Is Teen Jon the most divisive character in the Superman brand?

[DragonKent17]

Teen Jon's presence have been ranged from lukewarm, indifference and pure apathy of the rapid age up status quo whether is or not an editorial mandate to use him as part of new legacy initiative of the DC Comics. Even after 5G plans got scrapped, those ideas and plotholes ended up being used for Future State and Infinite Frontier.

What's your honest thoughts on this subject?

[manwhohaseverything]

Superman itself is a divisive character.

[Jackalope89]

Teen Jon's presence have been ranged from lukewarm, indifference and pure apathy of the rapid age up status quo whether is or not an editorial mandate to use him as part of new legacy initiative of the DC Comics. Even after 5G plans got scrapped, those ideas and plotholes ended up being used for Future State and Infinite Frontier.

What's your honest thoughts on this subject?

I know a number of people on here "like" the new character, but since you want my honest opinions...

Burn it all in fire. There were already 2 Superman characters in that age range that were established. Bendis' "storytelling" forever left a black smear on the characters of Clark, and especially Lois, in terms of parenting, as well as human beings. I will also never acknowledge "teen Jon" as the real deal. Kid version was tossed so that Bendis could bring in his own toy, with Tom Taylor adding to it. But not the real Jon. Bisexual for the real Jon? Sure. Stupid age up that, even by DC standards, is more than a stretch? Hell no.

All the content, storytelling, character development that we could have had with Jon was tossed out the window. Or, as some may put it, "off screen". Which is bull. The 7 years on Earth 3 weren't meant to be developed/explained. It was only used as the origin of this blank character, that was soon made in to Clark-lite, beginning with calling Lois and Clark, "Ma" and "Pa". And now, the only difference? Jon is bi. I made a joke about fake Jon replacing Clark when Bendis was still in the middle of introducing him, and now...

Okay, rant over.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I like Jon.

I like kid Jon from Super-Sons so I'm looking forward to the new CGI movie.

I like teen Jon, who I thought was a great anchor for the new LSH, even if I thought being a reboot kneecapped it before it even got started.

I like powerless teen Jon on TV's Superman & Lois, who has grown from being a bit of a dick in the pilot to now being one of the most endearing characters on the show.

I like bisexual SJW Jon trying to make a real difference in the world just like his dad tried to do back in the 30s. I think dramatizing that journey in the modern day was one of the smartest decisions Morrison made with the New 52 reboot, so I'm glad it's being carried on by Jon.

Jon Kent is a very different character than Conner Kent for one key reason. Lois Lane is 50% of Jon Kent, whereas Conner is 50% Lex Luthor (and even if you want to ignore that retcon, Conner's still lacking that key Lois element). Both of those characters are great, but Lois Lane being a fundamental part of who he is changes everything. It means that he's going to be on a similar journey as his father, but in a very different way because of who Lois Lane is.

That's the secret sauce of Jonathan Kent for me. Lois.

Now, were the editorial and creative decisions that DC made with Jon during his brief history always the greatest? Hell no. But I think those dumb stories will be papered over and generally ignored in the same way that both of his parents' less than stellar stories have been sidelined. It's always the core of the character that rises to the top. And the concept of Jonathan Kent is one of the strongest to come along in mainstream superhero comics for quite some time.

[DochaDocha]

Jon never had a chance with me. Ever since Superman Returns, the idea of an in-continuity child of Superman never sat well with me. You can give him kids in Elsewords like Secret Origins and explore whatever you want, but in the main continuity it's just a no-go. And on top of that, I feel like they didn't introduce him correctly, and aging him up like this feels lazy. So with all respect to fans who like Jon, I'd be happy if he were done away with.

But probably the biggest thing is that Jon is taking up aspects of Superman's space. Supporting characters don't take the spotlight away from Superman. If anything, they get their own books and their own space. Jon is a bit of a different story here. It sadly reminds me of those seasons of DBZ (here I go with the unnecessary DBZ references...) when Gohan became the main protagonist. But Jon is probably here to stay, especially with copyright looming in the horizon on the Superman franchise.

So yeah, I'd say he's the most controversial.

[Drako]

I like kid Jon, i don't care for Teen Jon. But i at least find his current book enjoyable.

Jon is a bit of a different story here. It sadly reminds me of those seasons of DBZ (here I go with the unnecessary DBZ references...) when Gohan became the main protagonist.

I wish Jon had the journey that Gohan had through DBZ. From a whine kid to the saviour of the world, Gohan had the best development in that show alongside Vegeta (At least up until the end of Cell, but everything went bad after that).

That's actually my problem with Teen Jon, i wish i had seen his growth like i'm seeing with Damian.

[Morgoth]

This whole Teen Jon thing is something like One More Day of these years. It's controversial decision, which most of their audience hates, and DC perfectly aware of that, but they're ready to die on a hill with this, because of whatever reasons. Desire to create a new modern Superman, dislike of the presence of a small child in the life of a character among some authors, etc.
If they de-age him someday, it will be nice. If they won't (that's what happens most likely), well, I'm tired of arguying about some shitty decisions comicbook editors and writers made, I had enough of this with One More Day already. At least Bendis isn't writing him anymore, and he's handled by good writers, and his solo book is pretty good.

[Blue22]

Taylor's at least writing a solid-ish book with him (though, even with my bias glasses off I can see that it is not even close to his best work) but because of past circumstances I just can't bring myself to get over what we lost with Jon by rushing him into the spot of yet another YA hero finding his place in the adult world (as if we didn't have Conner and Kara already). That's all I see when I see this character now. A cheap replacement, whose here to tell stories we've already experienced from better characters. A replacement that I've tried to enjoy whenever a new writer gets him because I know he's gonna be the status quo for a long time (if not forever) but I just can't stop myself from getting super annoyed whenever I see him.

I can't even be happy for him coming out because I'm just thinking "Wow this story would have been a lot more special if it was his younger self". And that's just my main problem with him now. We lost a really fun and unique story and had it replaced with a guy who's just...not special, fun, or unique by any means.

But I'm starting to feel that way about this entire generation of his that they're building up. I don't like how DC is in this big rush with these characters while there's a whole generation before them who still can't grow past high school. This should be Conner's time to grow up. Him and his whole generation. Not Jon's. Jon can have his time later. And hopefully, if given the time to grow, he'd be more than the knock off New 52 Supes that we have now.

So here I am, a new Superman fan who was really starting to get into these books...and then 2018 happened and soured the whole line for me again. Hell I can't even bring myself to buy this upcoming Super Sons book. So thanks DC. That's a Taylor book AND a Tomasi book that I can't support.

Gave SoKE a shot. It's not bad. But it's not something I wanna continue reading either. So with that, I'm just kinda wiping my hands clean of the character and skipping anything he's in unless it's the real one coming back (either forever or in some kind of flashback/alt universe situation like the last Super Sons book)

I'm well aware of the broken record I sound like and I thank everyone for putting up with it for this long lol, but this was a character who I used to really like so I'mma always take the opportunity to complain about how butchered I think he is now, like how I still do about the loss of the Spider-marriage and Wanda not being a mutant anymore (though at least those are on their way to being fixed.)

That's actually my problem with Teen Jon, i wish i had seen his growth like i'm seeing with Damian.

THIS. They are doing it PERFECTLY with Damian. That is what we should have had with Jon. I'd throw out every ounce of character development he gets in the next coming years if meant getting another shot at that.

[OopsIdiditagain]

So yeah, I'd say he's the most controversial.

That belongs to Superboy-Prime.

I would compare him to Boruto instead of Gohan. I don't like Boruto but there's a generation that does, same goes with Teen Jon. Some people don't like him but younger/newer fans still appreciate him.

[Vordan]

God no that’s DCEU Superman. Jon’s a minor firecracker compared to that raging inferno

[Jely4me]

Liked the character, despite the ageism, despise the wokeism for the character. Being honest. Glad DC and I are parting ways soon..

[Restingvoice]

First he was born, then he was co-star, then he's aged up, then he's Superman, then he comes out.
Yeah. Def.
I know it's Teen Jon, but the whole Jon itself is divisive.

[Godzilla2099]

Not a fan of Jon but I don't dislike him either.

My favorite of "Superman's Children" was Christopher Kent. I absolutely loved his story. The son of Zod and Ursa only to be adopted by Clark and Lois. They're carrying the Torch from Jonathan and Martha.

[Iclifton]

Jon never had a chance with me. Ever since Superman Returns, the idea of an in-continuity child of Superman never sat well with me. You can give him kids in Elsewords like Secret Origins and explore whatever you want, but in the main continuity it's just a no-go. And on top of that, I feel like they didn't introduce him correctly, and aging him up like this feels lazy. So with all respect to fans who like Jon, I'd be happy if he were done away with.

But probably the biggest thing is that Jon is taking up aspects of Superman's space. Supporting characters don't take the spotlight away from Superman. If anything, they get their own books and their own space. Jon is a bit of a different story here. It sadly reminds me of those seasons of DBZ (here I go with the unnecessary DBZ references...) when Gohan became the main protagonist. But Jon is probably here to stay, especially with copyright looming in the horizon on the Superman franchise.

So yeah, I'd say he's the most controversial.

Not gonna lie, I always preferred Gohan to Goku. Was super bummed when he came back during the Buu saga.

[Celgress]

Not gonna lie, I always preferred Gohan to Goku. Was super bummed when he came back during the Buu saga.

Same here, it is tragic what has happened to Gohan Post-Buu Saga (Dragon Ball Super onward), IMO. Gohan is now as irrelevant to the plot as are the other Z Fighters, (his mother) Chi Chi, Master Roshi, and Piccolo.