Build Your Own Superfamily

[Harpsikord]

So with the release of the Infinite Frontier images, it's come to my attention that the superfamily is kind of... lacking. The image itself was super sparse and left a lot to be desired but it kind of went beyond that. On top of Jon being made into a version of New 52 Clark, the family has just sort of been... homogenized. And there's a dangerous lack of diversity even when someone like Kenan Kong joins the picture - though he and the Steel's are a good start! If you were given the opportunity to build your own Superfamily, what would you do with it? Who would you change? Add? What things would you cut? I'll start!

• Superman: Kal-El, Clark Kent. Potentially the most iconic and idolized superhero in the world, the hero of Metropolis. Clark doesn’t have a secret identity anymore, and gone are the days of him working at the Daily Planet as their biggest reporter. Clark is a superhero full time now, and that suits him fine – he spends his days helping people that genuinely need it when he’s not dealing with alien invasions or Justice League business.
• Superwoman: Kara Zor-El, Kara Danvers. No disrespect meant to Kara Zor-L, classically known as Power Girl, but in this concept Superwoman is the only Kara that exists. She’s a mix of a majority of classic versions of Kara, including pre-crisis Supergirl, Kara Zor-L, and the pre-Flashpoint Kara. She’s about the age of the original Titans. Aping the success of the CW television show Kara lives in National City and works for the Department of Extranormal Affairs, working both as Superwoman and as scientist Kara Danvers. She does have a secret identity, though everyone in her orbit is aware of who she is.
• Superboy: “Jon-El,” Jon Kent. The son – and oldest child – of Clark Kent and Lois Lane, it would be revealed that the Jon that has featured in Legion and the Superman books has been an imposter. Instead, the young Jon Kent has been stuck on Earth 3 for years, petulantly operating as a vigilante Superboy on that world for the last four years while also searching for a way to come home. Well – he’s found it! This puts him more in line with Robin’s age while also aging him up from ten years old. Jon’s identity is secret, even if his father’s is not. Other than being Superboy Jon also spends time being a semi-normal high school student and as a part of an after school program that has him assisting photojournalist Jimmy Olsen. When he has the time he spends time partnering up with Damian Wayne, aka Robin, his best friend.
• Supergirl: Cir-El, Christina “Chris” Kent. Chris is the refugee of a dead future, from remaining DNA of Lois and Clark from a time where a majority of Kryptonian’s have died and in an effort to recreate what made Superman great… but you can only do so much with that when you’re a (physically) thirteen year old girl. Chris was found at the end of her timeline by the Legion of Superheroes and, after briefly serving with them, was sent back to the present day to be raised by Clark and Lois as well as taught in the use of her powers. In order to do something actually different with her powers instead of having typical Kryptonian abilities Cir-El possesses the electrokinetic abilities of Superman Red / Blue and the Lana Lang Superwoman. She is also the current partner of Krypto.
• Power Girl: Natasha Irons. A member of the Justice Society, the new Power Girl is Natasha Irons. Natasha still uses a power suit to power her much like her uncle, John Henry, does. She works and operates out of the Hall of Justice in Washington D.C. alongside the rest of the JSA. She’s regarded as one of the smartest minds on Earth even despite her relative age, being able to understand most technologies after just a small amount of study. She’s working on developing her own startup company similar to Steelworks.
• Steel: John Henry Irons. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. John Henry Irons is Steel, friend and occasional partner of Superman, one time actual Superman. He’s the owner and creator of Steelworks, which now operates out of Gateway City, since there’s been a lack of any notable superhero presence there for a long time and it keeps the members of ‘Team Superman’ separate and distant. John Henry is engaged to magazine editor Lana Lang, who is now in charge of her own magazine based out of Gateway. Together with Lana, John Henry has taken in Val Zod as his own child.
• Power Boy: Val-Zod, Valen Irons. Val-Zod is an aged down version of the New 52 Earth 2 Val-Zod; a refugee from another universe’s Krypton, Val was taken in by John Henry Iron and his fiancé Lana Lang. Inspired by his adopted cousin and the other Kryptonian’s of the planet Earth Val-Zod became Power Boy in order to at least attempt to make a quantifiable difference in Gateway City… but controlling his powers was a bit of an issue. As a result of that Natasha pulled some strings with her friends in the Titans and got Val a spot in the student roster of the Teen Titans Academy.
• Kon-El: Conner Kent. Also known as the Superman of the Suicide Squad. Conner has a chip on his shoulder – he’s the son of the greatest hero in the world and one of the world’s greatest supervillains, and he’s never exactly been understood let alone has never exactly understood himself. Conner means to do well, and he’s a member of the squad at Waller’s request rather than as one of their so-called prisoners. He has anger issues, but he’s more of a controllable asset than the actual villains… plus he’s got all of the strength of Superman, only in a psychic measure. Through being the handler of the Suicide Squad Conner hopes to find a place in the world that’s not defined by Superman or Lex Luthor.
• Lor-Zod: Just as it says on the tin. He’s Lor-Zod. He isn’t Nightwing and he isn’t Chris Kent – even if, as a result of Death Metal, he has those memories. This is still the Lor-Zod who was the child of General Zod and Ursa and raised as such… but unlike what you might expect of a Zod he’s not exactly what I’d call a villain. Lor-Zod fancies himself an anti-hero, doing things that he believes are for the greater good and that he believes the rest of the Superfamily aren’t capable of. Lor-Zord is the one that will get his hands dirty and he will often find himself up against the other members of the so-called family. He’s not invited to gatherings. Maybe he’s a little bitter about it; it’s reasonable.
• Kenan Kong: Kenan Kong is the one-time Super-Man of China. He still goes by that codename, but I think that it’s important to make Kenan a bit less of a nationalist given how visible the conflict between China and Hong Kong is let alone other parts of the world. As a result of this while Kenan still enjoys the idea of being a celebrity superhero, especially in order to help his father, he is actually a member of a new International Justice League. It’s a little bit sobering for Kenan to realize that he really is sort of green with his powers, but through the help of the other members of the League – including his friend Avery Ho, the Flash of China – he’s definitely learning!

[Multiverse]

Taking continuity out the window for a split sec, this is my personal take on the Super-Fam:

Clark Kent/ Kal-El/ Superman
Kara Zor-El/ Kara Danvers/ Supergirl
Conner Kent/ Kon-El
Jon Samuel Kent/ Superboy
John Henry Irons/ Steel
Natasha Irons/ Starlight
Lor-Zod/ Chris Kent/ Nightwing
Thara Ak-Var/ Flamebird

[Tzigone]

I'd pare it down a bit.

For me:

First there is Clark Kent, Superman. The world's first superhero. Great reporter. Good friend and family man. Lost his mother while he was in college and his father at 23. Most definitely has a secret identity.

Superwoman, previously Supergirl, Kara Zor-El. Probably still uses Kara Danvers as her alias (I wouldn't mind Linda, but I think it's too problematic given the other Linda). Has never lived with Clark, but has a good relationship with him these days (and for the bulk of her history). Superman's cousin. A refugee in a way Clark never was, since she remembers her birth family and home. Now in her late 20s, though, so it doesn't dominate her daily thoughts and hasn't in years. Operates from her own city.

Then Kon-El, previously known as Superboy. Hero of Hawaii. He did eventually adopt a secret identity, once he developed more desire for privacy. 20 years old and studying architecture. Still close with Dubbilex and Roxy, but they haven't lived together since he started college. Definitely has fun there. Also still hangs with his buddies from YJ.

Steel exists, but like Kara and Kon, operates independently of Superman and in his own city. Natasha also exists, and operates independently of Steel by time she reaches adulthood. Not sure if I want her on a team or not.

Jon Kent, 10 years old. Friends with Damian and Kathy. Attends school. Learning to be hero. Upbeat and outgoing. No speed-aging, no timeskip, no long-term separation from his parents until he goes off to college.

Chris Kent, initially the abused child of Zod and Ursa, later the beloved child of Clark and Lois. Five years old. In the coming year, he'll be sent to Metropolis and adopted by Clark and Lois. Thara will exist, but we'll not meet her for another 10 years or so. His only exposure to adults being to abusers, he actually bonds with Jon more quickly than with Lois and Clark. Later, he will be trapped in Phantom Zone from the age of 14 to 17. Very difficult time for everyone, but he meets Thara then.

[Alpha]

• Superman: Kal-El, Clark Kent. Potentially the most iconic and idolized superhero in the world, the hero of Metropolis. Clark doesn’t have a secret identity anymore, and gone are the days of him working at the Daily Planet as their biggest reporter. Clark is a superhero full time now, and that suits him fine

I'm fine with Clark's identity being public for a while before we turn it back, but you have to keep him as a writer. Not necessarily a journalist, but at least someone who documents his activities and writes books about his vuew of the world in a mixture of philosophy, science papers, and political essays, mixed with some poetry. Don't turn him into a fireman. Use this opportunity to dive deeper into the writer, not further away.

it would be revealed that the Jon that has featured in Legion and the Superman books has been an imposter. Instead, the young Jon Kent has been stuck on Earth 3 for years

We don't need all that non sense. You want to tell Lois and Clark that the son they've known for these years and loved and struggled with is just a manipulative impostor? Wtf is that? And you wanna add another fake Superboy to the overwhelming rotating door of characters? Just make use Mister Mxyzptlk as the way to fix this whole mess. Instead of having to betray any character or change time, you just make it so one of the characters (probably Jon) chooses to get back those years he missed and Mxyzptlk does it for the fun of it. Maybe you tie this into a subplot where now Mxyzptlk has the right to take Jon into an adventure whenever he wants just as long as he doesn't change reality permanently.

[Robanker]

Superman: Clark Kent
Lois Lane (she's family, deal with it)
Supergirl: Kara Danvers/Kara Zor-El, would become Superwoman over time in her own book.
Superboy: Jon Kent
Steel: John Henry Irons
Alloy: Natasha Irons (Sorry Metal Men. She'd be essentially Steel 2.0, with more of a liquid metal thing going on)
Super-Man: Kenan Kong
Power Girl:Karen Starr/Kara Zor-L
Kon-El:Conner Kent/Kon-El as social media's favorite superhero. He'd go by his Kryptonian name because it's also his ID on every form of social media and he'd argue secret IDs are outmoded.

[Blue22]

M'kay. Guess I'll take a shot at this.

Superman: Clark Kent, obviously. While I'd prefer his secret identity be reinstated, I know lots of people really liked the whole "Truth" thing in Bendis' run so I'll be fair and say that it's no longer a thing. He's out and proud. But he's not throwing Clark Kent away to be Superman full time. Hell, he doesn't even stop wearing the glasses. He's still a writer by trade, but his time as a journalist is pretty much up. He tries to go back to the Planet but too many issues arise from them having the world's greatest superhero working for them. Instead he decides to become a novelist and writes a series of books detailing Superman and the Justice League's greatest adventures, from the perspective of Superman (While of course, preserving the League's privacy. Bonus points for not once ever mentioning Tower of Babel). As far as his duties as Superman are concerned now, he's decided to dedicate more time to the United Planets concept that was started in Bendis' run as well as spending more time righting all the wrongs in the universe, not just earth. He hasn't completely abandoned the earth or Metropolis, mind you, he's just....got a lot on his plate. Instead he entrusts most of the work to not just one successor, but his entire family. And yes. His parents are alive. I've always hate how few superheroes actually have parents who are alive and just...normal people.

Lois Lane-Kent: Like Clark, there have been some ethical issues arising with the Planet in regards to their star reporter being the wife of Superman. But so long as she never reports on anything that the Superfamily are directly involved in, people are willing to look the other way. And for an accomplished journalist like Lois, this isn't a problem at all. Metropolis has plenty of juicy stories that don't revolve around her husband and his colleagues/proteges. Lois also forms a close friendship with Kara and Natasha Irons (more on them in a bit) as the three have formed a bit of a Birds of Prey-esque team, using their respective talents to solve the smaller, street level crimes in Metropolis.

Superwoman: Kara Zor-El/Danvers, formerly Supergirl. The one who who Clark entrusts leadership of the family to whenever he's not around. Unlike the Kents, she elects to keep her secret identity. With Clark as busy as he is now, Kara is the defacto "Superman" of both Metropolis and the Justice League. Though, as I said before, everything wouldn't fall on just her. She may be the main one but she is far from Metropolis' sole protector. I know there's always been a bit of a debate surrounding her age but I'm gonna go with her being a college student, in her early twenties. What she's majoring in....I don't know. I just know I do not want her becoming a journalist like Clark.

Kon-El: Conner Kent. Like with Robanker's take on him, he's the celebrity of the family. The only one who really revels in the fact that Secret IDs aren't a thing. Social Media, talk shows, reality shows. In terms of the Superfamily's interaction with the general public goes, he's basically their unofficial spokesperson. A bit rough around the edges and clearly loves the limelight. But he doesn't let it go to his head or interfere with his work as a hero. He just recognizes, better than everyone else, that there's more to being a champion for the people than just saving them whenever they need saving and then flying off to some new adventure. He's the guy that takes the time out to get down to the people's level and interact with them. His relationship with the family is also pretty solid. He's got a nice big/little brother thing going on with Jon. He and Kara work really well together as partners whenever they need to. And he and Clark are...pretty much at the same good point that they were at during Pre-Flashpoint or even the Young Justice cartoon. As much as I reeeeeally like his look in Geoff Johns' Teen Titans, I think I'm gonna go ahead and keep the one that he had in this current Young Justice run. Maybe he switches between the two outfits.

Superboy: Jonathan Kent. Back to where he should be, not only as Superboy but as Clark and Lois' CHILD. Rather than making the older Jon an impostor (though I'm really not opposed to that idea) we'll just go ahead and de-age him. I've talked about this idea before but I don't mind going into it again. Jon is de-aged back to ten but still retains most of his memories of being older (though they mostly feel like dreams to him). So he kind of struggles with how strange it is to be a child again and having a second chance at growing up. He's overjoyed at the thought of being a Super Son again and going through all the typical coming of age milestones that he missed out on (though school is a lot harder when everyone is either scared of you or treats you like a celebrity). But he's still conflicted about whether or not these are things that he should get to experience. There's also these moments of embarrassment that he feels whenever he acts like a kid. Because it's not just his physical appearance that has reverted back to ten years old. His mental state is back there too. And that really fucks with him sometimes. Especially when he runs into the Legion again. While they're all happy to see each other, Imra feels awkward around him and he just...doesn't have feelings for her anymore. Which makes him feel really guilty. After three separate talks with Conner, Lois, and even Damian, Jon does eventually decide that he's okay with the second chance that he's been given and that he'll appreciate every second of it. He even looks forward to seeing how different the man that he'll grow up into will be from the man that he was before. As for his adventures as Superboy, he's usually seen working closely with Kon-El. The two have a really nice, brotherly bond going on. Jon's even got his own room at Conner's apartment whenever he needs a home away from home. He was offered a spot in the Titans Academy (which Damian urged him to accept) but he turned it down. If Damian's not a part of it, he doesn't wanna be a part of it.

Steel: John Henry Irons. The same as he's always been. Though I will have him (and especially Natasha) working closely with the family more often. Enough so that they're on friendly enough terms to at least be considered part of the family.

Alloy (Was gonna go with Power Girl, but I really like this name): Natasha Irons. Same as Steel. Though she takes it a step further and often works as a trio with Lois and Kara. Lois is the eyes/informant. Kara's the muscle. And Natasha's the brains.

[Sacred Knight]

Bear in mind I'm utilizing "family" here in the sense of a superhero grouping as I don't think Clark should have a literal family so don't include such. Obviously Lois always counts, I consider that pretty needless to announce, likewise other non-superhero supporting cast members like Jimmy and Perry. I'm just utilizing superheroes here though.

Top of the totem:
Superman

His main posse:
Supergirl (Kara Zor-El)
Superboy (Kon-El)
Krypto
Steel

Go-to friends but not around as often:
The Legion of Superheroes
Power Girl

[Harpsikord]

I'm fine with Clark's identity being public for a while before we turn it back, but you have to keep him as a writer. Not necessarily a journalist, but at least someone who documents his activities and writes books about his vuew of the world in a mixture of philosophy, science papers, and political essays, mixed with some poetry. Don't turn him into a fireman. Use this opportunity to dive deeper into the writer, not further away.

This is a fair assessment and to be completely honest I don't think that the two need to necessarily be mutually exclusive. If Clark has no secret identity I don't see him not treating being a superhero like a full time job but I don't see him entirely stepping away from writing either. Something like Blueboi's idea makes sense.

We don't need all that non sense. You want to tell Lois and Clark that the son they've known for these years and loved and struggled with is just a manipulative impostor? Wtf is that? And you wanna add another fake Superboy to the overwhelming rotating door of characters? Just make use Mister Mxyzptlk as the way to fix this whole mess. Instead of having to betray any character or change time, you just make it so one of the characters (probably Jon) chooses to get back those years he missed and Mxyzptlk does it for the fun of it. Maybe you tie this into a subplot where now Mxyzptlk has the right to take Jon into an adventure whenever he wants just as long as he doesn't change reality permanently.

I personally believe that everything that's happened with Jon is utterly damaging, not just to Jon but to Clark and Lois as well. They had his entire childhood ripped away from them because they made the mistake and the call to allow him to go with Jor-El, and then when he came back he was basically a different person and they just continued acting like he was the same. I suppose that he doesn't really need to be a different person and could just be deaged but that begins to get into messy territory of him having memories of being older, of having older emotions he hadn't gotten to process just yet, of the relationships that he made when he was older, all that. In the case that Jon is aged down I'd have him stripped of those memories too, at least the ones that were made after he got back to the main reality, and just leave them as a sort of... 'what not do,' or at least something that Jon would be embarrassed of.

[sunofdarkchild]

Superman: Clark, of course

Main family

Supergirl/woman: Linda Danvers, the Earth Angel and Clark's step-sister. She is the best character to come out of the Superman mythos so far and her mystic ties and unique powers are sorely needed in the Kryptonian-dominated family.

Superboy: Conner. I'd keep Jon, but I'd have him be too young to be Superboy. In my opinion Jon should be the only Kryptonian in the family other than Clark.

Steel: The mortal man without any special powers who is inspired by Superman to become a hero in his own right is so important.


These characters stand out to me as the ideal Superman family because they each truly add something without diluting the line None of them are 'Superman but with X.' They have unique personalities and abilities instead of copying Superman, and they each represent a different aspect of what Superman means to the world. Linda represents hope, Conner truth, and Steel justice.

[Agent Z]

Superman: Clark, of course

Main family

Supergirl/woman: Linda Danvers, the Earth Angel and Clark's step-sister. She is the best character to come out of the Superman mythos so far and her mystic ties and unique powers are sorely needed in the Kryptonian-dominated family.

Superboy: Conner. I'd keep Jon, but I'd have him be too young to be Superboy. In my opinion Jon should be the only Kryptonian in the family other than Clark.

Steel: The mortal man without any special powers who is inspired by Superman to become a hero in his own right is so important.


These characters stand out to me as the ideal Superman family because they each truly add something without diluting the line None of them are 'Superman but with X.' They have unique personalities and abilities instead of copying Superman, and they each represent a different aspect of what Superman means to the world. Linda represents hope, Conner truth, and Steel justice.

How do they represent those things?

[sunofdarkchild]

How do they represent those things?

The comics literally had them spell it out.

Conner: "With us S-guys, we're all about the truth. I mean, we keep other people's secrets, but when it comes to us, everything's on the table. No disguises, no secret IDs ... Again, that's what wearing this S-Shield is all about, the truth!"

Steel says in response: "The S-shield is a promise that the world will be a little better because one by one, the guilty will pay for their crimes, that they'll be brought to justice. That's what the "S" means, justice."

Linda says in response to both of them: "When we drop out of the sky to help someone, what I think they see is hope, the promise of a better, saner life. That no matter how tough or dark it gets, the "S" means there's a light at the end of the tunnel."

Their outlooks on what the "S" means each stems from their different origins.

For Conner, it reflects that as a clone he had no secrets. He admitted to being a clone in his first interview and never had an identity to keep secret at that point. He was totally open and honest, and that's what he expected from others.

Steel built his armor and became a hero to pay back the debt he felt he owed Superman for saving his life and to atone for the destruction and death caused by the weapons he built. His outlook was about balancing the scales.

Linda was part of a satanic cult before she became Supergirl. For her it's about being a better person than you were before and inspiring others to do the same.

[Incognito]

Superman (Clark Kent)

I would not mind if he still has his secret identity or not. Clark would be more or less the same.

Lois Lane-Kent

Wife of Clark and mother of Jon and could look after herself without having Superman in need of saving her.

Jimmy Olsen

Superwoman (Kara Danvers - composite character of the classic Supergirl, Kara Zor-L, CW and DC Superhero Girls adaptations)

Kara is in her late twenties and resides in National City, and serve as its main protector. She runs her own company, Starrware Industries.

Superboy (Jon Kent)

Jon Kent received the mantle of Superboy from Connor's blessing. Jon is eleven years old and friends with both Damian and Kathy. He has adventure with his best friend after school. Ally/Honorary Member of the Teen Titans.

Supergirl (Mia Kent)

I would bring Mia back and take the mantle of Supergirl. She is an artificially enginnered Human/Kryptonian Hybird created by Brainiac and her genetic sources derived from both Superman and Lois's DNA essentially making her their daughter.

Sentinel (Conner Kent)

The psionic of the Superman Family. Connor goes by the name Sentinel (I know it belongs to Alan Scott but he goes by the name, Green Lantern, just like any other GL), physically he is in his early 20s and serves as one of the protector of Metropolis residing in Suicide Slums alongside with Guardian and Steel he is the hero who will protect the little guy and acts as their friendly neighbourhood 'Superman'. Krypto tags along with him during his adventures. Also his powerset is quite similar to his YJ media adaptation where he has half of Superman's power and abilities but he uses TTK for variety of application such as physical augmentation and extending his force field as well as blocking sound and invisibility for stealth.

Steel (John Henry Irons)

Steel would generally be more or less the same but he will have a highly advanced power suit with will give him many applications such as teleportation, mechanical repairing and technopathic capabilities.

Alloy (Natasha Irons)

I like the codename, Alloy, for Natasha. Just like her uncle, John, she would be more or less the same but her power suit would be similar to Tony Stark's Endo-Sym Armor.

Seraph (Linda Danvers)

Lind Danvers serves as the doorway to the mystical side of the DC Universe for the Superman Family.

Wraith (Lor-Zod)

Son of General Zod and Ursa. The black sheep of the Superman Family and Jon's rival he possess phantom like abilities alongside his natutal Kryptonian abilities due to him being born in the Phantom Zone.

Super-Man (Kenan Kong)

The Superman of China and member of the Justice League International.

[SuperX]

The one thing I noticed about all you guys lists is thst superman has a nice size family, and could easilyl match Batman, flash,GL, or aquaman for size of the family.

Superman

We need comics for those members that can support a single character ongoing and the rest in a team up book or individual stories in a larger sized comic.

These are fun characters, we need to see them more

[KC]

Superman (Kal-El/Clark Kent).

Superboy (Jon Kent)

Supergirl (Kara Zor-El/ Kara Danvers). The only real option for me as all the other choice are just worse (and unnecessary) versions of the concept.

Kon-El

Steel (John Henry Irons)

Super-Man (Kenan Kong)

And I would also say that Lois Lane and Krypto the dog are also parts fo the family.

[Tzigone]

I didn't include Lois, as she's not a superhero (and I definitely don't want her to be). I love her as the ace reporter, though. But if we're going broader with her as a "family" member as she was in the old Superman Family comics, then I'd love to include her, and Jimmy too. In bronze-age-ish Jimmy way. Not quite Mister Action, but another daring reporter. He's should be too long in the tooth for the youth movement-ish stuff done with him in that era, though. If DC would only let him and Kara get as old as they should be.