Superman: son of Kal-El

[Robanker]

I knew you were joking, but I've seen that sentiment elsewhere and I guess I'd had enough. lol

[Darkspellmaster]

They probably will not kill Jon, just make him bitter and ****.

[manwhohaseverything]

They probably will not kill Jon, just make him bitter and ****.

i would vote to add bitter,**** and sarcastic/sassy..It can even be the new motto for jon..

[OopsIdiditagain]

i would vote to add bitter,**** and sarcastic/sassy..It can even be the new motto for jon..

"Angst, tears, and a gloomy outlook!"

Emo Jon would be funny

[Ascended]

That seems like a dubious argument given Superboy has been historically known as Conner and before that it was Clark. If it’s possible to replace the person who originally held the name, then Jon has nowhere to go. Clark is Superman and Conner is Superboy. Guess we’ll have to just kill Jon off and erase him from continuity

Don't do that. Don't give me hope.



Finally got to read issue 3 (is that the most recent one?) and it was solid. Pretty standard, really, but relatively well executed. I just hope Taylor actually delivers on the promise of Jon going after real problems. I worry that his orientation is going to take over the story. I'm fine with him being bi but I don't need his entire narrative built around and focused on it. Especially not when Taylor is dangling the idea of Jon going after climate change and political corruption in front of us. Jon not being straight isn't even a new, unusual thing now, but going after real issues is something we almost never see.

[Marko Lane]

I really don't understand the interest in wanting Jonathan erased...

Jonathans lovelife- should atleast be focused on as much as Clarks. He can absolutely have a romantic lovelife and still 'go after climate change and political corruption' as Superman. I really don't see it as being a negative way to have him date Jay, and that we actually see it

What I'm also interested in is actually see his own rogue gallery, more human villains instead of alien monsters- that's what I'd love to see.

[Ascended]

Don't get me wrong, I want to see Jon's love life. I just don't want it taking over the entire book at the expense of everything else. I don't want that happening with Clark or anyone else either. Romance can be a big part of the narrative as long as it's not the *only* part of the narrative, yknow? I wouldn't want Superman books to be about nothing but Superman beating up villains either. I want a proper balance.

And I'd be fine with Jon being erased because, while I've enjoyed some of his stories (including this current one), I disagree with the premise of his existence. I don't want Clark having kids. I think it misses a big point of Clark's character.

[The Frog Bros]

"Angst, tears, and a gloomy outlook!"

Emo Jon would be funny

Angst, tears, and a gloomy outlook. A hard act to follow...

giphy.jpg

[Marko Lane]

Don't get me wrong, I want to see Jon's love life. I just don't want it taking over the entire book at the expense of everything else. I don't want that happening with Clark or anyone else either. Romance can be a big part of the narrative as long as it's not the *only* part of the narrative, yknow? I wouldn't want Superman books to be about nothing but Superman beating up villains either. I want a proper balance.

I understand you now - and yes, a proper balance is what I want too.

[Darkspellmaster]

i would vote to add bitter,**** and sarcastic/sassy..It can even be the new motto for jon..

Weirdly enough with how some writers will write. I can see that.

[Shockingjustice]

Don't get me wrong, I want to see Jon's love life. I just don't want it taking over the entire book at the expense of everything else. I don't want that happening with Clark or anyone else either. Romance can be a big part of the narrative as long as it's not the *only* part of the narrative, yknow? I wouldn't want Superman books to be about nothing but Superman beating up villains either. I want a proper balance.

And I'd be fine with Jon being erased because, while I've enjoyed some of his stories (including this current one), I disagree with the premise of his existence. I don't want Clark having kids. I think it misses a big point of Clark's character.

Is that because you want Clark to be the only Kryptonian?

[Ascended]

Is that because you want Clark to be the only Kryptonian?

More or less, yeah.

I do allow, in my own head, for a couple exceptions; Krypto and the Zone criminals. And Power Girl, who isn't from the same universe so she doesn't really count.

If I had things my way that would be it for living Kryptonians; a dog and some crooks trapped in space prison. It'll never happen and it'd be bad business if it did, since Kara and Jon can generate solid revenue, but I think that's how it "should" be, from a pure storytelling perspective.

I also don't think Clark should have children anyway. Given everything Clark can do and how amazing his life is, I think there's a real danger of him losing his gravitas when *everything* works out in his favor. I think this was an issue in early post-Crisis where he was a high school football star, prom king, had the amazing job and all kinds of awards, and was married to the most amazing, badass woman in the DCU (and didn't care enough about Krypton to feel its loss). The guy's life was flawless, and that was boring.

I believe there should be major, painful drawbacks to being Superman to balance out all the fantastic things about him. Not being able to have kids is one of those drawbacks. I forget who said this (maybe it was me, but I probably stole it from someone smarter) but someone said that Clark Kent is how Superman tastes defeat. If Superman always wins, and Clark always wins.....that's not compelling drama.

That said, I have really enjoyed several of Jon's stories and I recognize his profit potential. I've accepted the fact that he is most likely here to stay. But I think it's just one more thing DC has done that will end up damaging Superman in the long run.

[Lairston]

They probably will not kill Jon, just make him bitter and ****.

So modern DC's standard character plan then

[oneveryfineday]

Some thoughts on issue 4:

Jon interacting with the League was great, and the conversation between him and Wally was especially enjoyable. I hope they get to team up in the future. Not that I expect the comics to be consistent about this, but holy crap, not only was Jon faster than Wally, he was faster than Wally's perception.

I half-expected Damian to show up at least in a small way as well, but he seems absent from the series in general. Given how much Taylor delivers on fan service, I was initially worried that Jon's book would read more like a Super Sons 2.0 book. (Not that it stops Taylor from putting in his Bat agenda in a landmark Superman moment. Jon holding a Batman mug when he kisses Jay, really?) In any case, looking forward for the Tomasi Super Sons special while Jon has space for development in his solo too, so it's the best of both worlds.

Di Nicuolo's art was okay for me, the action was good but it missed on several key moments and made the issue feel flatter than it should have been.

Looking forward to the next issue. Taylor mentioned that it'll deal with the situation regarding the Gamorran refugees, so I hope to see Takumi again as well as dive deeper into Jay's backstory. Maybe we'll get flashbacks to black-haired Jay when he was confined at the Post-Human Project?



__________


Checked the Amazon best-seller rankings and all the issues are still in the top ten 45-Minute Comic & Graphic Novel Short Reads.

Superman: Son of Kal-El (2021-) #4
#3 in 45-Minute Comic & Graphic Novel Short Reads

Superman: Son of Kal-El (2021-) #1
#7 in 45-Minute Comic & Graphic Novel Short Reads

Superman: Son of Kal-El (2021-) #3
#8 in 45-Minute Comic & Graphic Novel Short Reads

Superman: Son of Kal-El (2021-) #2
#9 in 45-Minute Comic & Graphic Novel Short Reads

Great to see that it's still doing well two weeks after the coming out announcement!

[oneveryfineday]

I agree. Outside of Jay's shady vibes, he doesn't have too much going for him at the moment. Granted it's only been 3 issues of him so far though.

I would really love the villain/anti-hero route for him. I don't think I've seen a love story turned ideological divide done with a queer couple in mainstream comics let alone anything even remotely close to Superman. It's like saying what if Reed and Doom, Prof X and Magneto, or even Clark and Lex used to date. You add on that extra layer of pathos and emotion, and it really punctuates the frustration when they can't see eye to eye.

Like the subtext (depending on your culture) of some anime rivals made text. THAT'S how you truly get and manipulate the tumblr crowd.

It would be awesome if Jon and Jay got something just as dramatic and intense as this.



Heh, I used to be resistant against the idea of evil/anti-hero Jay, but that could be something really good.

On a related topic, homoerotic subtext has been part of the superhero genre for decades, but in the last few years or so queerbaiting has been the subject of hot debate in fandom. I’m not here to make any judgment on any side, just make the observation that there IS significant tension between fans who read queerness into media and studios never intending to make anything explicit. Just within superhero media itself there have been instances of backlash of Sam/Bucky shippers with Anthony Mackie, Supercorp fans with the Supergirl writers, Diana/Barbara shippers with Gal Gadot, and much more.

If done right, Jon/Jay could capitalize on this fan demand since, as you’ve noted, that kind of queer epic--a love story turned into an idealogical divide--isn’t being done with Clark or even other mainstream heroes. Jon and Jay wouldn't say "I loved you like a brother" but "I loved you." That's big. Only recently are queer characters moving on from just being side characters and the B plot to being the main characters, giving space for lots of development. And letting Jon and Jay go through every extreme of a relationship just feeds the fan investment even more.

Of course, the big question is what queer Jon means for adaptations in general, especially since the higher ups weren’t initially aware about the storyline. It is heartening to hear that they did allow the story when they found out (but man, can you imagine the PR disaster if it was leaked that they scrapped it instead—“DC Comics says Superman can’t come out of the closet!”). Though I think Jim Lee’s and Jordan Elsass’ comments regarding S&L Jon just made it really obvious that there was no synergy regarding this.

In the end, DC still committed to the decision and they’re likely happy with the reception SoKE received. I think the publicity will give Jon a boost when DC considers him in projects going forward.