Jon Kent: Superboy Appreciation 2020

[Blue22]

When they bring Jon back, would you prefer they bring back his ten year old self or have him aged up a year or so - so that he's closer to Damian in age? Honestly I think it could work if they bring back kid Jon a year older. They could actually explore the effects of being imprisoned for a year instead of ignoring how traumatising it would be.

I wouldn't be opposed to him and Damian being closer in age like they are in DCeased. But I'd rather they just pick up where they left off with him.

I guess doing a deep dive into the psychological effects that of imprisoned in a volcano by an evil version of your father would be interesting (and I actually can't believe how something as traumatic as that was just sorta...shrugged off. Then again, everything involving Jon's time in space was shrugged off. By him and, even more disgustingly, by his parents.)

Right now, though, I'm more concerned with just getting him back.

[Jackalope89]

I wouldn't be opposed to him and Damian being closer in age like they are in DCeased. But I'd rather they just pick up where they left off with him.

I guess doing a deep dive into the psychological effects that being imprisoned in a volcano by an evil version of your father would be interesting (and I actually can't believe how something as traumatic as that was just sorta...shrugged off. Then again, everything involving Jon's time in space was shrugged off. By him and, even more disgustingly, by his parents.)

Right now, though, I'm more concerned with just getting him back.

Exactly. One step at a time.

[Korath]

Earth-11 Supergirl. A female version of Jon!

https://screenrant.com/teen-justice-...e-earth-11-dc/

It's crazy how I can tell this character has more personality than Kid Jon ever had, just because of her face.

I really hope that Future State will work well enough that DC doesn't return to the kid version of Jon. I really like the teen one, but I can't stand the bland perfect child...

[Blue22]

Personally, I find Bendis' Jon to be the bland and overly "perfect" one. I can't really argue with you on blandness since that all boils down to your own enjoyment of the character and what you find interesting about them. But I've re-read enough of Tomasi's run and Super Sons to confidently say that Jon, back then, was anything but perfect.

Though, if we really wanted to get into it, I'd say that both versions of Jon being "perfect" isn't necessarily a bad thing if they've got other qualities to them that make them exciting to read about anyway. There are plenty of "perfect" (in the sense that their flaws aren't as apparent). Hermione Granger. Mirio Togata. Dick Grayson. Jean Grey. All examples of characters who've seen accused of being "too perfect", and I understand why...but as characters, they've still got enough meat on their bones to be interesting, regardless.

Even if his more rebellious and not-so-nice sides weren't present and he really was the perfect "good boy", I'd still probably find kid Jon interesting just on the unique perspective he offers as a child hero. Bendis' take on the character though? Mr. Legion-Messiah with his perfect, predictable, psychic arm candy? I just can't get into it. He lost the spark that got me so attached to his younger self, and now he's just one of the most generic teen heroes I've ever seen. He's everything that a modern take on a teenage Clark would be. And that's cool and all for Clark...but Jon. Is not. Clark.

Future State's Jon, on the other hand. Anything but bland or perfect. But he's also an extreme that I'm not particularly interested in reading about. Though Future State in general doesn't really interest me, aside from Supergirl, Titans, and Wonder Woman.

[Sam]

Yeah, I can't really understand the idea that kid Jon lacked personality, especially when he was drawn by artists like Gleeson and Jimenez, both of whom put so much expression into that kid's face. Kid Jon had personality in spades.

And yes, I'm very much in the just return Jon to where he was before Bendis got a hold of him camp. Having him as a pre-teen gave him a unique outlook in the DC Universe. Let's get that back, then move him forward from there.

Earth-11 Supergirl. A female version of Jon!

https://screenrant.com/teen-justice-...e-earth-11-dc/

She looks awesome. Now I need her to meet kid Jon. That would make for an interesting encounter.

[manwhohaseverything]

It's crazy how I can tell this character has more personality than Kid Jon ever had, just because of her face.

I don't understand what's your deal. The gal is basically kid jon and has similar facial expressions. Normally, has similar artstyle, design elements kid jon stories had. Yet, you claim her to have "more personality".

As for bendis, he doesn't write jon. He writes jon as clark. Great scott!!! What a revelation! Up, up and away!!! This looks like a job for superboy!!!! Ma!! Pa!!! To infinity and beyoooond!!!!

[manwhohaseverything]

Double post sorry about that.

[Korath]

Well, I can't speak for anyone, but as of today I really dislike, possibly even hate Kid Jon. So... yeah I can tell that this gal has more personality because she has a clearly mischievous face, unlike Jon who was almost always drawn as the gentle guillible fool. Which is a kind of character I can't stand.

I guess I'm just the opposite of the "Fake Damian" fans, who likes him defanged and dumbed down in Supersons but trashed him the moment he returned to his roots in TT.

[manwhohaseverything]

Well, I can't speak for anyone, but as of today I really dislike, possibly even hate Kid Jon. So... yeah I can tell that this gal has more personality because she has a clearly mischievous face, unlike Jon who was almost always drawn as the gentle guillible fool. Which is a kind of character I can't stand.

Yeah! I don't see it at all. I feel like you are grasping at straws to hate the character. Jon has had the same mischievous face. There is bunch collages of jon's facial expressions. I have posted them time and again. Anyone can get goodle it. Even, if you were right. The artists could draw kid jon like that and i wouldn't mind. I am willing to bet most won't. So there goes that argument. Btw, the artstyle is eerily similar to iron giant and some old disney movies. The huge eyes are always a give away. Anime's, manga's.. Etc were also inspired by those as well(osamu Tezuka's artstyle) .

That last statement basically cemented what i said about you.i say finally, a Superman has the balls to bully the emo brats. Bruce, damian... Etc seriously need to get a sense humour. Talk about being stick in the mud. Thank god, there is atleast terry mcguinness. And people actually believe, batman to be like zorro. Sheesh! He has none of zorro's personality, style or charisma. As if zorro was brooding and sulking around. Damian being uber proactive child weapon forged in hell. They all are. Damian's so called arc is very much like standard stuff and ain't special. Conner is also a weapon made to sometimes kill and replace, superman no less. Atleast, i know jon is pretty standard character. I don't debate he is literary greatness. I only say my opinion about what i or my nephew found attractive in the character . The only thing special about damian is that he is a batcharacter and dc is skewed in that direction.

[Korath]

And it cements why it's a Fake Damian in Supersons and why Jon is detrimental to a far more interesting character...

I really hate Kid Jon, even more now.

[Journey]

Earth-11 Supergirl. A female version of Jon!

https://screenrant.com/teen-justice-...e-earth-11-dc/

More unique than anything Bendis has written *shrugs*

[Journey]

It's crazy how I can tell this character has more personality than Kid Jon ever had, just because of her face.

I really hope that Future State will work well enough that DC doesn't return to the kid version of Jon. I really like the teen one, but I can't stand the bland perfect child...

I just don't understand how you can say Kid Jon was bland but teen Jon is likeable.... Teen Jon has no personality at all he's as bland as paste.

[Blue22]

I guess I'm just the opposite of the "Fake Damian" fans, who likes him defanged and dumbed down in Supersons but trashed him the moment he returned to his roots in TT.

Yeeeeah. It was definitely Super Sons that hurt his character. Not the series that pulled him so far back that he's lost almost everything he'd learned in Tomasi's and Morrison's Batman runs. Even if Super Sons never happened, I'd hate this direction for the character.

I got so attached to this character in the first place because I liked seeing his progression into a hero. It was nice seeing the way people like Dick, Steph, Jon, Alfred, and even Bruce (pre-Rebirth) helped him shake off his Al-Ghul programming and become a good person, topped off by his sacrifice in Batman Inc. and his quest for redemption in R:SoB. A character like Damian "going back to his roots " isn't a good thing. Not when the character has had over a decade's worth of development to escape those roots.

If you like this edgelord direction he's been going in. That's fine. More power to you. Just like if you enjoy the current Jon. I'm not gonna look down on someone for liking a version of something that I don't...but I have this sneaking suspicion that you wouldn't return that same courtesy.

[Korath]

Yeeeeah. It was definitely Super Sons that hurt his character. Not the series that pulled him so far back that he's lost almost everything he'd learned in Tomasi's and Morrison's Batman runs. Even if Super Sons never happened, I'd hate this direction for the character.

I got so attached to this character in the first place because I liked seeing his progression into a hero. It was nice seeing the way people like Dick, Steph, Jon, Alfred, and even Bruce (pre-Rebirth) helped him shake off his Al-Ghul programming and become a good person, topped off by his sacrifice in Batman Inc. and his quest for redemption in R:SoB. A character like Damian "going back to his roots " isn't a good thing. Not when the character has had over a decade's worth of development to escape those roots.

If you like this edgelord direction he's been going in. That's fine. More power to you. Just like if you enjoy the current Jon. I'm not gonna look down on someone for liking a version of something that I don't...but I have this sneaking suspicion that you wouldn't return that same courtesy.

Well, it's not really the thread for it, but I find it far more logical and uplifting for Damian to try and find any ways to make the world safer, even if it means using unsavory means. That's why I liked him in Glass' TT run. He did what he felt was right, and considering the world of comics, I kind of agree with him. I especially like that he ditched the Robin's mantle the way he did, instead of remaining stuck in it, while other writers (such as Tomasi) ended making him dependent of outside characters to have some form of moral compass (Jon, most notably), which is far worse. Right now, he has in heart in the right place and can see that what Batman does just doesn't work, and never will. Hopefully Tomasi don't waste all of it for more of his Supersons fake Damian.

As for Jon, yeah, he has far more character as a teen because he isn't the average bubbly naive and perfect kid he was at first. He has taken some elements from Superman's, of course. But I feel he is very much his own character, far more reluctent to step up than his father, because he lives in his shadow, while still holding true to what he learnt as a child, as he discover himself as a teenager and thus a young adult. And in a world of rebellious teenagers in comics, who fight with the adult heroes or have to fight for the right to even act, a calm and level-headed Jon, with his insecurities and all his powers is really great to read about.

[Light of Justice]

Like fathers, like sons.

I really wonder why those Supes didn't just burn their faces with laser eyes. Don't get me wrong, I love Batman and Damian, but if I am on Clark and Jon's place my laser with get activated instantly.