Conner Kent/Kon-El/Superboy Appreciation 2024

[walk]

Well who exactly is he competing with for it because the masses certainly aren't drawing fanart or cosplaying as the Irons, Kenan, Lana or the Twins.

Only Powergirl arguably has as much of stamp on pop culture and if we're being honest 90% of her popularity tied to her cup size.

That Conner been killed off, erased from continuity, replaced and generally ignored by DC yet still managed to win a fan vote against other arguably more high profile characters like Cyborg, John Stewart and Constantine is proof clone boy has retained a following after 30 years despite circumstances.

[NOCTPHOENIX]

Good points. Of the YJ Era is it fair to say he's the most popular from that group?

[Super_kon]

Good points. Of the YJ Era is it fair to say he's the most popular from that group?

Tim was for a while, but after the demand for his return after IC and his appearances in the late 2010s( Titans, YJ, RotS ) he’s definitely the most popular (he was the focus in both of the last seasons of Titans and YJ, including being the difference maker in the final battles).

[SuperX]

Tim was for a while, but after the demand for his return after IC and his appearances in the late 2010s( Titans, YJ, RotS ) he’s definitely the most popular (he was the focus in both of the last seasons of Titans and YJ, including being the difference maker in the final battles).

And here is the problem with DC,when their characters are red hot,as much as any character can be,they ignore that and keep the character locked away or they bring them back not looking or acting line the version thst is red hot at that moment.only characters they really did right was Harley Quinn and peacemaker and those aren't "heroes"that matter (well atleast to me).

I actually like the way he looks now,but I can still see thst DC is leaving $ on the table for not trying to make him feel amd look much more like his YJ,Titans,Rots versions.

[Vordan]

Was thinking that I would love to see a Superfamily book with Kon, Kara, Kenan, and John Henry Irons. It doesn’t seem like DC has enough faith in them individually, and granted sales don’t seem great, but I think together they could be successful. You’ve also got an interesting roster where each has a different relationship with each other and with Superman.

Kon has a budding friendship with Kenan, Irons was basically a mentor/father figure for him moreso than Clark was, and he and Kara are blank slates relationship wise. He’d be the heart of the group simply because he’s the most connected to the other three. I think at this point it makes sense for Kon to disagree with a lot of Superman’s beliefs and approaches, but he tries to emulate Clark because he wants to show that he’s worthy to wear the s-shield, especially in light of Jon leapfrogging a head of him in the pecking order.

Kara has no strong ties with anyone and I could see her struggle within the context of the book is she’s trying to connect with the rest, but as “the alien” of the group it’s tough. She is the one who is most determined to chart her own path outside of Kal’s shadow.

Kenan is the most arrogant and self-assured of the lot but he’s in a tough position. To keep his powers he has to emulate Superman (Clark) or else his powers fade as established by Gene Yang. That could provide some interesting tension where Kenan disagrees with Clark’s approach but has to follow Clark’s example if he wants to be Super. Meanwhile Kon and Kara don’t, but Kon wants the acceptance while Kara doesn’t want to drive a wedge between herself and her baby cousin.

John Henry Irons would be the adult in the room. He and Clark are simpatico in terms of views, he’s getting ready to get married, and his frustration is having to deal with a bunch of moody hot headed teenagers with identity crises and relationship problems provides some comedy to all the drama.

That’s the kind of Superbook I would like to see get greenlit, a smaller cast that allows for more character buildup. I feel like that is a core cast that could succeed.

Good points. Of the YJ Era is it fair to say he's the most popular from that group?

It’s probably Kon > Bart > Tim > Cassie. Kon and Bart got big roles in YJ and they both were leads in their live action shows. Tim and Cassie were cameos at best in YJ, Tim got more in the DCAU but he’s most remembered for his role in Return of the Joker, and his Titans incarnation didn’t get much to do.

[NOCTPHOENIX]

Was thinking that I would love to see a Superfamily book with Kon, Kara, Kenan, and John Henry Irons. It doesn’t seem like DC has enough faith in them individually, and granted sales don’t seem great, but I think together they could be successful. You’ve also got an interesting roster where each has a different relationship with each other and with Superman.

Kon has a budding friendship with Kenan, Irons was basically a mentor/father figure for him moreso than Clark was, and he and Kara are blank slates relationship wise. He’d be the heart of the group simply because he’s the most connected to the other three. I think at this point it makes sense for Kon to disagree with a lot of Superman’s beliefs and approaches, but he tries to emulate Clark because he wants to show that he’s worthy to wear the s-shield, especially in light of Jon leapfrogging a head of him in the pecking order.

Kara has no strong ties with anyone and I could see her struggle within the context of the book is she’s trying to connect with the rest, but as “the alien” of the group it’s tough. She is the one who is most determined to chart her own path outside of Kal’s shadow.

Kenan is the most arrogant and self-assured of the lot but he’s in a tough position. To keep his powers he has to emulate Superman (Clark) or else his powers fade as established by Gene Yang. That could provide some interesting tension where Kenan disagrees with Clark’s approach but has to follow Clark’s example if he wants to be Super. Meanwhile Kon and Kara don’t, but Kon wants the acceptance while Kara doesn’t want to drive a wedge between herself and her baby cousin.

John Henry Irons would be the adult in the room. He and Clark are simpatico in terms of views, he’s getting ready to get married, and his frustration is having to deal with a bunch of moody hot headed teenagers with identity crises and relationship problems provides some comedy to all the drama.

That’s the kind of Superbook I would like to see get greenlit, a smaller cast that allows for more character buildup. I feel like that is a core cast that could succeed.



It’s probably Kon > Bart > Tim > Cassie. Kon and Bart got big roles in YJ and they both were leads in their live action shows. Tim and Cassie were cameos at best in YJ, Tim got more in the DCAU but he’s most remembered for his role in Return of the Joker, and his Titans incarnation didn’t get much to do.

....This sounds like a cool book. Like the Supes version of Detective Comics Rebirth. And didn't know Kon and Steel were that close. Cool.

Why do you think Kon disagrees with Supes' beliefs and approaches now?

Titans Tim was pointless. Epitome of "Bro thinks he's on the team". But was Titans Kon really good either.......

[Vordan]

....This sounds like a cool book. Like the Supes version of Detective Comics Rebirth. And didn't know Kon and Steel were that close. Cool.

Why do you think Kon disagrees with Supes' beliefs and approaches now?

Titans Tim was pointless. Epitome of "Bro thinks he's on the team". But was Titans Kon really good either.......

In PKJ Action we saw Kon be pissed about Clark ordering him and Kenan to save the Necrohive soldiers who could be saved. But on a more basic level it’s the typical clash of generations where the younger person wants to do their own thing. Kon is caught between two competing desires: to have Clark respect and accept him which means following Clark’s rules vs. being his own man and doing things his way. Even Clark is shown to rebel a bit against Pa at points, no shocker Conner would do the same to Clark (and part of why Jon is bland is that he barely does any of that).

[The Frog Bros]

In PKJ Action we saw Kon be pissed about Clark ordering him and Kenan to save the Necrohive soldiers who could be saved. But on a more basic level it’s the typical clash of generations where the younger person wants to do their own thing. Kon is caught between two competing desires: to have Clark respect and accept him which means following Clark’s rules vs. being his own man and doing things his way. Even Clark is shown to rebel a bit against Pa at points, no shocker Conner would do the same to Clark (and part of why Jon is bland is that he barely does any of that).

I feel like the SSoKE issue when Jon went to jail could have been interesting in that regard, but ultimately it just became a big nothingburger that didn’t seem to go anywhere.

Kon was certainly more interesting in his screen time in Action with PKJ as well.

[Monari]

They’re not doing anything with Jon anymore. His solo ended and there’s no sign he’s getting another one any time soon. He’s not involved in either of the main Superbooks currently, while Kon and Kara are front and center for the Brainiac event. Jon’s not announced to be part of the DCU while Kara is, and Kon might be involved in the Teen Titans movie. Jon will hold on to the Superman title for representation’s sake but if anyone is going to get pushed as Superman’s second in command it will be Kara.

Kon is probably more popular than him simply because he recently had high profile adaptions in Young Justice and Titans. Hell he even cameo’d in Smallville and of course he was involved in the highest profile Superman story of all time, Death/Return. Jon is nowhere near as popular, most people only care about him in the context of being Damian’s BFFL in Super Sons.

And once again it just goes to show the gigantic misstep DC made with making Jon bisexual instead of Connor. Jon's failure to launch is a big blow to representation in comics unfortunately, almost like it was intentional. And FYITW, I did like the Kon/Wonder Girl relationship, and don't see why both can't be explored more moving forward for him.

[walk]

Was thinking that I would love to see a Superfamily book with Kon, Kara, Kenan, and John Henry Irons. It doesn’t seem like DC has enough faith in them individually, and granted sales don’t seem great, but I think together they could be successful. You’ve also got an interesting roster where each has a different relationship with each other and with Superman.

Kon has a budding friendship with Kenan, Irons was basically a mentor/father figure for him moreso than Clark was, and he and Kara are blank slates relationship wise. He’d be the heart of the group simply because he’s the most connected to the other three. I think at this point it makes sense for Kon to disagree with a lot of Superman’s beliefs and approaches, but he tries to emulate Clark because he wants to show that he’s worthy to wear the s-shield, especially in light of Jon leapfrogging a head of him in the pecking order.

Kara has no strong ties with anyone and I could see her struggle within the context of the book is she’s trying to connect with the rest, but as “the alien” of the group it’s tough. She is the one who is most determined to chart her own path outside of Kal’s shadow.

Kenan is the most arrogant and self-assured of the lot but he’s in a tough position. To keep his powers he has to emulate Superman (Clark) or else his powers fade as established by Gene Yang. That could provide some interesting tension where Kenan disagrees with Clark’s approach but has to follow Clark’s example if he wants to be Super. Meanwhile Kon and Kara don’t, but Kon wants the acceptance while Kara doesn’t want to drive a wedge between herself and her baby cousin.

John Henry Irons would be the adult in the room. He and Clark are simpatico in terms of views, he’s getting ready to get married, and his frustration is having to deal with a bunch of moody hot headed teenagers with identity crises and relationship problems provides some comedy to all the drama.

That’s the kind of Superbook I would like to see get greenlit, a smaller cast that allows for more character buildup. I feel like that is a core cast that could succeed.



It’s probably Kon > Bart > Tim > Cassie. Kon and Bart got big roles in YJ and they both were leads in their live action shows. Tim and Cassie were cameos at best in YJ, Tim got more in the DCAU but he’s most remembered for his role in Return of the Joker, and his Titans incarnation didn’t get much to do.

I do like the idea of a smaller cast so the characters can actually shine and dynamics between them has space to grow, I know PKJ had big ambitions but there's never a feasible way to develop a Superfam properly with a 10+ cast.

Realistically though in order for such a book to sell it probably would have to happen in Action for a few arcs to get people on board and even afterwards have it be a mini instead of an ongoing as it can at least tell a full story rather than getting cancelled early. Unfortunately I imagine the demand for a Superfam book is relatively small given how unproven the concept been so you'd probably need headline catching gimmick to help it gain attention and sales as the novelty of 4 relatively negecleted characters teaming up alone wouldn't be enough by itself sadly.

[walk]

And once again it just goes to show the gigantic misstep DC made with making Jon bisexual instead of Connor. Jon's failure to launch is a big blow to representation in comics unfortunately, almost like it was intentional. And FYITW, I did like the Kon/Wonder Girl relationship, and don't see why both can't be explored more moving forward for him.

Lets have some perspective here Jon being bland may be frustrating but the image of Superman son being openly bisexual and Superman himself (a cornerstone of pop culture around the world) being fully accepting of him is a net positive for queer representation even if the writing around its been lacking in parts.

Also it's not like making Conner queer would be this magic button that suddenly save him from irrelevance, there have been plenty of longtime comic characters who've been outed and while it usually offers a temporary boost in interest the novelty of it quickly fades and this coming from a guy who use to hope they'd one day make Conner bi but nowadays I'm just happy if shows up in general.

[Vordan]

We will definitely get a Supergirl book because of her movie, but a book for the other Supers depends on what happens next year with Action. Waid and Williamson are going to use the Superfamily in their Action arcs, but Aaron hasn’t. We don’t know what the final Superstar will do, and whether Action continues as the “Superfamily” book probably comes down to editorial fiat. I’m hoping to see Action stay focusing on the Superfamily, just shrinking down the cast of characters. Kon, Kenan, and the Irons would be another solid choice if Kara gets her own book and Jon is off in Titans or whatever.

Something is coming for Conner giving that tease of him wearing the t shirt and jeans look. Maybe DC is about to shift from 90s nostalgia to 00s nostalgia lol.

[walk]

I actually wonder what Waid's thoughts are on the modern Superfam, he clearly likes Kara as she's an OG but I get the sense he's not too fond at excessive amount of legacy heroes DC picked up over the years.





Well he did feature Conner in Kingdom Come if ever briefly, maybe he's got some love for clone boy at least.

[NOCTPHOENIX]

That costume is fugly

[SuperX]

I think if it was up to the cover artists for the brainiac story they would keep kon and.kara together,and maybe branch them off into their own book.thry are the robin and Batgirl of the super family,they should get a push