Conner Kent/Kon-El/Superboy Appreciation 2022

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I would like Conner to have a higher than average intellect, but not be a genius. Like, in the Superfamily, he shouldn’t be as smart as the Irons, but should have a good understanding of how mechanics works and would develop a bigger interest in biology to learn more about how his unique physiology works.

As far as mission statements go, he should be the one directly opposing any person or organisation misusing science to harm others.
That gives him a nice little niche/focus amongst the other Supers that feels very personal to him and fits his trajectory and themes more than space Superman or Golden Age inspiration.

For supporting cast, I’d bring back Cadmus, Dubbilex, bring in Ryan Choi and maybe even Matrix. Other YJers could appear, but I’d want each of them to have their own thing going on too in other books (Bart focusing on time anomalies, Cassie protecting humans from Olympian meddling and Tim focusing more on his detective side).

You could incorporate Golden age Superman into this direction. How clones and science experiments are treated would become a political issue that Connor could explore.

It's similar to the Krakoa era or Christopher Priest's work on Black Adam.

[Monari]

Why are so many people so keen on taking away Conner's ability to fly? It bothers me whenever they remove it, as I think that it's a fundamental aspect of any "Super" character (and yes I know that Superman didn't have that ability at first but it's become such an ingrained part of his character i'd argue it's the power that's most associated with him).

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Why are so many people so keen on taking away Conner's ability to fly? It bothers me whenever they remove it, as I think that it's a fundamental aspect of any "Super" character (and yes I know that Superman didn't have that ability at first but it's become such an ingrained part of his character i'd argue it's the power that's most associated with him).

Legacy characters can be accused of being mini-me's or assembled on a factory line. So giving them different powersets is a way to differentiate them.

I rather Conner have TTK( tactile telekinesis) than be just be another Kryptonian. You can't avoid that with Kara or John but you can with Conner.

I grew up with manga like Bleach so I'd focus more on making legacy characters more distinct. It's not an exact science but it's my preferred way to go.

With Conner, I don't mind if he has flight but I'm fine with him being limited to jumping high like YJ. I wrote a game pitch for Conner and flight was an unlockable mechanic.

[Incognito]

Oh man I love all of this!! I'd add the New 52 tho sensory ability to add on to the enhanced scenes. I'd have him stumble on the name after speaking with Guardian and using it as a way to honor him and Superman. Guardian used to work in the Slums so it's almost passing the torch. What would you say about including the Newsboys?

Ths sensory ability from the New 52 could work, I remember that he used that ability to gather information from the environment. Unfortunately, I do not know much about the newsboys legion.

That's a good write up.

Thanks

Cool write up Incognito. I’ve been thinking about how to approach Conner’s intelligence. On one hand I get the appeal of giving him the Luthor intellect and don’t necessarily oppose the idea. But I also don’t want every member of the Superfamily to be a super genius. Been puzzling it over and I think I’ve got a solution that would still leave Conner “smart” but in a different way than you might expect.

In Warhammer 40k there are these Xenos called the Jokaero. TL/DR they’re monkey like aliens that were genetically engineered with the ability to build complex machinery and solve problems, but it’s not even clear if they’re sentient or just build everything on instinct as the situation demands. I would approach Conner’s intelligence like that. For the most part he’s about average intelligence, but in certain situations something will “activate” and suddenly Conner will be able to easily solve a problem or build something he needs to get out of a tough situation. Problem for Conner is that he doesn’t understand how these solutions work, he just *knows* that they do, and he’s afraid of them because if Lex is the one who encoded these bursts of creativity into him he can’t be sure that these machines or solutions won’t hurt others to benefit himself. That gives him a power that differentiates him from the rest, but it can be a curse as much as a gift.

I like your approach for Connor's intelligence, it's like he can subconsciously learn and adapt into any situation, environment or solutions.

I could definitely live with this. Really like the idea of him taking the name Sentinel. There's no reason to change the iconography of his symbol...it still relates him to the Super family, but the name gives him his own identity amongst them much like Steel.

After reading your reply, I should have proof-read what I said. What I should have said that he should get rid of the LexCorp and keep the Superman emblem. Connor does need his own identity especially since one of the super twins would moat likely take the mantle.

I would like Conner to have a higher than average intellect, but not be a genius. Like, in the Superfamily, he shouldnÂ’t be as smart as the Irons, but should have a good understanding of how mechanics works and would develop a bigger interest in biology to learn more about how his unique physiology works.

As far as mission statements go, he should be the one directly opposing any person or organisation misusing science to harm others.
That gives him a nice little niche/focus amongst the other Supers that feels very personal to him and fits his trajectory and themes more than space Superman or Golden Age inspiration.

For supporting cast, IÂ’d bring back Cadmus, Dubbilex, bring in Ryan Choi and maybe even Matrix. Other YJers could appear, but IÂ’d want each of them to have their own thing going on too in other books (Bart focusing on time anomalies, Cassie protecting humans from Olympian meddling and Tim focusing more on his detective side).

Cool write up, Factor. I would not mind Ryan Choi being part of his cast but I could see the character having his own cast and adventures in the microverse. After reading the Cadmus part I was thinking of bringing Match in as a recurring character it would be cool for them to interact again.

[walk]

[QUOTE=Monari;6279805]Why are so many people so keen on taking away Conner's ability to fly? It bothers me whenever they remove it, as I think that it's a fundamental aspect of any "Super" character (and yes I know that Superman didn't have that ability at first but it's become such an ingrained part of his character i'd argue it's the power that's most associated with him).[/QUO

I'm going to echo this. I'm all for bringing back an emphasis on Conner TTK and differentiating him as much as possible but I don't see the logic in taking away his flight, an ability he's had since inception.

[marhawkman]

Legacy characters can be accused of being mini-me's or assembled on a factory line. So giving them different powersets is a way to differentiate them.

I rather Conner have TTK( tactile telekinesis) than be just be another Kryptonian. You can't avoid that with Kara or John but you can with Conner.

I grew up with manga like Bleach so I'd focus more on making legacy characters more distinct. It's not an exact science but it's my preferred way to go.

With Conner, I don't mind if he has flight but I'm fine with him being limited to jumping high like YJ. I wrote a game pitch for Conner and flight was an unlockable mechanic.

This is part of what made Cir-El interesting.. not the same powerset as a true Kryptonian.

[SuperX]

Conner might not have Clark or even Jon's raw power,but he does have 2 powersets ,and he has DNA memory,which imo makes him super,just his way.

Titans show Conner has the perfect kryptonian powerset.he doesn't fly,and I assume he isn't as fast,strong,or durable as Superman,but thst could be because of his youth or because his body doesn't produce a bio aura to enhance powers and let him fly like full blooded kryptonians.

He also has epigenetic memory (DNA memory) which means he can access knowledge,feelings,and memories of Clark and lex.evej if it's only something he has to focus on to access he still has it to use at his disposal.

TTK or tactile telekinesis is a expansion of kryptonians natural ability to produce a bio aura ,which helps enhance them in the fast flying brick abilities,and imo works with his Super senses to push past their limits to sense things those abilities should not be able to scientifically sense.


The new 52s superboy had a tactile sensory ability thst sprung from every cell in his body ,which created the bio aura,which in turn enhanced a kryptonians senses past the norm.this is not where we see this power 1st,and it's not the place where it was used to its full extent at its most powerful.Joe kellys run on the original superboy series had kon use it across a entire huge city ,pinpointing every real and fake gun in the entire city ,while the physical application of his powers dissected them all.that is true power.


So it's young kryptonian powers,minus flight
TTK,which enhances everything,and brings unique abilities
Epigenetic memory,which gives him access to useful memories


There is a lot of fun that can be had with him learning and using these abilities

He is the most human super of them all,which is weird seeing as he was created in a lab and is surrounded by nothing normal at all lol.

You all gave a lot of cool avenues to take him in the future,and I say why have just one,let him go in every direction,over the 30 years he has been a character he has amassed a wide breath for storytelling.

I still say Conner has got to be recognizable to all his fans that means not just jacket supersuit ,but also black t-shirt Conner.

[SuperX]

[QUOTE=walk;6280312]

Why are so many people so keen on taking away Conner's ability to fly? It bothers me whenever they remove it, as I think that it's a fundamental aspect of any "Super" character (and yes I know that Superman didn't have that ability at first but it's become such an ingrained part of his character i'd argue it's the power that's most associated with him).[/QUO

I'm going to echo this. I'm all for bringing back an emphasis on Conner TTK and differentiating him as much as possible but I don't see the logic in taking away his flight, an ability he's had since inception.

Only if somehow they turned off his TTK and had to rely on just his kryptonian powers

[SuperX]

This is part of what made Cir-El interesting.. not the same powerset as a true Kryptonian.

Same here,I love that kryptonians human hybrids have different and interesting powers,cirs was conversion of yellow into red sun energy,Jon's is energy manipulation and kons is control over his bio aura.

[walk]

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Always enjoy fanart that makes a deep cut

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

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Always enjoy fanart that makes a deep cut

I love both.

[Vordan]

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Always enjoy fanart that makes a deep cut

Hell yeah the Matrix style leather longcoat still looks cool. If Constantine can pull it off then I think Conner could too, just needs modern shades.

[Thor-Ul]

Hell yeah the Matrix style leather longcoat still looks cool. If Constantine can pull it off then I think Conner could too, just needs modern shades.

Ah, Matrix the movie. I was thinking of Supergirl Matrix and got confused.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Ah, Matrix the movie. I was thinking of Supergirl Matrix and got confused.

That could be a cool elseworlds. What if Conner was Matrix?

[SuperX]

That could be a cool elseworlds. What if Conner was Matrix?

Which is what he was in a crazy not exact way.bith were created by a lex,just from 2 different universes,Conner was created using actual kryptonian DNA while matrix was made from protoplasm in the image of Lana of thst universes.

Notice matrix powers and titans of tomorrow Conner have pretty much the same pychokinesis powers,or potential.sje could shape change,Conner has kryptonian powers is the difference.