Building back superman family

[manwhohaseverything]

One of the best things MoS did was showing the various Kryptonians wearing their own crests, not just copying Zod's.

Ultimately, it's the crest of the House of El. If you're not part of the house, then why wear it? Supergirl, and Superboy arguably ARE members of the House of El. John Irons? One could argue he's an honorary member.

Thing is... Not all Kryptonian families ARE part of a house at all. The fact that there is a "House of El" means that they're at least aristocracy even if not royalty.

Kal-El survived the destruction of Krypton because his family was influential. His father knew Krypton was doomed because he had access to knowledge that the common man didn't.

Being royalty doesn't mean Superman has to be a jerk. It's the reason he's alive, not the core of who he is.

Having famous family name doesn't automatically make one aristocrat. You do know that clark survived cause jor el stole things to create the ship and the matrix thing illegally. He had basically as much access as hacker and a theif has. Yes, he did have knowledge common man didn't. But, that's because he was a scientist who had to work for his knowledge and acquire them via research . He was willing to let that knowledge go public. But, the suits literally didn't allow him. They would have jailed jor el and in many versions like in dcau they do.. He breaks out as a fugitive. Some royalty he is.

[sunofdarkchild]

My favorite version is the late 90s 'Team Superman' of Linda, Conner, and John Henry. These were characters with their own casts, personalities, powers, and stories that differentiated them from Superman, while each having a special relationship with him. Linda especially I find to be a more compelling character than anyone in the current books.

[Tzigone]

These are the characters I like, but that doesn't mean all need to be connected to each other. Though all can be connected to Superman. More spokes from a wheel than a web, if you know what I mean?

These are just the ones I like. Some of the ones I don't mention, I have never read.

And I don't want tons of crossovers or them frequently appearing in each other's books. Occasionally is good, but not all the time.

I love old-school Kon. 90s Kon. When Superman was only a little connected to Kon, and not in day-to-day life. His opinion of Kon mattered greatly, but he wasn't (immediate) family, and he wasn't a mentor. The cousin vibe.

Kara, of course. She was the first. Again, in a cousin-y way, not as father or brother. Probably personally closer than Kon and Clark. My idea would have her more Dick's generation, and she'd not have significant interaction with Kon and maybe play occasional aunt to Jon and Chris. Her personality has been all over the map. I don't care for "anger issues" Kara. I do like the idea that she's a refugee. She's the one that misses home in a way that Clark cannot because he doesn't remember it. He grew up a part of this world, but Kara has to learn the norms here. That she has a sense of isolation he does not. But that will fade with time as she makes her life here.

Jon. Kid-Jon is what I want. Growing up in the comic at a regular rate (though we'd likely never see him grown given the rate of comic aging). He thinks Kon is cool because early Kon was so working that angle. Looks up to his father tremendously. I actually want him and Chris (old school origin) as brothers, but I like Chris as the little brother, and nix the speed-aging on him, too.

Chris - of course the Chris I want is completely unavailable, given the Lor-Zod we've seen. I like old school Chris with the abusive parents. With a reboot, I have a scenario with Chris as the little brother worked out. I waffle on him and Kara - whether he's interested because she speaks his native language or whether he avoids her because the only Kryptonian culture he ever knew was a bad one, as he was surrounded by criminals.

Steel should be there, too. I don't think he should work with Chris or Jon, the little Superboys, but he might work with Kon on very rare occasion and maybe a little more with Kara, since she's grown when he appears and more of a peer.

The rest, I haven't read enough of to have attachment to or care if they exist.

[Blue22]

Ever since Jon came onto the scene, I've really liked the idea of Superman having a supporting cast that's basically the antithesis to the Batfamily. Since Clark and Bruce are compared and contrasted so often, I thought it was kinda neat that the same could be said for the members of their inner circles. While I wouldn't make the cast as bloated as the Batfamily is now, if I were in charge, I'd work a little harder to make the Superfamily feel more...alive and like a family.

Everyone's still doing their own things but they all occasionally team up or guest star in each other's books. Maybe a small crossover event every now and then. Just something to drive home that these characters all known and care for each other. I wouldn't compare their dynamic to the Strawhat Pirates though. I still think they're more like the Incredibles. But if we're doing anime comparisons, perhaps the Z-Fighters (particularly Goku's Family). Honestly, with everything going on with Clark right now, this would be a great time to give the family some prominence.

Clark: His book is full on cosmic level stuff as he's leading this new Galactic United Nations or whatever it's called. He still comes back to earth every now and again but he's REALLY freakin busy being the President of Earth xD

Lois: With Clark's secret identity out in the open and Lois' credibility as a reporter called into question (I'd imagine Clark being Superman would be just as big a conflict of interest for her as it is for him). Her book would be, more or less, the same as it is now but there'd be some focus on her trying to rebuild her reputation after so many have started to doubt her. Still on the fence on whether or not I'd follow through on Tomasi's plan of Lois getting pregnant again. This would probably be the worst possible time for her to have a baby xD

Kara: With Superman so busy with his space duties, he leaves a vacant spot on the Justice League with her name on it. I don't know if I'd give her a solo book (at least not right away) but she'd definitely be taking Clark's spot on the league and things would mostly deal with the change in dynamic that would come with her being there instead of her cousin.

Conner: He's still with Young Justice. But, with Clark spending most of his time in space and Kara on the league, Conner (with a new code name) also takes on the title of Metropolis's personal hero. He pretty much takes over for all the street level stuff that Clark used to handle. Maybe even gains a sort of celebrity status for it too, as ends up enjoying the limelight. Not necessarily cocky or a jerk...but a bit of a show off. He definitely enjoys the attention and admiration. I think the most reoccurring character in this would be Jon, as the two form a brotherly bond akin to the one Dick has with Damian. Though, in this case, Jon is the one who humbles Conner and keeps him grounded, instead of the other way around. Speaking of Jon...

Jon: I don't know if I'd give him a solo or if he and Conner would just share a book (if the latter, I'm totally calling it "Superboys"). But one thing I know for certain is that he's back to his old self (surprise, surprise. The first change Blue makes is turning Jon into a kid again xD) BUT...his time as a teenager and a member of the Legion still happened (I'm in a "lemonade out of lemons" mood today). Some time travel shenanigans happen that basically age his body back down. And while, for everyone else, the change back isn't that jarring since this is the Jon they're all used to and they only knew teen Jon for a short time, for Jon, this isn't who he's been in seven years. And it's kinda freaking him out because it's not just his appearance that's changed. His entire thought process is that of a kid's again. His mind feels like a jumbled mess of child and young adult. He feels like he needs his Dad to make sense of things, now more than ever, but with Clark now off being the savior of the Galaxy, he's left to try and figure it all out for himself. Basically a little journey of self discovery as he decides to take advantage of his new start and figure out who he wants to be (as trying to be Clark 2.0 is what got him into this mess in the first place). I'd say he probably also spends some time shadowing other heroes like Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, even Batman. This whole thing is just one big learning experience for him. Like Conner is to YJ, Jon is also still with the legion, although he goes there a lot less than he used to. And Clark's memories of the Legion have been restored (although it's still made clear that Jon's Legion friends aren't the same people as Clark's)

Action Comics: Mostly an anthology series where each arc focuses on a different member of the family (and the occasional teamups) for, as the name suggests, more action oriented stories. There's less emphasis on character development in this but it's still there. The focus is mostly just the Super Family being...super. This is also where we'd get stories centered around the other members of the family like both Steels, Chris Kent, and Keenan.

[manwhohaseverything]

A few more characters, Hamilton county.
The aliens revolutionaries in the city of kandor from godfall.
Subject 17 from camelot falls.
Draaga from warlord.
Lyla lerrol from various lore's.
Lori lemaris from Atlantis.
The priest from for tomorrow.
I have already mentioned kappa and alpha centurion.

[Tzigone]

For supporting characters, I like Roxy Leech and Dubbilex for Kon, Kathy and schoolmates for Jon, and Thara as dual lead in Chris' story once he is older. But they need have almost nothing to do with Superman himself. Don't need his book getting too crowded.

Not really sure who is best for Kara and Steel. Kara has had so many. I like Jeremiah and Eliza for Kara, but it's a bit tv-ripoff, and they would fade once she was grown, anyway. Ben was likable to me. Then there are the old-school characters - don't want to use Lana or Jonathan and Martha for any of them - too tied to Clark, too hand-me-down supporting cast. Natasha is a safe bet for Steel, but if she's ever going to branch out solo, she has to stop being his supporting cast.

[KC]

I think Superman works best with a large supporting cast of heroes and civilians. They add to the world and are great on their own or when they interact with Superman.

[Tzigone]

I'd rather have a large cast that isn't omnipresent and has more regular people (if Lois or Emil Hamilton or Bibbo can be called regular).

A more diverse Planet staff that sticks around past Bendis. Not seen every issue but popping up from time to time.

Actual friends for Clark. Not for Superman, but for Clark. Guys like Pete Ross from his Smallville days, the guy who runs a small store that Clark visits to get some obscure candy/soft drink/whatever, "Bobby Big-Mouth" who is Lois & Clark's pipeline to local crimes, Professor Hamilton/Potter/Pepperwinkle the "mad" scientist, Lois & Clark's neighbors.

Yes, absolutely. While I like some of the Superman family very much, I think all of those other than Clark's child(ren) should be off in their own books (or team books) living separate lives and only occasionally popping up for a visit in each other's books. Civilian supporting casts seem in very short supply in comics these days, though.

Other Metropolis heroes but not ones who Superman teams up with regularly (Guardian, Steel). An occasional JLAer looking for help- with Batman being the only one doing this more than once a year. And then Kal, Kara and Jon as the actual family who interact regularly as the story requires.

I admit, I've always preferred Kon as he was originally - only slightly connected to Clark and not regularly interacting with Superman. Kara could at first, but would do so less as she grows up. Jon, yes, absolutely there most of the time. Except it would have been until he naturally grew up over a long period of time and moved on to becoming a more independent hero. But editorial and 5G (that I don't even know what's happening with anymore) killed that dream.

[Masterff]

Generally agreed.

Some franchises I want big; I think the Flash dynasty needs all those speedsters like Max and Jesse and XS and John Fox, (and the new faces like Wallace and Avery). And I've accepted the fact that half the GLC are going to be Americans and that Gotham churns out vigilantes like a Chinese factory whether I like it or not.

And Wonder Woman could use a few extra faces. It'd be nice if Donna was actually treated like part of Diana's mythos for a change. She's almost never been handled like part of the Wonder-world.

But Superman? Less is more. What he does, that isn't something that just anyone can do (and I'm not just talking raw power here). Even following in his footsteps isn't something that just anyone can pull off.

If I had my way I might not have a single legacy character in the mythos at all other than Steel. But since that's just my preference and would be bad for business.....

I'd include

Supergirl. I hate the "cousin from Krypton" idea, but Kara's been around too long and is too entrenched in pop culture to get rid of.

Steel. Arguably the only person "worthy" of carrying Clark's standard in my opinion. John Henry Irons is a gift to the DCU that DC managers have thrown under the rug, and I'd like to see that change. Natasha is okay, but I'd prefer leaving her in a support role. Not a fan of her being Steel 2. Just seems uninspired, and I think John has more potential as a character.

Conner Kent. I love this kid, and I think there's some potential in "Nightwing-ing" him, now that Jon's around to take the role of "heir apparent."

Jon Kent/Superboy. I dislike the idea of a Norman Rockwell Super-family and I'd happily remove Jon from the DCU. But if we're doing a Super-franchise, then Jon should be included.

Power Girl. Karen's a great character who I enjoy a lot, and I like her in the "black sheep" type role where her ties to the family are thin. Plus I ship her hardcore with Dick Grayson so she's gotta be around for that!

Valor. I'll never call him Mon-El. But he should be the Super-representative of the future (when a modern day Superboy isn't visiting). Sort of that "step brother twice removed" kind of thing, where he's part of the family but not really.

Five people in the Super-family, plus one permanently abroad, is plenty.

Now, what I'd *really* like to see is an extended group of heroes who aren't exactly part of the Super-family but owe their inspiration and motivation to Clark. An extended family of sorts.

Super-Chief. Chris Roberson briefly introduced a new version of this old Z-lister who still had all the old Super-Chief origin/mythos stuff but was inspired to action by Clark and wore a red leather "S" jacket (much like Clark was wearing in the Smallville show at the time). I'd actually like to see this guy in Diana's orbit more, but still keeping the loose ties to Clark.

Alpha Centurion. A Roman warrior who spent centuries in space and came back with some cool alien gladiator tech. Again, he seems more fitting and viable as part of Diana's cast but his relationship and dynamic with Clark is too good to ignore.

Gangbuster. I think it's past time we saw Jose join the MPD and become a "cop in Suicide Slum by day, vigilante by night." Sort of like Metropolis' Daredevil; using the system to work outside of the system.

Wonder Twins. Again, largely a JLA adjunct but who owe everything to Clark and hero worship the Man of Tomorrow.

Super-Man of China. Kenan was a cool guy, I don't want to see him disappear.

and of course, the Squadron Super. Also introduced by Roberson, this is a group of Supermen and Superwomen from across space-time inspired by Clark, working together to tackle threats so big even Grant Morrison would require some hardcore drugs to dream them up.

Supergirl was cool in Pre-Flashpoint, I really LOVED this version who went to train with the Amazons, was Cassandras friend and she was also wearing Conners shirts once, because after Conners death she wanted to give Cassandra something from Conner. It was also my favorite Look of her....

Yes Conner definetely needs to take over the role as "NIGHTWING" of the Super-Family...

Clark kent - superman
Chris kent/lor zod - nightwing
Connor kent - scion
Jon kent - superboy
Eradicator as Clark's jason todd.
John henry - steel
Jimmy olsen - ultra olsen with every single powers wierd he had throughout his career. Only in a random way.
Kenan kong- superman from china
Lois/lana - superwoman
Cir el - new flamebird
Kara - supergirl
Linda - new power girl
Edit-I just want clark to have more wierd ass friends like him to be around him. I wanted characters from Clark's publishing history to fill in as support cast. The wierder and diverse the better.

The wierder the better. The list i posted was just a place holder with characters thrown in. Tell me your picks.

Personally speaking I would just take:

Clark
Conner Kent (Pre-Flashpoint) and his wife Cassandra Sandsmark
Supergirl (Pre-Flashpoint who trained with the Amazons and is one of Cassandras best friends)
Steel
Jonathan Samuel Kent (younger version of him)

for the rest I would take:

BLUE ELECTRIC SUPERMAN (there was blue/red electric Superman, so you could go back to him in some ways)
NEW52 KON EL
CIR-EL

Blue Electric Superman is cool and I would REALLY REALLY LOVE to see how his powers work, we only saw him for a shirt time...

NEW52 Kon El had 3!!! DNA donators and it was never stated were his 3th DNA came from AND because of his full TK he would be definetely be different from the rest of the family..

CIR-EL would be nice if she would be lesbian or bisexual, because I think we only have straight characters in the Super-Family so far...

[sunofdarkchild]

When was the last time the 'super-family' played baseball? I remember one issue from the late 90s in which an alternate reality version of the family played baseball. It was when the super-books were split into 4 eras because of Dominus. And there was the Lois and Clark episode where Clark played baseball with himself. But I don' recall ever seeing it happen in the main continuity(ies). It would be a great way to get character interactions as well as allow the 'family' to show off their powers.

[Ascended]

Supergirl was cool in Pre-Flashpoint, I really LOVED this version who went to train with the Amazons

I thought that Kara training with Diana and having such a close friendship with Cassie opened the doors for some really interesting "bridge between franchises" stuff. I would have loved to see Kara given a suit of Amazon armor with the "S" shield and red cape, maybe a shield or spear or something.

I feel like this would have, ironically, made Kara a little more unique; there aren't many characters (in main continuity) who represent two different franchises simultaneously like that.

I'm not big on Kara conceptually (she's had some fantastic stories I've loved tho), and doing this would've probably pissed off her fans, but I've thought for a long time that some "dual legacies" in ongoing continuity would've been cool. A Super-Bat and a Super-Wonder and a Wonder-Bat......

[manwhohaseverything]

Fundamentally, my idea was just to build back superman family. It turns out what i would like is to build back metropolis, smallville and krypton with beasts from pasts, extended casts, weapons ... Etc. To make city feel like a world onto itself.

[Masterff]

Conner: He's still with Young Justice. But, with Clark spending most of his time in space and Kara on the league, Conner (with a new code name) also takes on the title of Metropolis's personal hero. He pretty much takes over for all the street level stuff that Clark used to handle. Maybe even gains a sort of celebrity status for it too, as ends up enjoying the limelight. Not necessarily cocky or a jerk...but a bit of a show off. He definitely enjoys the attention and admiration. I think the most reoccurring character in this would be Jon, as the two form a brotherly bond akin to the one Dick has with Damian. Though, in this case, Jon is the one who humbles Conner and keeps him grounded, instead of the other way around. Speaking of Jon...

Actually this would be horrible....
This is more the YJ Anime Conner and NOT!!! the Comic-Conner.

Comic Conner is certainly NOT!! a street level hero..fights against Doomsday Clone, Gog, Cyborg Superman, Mon-El, Aquaman and ESPECIALLY Superboy Prime showed that he is on the way to become an A-Level Superhero like Wonder Woman, Flash, Superman...

And this "in Metropolis" or in "Smallville" will also hinder him to become a hero on his own.


Better way is if he becomes the NIGHTWING of the Super-Family, he marries Cassandra and moves to Hawaii where he already lived and form a new team together with Cassandra, Tim and Bart...


We had 2 Solo-Series for Conner 1 in Hawaii and 1 in Smallville and I really prefered the Hawaii one which showed how great he is, if he has plenty of space and is independent..

[Masterff]

I thought that Kara training with Diana and having such a close friendship with Cassie opened the doors for some really interesting "bridge between franchises" stuff. I would have loved to see Kara given a suit of Amazon armor with the "S" shield and red cape, maybe a shield or spear or something.

I feel like this would have, ironically, made Kara a little more unique; there aren't many characters (in main continuity) who represent two different franchises simultaneously like that.

I'm not big on Kara conceptually (she's had some fantastic stories I've loved tho), and doing this would've probably pissed off her fans, but I've thought for a long time that some "dual legacies" in ongoing continuity would've been cool. A Super-Bat and a Super-Wonder and a Wonder-Bat......

Actually the dual legacy Idea was the one which I had for Cassandras/Conners kids.

I mean I always thought that it would be AWESOME especially for the daughters....
1.) Powers: Cassandra as daughter of Zeus with Conner with his Kryptonian+TTK Powers
2.) let them train on themyscira when they are old enough

so Kryptonian Amazons who wear outfits like Wonder Woman with the S together with lasso, shield and sword..

I would also really love how the reactions of the Amazons would be to the kids, since Diana was the only kid on the island...

[Ascended]

The only problem with that is the complications of getting them on the page. Conner and Cassie are old enough to be young parents, but getting the kids actively involved would require time jumps or time travel, and.....I mean, I like Future Trunks as much as the next guy, but you can only get away with so much of that.

And the odds of such a character lasting long term is pretty low. New characters struggle anyway, and the next time DC reboots and de-ages everyone, that character would be erased.

But I could see Kara and Cassandra Cain training on Themyscria and leaving with Amazon armor as "honorary" Amazons, which would get the dual legacy thing going with characters who are likely to survive DC's continuity shenanigans. The idea of dual legacies might not survive DC screwing with the status quo but at least the characters would.