good that we'll get some from of one or all of these ideas.

My current theory is that Bendis will upgrade Jon's teleportation suit to allow for time travel. I think we may have even gotten a clue to this in Action Comics 1014 when Clark is in Chicago with Lois, and he spots a person thunderously coming in over Metropolis (it's Naomi). Lois is quick to ask "is it Jon." By this point he's with the Legion (because Clark is back from space), so if she can say that so casually, I'm guessing he has the ability to come home.

[Sam]

Ughh, that suit is already stupid powerful (lazy plot shortcut) as it is. Adding time travel to its capabilities would be super lame.

[Superlad93]

Adding time travel to its capabilities would be super lame.

Sure, and I respect that, but I don't agree with it. I'd really dig the idea. I imagine there'd be limitations of some sort (be it physical or by 31st century law), but I like the sense fun and scale it denotes.

But as I said, it's really just a theory based off what's been said by Bendis so far.

[manwhohaseverything]

So, if jon is going to be time traveling herom will he be a part of the adventures of the great booster gold?

[Sam]

Sure, and I respect that, but I don't agree with it. I'd really dig the idea. I imagine there'd be limitations of some sort (be it physical or by 31st century law), but I like the sense fun and scale it denotes.

But as I said, it's really just a theory based off what's been said by Bendis so far.

Oh I don't think it's a bad theory. I think with the stupid narrative shortcuts Bendis has taken with Jon so far, it's quite logical. He wants to get to the status quo he wants, quality and limitations be damned.

[Superlad93]

Oh I don't think it's a bad theory. I think with the stupid narrative shortcuts Bendis has taken with Jon so far, it's quite logical. He wants to get to the status quo he wants, quality and limitations be damned.

But it's not actually a shortcut. It's nearly the opposite of a shortcut when you think about how much narrative prep is technically behind the idea. Jon's suit from Jor-El doesn't just come out of nowhere, and the power to teleport isn't just for the sake of convenience. The narrative builds a solid case for it being there. Jor-El was separated from Jon before, so, full of guilt over it being on his watch, he gives the young man a suit that makes that very unlikely in the future. Bam. Teleportation suit compete with reasoning.

If a time travel aspect is added then it's an outgrowth of that same basic idea of "we never want what happened to you to happen again, so we're taking steps."

Again, the only thing around this that I find particularly underwritten was the actual time spent away. An expounding on that would be much appreciated, but the basic idea and the end result being Jon's age up is more than enough to justify the suit Jor-El gives him, and that in turn works as a great base for an upgrade.

So, again, I can't agree with you even if I'm fine with your opinion being your opinion.

[Sam]

But it's not actually a shortcut. It's nearly the opposite of a shortcut when you think about how much narrative prep is technically behind the idea. Jon's suit from Jor-El doesn't just come out of nowhere, and the power to teleport isn't just for the sake of convenience. The narrative builds a solid case for it being there. Jor-El was separated from Jon before, so, full of guilt over it being on his watch, he gives the young man a suit that makes that very unlikely in the future. Bam. Teleportation suit compete with reasoning.

If a time travel aspect is added then it's an outgrowth of that same basic idea of "we never want what happened to you to happen again, so we're taking steps."

Again, the only thing around this that I find particularly underwritten was the actual time spent away. An expounding on that would be much appreciated, but the basic idea and the end result being Jon's age up is more than enough to justify the suit Jor-El gives him, and that in turn works as a great base for an upgrade.

So, again, I can't agree with you even if I'm fine with your opinion being your opinion.

If the suit was as simple to give out as it ends up being, he should of given it to Jon in the first place and everyone else. Something as powerful as that demands the question, "Why doesn't everyone get one?" The answer is simple, only Jon needs it for plot shortcuts. Bendis needed it to get Jon quickly back to Earth and then Jon and Supes quickly back to Jor-El because he needed all that to take two seconds. It's the same reason Jon has no baggage from being a prisoner in a volcano for five years, because Bendis didn't want him to. It's incredibly hollow.