Storylines you'd like to see for Jon in the near future

[Sacred Knight]

Jon is here, and Jon is here to stay regardless what one may think of him. So this isn't for "Jon dies" type responses, I'm interested in serious ideas about storylines for the new kid going forward. I have a few.

1. The Sickness. This was an idea I touted early and still like, and would tie into the return of Kon-El. In this idea, with Jon's blossoming powers also comes some genetic conflicts between his Kryptonian and Human DNA that makes Jon ill. Think of the clone sickness in the 90s, in a way. Tries he might through various sources, Superman can't find a cure on his own. Not even Lex can help (and, oddly enough, he genuinely tries). In the meantime Jon is kidnapped by the Phantom King looking to make life hell for Superman once again. He draws him into the Phantom Zone and Superman can't follow as Xa-Du destroys the projector. In an odd twist though, being in the Zone is keeping Jon's illness from progressing. So its a Catch-22. Get Jon out and the illness progresses, or leave him in the Zone with a madman who will probably kill him anyway. As the King prepares to deliver a devastating blow using his tech to make him and Jon corporeal, where only Superman, Lois and his loved ones can watch (in a crossover Batman issue, Damian goes crazy trying everything he can to get inside the Zone but fails) when the blow is blocked by a mysterious figure, which turns out to be the triumphant return of Conner. Trapped in the Zone himself via mysterious means, Kon beats the hell out of Xa-Du, escapes with his brother, and once out its discovered his unique clone blood actually is the key to cure Jon's own illness.

2. Eradication Aborted. Another early idea I had, this continues with what the first Superman arc developed in regards to the Eradicator wanting to "purify" Jon to a Kryptonian ideal as he's an abomination with mixed human DNA. Following a famous Dragon Ball Z storyline, the villain continues with his plans to try and purify Jon, having a few one-on-one encounters with the boy along the way. As he gets to know the child in his failed plots, a part of him cannot help but grow to care for him. When push comes to shove, Jon unlocks a spark of humanity within the Eradicator, and in the end, he is redeemed by saving Jon's life and the two end up becoming odd-couple friends, with Superman's sometimes ally, sometimes nemesis becoming Jon's surrogate protector.

3. Grandpa Sam. This wouldn't be dedicated to any particular arc per se but would be the growing dynamic between Jon and his only grandparent, Sam Lane. Due to the strained relationship between Sam and Lois, Jon has very little if any coherent memories of his grandfather. Clark and Lois eventually decide its not fair to keep the two apart and Jon "meets" his grandfather and the two begin to build a relationship. However, Sam's prejudice against Superman and aliens still remain, and along the way, Sam discovers that Clark Kent, whom he already doesn't really like that much, is actually Superman. With this shocking revelation that his daughter is married to Superman comes the fact that his only grandson is half-Kryptonian. This throws Jon for a loop, and through many trials where he briefly shuns the family and even considers betraying them to his government, eventually comes full circle into confronting and overcoming his prejudices, realizing the fool he's been for holding it against his family, reuniting with Jon again, loving the boy genuinely, repairing his relationship with Lois and even coming to a truce with the Man of Steel. Putting family over career for the first time in his life Sam is a man of two lives; he's a military man loyal to his country...but not at the expense of his family anymore.

[Miles To Go]

Good ideas Sacred, I love the Sam Lane one the most, and I think it's probably the more captivating, especially if New Krypton were allowed to stand in continuity so it could inform the characters more.

I'd like to get little mini-comic strip features on Jon's interactions with Planet staff, with Jimmy babysitting him etc, or Perry's thoughts or experiences on being a godfather or uncle to him. Jon may even have an odd-job at the Planet because of his external family, maybe he earns some extra pocket on weekends doing routes for busy reporters around the building while Mommy has a busy Saturday? Jon should start wondering what kind of career path he'll take outside of superheroics and might develop a nose for news like his parents, or decide it's not what he'd like to do after all.

[manofsteel1979]

Good ideas Sacred, I love the Sam Lane one the most, and I think it's probably the more captivating, especially if New Krypton were allowed to stand in continuity so it could inform the characters more.

I'd like to get little mini-comic strip features on Jon's interactions with Planet staff, with Jimmy babysitting him etc, or Perry's thoughts or experiences on being a godfather or uncle to him. Jon may even have an odd-job at the Planet because of his external family, maybe he earns some extra pocket on weekends doing routes for busy reporters around the building while Mommy has a busy Saturday? Jon should start wondering what kind of career path he'll take outside of superheroics and might develop a nose for news like his parents, or decide it's not what he'd like to do after all.

In that vein I'd love to see a Jimmy/Jon story .." Jimmy Olsen's pal Jon Kent in which Jimmy and Jon have a mad cap adventure together. Perhaps take a page out of the silver age and have Jimmy transform into elastic lad or turtle boy forcing Jon to have to pull his supposed baby sitter's butt out of the fire. Maybe toss in Project Cadmus or the Harries for some more wackiness.

[Superlad93]

1. Jon aka Superman Secondus. I basically want him to get the Franklin Richards treatment where his older self meets his parents and his younger self. I'd love it if he stuck around for a little bit like older Franklin did. This way we could get him in Super Sons, Superman, Action, and maybe even Justice League.

2. Jon and cousin Susie. Susie is Jon's cousin. Susie is a neo sapien with vast telepathic powers. Jon and Susie would have obvious parallels to Clark/Kara and Lois/Lucy. It's not hard AT ALL. In fact, back in the golden age Superman would have to babysit her, and apparently Mxy would join in. Jon has newly formed relationship with Mxy. Put him in place of Superman. BAM, fun story.

3. Superboy Squared. (shout outs to Dispenser of Truth) Jon goes to the future with the Legion of Superheroes for summer break and meets their other Superboy, Clark. Jon gets to see all of the humanizing awkwardness of his adolescent dad. Young Clark finally feels like he's found someone who is amazingly relatable to him and his situation. Then we get the heartbreaking moment with Jon realizing that his dad won't remember any of this at the end of summer vacation.

4. Jon and Kathy's Multiversal road trip. Remember how Darkseid and Superdoomsday have apparently killed a bunch of Supermen in the multiverse? Well, as soon as Jon officially became part of the DC multiverse (remember he was born outside of time and space before Reborn) a whole bunch of versions of him starting appearing in the multiverse. And a lot of them are filling the voids left by the dead Supermen. The multiverse is using Jon to heal it's wounds. Jon and Kathy will be quantum leaping from one world to the next. This would be in Super Sons and each world would have it's own Damian who helps them along. It's sort of a homage to Superboy: Hypertime

5. Superman and Son IN SPACE SPACE SPACE SPACE. It's been made very clear that Jon loves all things space, so imagine how pumped the kid gets when his pops says that they're going on a father/son space camping trip?! It starts off innocent enough, and the two end up helping an alien race that's in trouble. However, the mini arc ends with Clark packing up the gear to go home, and seeing no sign of his son. Jon is lost somewhere in the vastness of space.

6. Superboy: Amber Alert . Clark calls in favors from the GLs, and some space-ready heroes volunteer to search. It's literally just a dad looking for his kid with the help of volunteers and the cops, but since it's Superman........it's in space, there's an intergalactic police force, and guys in costumes. Meanwhile, Lois is back on Earth feeling pretty helpless, but she starts to notice strange and seemingly paranormal activity going on around her. It turns out that it's Jon trying to contact his mom from where he's at. He and the scared baby universe of Qward are in a higher dimension running from something sinister. F#$K YEAH YA'LL, STRANGER THINGS MEETS SUPERMAN! I said it! Now do it!

7. Justice League of the future. Superboy, Robin, Nobody, and Susie along with others are the Justice League of the future. We follow a day in there lives told mainly from the perspectives of Jon and Damian. Jon's day job/secret identity is getting a start-up space aeronautics company off the ground with his pals from college. The sad catch is that Jon can't train to be an astronaut for his company for obvious reasons.

8. Jon's naming ceremony. Kara talks to Clark and Lois about the importance of exposing Jon to his Kryptonian heritage, so she suggest that they perform a naming ceremony. Jon must study Kryptonian customs, language, and history to prep for it. Kara is his instructor (along with Clark and Lois' because he's a little rusty, and she's interested). While Jon is studying, he decides to take a look around the Fortress and he find holograms of large chucks of Krypton's history. It's a homage to the Golden age story of Superman going back in time to see Krypton.

9. The Kents go to Kandor. Kandor is once again a Kryptonian city that has been miniaturized. Clark decides that the family should go visit the city and meet distant relatives. This is akin to a first generation (born in America) Nigerian takes his family on a trip to Nigeria. But because it's Superman.....they're being shrunken down and entering a miniaturized city. Clark's relative Van-Zee is the tour guide, and the whole thing is from Jon's perspective.

10. Superboy's Uncle Jimmy Olsen. Jimmy and Superboy go on an ill advised adventure.

[Superlad93]

Bonus Round

-Super Sons Run Away. Damian is fed up with his dad's aloofness and his lack of great standing in the superhero world. So he decides that he's going to run away. He stops at Jon's house in the middle of the night (mirroring issue #1 of Super Sons) and he veils his true intentions with the idea of wanting Jon's company (not help--he'll make that very clear lol) on a new case. Jon doesn't need x-ray eyes to see through this. He agrees, and they're off. It's basically Jon talking his friend down as they go on this strange little adventure that only lasts a few hours. It's Superboy and Robin in an off beat, sobering, but fun and heartwarming indie movie.

[Maxi]

Mostly him interacting with other characters.

Damian and Jon meeting and teaming up with their future selves as Batman and Superman.

Jon team ups with Billy Batson.

Kon-El coming back and having an elder brother relationship with Jon.

And now one that will never happen: The Superfamily (Clark, Lois, Jon) team-up with the Spider-Family of Renew Your Vows (Peter, MJ, Annie)

[sakuyamons]

Jon and the Teen Titans: Despite Damian making it clear that Jon doesn't go there because he isn't a teen, he shows up one day at the tower and says I will help if you want me or not.

Jon and the Young Justice: It would serve as a mirror to a time where Damian was with the Teen Titans, the difference is that, well, the YJ4 think he is a super cool kid.

Superboy and Kon: You guys remember that issue in Kesel's Superboy where he meets pre-crisis Superboy aka Clark Kent? Well, this is 90s Kon meets Superman's son.

Jon and Damian meet Clark Jr. and Bruce Jr. aka the original Supersons: Comedy gold right here.

Jon and the Batfamily: At the end of this Jon is jealous over how extended Damian's family is, and he demands a big brother of his own.

[Dispenser Of Truth]

What Superlad said. Also, an obvious story for the immediate future that I doubt they'll tell: he has friends his own age in Metropolis if he's lived there all his life now, right? He's going to be seeing them for the first time in about a year when the Kents move back. And while it'll be sweet, he'll have also missed out on a year of the group dynamic changing, and they'll all have questions for him (were you living on the run? Were you in witness protection? Why did your dad come back to Metropolis so long before you and your mom did? Was it weird that everyone thought your dad was Superman for awhile?) that he's just not going to be able to answer.

[Superlad93]

-Jon Kent: My Dad is Superman. This is set while Jon is about 5 or 6 years old, and before he finds out his dad is Superman. It's basically Jon taking on the role of his mom back in the silver age, as he tries to prove his dad is secretly Superman. The whole while Lois is following Jon around with a glint of pride, and throwing him off the sent. It's this sort of Loony Tunes Spike, Sylvester, and Tweety story with Lois, Jon, and Superman in the roles. It's light, fun, and fleshes out/replaces backstory. Chris Sprouse or Bruce Timm would draw this.

-Superboy: how do you stop a falling plane? Jon and Krypto are visiting Kathy in Hamilton for the weekend, but disaster strikes when a plane loses an engine in their airspace. Jon and Krypto are the only super powered being around, and the plane is going down fast. How do Jon and Krypto stop a falling plane when one can't fly and the other has no opposable thumbs? Why, with gumption, creativity, and a bit of luck.

[DragonPiece]

so many good story ideas in this thread I can actually see happening. I would like to see a storyline where Jon finds a new mentor type of character and starts second guessing Superman's ideas, but then again, that seems a lot like the arc Tomasi and Gleason are about to do, so I guess that's not really a wish.

[sakuyamons]

Jonathan Kent and the Legion of Superheroes!

[Zero Hunter]

It would be fun to see Jon and Superman end up in the future and hang with the Legion. It would be fun seeing Jon hearing stories from Garth and Mon about his dad.

[FishyZombie]

I'm liking a lot of these ideas. Now I'm hoping someone important from dc lurks here.

[magha_regulus]

1. Jon aka Superman Secondus. I basically want him to get the Franklin Richards treatment where his older self meets his parents and his younger self. I'd love it if he stuck around for a little bit like older Franklin did. This way we could get him in Super Sons, Superman, Action, and maybe even Justice League.

2. Jon and cousin Susie. Susie is Jon's cousin. Susie is a neo sapien with vast telepathic powers. Jon and Susie would have obvious parallels to Clark/Kara and Lois/Lucy. It's not hard AT ALL. In fact, back in the golden age Superman would have to babysit her, and apparently Mxy would join in. Jon has newly formed relationship with Mxy. Put him in place of Superman. BAM, fun story.

3. Superboy Squared. (shout outs to Dispenser of Truth) Jon goes to the future for summer break and meets their other Superboy. Jon gets to see all of the humanizing awkwardness of his adolescent dad. Young Clark finally feels like he's found someone who is amazingly relatable to him and his situation. Then we get the heartbreaking moment when Jon realizing that his dad won't remember any of this at the end of summer vacation.

4. Jon and Kathy's Multiversal road trip. Remember how Darkseid and Superdoomsday have apparently killed a bunch of Supermen in the multiverse? Well, as soon as Jon officially became part of the DC multiverse (remember he was born outside of time and space before Reborn) a whole bunch of versions of him starting appearing in the multiverse. And a lot of them are filling the voids left by the dead Supermen. The multiverse is using Jon to heal it's wounds. Jon and Kathy will be quantum leaping from one world to the next. This would be in Super Sons and each world would have it's own Damian who helps them along. It's sort of a homage to Superboy: Hypertime

5. Superman and Son IN SPACE SPACE SPACE SPACE. It's been made very clear that Jon loves all things space, so imagine how pumped the kid gets when his pops says that they're going on a father/son space camping trip?! It starts off innocent enough, and the two end up helping an alien race that's in trouble. However, the mini arc ends with Clark packing up the gear to go home, and seeing no sign of his son. Jon is lost somewhere in the vastness of space.

6. Superboy: Amber Alert . Clark calls in favors from the GLs, and some space-ready heroes volunteer to search. It's literally just a dad looking for his kid with the help of volunteers and the cops, but since it's Superman........it's in space, there's an intergalactic police force, and guys in costumes. Meanwhile, Lois is back on Earth feeling pretty helpless, but she starts to notice strange and seemingly paranormal activity going on around her. It turns out that it's Jon trying to contact his mom from where he's at. He and the scared baby universe of Qward are in a higher dimension running from something sinister. F#$K YEAH YA'LL, STRANGER THINGS MEETS SUPERMAN! I said it! Now do it!

7. Justice League of the future. Superboy, Robin, Nobody, and Susie along with others are the Justice League of the future. We follow a day in there lives told mainly from the perspectives of Jon and Damian. Jon's day job/secret identity is getting a start-up space aeronautics company off the ground with his pals from college. The sad catch is that Jon can't train to be an astronaut for his company for obvious reasons.

8. Jon's naming ceremony. Kara talks to Clark and Lois about the importance of exposing Jon to his Kryptonian heritage, so she suggest that they perform a naming ceremony. Jon must study Kryptonian customs, language, and history to prep for it. Kara is his instructor (along with Clark and Lois' because he's a little rusty, and she's interested). While Jon is studying, he decides to take a look around the Fortress and he find holograms of large chucks of Krypton's history. It's a homage to the Golden age story of Superman going back in time to see Krypton.

9. The Kents go to Kandor. Kandor is once again a Kryptonian city that has been miniaturized. Clark decides that the family should go visit the city and meet distant relatives. This is akin to a first generation (born in America) Nigerian takes his family on a trip to Nigeria. But because it's Superman.....they're being shrunken down and entering a miniaturized city. Clark's relative Van-Zee is the tour guide, and the whole thing is from Jon's perspective.

10. Superboy's Uncle Jimmy Olsen. Jimmy and Superboy go on an ill advised adventure.

AMAZING!!!!!!!!
I love all of these! I cosign all of this! I'm especially excited about the cousin Susie story!

[SuperCrab]

I really think they need to find a way to separate this Jon stuff from the main Superman titles. It's going to kill off interest in Superman from some elements of the fan base- and not just people like me who don't like the idea of child superheroes in general, or other people who don't like the idea of Superman having a son in particular for whatever reason; but also from people who are neutral or even positive to the idea but just reach a saturation point with it and say "Why are 9/10th of Superman stories in a comic called Superman actually about some kid named Jon?".

So, as a story idea to achieve that that isn't "Kill off the character" (Since the original poster asked us not to do that), what about sending him to the future to do stuff in a Superboy book with the Legion of Superheroes? That takes him out of the main titles and then people can buy a Superboy book or a Legion book set in the future if they want to.

Another idea is that they could have some sort of story event age him up to the age of 18, and he sort of naturally is less involved with his parents' day to day lives. He could go off to college and be in a book called Superboy, or join the Titans, and people who want to read it could read those books.

Of course, the simplest way to not have everything be about Jon in a way that alienates more and more Superman and Action Comics readers overtime is just to have those titles focus less on him. He's alive, he's their son, but his parents' adventurers can just typically not involve him and they can go without the "thought bubble square" or Superman thinking "Gotta defeat whomever so I can keep Jon safe" every five seconds. Just be chill about it. Like, of course if you do a scene at dinnertime in the family home, he's sitting at the table, but the stories don't have to be *about* him. They can tell Jon stories in Super Sons and/or a dedicated Superboy book and only address him in Superman and Action Comics when it would make no narrative sense not to include him, you know?

I realize people may not like that idea, but I'm trying to find a way to make everyone happy. If people enjoy the character, and some do, they should get to read about him. At the same time, I don't think people who don't like the character should basically be forced to read about him in 9/10ths of the stories in the Superman and Action Comics titles. After all, he isn't Superman, right? I think people could similarly rightly complain in Superman wound up as the main character in a Superboy comic that was supposed to be about Jon.

My hope is that Reborn kind of cools it with the Jon stuff a little, and that Rebirth got the excessive focus on him out of the writers' and editors' systems, but in a way Reborn could be seen as making Jon even more important, so I'm wary as well as hopeful. It might take a writing team change-up on both titles to tone down the Jon-related story elements. He's Jurgens' creation, and Tomasi really seems to have taken ownership of the character and developed him. They might need a big outside writer to come in who really doesn't give a whatever about Jon and just writes Superman stories, and has the pull to be allowed to do that as long as he acknowledges Jon in whatever minimalistic way him still existing demands.