Jon Kent Superboy Appreciation 2021

[Superlad93]

“Relax, kid.” “‘Kid’?! You’re younger than me!” “Not anymore.”

Lol this sounds exactly like something Jon would say since Damian was the one who gave him an age complex in Super Sons in the first place. I like that Jon has that little Damian-influenced streak of immaturity in him, and I want to see a funny take on the Super Sons with the reversed dynamic. Jon would totally gloat.

I honestly loved that scene from the book lol

Funny enough Shazam's writer also penned the Superman: Man of Tomorrow animated movie. Would seem kind of random for it to be editorial mandate for him to show Jon in issue #1 of Shazam, so I'm actually gonna assume this was his call, and he just really digs the idea of a young Superman.

Speaking of a young Superman, I really enjoyed Jon's voice here to for much the same reasons, but also because the very next thing he says is "now, who thinks I should dump this junk off on the roof of Lexcorp tower?" Straight up super dickery, and I love it! But maybe more importantly, I doubt it would fly for Clark even in his 20s let alone his age now. There seems to be this sense of ease some writers have with Jon's voice. And a large part of that, I think at least, has to do with the fact that this is the first ever in continuity Superman who is 17. You inherently want to write a young adult/teen with more of a youthful flare, and that seems to override that little voice in some writers' heads that sees the S and goes "has to be written stone faced"

I think that's going to be a really big asset for Jon as Superman going forward, and it's honestly something that we likely wouldn't gave gotten with 5G because he'd have been New 52 Clark's age, and even that guy tended to just be written like normal Superman more often than not.

________

Also I saw that the issue also to the chance to play up the idea of Jon's attractiveness as a young Superman. I've been saying this from the start, if they can add in a dash of Dick Grayson hotness to the character's whole vibe then that'll take Jon to the moon in a way that Clark can't really swing anymore since he's default dad hot rather than teen heartthrob hot. All this stuff totally adds up, and ultimately helps out.

[Blue22]

*sigh*

No one's gonna believe me. No one's gonna believe me, but I genuinely never intent to be That Guy, but I actually kind of...really like this idea?

*doges tossed fruit*

The Pro X and Magneto of the DCU really got me. That means Damian wouldn't really be a "bad guy" in the hand rubbing cackling sort of way, but rather in the "oh wow, he kind of has a point, but is going about it in a pretty messed up way" way. And Jon forever holding out a candle of hope for his friend, but knowing he's got to stop him at every turn is cool as hell to me. Not just that, but also the idea that the new Batman wouldn't trust Jon because of his past friendship with Damian.

I'm sorry but no. I disagree with your stance on Jon's current direction, but I can at least respect your excitement for that and I do normally like how you're somehow able to make EVERY bad situation sound like a good idea.

This though...There is no silver lining here. This would be nothing but a huge disserve to Damian as a character. The past few years of hell he's been through were already a sloppily written borderline character assassination that saw him going back on almost everything he'd learned and the person that he'd grown to be (So pretty much every reason he's my favorite Robin). For them to double down on it to the point where he's being described as the "Big Bad of 5G" would just further cement my opinion that Dan Didio had been nothing but a blight on DC ever since he got the reigns back and that he is absolute poison for most legacy characters.

What's going on with Jon hurts. But he's a still a relatively new character. I've been a fan of Damian's since like 2011. Even through his worst times, he has consistently been like my second favorite comic book character. If this was to be his future, him deciding to just go full on Neo-Ra's...that would just be fucking devastating. It's not him. It's not who he is anymore. It's who he would have been had his years of development never happened. Giving Jon and Damian some fake ass Naruto & Sasuke "friendship" is not appealing in the slightest.

So now we have context for that "Baby Hitler" bullshit that Saturn Girl was spewing before. All I can say is thank God we dodged that bullet. Damian is in a great place right now and I hope that's where he stays.

And if it's anything like X and Magneto then you know it's only a matter of time till they see eye to eye, and that'll be its own event.

The problem is, Charles and Erik seeing eye to eye rarely lasts. The closest they've come is this current era and it's kinda come at the expense of Charles turning into a massive prick....well....even more than he's always been. Comparing their friendship to Jon and Damian's should not fill anyone with excitement XD

[Sam]

The other problem is it continues DC's tendency of trying to shape Jon into being someone else. He had a perfect unique identity as a well-adjusted ten-year old exploring the DC universe. He doesn't need to be New52 Superman and he doesn't need to be Charles Xavier. DC needs to realize that what they had was a good thing, and it didn't need to be fixed. 5G or Infinite Frontier, they haven't learned that lesson.

[Blue22]

The other problem is it continues DC's tendency of trying to shape Jon into being someone else. He had a perfect unique identity as a well-adjusted ten-year old exploring the DC universe. He doesn't need to be New52 Superman and he doesn't need to be Charles Xavier. DC needs to realize that what they had was a good thing, and it didn't need to be fixed. 5G or Infinite Frontier, they haven't learned that lesson.

[Superlad93]

I'm sorry but no. I disagree with your stance on Jon's current direction, but I can at least respect your excitement for that and I do normally like how you're somehow able to make EVERY bad situation sound like a good idea.

This though...There is no silver lining here. This would be nothing but a huge disserve to Damian as a character. The past few years of hell he's been through were already a sloppily written borderline character assassination that saw him going back on almost everything he'd learned and the person that he'd grown to be (So pretty much every reason he's my favorite Robin). For them to double down on it to the point where he's being described as the "Big Bad of 5G" would just further cement my opinion that Dan Didio had been nothing but a blight on DC ever since he got the reigns back and that he is absolute poison for most legacy characters.

What's going on with Jon hurts. But he's a still a relatively new character. I've been a fan of Damian's since like 2011. Even through his worst times, he has consistently been like my second favorite comic book character. If this was to be his future, him deciding to just go full on Neo-Ra's...that would just be fucking devastating. It's not him. It's not who he is anymore. It's who he would have been had his years of development never happened. Giving Jon and Damian some fake ass Naruto & Sasuke "friendship" is not appealing in the slightest.

So now we have context for that "Baby Hitler" bullshit that Saturn Girl was spewing before. All I can say is thank God we dodged that bullet.



The problem is, Charles and Erik seeing eye to eye rarely lasts. The closest they've come is this current era and it's kinda come at the expense of Charles turning into a massive prick....well....even more than he's always been. Comparing their friendship to Jon and Damian's should not fill anyone with excitement XD

That's fine. I wasn't trying to sway anyone. Just thought it sounded interesting. Still do.

[Blue22]

That's fine. I wasn't trying to sway anyone. Just thought it sounded interesting. Still do.

Lol nah it's cool. I tossed my fruit. We're good now. I still like you. You're still awesome....but AH! 5G was such a mess!

DC! Stop butchering my sons! Damian and Gar are finally doing alright, but I wanna love Jon and Bart again!

[Superlad93]

Lol nah it's cool. I tossed my fruit. We're good now. I still like you. You're still awesome....but AH! 5G was such a mess!

DC! Stop butchering my sons! Damian and Gar are finally doing alright, but I wanna love Jon and Bart again!

What can I really say? I like all the stuff they're doing with Jon, and feel that as a child he was charming he wasn't living up to what his concept demanded, so there was always this strange dissidence when I read him. And while we can go round and round about about how he got here and if you like it or not, he's getting a supporting cast, setting, and shtick that his dad can't actually replicate. He's even finally taking after his mom, and that's something they never seemed to take into account with the kid version.

I'm ready for this new era to start next week. It's to the point where Grant Morrison making their official last DC book a Superman book is only the opening act for me when compared to what next week brings. You'd have told me that in the mid to late 2000s and I'd have told you to shut your mouth when speaking of our Lord and savior, but here we are. There character has become *that* special to be, and it's primarily because of post-child stuff.

[Blue22]

Well we've both gone back and forth on this enough times for anything else said to be rendered pointless. So I'll keep saying what I've been saying. I'm happy for you and everyone else who's excited. I hope you get the book you've always dreamed of.

I love Taylor's writing. I love X-Men: Red, DCeased, and his current Nightwing book. I hate rooting against him. Especially since he's been known to take horrible ideas and turn them into something...less horrible (Injustice). But in this particular instance, I'm still holding out some modicum of hope that this book falls flat and DC takes that as some kind of hint to start over with Jon so he can grow up the right way. Because the character has evolved so far away from everything that I had hoped to see out of him, that it's honestly really heartbreaking. Like...a legit sadness whenever I see him, the likes of which I haven't felt since Damian's death and the loss of the Titans' history after Flashpoint (well...as sad as I can be for a fictional character. But still pretty sad). Especially since everything Taylor has set up for him just sounds...okay at best.

I'm well aware that the things that happen with these characters are out of my control and that nothing will ever go my way with them. But Jon's taken such a turn that I can't even look at him as the same character anymore. Even if he ends up being a great character under Taylor, even if he's the best Superman ever...I can't enjoy him. Because all I'm seeing is a replacement for a character that I already loved. One who was taken away WAY too soon. One who was part of the reason that I not only became a fan of Superman, but started reading DC comics again after the New 52 pushed me away. I'm not seeing older Jon. I'm just seeing a replacement. It's Taylor so of course I'm gonna give him the same chance that I gave to Bendis and Johnson. And maybe he changes my mind enough so that I can at least enjoy the replacement. But that's still all he is to me now.

[Sam]

Actually, young Fred Savage would have made a good Jon Kent.

[Blue22]

Actually, young Fred Savage would have made a good Jon Kent.

Heh...I never really thought about it but you're right. He would lol

[oneveryfineday]

I honestly loved that scene from the book lol

Funny enough Shazam's writer also penned the Superman: Man of Tomorrow animated movie. Would seem kind of random for it to be editorial mandate for him to show Jon in issue #1 of Shazam, so I'm actually gonna assume this was his call, and he just really digs the idea of a young Superman.

Speaking of a young Superman, I really enjoyed Jon's voice here to for much the same reasons, but also because the very next thing he says is "now, who thinks I should dump this junk off on the roof of Lexcorp tower?" Straight up super dickery, and I love it! But maybe more importantly, I doubt it would fly for Clark even in his 20s let alone his age now. There seems to be this sense of ease some writers have with Jon's voice. And a large part of that, I think at least, has to do with the fact that this is the first ever in continuity Superman who is 17. You inherently want to write a young adult/teen with more of a youthful flare, and that seems to override that little voice in some writers' heads that sees the S and goes "has to be written stone faced"

I think that's going to be a really big asset for Jon as Superman going forward, and it's honestly something that we likely wouldn't gave gotten with 5G because he'd have been New 52 Clark's age, and even that guy tended to just be written like normal Superman more often than not.

________

Also I saw that the issue also to the chance to play up the idea of Jon's attractiveness as a young Superman. I've been saying this from the start, if they can add in a dash of Dick Grayson hotness to the character's whole vibe then that'll take Jon to the moon in a way that Clark can't really swing anymore since he's default dad hot rather than teen heartthrob hot. All this stuff totally adds up, and ultimately helps out.

For such an important character, Jon’s been confined to only the Super books for so long it feels new to finally see him interact with the broader DCU (Super Sons and LOSH count as Super books, right?). I love how Jon was playing to the crowd with his line about dumping the satellite on the LexCorp tower. Clark would typically do his thing and act humble and leave, but Jon seems more like a showboat. He’s probably soaking in all those comments about how hot he is too! It just works for a goofy, playful 17-year-old Superman.

*sigh*

No one's gonna believe me. No one's gonna believe me, but I genuinely never intent to be That Guy, but I actually kind of...really like this idea?

*doges tossed fruit*

Haha, we seem to share a lot of the same ideas so you don’t have to be That Guy this time. The particular lead-up to this wasn’t the best, but I really like the broad idea presented here. DC has been flirting with a potential tragic end for the Super Sons since Rebirth, and I’m a sucker for a juicy best-friends-to-enemies dynamic.

Taylor was quick to assure fans that Super Sons would be friends in his run, but I can see DC not being to help themselves at some point and doing a Son of Batman vs Son of Superman story. Or call it Batman vs Superman: Blood Sons. It’s such an obvious thing to do with Jon and Damian and they have the perfect setup for it, to the point that the idea was even hinted at when they were kids. There’s also an added level of tragedy to this conflict because it’s layered with the loss of childhood innocence as well. It doesn’t have to be a long term thing, but it would make for a great Elseworlds story at the very least.

Jon’s loyalties caught between Damian and Luke sounds like it had tons of potential for drama and I’m sad to see it go. We have Jace and Jon instead now, so I wonder how their dynamic will look like.

[manwhohaseverything]

Not really surprised with damian as "bad" guy..it was forshadowed from way back..Besides,damian is sort of rival character to jon..

[Superlad93]

For such an important character, Jon’s been confined to only the Super books for so long it feels new to finally see him interact with the broader DCU (Super Sons and LOSH count as Super books, right?). I love how Jon was playing to the crowd with his line about dumping the satellite on the LexCorp tower. Clark would typically do his thing and act humble and leave, but Jon seems more like a showboat. He’s probably soaking in all those comments about how hot he is too! It just works for a goofy, playful 17-year-old Superman.

It's like PKJ said, Jon's more outgoing than his dad ever was or is. And I continue to be glad he's a 17 year old Superman because in cameo situations like this, events, or team books, writers tend to boil characters down to archetypes based on what the story needs, and just based off the visual of the character. It's shorthand to keep the story moving. The great thing is that when most writers see Jon as Superman they simply won't be able to completely write him as just the Superman archetype. They're forced to write him as a 17 year old freshmen in college, so he inherently has to be more relaxed and youthful than Clark could be. Granted you'll get the odd writer here or there who literally just needed a Superman type to fill a role for a scene, but for the most part this is a air tight set up to keep Jon's Superman distinct from Clark's.

And I know there's a very real market for a young, goofy, and a little immature Superman...but it's just a hard sell for diehards when it's Clark. Look at American Alien. Outside of the person who wrote it, it's maybe the most successful and reboot of the character in decades, but it's biggest achievements was that it was mainly popular with people that didn't read comics or Superman. And the diehards who did like it would take comfort in being able to wave it off as an Elseworld. I used to lend it out to a bunch of my friends who would clown me for liking Superman, and they'd come back and go "oh snap, is he like this all the time? I love this guy!" But the answer would have to be no, and I'd try to get across how it's a remixing of aspects that are present in the normal take, but their eyes would glaze over, and they'd go "so he's no chill like this?"

I want Superman: Son of Kal-El to be the book that I lend out to friends, and when they ask "so is he always like this" I can go "yeah, pretty much".

Haha, we seem to share a lot of the same ideas so you don’t have to be That Guy this time. The particular lead-up to this wasn’t the best, but I really like the broad idea presented here. DC has been flirting with a potential tragic end for the Super Sons since Rebirth, and I’m a sucker for a juicy best-friends-to-enemies dynamic.

Taylor was quick to assure fans that Super Sons would be friends in his run, but I can see DC not being to help themselves at some point and doing a Son of Batman vs Son of Superman story. Or call it Batman vs Superman: Blood Sons. It’s such an obvious thing to do with Jon and Damian and they have the perfect setup for it, to the point that the idea was even hinted at when they were kids. There’s also an added level of tragedy to this conflict because it’s layered with the loss of childhood innocence as well. It doesn’t have to be a long term thing, but it would make for a great Elseworlds story at the very least.

Jon’s loyalties caught between Damian and Luke sounds like it had tons of potential for drama and I’m sad to see it go. We have Jace and Jon instead now, so I wonder how their dynamic will look like.

Together we are legion lol

But yeah, I think there's still a lot of stuff here that could and should be used. I ultimately think the current era is far superior to what 5G would've been for Jon in particular (for some of the reasons stated above), but some of these ideas that aren't being used really created a hole in the current era that's becoming more and more noticeable. Jon and Jace have no sort of dynamic to speak of, and I'm sure it's because DC had a whole plan for Jon and Luke's dynamic. Hope they find a way to salvage and improve these ideas like they've been doing.

[sifighter]

Yeah I mean the Jon moment comes at Shazam’s expense a bit, but I think the point of the first issue is that with everything going on Billy’s life is rough (broken powers, dead Wizard, Dying Freddy).

As for Jon’s attitude it’s what I expected from Jon, he’s being Superman and having fun while doing heroics.

[OpaqueGiraffe17]

Both the concept and the execution behind all this is a big dud for me. The uniqueness of a 17 superman is still completely lost on me when you've had Conner right there the whole time, but thats just me. And if the point was to avoid the fan backlash you'd supposedly get from writing a younger Clark, I'd say they didn't succeed as well as they'd hope, at least so far.