Do you want Jon to bea de-aged

[Sam]

One of the reasons, in my mind, that 13 year old Damian and 10-year-old Jon just would work better is that Damian really has never had a childhood. He tries to come off as mature and adult, but deep down there is a part of him that's pretty vulnerable and sensitive. There's a part of him that is envious of everything that Jon has: the well-adjusted childhood and the emotionally available parents. While Damian wants people to believe that emotionally he is 25, in reality, deep down, he's a little kid. Younger than Jon in some ways. He takes comfort in animals, he's stubborn as hell, his most fulfilling relationship is with a boy 3 years younger than him. And regardless of whether he would admit it, it was Damian who really sought out Jon's companionship, because he almost needs Jon more than Jon needs him.

It was an incredibly rich, interesting, and complex dynamic that revealed a lot about both characters and now all that potential with them as they were might go unfulfilled. That just sucks.

[Superlad93]

He tries to come off as mature and adult, but deep down there is a part of him that's pretty vulnerable and sensitive. There's a part of him that is envious of everything that Jon has: the well-adjusted childhood and the emotionally available parents. While Damian wants people to believe that emotionally he is 25, in reality, deep down, he's a little kid. Younger than Jon in some ways. He takes comfort in animals, he's stubborn as hell, his most fulfilling relationship is with a boy 3 years younger than him. And regardless of whether he would admit it, it was Damian who really sought out Jon's companionship, because he almost needs Jon more than Jon needs him.

Agreed, and all that still stands, doesn't? He's bonded with Jon as a person, and not just as a 10 year old who had it good in comparison to him. He's friends with Jon because he's Jon, and that's not age dependent.

It'd be funny if Damian said something along the lines of "welcome to the "I have a crazy grandpa" club." lol

[Spiderboy12]

I want Jon restored to his proper age, ten or eleven years old. But I'm willing to wait until the current storyline is done.

[Kon93]

I did. I had two issues of Superman and three of Action. Loved all of them.

And Jon in space is looking much better to me now.

You read it kinda how Bendis writes, for trade, not monthly.

[Vordan]

I don't think it can be sustained either. i am still in deage camp.And i do believe they will revert him back sooner or later(my gut feeling, i could be wrong) .since, jon has started bleed into other media. I am far more at ease that jon will be sticking around. And as you said the there are outs, to bring him back. In meantime, we can have enjoy this future trunks version of jon with damian.
But i do think Clark and lois's Characterisation have taken a thrashing. Which i am not a fan of.

It definitely won’t last forever, it’s just a question of whether they deage this older Jon or whether time travel shenanigans result in a “younger” version of Jon being restored.

[MeGrimlock420]

It definitely won’t last forever, it’s just a question of whether they deage this older Jon or whether time travel shenanigans result in a “younger” version of Jon being restored.

I agree with you. I wouldn't mind him being the same age as Damian, 13.

[Sam]

Agreed, and all that still stands, doesn't? He's bonded with Jon as a person, and not just as a 10 year old who had it good in comparison to him. He's friends with Jon because he's Jon, and that's not age dependent.

It'd be funny if Damian said something along the lines of "welcome to the "I have a crazy grandpa" club." lol

But the age factor adds another layer to it and it wasn't as fully explored as it could have been. Changing up dynamics can work, but I don't think doing so too early usually does, nor do I believe an age jump is good way to go ever.

[Badou]

One of the reasons, in my mind, that 13 year old Damian and 10-year-old Jon just would work better is that Damian really has never had a childhood. He tries to come off as mature and adult, but deep down there is a part of him that's pretty vulnerable and sensitive. There's a part of him that is envious of everything that Jon has: the well-adjusted childhood and the emotionally available parents. While Damian wants people to believe that emotionally he is 25, in reality, deep down, he's a little kid. Younger than Jon in some ways. He takes comfort in animals, he's stubborn as hell, his most fulfilling relationship is with a boy 3 years younger than him. And regardless of whether he would admit it, it was Damian who really sought out Jon's companionship, because he almost needs Jon more than Jon needs him.

It was an incredibly rich, interesting, and complex dynamic that revealed a lot about both characters and now all that potential with them as they were might go unfulfilled. That just sucks.

Completely agree with this. The contrasting dynamics involved in their upbringing was such a great way to have the two play off one another. It is a big reason why I like Jon being still a young kid around 10 because he is still such an innocent character which is so different than Damian who was already drenched in death and blood at 10. Never really cared that they quickly aged up Damian to 13 so he could be stuck on the Teen Titans, but I guess they won't deage him back down.

[JAK]

This is totally not picking on you or whatever, but I'm just using your quote because you summed it up.

I have to wonder why we're talking about Jon in terms of other characters and age groups rather than just, ya know, him. Like, it's almost like a tokenism argument. "We've already got a minority on that team. We've filled out that quota." It's like that rather than taking him as a character going through a story right now. I mean, no one seems to be mad at the idea that Kara is a teen and so is Conner. No one bats an eyelash at the fact that Dick, Jason, Tim, and Damian all look virtually the same, or the fact that Dick, Barbra, and Jason are in their 20s (hell they wanted Tim in there too). Why? Because they're characters and not concepts. They like them because of who they are as (fictional) people.

The arguments I hear against his age up seem to point to more of a fascination with his concept in a panoramic sense. I'm not totally knocking that (given I know I'm guilty of it too), but just pointing it out given all the issues we've had with concept vs character when it comes to Superman. For better or worse, Bendis seems to be stress testing that for Jon. Dude's giving Jon 7 ish years of solo lore to mine, basically making space his turf, and technically making him a space prince (yeah, that's a thing if you haven't read the latest issue. I won't say how but you'll likely dig it).

Again, I'm just making an observation.

I think we're looking at Jon this way because it provides something (story potential, narrative, perspective) that other characters currently can't fill, and because of what it gives the main character (Clark), imo. They've only had this opportunity for two years, and it'd be a shame to lose that. Yes, characters do age, but look at Lois, Clark, etc. Not to mention other kid characters like Bart Simpson, etc - this being comics, I don't think it has to be inevitable. Also, because the aging up usually comes because writers either can't (or don't want to) take the time to properly write kids. So the aging up has that stigma, too.

I'm scared that if Jon's de-aged, it'll just lead to this arc never being mentioned again. Which actually, would probably be a good thing, but it definitely leads into DC's awful policy of, well, ignoring large swaths of their continuity. It's a trend I'd rather not see encouraged, even if this particular arc is, er, not really my cup of tea.

I understand trying to be optimistic. I was really hoping this was Jon from the future trying to save his past self from Jor-El and it would be over by the end of unity. I just can't see Jon being this much older than Damian working out on a permanent/ongoing basis, even if Damian is very mature for his age. I guess we're going to have to see where this goes but I'm still the de-age camp.

I definitely hope they let this story breathe, and even leave 17 year old Jon around for a bit (if not forever, in some capacity or another) - I just don't want 10-year old Jon to be gone from the books just yet. Heck, having them both around could be a lot of fun... what's more comic book than "I am my own big brother!" lol

[Ascended]

You read it kinda how Bendis writes, for trade, not monthly.

Eh, only when life gets so crazy I can't make it to the LCS every week or two. There are books I trade wait, but Bendis' Superman hasn't been among them.

The last three months were very damn busy though.

They've only had this opportunity for two years, and it'd be a shame to lose that.

That's been the biggest sticking point for me, and even now that I've finally read the issues and I'm starting to get hyped about what this could lead to, I'm still pissed at what we're missing. I *want* evolution and growth and development. I want characters to move forward and enter new phases in their lives. But I only want it to happen after every scrap of good story has been wrung out of their current status quo first. I want it milked dry before we move on to the next stage. And I feel like we haven't got that with Jon.

I mean, now he's got a quasi-sorta-Future Trunks vibe going on (insofar as he's a weird, badass older version of someone, yknow?), and I'm really digging on the latest issue and where it might be going. I'm down to see what happens. But we missed a lot of stories that could've been told with tween Jon, which seems wasteful, and I hate waste.

But issue 7 or whatever it was definitely got my hyped, so we'll see. I can't really say we've gained more than we lost until Bendis is finished telling us what we got in the trade.

[Monari]

The sheer amount of missed storytelling opportunities between "cool older bro" Connor and young Jon makes me weep. They really need to de-age him asap, and I think the best way to do so is to have the older one go back in time to prevent his younger self from leaving in the first place.

I really hope Bendis doesn't write him off by sending him to join the Legion like everyone is predicting.

[Ascended]

I really hope Bendis doesn't write him off by sending him to join the Legion like everyone is predicting.

Really? I think the only thing better than using Jon in the Legion would be using a 16 year old Clark in the Legion!

The Legion needs some brand recognition in the worst way, and Jon would be a really solid, viable choice. He's got a fanbase to bring with him, he's got the "S" shield, and the Legion could easily build on this "space prince" vibe Bendis is going for. And it's time travel, so that doesn't even mean Jon has to be taken out of Superman's titles. Plus it helps Jon's development dovetail with Clark's origins a bit to help keep that "Superman Jr." parallel going.

Honestly I could roll with any of the Supers in the Legion, but looking at where Jon seems to be pointed, it seems like either he or Kara would be the best fit right now.

[OpaqueGiraffe17]

If it were up to me, I’d just retcon him being gone for 7 years and instead just make it 2 or 3 (he shouldn’t be older than Damian). And reveal that Jor-El mind controlled Clark and Lois into letting him go. Sure, keep the drama about them losing a few years of his life, but 7 years was far too much. Also get rid of the scar or give him one that doesn’t look like he cut himself shaving.

[Kon93]

10 year old Jon gets brought home
17byear old goes to the Legion
Jor-El goes back to Krypton by his wife's side and dies a selfless death
Rogal zarr did not blow up Krypton, but he did set his own plan in motion to do it, but it blew up before he could do his plan
BTW the Reborn suit was pretty dang good(the justice league action suit is way better though), and was dropped way to early

[OBrianTallent]

The only thing I dont like about Jon's aging is how much he aged. Had it only been a couple or three years, it would have been just as strong a story point as it being seven years. Going from 10 to 13 is a lot for a parent to miss, but still can leave Jon in a far more youthful role that a 17 year old Jon.
(I also agree that the Rebirth suit was a great suit and didn't need to be replaced. I understand the nostalgia value, but when it comes to other mediums, the Rebirth suit looks better and there was no harm in the change and no need to return.)