What do you think Superman would do if he learned he had a son?

[Castiel]

Something I've often wondered since seeing a the animated movie with Supergirl and Young Justice Superboy and something that bothers me is that Superman just sends these two to go live on the farm I mean it feels like he shoved the responsibility on to Johnathan and Martha Kent rather then be like "Okay I'm the only other person who can understand what you are going through so I'll help you out." Ironically everybody around Superman seems to be okay with Superman just leaving Cara and Conner at the farm.

This got wondering what would Superman do if he learned he had a son (maybe he got close with a woman while having an adventure off world and in the heat of passion ended up fathering a child) I like this idea because on the surface it might seem like the Superboy dynamic but in truth it would be completely different since as the boy's father he wouldn't just be able to push the responsibility on to someone else. Also it would be fun to see a super hero with all of Superman's powers but with none of his self restraint.

For example his son could openly defy him and get in his face over things like being asked to join the Teen Titans instead of working with Superman in the Justice League by proposing this argument "You said we were partners and now your shoving me off to the freaking kids table? No thanks Old Man! I'm going solo!" I think this would be a funny nickname for Superman especially if it made his feel self conscious and while eating lunch or whatever with Batman and other JL members asked "Bruce do you think we're getting old?"

Not too mention the idea of Clark hearing a knock on his door and finding a pissed off Amanda Waller with his son in cuffs saying "Mr. Kent your son is in a deep trouble he has in the last twenty four hours peed on the Lex Luthor's chair then sent a photo of him doing it to Lex, broken a window to the white house while playing base ball with Kid Flash, and he defaced Mount Rushmore by burning off the faces of the Presidents and replacing them with your symbol and he burned an image of the middle finger into the moon!"

As for why he'd have a son so rebellious toward authority it could come out that the kid's planet was enslaved by Darkseid(who killed the boy's mother in front of him when he was like six) and the boy spent years of his life being tormented and forced to serve Darkseid (who could have been poisoning him mentally against Superman) until he got strong enough to escape. But Darkseid's and Granny Goodness's 'parenting' left the boy with zero respect for authority and a serious temper.

How do you think Superman would react if he learned he had a rebellious son with such a violent up bringing that it made him pretty much an at risk/troubled teen and had a relationship with Darkseid that can be summed up like this.

[planetman]

Ask for a DNA test!

.

[Lax]

Ask for a DNA test!

.

[Castiel]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt2i0ts-uck

It would be hilarious to see Superman dance like that.

[daBronzeBomma]

We already know what Superman would do if he found out he had a son.

He'd creepily stalk the mother and invade her home for unauthorized face time with the kid alone, all the while the cuckolded man doing the actual raising of his kid (thinking it was really his kid) would come off as the much better man.

Man, do I hate SUPERMAN RETURNS.

[planetman]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt2i0ts-uck

Hilarious!

[WillieMorgan]

We already know what Superman would do if he found out he had a son.

He'd creepily stalk the mother and invade her home for unauthorized face time with the kid alone, all the while the cuckolded man doing the actual raising of his kid (thinking it was really his kid) would come off as the much better man.

Man, do I hate SUPERMAN RETURNS.

Yeah, that film certainly has a lot to answer for.

[Black Angel]

We already know what Superman would do if he found out he had a son.

He'd creepily stalk the mother and invade her home for unauthorized face time with the kid alone, all the while the cuckolded man doing the actual raising of his kid (thinking it was really his kid) would come off as the much better man.

Man, do I hate SUPERMAN RETURNS.

boy that escalated quite quickly LOLOL.

Yea he sends him to the farm or tries to be all sanctimonious to him.

[dantefrizzoli]

"I'm always around" so no good dad ever! Call Maury!

[Muramasa]

Firstly it would be out of character for Superman to father a child unknowingly because he has super-restraint. His genetic material would have to be stolen or something. Secondly he can see DNA with super-vision. He would probably raise his child the way Pa Kent raised him and that's the simplest answer and a logical one.

[Custodes]

He would send the "mommy" child support. After he was satisfied the child was his, that is. He would ignore the child and his posse would give him heck over it.

[hellacre]

Take no real responsibility for raising them. Superman Returns. Awful. Young Justice no attempt to show why he kept shunning Conner making him a bad father figure.In the comics one could argue he really did not play that great a role in Conner and Kara's everyday life. It fell to other people. He usually turns up to lecture. Then if he adopts the kid grows up ( conveniently) very quickly so he really was not inconvenienced too much by a child. Clark failed in this department big time. Unlike Batman who is more a father to his wards and Damien.Let's see how he handles Kara once she gets over anger and if they can make their minds up who and what the heck Superboy is. No point really trying to foist kids on the character when they do nothing to make the reader think he'd make a good father figure.

[misslane]

Take no real responsibility for raising them. Superman Returns. Awful.

To be fair, this wasn't the problem with Superman Returns. Superman didn't know he had a child to take responsibility for. One could argue the wisdom of him leaving Earth for the reasons he did, but one of the things he couldn't have factored into that decision at the time was that he was or was going to be a father. The way the film proceeds, as soon as he learns he's Jason's father, he seeks him out. Since it's the end of the movie, we're left to guess how much responsibility he'd take in raising Jason. My assumption is that he wouldn't be an irresponsible father to Jason going forward.

[UltraWoman]

If you're talking suddenly finding out about a BIOLOGICAL son that is only a decade (or so) younger (physically) then I can definitely see the standoffish attitude that would permeate those encounters.

[Iopy]

Take no real responsibility for raising them. Superman Returns. Awful. Young Justice no attempt to show why he kept shunning Conner making him a bad father figure.In the comics one could argue he really did not play that great a role in Conner and Kara's everyday life. It fell to other people. He usually turns up to lecture. Then if he adopts the kid grows up ( conveniently) very quickly so he really was not inconvenienced too much by a child. Clark failed in this department big time. Unlike Batman who is more a father to his wards and Damien.Let's see how he handles Kara once she gets over anger and if they can make their minds up who and what the heck Superboy is. No point really trying to foist kids on the character when they do nothing to make the reader think he'd make a good father figure.

As you say, in general Superman has not done a stellar job with children when they come into his life. In addition there was also Lar Zod, Superman turned him over to the Department of Meta Human affairs, and Silver Age Supergirl who got quickly slid into an orphanage. This area is an odd gap in how Superman has been written over the years. I think it's partly a need to make sure he isn't tied down with family or other attachments, so every time they write a story where a dependant child is involved the story has to end with Superman back to the status quo. But it results in story after story where Superman finds some way to get rid of or person to take the responsibility and when taken together he comes out looking bad.