Jon Kent: Superboy Appreciation 2020

[manwhohaseverything]

Jon's new costume

[Ascended]

Back to topic, sheesh! That jon and conner meeting tease was underwhelming. Bendis doesn't treat the character as a standalone. It's depressing. I can see what happened to new52 superman and wally west happening again.

That's because he's not a standalone. He's a supporting cast member.

In his own book he gets to be a lead (or at least co-lead, since he hasn't had a solo) but in Clark's books? He's just a supporting character.

[sifighter]

Jon's new costume

I like Booth, but his art doesn't really go well with Jon's current outfit. Personally I don't think the current outfit is bad but really depends on the artist to make it work. I really liked the Jim Cheung variant art of it and Sook's not bad either.

[Blue22]

Google is really becoming a pain to post fanart from, I'll say that. And they changed up the image view format too.

Tumblr's a pretty good place to get fanart for just about anything. I'd just be very careful if you're looking for anything Super Sons related. Even with the site's new regulations put in place, you're still likely to find something you wish you never saw >___<

[manwhohaseverything]

I like Booth, but his art doesn't really go well with Jon's current outfit. Personally I don't think the current outfit is bad but really depends on the artist to make it work. I really liked the Jim Cheung variant art of it and Sook's not bad either.

This isn’t the current outfit. It's supposed to be new one.

[sifighter]

This isn’t the current outfit. It's supposed to be new one.

I mean they’ve showed it off in covers for Legion of Superheroes, they just haven’t had him change into it yet.

F16E5C5F-0030-477A-A762-4ED6B1A0D366.jpg

[Blue22]

It's a shame he's already ditching his current one for something that makes him look even less unique and even more like a Clark stand-in. Jon's current design has always been the only positive thing I could say about what Bendis has done with him. I'll always prefer the more unusual/casual look that he was rocking as a kid or like most of Conner's outfits (specifically the T-shirt/Jeans he had in Johns' Teen Titans. It was basic but I loved it for how unconventional it was). But older Jon still looked great. It was a really good costume. This new one is just as bland and uninteresting as he's become.

[Dzetoun]

First off, the US Civil Rights Act was struck down years ago.

*****SPIT TAKE*****

Sheesh, somebody forgot to tell the Supreme Court about that, not to mention the Federal bureaucracy and the entire legal profession. I am sure that they will be interested to hear that this enormous body of legislation, regulation, case law, and pending judicial action was summarily dismissed while they were asleep and everybody can get their time and legal fees back and resume the status quo circa 1963.

[manwhohaseverything]

That's because he's not a standalone. He's a supporting cast member.

In his own book he gets to be a lead (or at least co-lead, since he hasn't had a solo) but in Clark's books? He's just a supporting character.

So? Doesn't mean the character doesn't need to be fleshed out nor treated as a character. Characters commonality ends with the archetypes they share and that's it. I don't want jon to be current superman or clark kent superboy with a different name.nothing more should be alike. Why would anyone want that is beyond me? Supporting characters have many times far out shinned the lead.Because script for them should be tight yet compelling in order to be successful.

[sifighter]

So? Doesn't mean the character doesn't need to be fleshed out nor treated as a character. Characters commonality ends with the archetypes they share and that's it. I don't want jon to be current superman or clark kent superboy with a different name.nothing more should be alike. Why would anyone want that is beyond me? Supporting characters have many times far out shinned the lead.Because script for them should be tight yet compelling in order to be successful.

I mean, I don't necessarily see it that way. Yes he will in fact be a younger superman but that is kind of because that is who he is technically speaking. He is the son of superman so he is gonna look a lot like him, he's also been raised by Superman's sense of moral and values so there is gonna be a lot of similarities when Jon becomes Superman. However they have a different history.

Jon is gonna be Superman in a world where he grew up raised by Superman, had a best friend in both Damian and Kathy, knew the Teen titans but sad he didn't get to join, went to earth 3 and had space adventures with grandpa, and then yes did join the Legion of Superheroes. There are some surface similarities to be sure but I do think that there is enough there under the surface to make a difference in character for Jon when he supposedly becomes the new Superman.

[Jackalope89]

I mean, I don't necessarily see it that way. Yes he will in fact be a younger superman but that is kind of because that is who he is technically speaking. He is the son of superman so he is gonna look a lot like him, he's also been raised by Superman's sense of moral and values so there is gonna be a lot of similarities when Jon becomes Superman. However they have a different history.

Jon is gonna be Superman in a world where he grew up raised by Superman, had a best friend in both Damian and Kathy, knew the Teen titans but sad he didn't get to join, went to earth 3 and had space adventures with grandpa, and then yes did join the Legion of Superheroes. There are some surface similarities to be sure but I do think that there is enough there under the surface to make a difference in character for Jon when he supposedly becomes the new Superman.

Bendis is literally copy/pasting stereotypical Clark Kent lines and such onto Jon. Everything that was Jon, isn't now.

[sifighter]

Bendis is literally copy/pasting stereotypical Clark Kent lines and such onto Jon. Everything that was Jon, isn't now.

I mean sure that is how Bendis writes Jon at times, and maybe that will change once Bendis is off of writing Jon in the future but also I could reasonably expect that Jon picks up on certain things from his Dad and I suppose the Kents if they are now woven back into continuity. I mean I could honestly expect that Jon got the "Great Scott" line from hearing his dad say it at least once.

[rpmaluki]

Considering how children typically copy their parents and only outgrow some as they get older, Jon's "new" lingo doesn't surprise me. I would have expected Jon to do this under Tomasi but he didn't because Tomasi didn't write it in. I don't think that this means Jon never picked up any of his father's quirks. Bendis is being intentional writing it, much to some people's horror. And although he's a teen now and this would be around the time he stopped talking like his dad, I'm thinking that after being in a hellish world for years, he could have doubled down on that as a means to hold on to his world/what's familiar to him for comfort and strength in a violent, cold alien world. I do think people find it extremely jarring because it's essentially an outdated way of talking (on top of hating Bending being on the books).

[Ascended]

I'm also not sure why people think Jon following Clark's footsteps is new.

Raised on a farm by a kindly couple? Struggling to figure out his powers? Always sneaking off to get into mischief and/or save lives? Hangs out with other costumed heroes his age? That all sounds like Clark's childhood too.

Jon has always been, in large part, a reflection of Clark. And that's his father, so no huge surprise. Jon has never *just* been a little Clark, and he's not now.

And now, yeah Jon is still in large part a reflection of Clark. But just as before, there's plenty of differences too. I don't think the ratio has really changed that much.

[rpmaluki]

Jon has always been written to be a mini Clark to some extent (except from some perspective) whether by Tomasi or Bendis. At this stage the only gripe worth voicing is how very little he's resembles/d his mother. Both writers could/ve done better.