Whats your opinion of Jonathan Samuel Kent and Conner Kent in general?

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Connor's a fun character. Loved him in David/Nauck's Young Justice. I prefer him with M'gann than Cassie. I wish the kid was his and they stuck around (they should come back in a solo).

I didn't mind him when the new 52 began. I thought having a Conner that was more cerebral/alien was a cool starting point but it got detracted by convoluted nonsense.

The Young Justice show is pretty good. He's different but it makes sense given the context.

[Kon93]

One thing I've always dug about Conner, at least symbolically, was that he never wore the cape.

There's meaning behind that, and the fact that had he been allowed to grow to adulthood in his tube, he'd have had a cape. The symbolism obviously being that the cape meant having to following his design and be Superman, and had he not been rescued from that lab he would've had no choice in the matter. Conner's story isn't about legacy or a prince-like destiny (that's Jon's thing, and he does it to great effect), but rather, at its core, the way I've come to see it, it's about choice, and he's constantly given crossroads to follow by way of mentors, friends, biology, and programming.

It's akin to how Dick sort of sums up his feelings on being Batman when he says that the cape always threw him off balance. With Bendis going more for the idea that Conner is trying to start a new chapter in his life, and his found family (Young Justice) is where he feels most at home and himself, I'm reminded of his continued choice to not wear the cape. Him remarking that he's let his genetics and unspoken expectations dictate his life long enough have me thinking there's going to be some pretty interesting shifts in how he functions now that he seems to have come up from under the idea of the cape as his predetermined future.

This is almost directly in stark contrast to to Jon who at every turn chooses the cape. His worst fear is that there's something wrong with him and he won't be good enough when it comes time for him to be that guy, and additionally his greatest triumph was being put in a position where the most important part about earning the cape (strength of will and character) was tested, and he passed with flying colors by choosing to be who he's been raised to be. And similar to Conner he was given the power of choice early on in life because he didn't always know he was Superman's son, but when his heritage became clear he embraced it like Arthur took to the sword the sword. This cover is instantly iconic in its own right, appropriately evokes Clark's discovery of his heritage, and denotes a great sort of "you're a wizard, Harry" destiny discovery idea. His is a story of legacy and learning to carry the weight of something far greater than himself by just being himself.

https://www.instagram.com/p/ByLrJ1xBlrN/

So when you have the above shot of the Houses of El and Zod and their six flowing capes, it's very much a prince learning to one day be a king.

The similarities and contrast between these two is something I look forward to seeing explored. In my opinion there age matters so little when put against the grand and compelling ideas they're being dealing with.

I like this post, and agree.


BUT still "at some point" want Jon 10 again.

[Ascended]

I'm a fan of both characters.

Conner is what got me into DC comics. I had been a big Superman fan as a very little kid, but stopped liking superheroes when Transformers and Ninja Turtles and all those other 80's properties rolled along. I was the perfect age for all that stuff. When Death of Superman happened, my cousin bought all the debut issues of the four new guys, and Superboy really caught my attention. I thought kid heroes were like campy 60's era Robin; all "holy outdated dialogue, Superman!" and stuff. But no, here was a kid with a leather jacket and a modern haircut and he was.....cool. Within a few months I was hooked on comics and superheroes again but it all started with Conner. Been a fan ever since. Loved him in the YJ cartoon, loved him in the 90's and loved parts of what Johns did in the 00's. Very happy to have Conner back in proper form now.

Jon, I'm also a fan of. But it's been a hard sell; I'm of the opinion that Clark should never have kids and, if you look at his history, he's not very good with family so I don't really see fatherhood coming naturally or easily to him. But Jon won me over; even if I disagree with the premise behind his existence, he's such a fun character and he adds a lot to the mythos and it's just hard not to love the kid. And I love what he does for Conner; all his life Conner has had the shadow of the "S" hanging over him; his destiny was written before he was out of that test tube. But now, with Jon? Now Conner is free from the expectation of being the next Superman and can be......anything he wants to be. That's a great place for him, and Jon is perfect as the heir apparent. I'm even interested in this idea Bendis is spinning of Jon being a kind of "space prince" (to use the term as a shorthand for.....everything Bendis is doing there) and I love how it plays up the cosmic aspects of Clark and the importance of Superman to the universe.

Now, if only we could get John Henry Irons back in action on a regular basis......

[Vampire Savior]

Connor is cool, but that kid? NO! I think that's just a bad idea and I'm not interested in reading about Superman with a son to take of.

[Masterff]

I have to say I like the Superman NEW52 Unchained Artwork very much!

This would be my favorite Conner Version at 25 Years:
https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Superman_...ol%201%201.jpg

This with red fingerless gloves and a leather Jacket would be perfect...

Keep the Body-Size, face, hairs etc.

For Name I am still unsure, but I dont hope that he gets something like -Lad, -boy, -kid etc. or just simply his Kryptonian or Public Name..

Steel-Hammer, Storm-Hammer, Steel-Eagle, Flamebird....Steel-Enforcer....

[Tzigone]

I love early Kon (I never think of him as "Conner", and yet even though I really like the early days before he had a name, I think of him as "Kon", which is odd). I really like the early version of the character and watching him grow and improve. Did not like later, angsty version with Clark's powers and Clark's family and Clark's (and Lex's) DNA so much - I feel like I lost my character. But I adore SB in Honolulu with Roxy and Dubbilex and Tana. And enjoyed him in YJ. The bit where the caught Cissie's arrow - just fantastic scene. And he was fantastic. While I'd have rather Cissie had a little different resolution, I thought it did well in giving in that scene and still keeping her storyline about her.

Jon is sweet and adorable and I think should not fill the same niche at all. Kon wasn't Clark's child (or even a child, really), and Jon is. I am very peeved at him speed-aging (and various other things in book), and afraid I'll lose the family dynamic I loved. And I hope it's reversed (or revealed not "our" Jon, though one would hope his parents would notice), because I feel cheated on getting to see him grow up. It does also put him in the same age-group as Kon, which is more liking to have him infringe on Kon's space, and I don't like that, either. But I care about the speed-aging most for Jon's (and Lois and Clark's) sake than Kon's.

I would, however, have preferred Jon to have lesser strength powers (because of hybrid nature) or even equal, rather than more. Of course, I also would have waited a year comic-time, then introduced a six-year-old Chris. I like the adopted kid angle and think it suits well. He wouldn't have speed-aged in mine (though Thara would have eventually shown up). Cue Jon's good big brotherness. And maybe some discomfort at little brother being stronger than him. But hey, I knew that was never going to happen. The second-kid-aged-up was a nasty surprise.

[JonSBF]

I love Conner. My first contact with him was in the YJ show - I am not a big fan brooding characters but he grew up, and I grew to love him. I absolutely hate 90s Superboy and Kon, but love the 2000s Conner. I mean, I hate when he goes all "I am a discount Superman I don't even have his powers" and love when he is trying to carry Superman's torch the best he can.

Jon is simply one of my favorite characters in DC and I am still salty about the age up (I mean, Superman is my favorite hero, we share a name and of similar age, what did you expect?).

I love early Kon (I never think of him as "Conner", and yet even though I really like the early days before he had a name, I think of him as "Kon", which is odd). I really like the early version of the character and watching him grow and improve. Did not like later, angsty version with Clark's powers and Clark's family and Clark's (and Lex's) DNA so much - I feel like I lost my character. But I adore SB in Honolulu with Roxy and Dubbilex and Tana. And enjoyed him in YJ. The bit where the caught Cissie's arrow - just fantastic scene. And he was fantastic. While I'd have rather Cissie had a little different resolution, I thought it did well in giving in that scene and still keeping her storyline about her.

Jon is sweet and adorable and I think should not fill the same niche at all. Kon wasn't Clark's child (or even a child, really), and Jon is. I am very peeved at him speed-aging (and various other things in book), and afraid I'll lose the family dynamic I loved. And I hope it's reversed (or revealed not "our" Jon, though one would hope his parents would notice), because I feel cheated on getting to see him grow up. It does also put him in the same age-group as Kon, which is more liking to have him infringe on Kon's space, and I don't like that, either. But I care about the speed-aging most for Jon's (and Lois and Clark's) sake than Kon's.

I would, however, have preferred Jon to have lesser strength powers (because of hybrid nature) or even equal, rather than more. Of course, I also would have waited a year comic-time, then introduced a six-year-old Chris. I like the adopted kid angle and think it suits well. He wouldn't have speed-aged in mine (though Thara would have eventually shown up). Cue Jon's good big brotherness. And maybe some discomfort at little brother being stronger than him. But hey, I knew that was never going to happen. The second-kid-aged-up was a nasty surprise.

I would hate Jon having less powers than the average Kryptonian, first it was done already with Conner, second it would lead to brooding about not being as much as Superman, which is one of my least favorite takes on Conner. Having the same powers is fine, so is being stronger, but I would love if they reacted a bit different - like, Jon could modulate his powers, like he could have the normal heat vision but also the ability to do it much stronger, with the drawback of making him blind for a while, something like that.

Also, I have a theory on why Jon is basically Kryptonian with a few remarks. In short, the offspring of human and kryptonian couples won't be 50/50 because humans and kryptonians are not the same, obviously. In my example, I illustrate by saying Kryptonians have 36 chromosome pairs while humans have 23, so in order to produce a child many things would have to go right, like the correct chromosome pairing with essential genes to produce a living child, the need for the Kryptonian genes to duplicate in order to complete set, and other stuff. It would explain why hybrids are rare, but possible, and why they lean towards they Kryptonian ancestry (they would be closer to 70% Kryptonian than 50%). I mean, it would not even need a jump in logic like many things actually put in comics.

[Tzigone]

and love when he is trying to carry Superman's torch the best he can.

That's sort of the exact opposite of what I want Kon to be (then again, cartoon Conner is the exact opposite of earlier comic!Kon (same for Bart and Jaime and Gar in second season v preboot selves - N52 is different, of course) - read a funny fic where comic and cartoon Superboy switched places once). Kon, to me, needed to realize he didn't need to be Superman. To outgrow the role he was designed for (by Cadmus) and find his own unique place. Superman even told him so, once. It was great.

I'm very much a fan of heroes growing up to their own hero identities (and even having them as kids) instead of taking on the mantles of the older heroes. I'd have a lot fewer re-used titles. Make it easier to search on Tumblr, too. But I understand the marketing reasons DC doesn't do that.

I liked the cartoon Kon (and Bart) okay until I read the comics - comics way better to me. I was also extremely peeved that Superman got the "bad Dad" role while Batman got the "good dad" role. I hate other characters made to lok bad while Batman made to look better, and Bruce is often a terrible father in the comics (though I do miss the pre-Crisis days when he was a good dad). I'd like good!Dad Batman, but not when Clark gets diminished. Cartoon!Conner is still fine, but just a completely different character to me. I decided not to check out for season 3 (another time skip as I understand it, and I much, much preferred season 1 to season 2).

Jaime from 2006 comic series is great, too. First 25 issues are a great story. Then we switched writers and it was only okay. Still like that version of the character, though. Kon and Bart both start out quite immature in comics (though Bart not as obnoxious, IMO), and I can get how that'd be a turn off. Jaime just starts off awesome. And gets a good family!

[JonSBF]

That's sort of the exact opposite of what I want Kon to be (then again, cartoon Conner is the exact opposite of earlier comic!Kon (same for Bart and Jaime and Gar in second season v preboot selves - N52 is different, of course) - read a funny fic where comic and cartoon Superboy switched places once). Kon, to me, needed to realize he didn't need to be Superman. To outgrow the role he was designed for (by Cadmus) and find his own unique place. Superman even told him so, once. It was great.

I'm very much a fan of heroes growing up to their own hero identities (and even having them as kids) instead of taking on the mantles of the older heroes. I'd have a lot fewer re-used titles. Make it easier to search on Tumblr, too. But I understand the marketing reasons DC doesn't do that.

I liked the cartoon Kon (and Bart) okay until I read the comics - comics way better to me. I was also extremely peeved that Superman got the "bad Dad" role while Batman got the "good dad" role. I hate other characters made to lok bad while Batman made to look better, and Bruce is often a terrible father in the comics (though I do miss the pre-Crisis days when he was a good dad). I'd like good!Dad Batman, but not when Clark gets diminished. Cartoon!Conner is still fine, but just a completely different character to me. I decided not to check out for season 3 (another time skip as I understand it, and I much, much preferred season 1 to season 2).

Jaime from 2006 comic series is great, too. First 25 issues are a great story. Then we switched writers and it was only okay. Still like that version of the character, though.

Carry the torch not by being Superman, but following his example. Wear the S, do heroic things but still have his own ways.

[Blue22]

Conner and Jon are honestly up there in my top ten DC characters. That's pretty impressive in Jon's case since he's only been around for like three years. I've always been a big fan of team/family books. The X-Men, Fantastic Four, Teen Titans, Batfamily, anything that explores the personal side of superheroes and their relationships with each other, I'm all over. So a comic centered around the family that Superman started with Lois was right up my alley. Jon being so damn likable was just a bonus. I've done enough harping on the age-up and most of y'all already know where I stand on that. Feels better to focus on the positive things about the character that Tomasi gave us than the negatives we're getting now.

As for Conner, I've just always had a soft spot for the YJ team and the Geoff Johns era of Teen Titans. And Conner, Bart, and Cassie were big parts of that. Conner is one of those heroes that I got to watch grow up as I was growing up, myself. It's kinda cool, seeing how much he'd changed from the start his tenure, all the way to the end of the Pre-Flashpoint Universe. I may...disagree with a lot of what Bendis is doing since he's moved over to DC. But I am incredibly thankful for the second chance he's given Kon.

[Adekis]

I'm sort of a "Superman first" Superman fan who thinks that really, as long as you've got the elements Jerry Siegel started with in the Golden Age, ie Clark, Superman, Lois, and the newspaper, that's really all you need for the character. That's not to say that other elements, like Jimmy, super-villains, the Bottle City of Kandor, Supergirl, etc. can't make Superman better in very important ways, but you don't need them. Additionally, I like a really young Kal/Clark too, in his early to mid twenties, which is too young for kids and young enough to make Kon redundant. So for me, both Jon and Kon fundamentally do not need to exist.

I don't dislike Kon, mind you, but when he's around being the young version of Superman, it makes it harder for writers to treat CK as, well, the young Superman. And Jon ages up Clark automatically. I just don't see it working that well with my preferred version of the Superman Mythos.

I think Jon has worked at times, but I think he skews both Lois and Clark in weird directions that they're not really meant to go. I could see Clark learning to be a good dad, but frequently in the much lauded Rebirth series, I found myself thinking that Lois had partially lost her identity as "Mad Dog Lane" to become "Mrs. Superman" more than anything else, which is ironically something she had expressed concern over prior to marrying Clark to begin with. I don't love Damian either, I think he's kind of a jerk, so to me, making those two best friends doesn't do too much to salvage either of them. There's nothing I particularly dislike about Jon's personality, but there's nothing I love about it either. I liked Chris more, but I think that was mostly because I identified more with him being adopted.

To me, Jon is more than anything else a narrative annoyance, not inherently bad in and of himself, but only irritating because he cannot possibly be gotten rid of now that we have him.

As for Kon, there's a lot of times I really like him. I've got a lot of fond memories of the leather-jacket Superboy telling everyone they're not his real dad, I spent a lot of time really liking the younger-version-of-Clark take on Conner who clearly just needs to discover bisexual polyamory with Robin and Wonder Girl, and I like the angsty living weapon slowly learning to be a person from Young Justice TAS. Er, none of these characters are remotely alike though, and that's kind of a problem as well.

And I don't love any of those versions of Superboy enough to abandon my conviction that Kal-El/Clark himself can and should be the young, edgy, Superman better and with more sophistication than the Kid/Kon-El/Conner can.

So yeah, that's what I think of those guys. I like them, but not that much, because I think they take Superman further away from my admittedly kind of stripped down "platonic ideal" of the character.

[Kon93]

Superman at 30 or 40 could easily have a 10 year old kid, hell at 40 he could easily have the 17 year old that Jon is now, and that's somewhere in between where DC wants supermans age. They don't want him young, they want him the slightly older, mature, leader of the hero community. So Imo Jon works easily, atleast imo he doesnt age up superman, because he was already moving in that direction even without him.

I think bendis is going to send Jon into the future with the Legion, and I kinda think Damian will go also(atleast for a Lil while).

Kon doesnt age kal at all, because he is a artificial being and could be any age compared to kal. Kal and kon have a brother relationship, as in a much older brother than kon, lots of families are like that, parts of mine are just like that.

Kon needs to embrace being a young adult. Young enough to still have fun and be a Lil ****, but old enough to deal with serious and mature things.

[RickWJ324]

I like Conner and really enjoyed when he was with the Teen Titans around this era:
teentitans.jpg
I also like what they did with him on Young Justice.

As for Jonathan... I really like that kid!! When I first heard Superman was going to have a son I wasn't to sure about that, but he was a really well developed character and I absolutely loved the dynamic between him and Damian, but also the father and son bond that he and Supes had. It was handled extremely well.

I have typically been a Bendis fan, but man he really blew it with his handling of Jon. The second I read that Lois and Clark were going to allow him to go off with Jor-El I knew that was a "WTF" moment and was not going to end well. I have a 6 year old and even if he had super powers and could take care of himself there is no way I would allow him to just leave like that. I just didn't believe that storyline at all. And then to top if off...Lois comes back without him!!! WTF!!?? Again...they wouldn't have done that!! Very Bad writing on Bendis' part. Now we have a character that just doesn't feel right. I know if my son was gone for 2 weeks and came back 10 years older I would not be as ok with it as Lois and Clark have been. I would be absolutely devastated that I lost so much time with my son!! I just don't buy it as a credible storyline. It sucks (for lack of a better word).

I don't know if they can un-do this in a manner that will return things the way they were or if they aren't even going to try at this point. It looks like he's poised to go off with the Legion very soon. That's fine I guess, but to me it feels like the character of Jon was murdered and never really mourned. He had so much more potential the way he was written. Hell, I would've been on-board for a Super Sons animated series!! Could've been catered towards younger kids (my son would've absolutely loved it) but enjoyable for adults as well (like Justice League Action was).