This week, DC Comics released the last issue in the Jon Kent/Superman mini-series, Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #6. How was it? Let’s just say it was as disappointing as Jon Kent’s standalone title, which was unceremoniously canceled after issue #15.
In the final issue, Jon confronts Injustice Superman whose about to publicly execute Batman and Harley Quinn for their role in resisting Injustice Superman’s dictatorial regime. As insurance, Injustice Superman holds his Earth’s version of Jay Nakamura hostage to keep Jon from pulling any funny business.
How does Jon Kent, in his final issue, choose to stop a dictator with god-like powers who oppresses an entire planet? With a hug and a firm lecture. See for yourself:
Tom Taylor, the current caretaker of Jon Kent, has made quite a mess of things trying to position Jon Kent as the heir apparent to Superman. However, if DC Editorial doesn’t wake up and address two key problems with Jon’s development, he’ll never be worthy of taking over the job from his father.
Unresolved Trauma
When Jon Kent first appeared in Convergence: Superman #2 (2015), the energetic scamp wasn’t universally liked, but he had his charms, and it was through his friendship with Damian Wayne that Jon Kent’s popularity skyrocketed as half of the Super Sons.
And then Bendis came.
If you’re somewhat versed in modern comics lore, you already know that Brian Michael Bendis created a scenario where Ultraman kidnapped Jon Kent and kept him imprisoned in a volcano for seven years. When Jon finally returned to his own Earth, he was seven years older, while the rest of the world had only moved forward in time for a short period.
As of this writing, that trauma has never been fully addressed. Clark and Lois go out of their way to treat Jon as if everything is normal. Jon never expresses fits of rage and experiences outbursts that you might expect from anyone whose undergone a prolonged, traumatic event.
For all intents, the DC Universe acts as if an older Jon Kent is perfectly fine. Jon’s memories of what Ultraman did to him are never revisited. Clark and Lois don’t experience any issues relating to a son who was absent from their life (from his perspective) for almost as long as he was in their lives. And somehow, Jon was able to mature into an upstanding adult, despite being locked in a prison in near total isolation for years.
Jon has unresolved trauma. Tom Taylor’s consolation mini-series was advertised as an opportunity for Jon to confront Ultraman and address that trauma. That resolution never occurred because Ultraman was killed by Injustice Superman before Jon could say more than a sentence or two to his tormentor.
DC Editorial made a conscious decision to ignore Jon Kent’s trauma, and it will remain a sticking point to his character as long as it remains unaddressed.
Un-Superman
Why does the world need a Superman? To do things mere mortals can’t do. To fight the fights no human could survive. To overcome the villains no human could face. In other words, the world needs a Superman to face Super-challenges.
Tom Taylor and DC Editorial have stated, more than once, that they take pride in the fact that Jon Kent doesn’t use force to solve his problems. That’s true. He doesn’t, and therein lies the problem.
As you can see above from the ending of Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #6, Jon (sorta) resolves the conflict on Injustice Earth with a hug and a lecture. Philosophically, there’s nothing wrong with choosing peace, but if it was that easy, everyone would be Superman, which is why Jon Kent’s version of Superman continually fails to gain popularity.
Tom Taylor puts Jon Kent in dangerous, world-threatening situations. When Jon chooses pacifist-minded approaches to solve the conflict, he succeeds. Not because Jon has a magical hug, but because Taylor and DC Editorial allow the world around Jon to be softened and dumbed down to allow Jon’s magical hug to work.
Villains become less villainous. Fascists suddenly become open-minded. Criminals turn over a new leaf at the mere thought that somebody truly cares about them. Put another way, Jon wins only because Taylor and DC Editorial change the world to make everyone, especially super-villains, amazingly susceptible to a kind word and a firm lecture.
As someone on Twitter recently put it (paraphrasing), it’s like walking up to Hitler and making him stop the Holocaust by explaining “Jewish people have feelings, too”. It’s ridiculous.
Jon Kent is the most Un-Superman possible because he lives in a world designed to allow him to succeed without being super.
No Growth, No Superman
When you put those sticking points together, you have a Superman who will never be accepted as Superman because he never fully grew up and he never has to do anything super.
I harp on the classic “Hero’s Journey” regularly because it’s abhorrently absent from modern superhero comics. As a model, the “Hero’s Journey” has lasted since the beginning of time because it works, and everyone can relate. Yet, the Big 2 stubbornly refuse to use it for even their greatest heroes.
For Jon Kent to become the Superman DC wants him to be, Jon needs to go through his Hero’s Journey. He needs to address his unresolved trauma from his years in captivity, and he has to be faced with villains and disasters that can’t be wished away with a rousing speech.
Can Jon Kent use words and diplomacy? Of course, but only when it makes sense. Mxyzptlk could probably be defeated with clever dialog. Doomsday will not.
Where does that leave Jon Kent? On the shelf, for now, and set to appear as a side character in other comics. But it’s a sure bet that unless these issues are addressed and resolved with the right writer (not Tom Taylor) and the right DC Editorial oversight (unlikely anytime soon without a restructuring), Jon Kent will join the growing list of new characters that lost early popularity and never recovered.
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