Meet Jon Kent: Superman’s Son and Best Friend of Damian Wayne

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Written by Matheus

Filmmaker by day, Wishlistmaker by night. Kamala Khan’s unofficial PR team since 2014.

Superman is the talk of the town. We used to dream of times like this. The number of single issues DC is releasing over the next two months is more than enough to keep us happy. But we also have things like the Triangle Era finally being collected in omnibus format, and an overwhelming amount of collectibles releasing soon. And then there's the big movie itself. It's all happening in just over a month.

We have been deep into Superman here at Walt's with our Superman Graphic Novel Spotlight and Omnibus Spotlight.

And since I really wanted to focus on a queer character for Pride Month, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to do a deep dive on my boy Jonathan Kent!

You’d be surprised how many people have no idea that Superman has a son – let alone a bisexual son. But if anything ever breaks through the bubble, it tends to be big editorial decisions like this. I do feel somewhat protective of Jon Kent. For me, it's incredibly cool to see Superman's son be out and proud, and I want nothing more than to shield that happiness from the clear bigotry that came with it. I’m sure it will get worse when the character eventually makes the leap to movies, but what can we do except keep enjoying our comics and hope that ignorance remains nothing more than noise?

That’s exactly what we’re going to do. Ignore the noise and dive deep into Jon’s history in the DC universe – so let’s go!

Superman: Lois and Clark by Dan Jurgens and Lee Weeks

After years of a rebooted Superman in the New 52, DC decided it wasn’t a good idea to abandon decades of classic stories. So, it used the Convergence event to reveal that the original Superman and Lois from the Post-Crisis era had survived this whole time. And not only survived – they had a son. In Convergence: Superman issue #2, Jonathan Samuel Kent is born. Named after both of his Earth grandfathers, Jon was bound to be newsworthy from the start.

Then they followed up with an amazing miniseries called Lois and Clark, focusing on the couple raising their son in the new reality (New 52), where they had to stay hidden until now. This Superman would eventually replace the New 52 Superman for good and, after some time, merge with him – becoming one and the same. But if this sounds too confusing and overwhelming to you… it’s because IT IS. But here’s the thing – it doesn’t matter.

This comic is good simply because it is, and you don't need to get caught up in all the timey-wimey stuff. That’s the best compliment I can give it. Jurgens gives Lois and Clark the future they truly deserved, and in doing so, creates a family dynamic that will forever change DC Comics. Jon reflects both of his parents, inheriting their best qualities and their worst flaws. He’s a good, stubborn, adventurous, and courageous little guy. It’s hard not to fall in love with him – and with Lois and Clark, characters we already love, now taking on the new roles of mother and father, their story is only enriched. It reaffirms their strength and lasting appeal.

You can check this out as the first part of Superman: Action Comics by Dan Jurgens Omnibus Vol. 1 HC . Jon isn’t crucial to the subsequent run in this omnibus, but he’s an awesome reinforcement of how classic Superman comic gimmicks can work really well with the new status quo. Jurgens revisits this period in a sequel, available in Superman Lois And Clark Doom Rising TP.

Superman and Super Sons by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason

I, honest to God, get a bit teary-eyed talking about this pair of runs by Gleason and Tomasi because of how much I love them. Have you ever felt that with comics (or a movie, or whatever it is) – that it makes you so happy it moves you just by being there? Both of these comics helped me through a really bad period of depression, and the amount of life and love that both of these creators inject into these pages overflowed into me in a way I don’t think I can quite explain.

It’s easy to brush this off by saying comic books are simple and effective forms of escapism, but the connection they can create with us – the passion and loyalty they can awaken – has another, far more powerful name. It’s art. Of course, it always was and always will be.

Let’s start with their run collected in Superman by Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason Omnibus HC. It’s a splurge of green Smallville pastures and sun-bathed blue and red capes. It’s a reimagining of the Superman dynamic with his adoptive parents, but for a new century. It dares to move forward while acting as a memory wall for whatever mystery-magic thing Superman has that’s made different generations fall in love with him for more than a century.

Gleason’s art, to me, will forever be cemented as a “close your eyes and think of Superman” image. And while seeing Christopher Reeve is more than valid, I see Jon and Clark playing and flying together. Clark and Lois were always destined for this role, and Jon reveals himself as the little rascal – an injection of adrenaline and love the franchise needed.

And speaking of little rascals – Damian Wayne. Batman’s son. Of course, combining him with Jon was a good idea. But I don’t think anyone expected the once-in-a-generation jackpot they hit with this run, collected in the Super Sons Omnibus Super Duper Edition HC (or the trade paperbacks complete collections).

It’s a reinvention of the iconic Batman and Superman dynamic, but instead of bonding through heroism and grief, Damian and Jon connect through boldness and a rebellious spirit. Both young guys refuse to live in the shadows of their parents and want nothing more than to make them proud – whether it’s Jon looking up to Clark as the undeniable hero, or Damian seeing Bruce as a cautionary tale turned myth.

They bump heads, they bicker, and then they circle right back to being brothers. It’s funny, and it’s hard not to feel like a kid reading it. An overwhelming explosion of goodness.

Look, I don't know what's going on in your life right now, but whether it's a happy or not-so-happy time, Gleason and Tomasi's work will make you smile from ear to ear – and maybe, like me, even cry a little while talking about it.

AND THEN COMES THE BIG BAD WOLF.

Well… I said we’d try to be happy, so let’s look at the good side of this – without ignoring the blatant bad.

Superman by Brian Michael Bendis

Bendis starts his long-awaited take on DC by making two big status quo changes to Superman: revealing his secret identity and aging up Jon Kent. Everything flows from that until Bendis eventually leaves DC without coming close to matching his tenure at Marvel.

I don't absolutely hate this period (I’ve said before that I think he handles Lois and Checkmate really well), but as a Jon and Super Sons fan, it was hard not to feel cheated and robbed. It’s like looking at everything working and deciding to pivot immediately. But look, great things in artistic endeavours can come from bold choices. This time, it clearly didn’t work – but if DC got Bendis, they probably felt they needed a change.

Regarding Jon, I'm of two minds about it.

First, how it was done.

Bendis takes Jon away from his parents (and his Damian), sends him to space, and immediately puts him through the worst imaginable kind of torture (it relates to how he ages so fast while everyone else on Earth stays the same). The gist Bendis was going for was proving Jon could rise above it and maintain his goodness, and therefore be worthy of the Superman legacy.

I think it's ill-considered to think Jon would need something like that to achieve this, or to need this route to gain some sort of connection with this part of Superman lore. The oversight is that, in reality, people connected with Jon exactly because he didn’t need the comparison with his parents.

To take years away from the story of growing and maturing with his parents there – you’re sure to give these characters a big, juicy emotional narrative turmoil right away, but you're also robbing years of potential development and the game of constant adding and building that comics always had. It’s just shock for shock’s sake, and both Bendis and Jon are far more capable than this.

And uuugh, the thing that stings the most is stopping the Super Sons dynamic before it even reached its peak.

Second thought – it was bound to happen at some point, and to a certain extent, it needed to happen.

Giving Jon the chance to grow up immediately removes him from the kind of comic slump some characters fall into – like the idea that Peter and Mary had to stop being married and couldn’t have kids (something the success of Hickman’s Ultimate Spider-Man should strongly argue against). Jon was never meant to be an eternal kid. In that way, it opened the door to things like revealing his sexuality. And to be fair, aging him doesn’t stop DC from releasing new Super Sons ongoings. They just aren’t doing it because they clearly don’t want to – and that has nothing to do with Jon being older.

Bendis run started with The Man Of Steel TP. Jon comes back at the end of the first arc in Superman (2018-) Vol. 1: The Unity Saga: Phantom Earth HC.

DC hasn’t been eager to keep this in print or collect it in other formats, for obvious reasons. But I’m sure it will come eventually – thanks to the usual revisionist cycles that not-well-received material tends to go through in the comics world. Like Omar from Near Mint Condition always says, everything is someone’s favorite thing, so this might be yours – and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Superman: Son of Kal-El and Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent by Tom Taylor

Yeah. Queer Tumblr-obsessed widows, rejoice.

Tom Taylor trims the fat and goes beyond. After the Rebirth era is done and gone, Superman leaves to deal with the more space-oriented, epic-forward direction hillip Kennedy Johnson takes in his acclaimed Warworld Saga. As a result, Jon is left on Earth and assumes the mantle of Superman.

Jesus Christ, can this family create a Google Calendar or something?

What Taylor wisely does, instead of reverting back like nothing happened, is address the fans’ concerns. Here, Jon reconnects with Damian, and we get glimpses of the dynamic we know and love. Jon also has a great story arc with his mom and the expectations she has for him. And he introduces Jay Nakamura, soon to be his boyfriend. Jay is an idealistic journalist (mommy?) and the founder of The Truth, an independent media outlet committed to exposing corruption and protecting marginalized voices.

He’s a refugee from Gamorra, a fictional authoritarian nation in the DC Universe, making Jay a pure figure of modern-day activism. He’s also a metahuman with limited intangibility powers (he can phase through solid objects), which he occasionally uses. The parallel to Lois is a pretty cool idea, and it makes sense. The juxtaposition between the types of journalists Lane and Nakamura are creates an incredible dynamic, while also serving as a foundation for relevant political commentary in Taylor’s story. Nakamura is a journalist in a post-Trump world, and while it bothers a lot of people that he’s the one Jon falls in love with, he is exactly the kind of person a modern-day Superman would fall in love with – to an annoyingly accurate degree.

I could go on and on about how I think making these moves with big new characters is exactly what we should aim for when it comes to representation in comics – instead of shoving us into two weird corners (I’m looking at you, weird-ass character played by the talkative Russo brother in Endgame, for whatever reason). And giving them a chance to have a story, to be complex characters – like Jay, who goes beyond being the always-correct type they usually pick to avoid backlash.

There will always be backlash – that’s something you learn when you study minorities in comics. These guys will always yell, no matter how many Scooby Snacks you throw at them.

I don’t loooooove Jay, but I loooove queer people being shown across as varied a spectrum as possible.

And this has one of those moments that show why things like this matter – beyond DC having one more character to launch a one-issue Pride in June and then never again for a year. Jon spends the whole series afraid of Clark's reaction – not because he thinks it will be bad, but because we, as queer people, are so afraid of the relationships we depend on changing because of who we are. Sometimes irrationally, sometimes because any kind of change is scary, whether it’s a good change or not.

My relationship with my mom has been the greatest since I came out, but it definitely changed – for the best in this case, but not without its giveaways and take-backs in return. And I don't feel the same way about my whole family as I did when I was younger. Some overheard comments – although not representative of who they are as people or what they truly believe – will never fully leave me. This is an unavoidable experience that not everyone has to deal with.

Taylor captures that scary act, and more importantly, captures what Superman's response should be. And that is – and should always be – one of the core values of Superman, especially in an increasingly “well, hate and segregation are cool actually, social change is cringe” type of internet and world we live in today.

His whole run on the character is available here:

The beautiful moment above happens in the Superman Kal-El Returns Trade Paperback.

Taylor then continues to write the character in the Adventures Of Superman: Jon Kent Trade Paperback or Adventures Of Superman: Jon Kent Hardcover.

At the same time, Jon is also part of his first big DC events as a grown-up in Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths and the more recent (and quite good) Absolute Power.

As a sequel to that, Jay and Jon's story continues into Dawn of DC in the newly relaunched Secret Six.

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