Jon Kent returns in Secret Six #1 on March 5. He’ll be teaming up with boyfriend Jay Nakamura, Dreamer, Catman, Black Alice and Deadshot to get the goods on the suddenly disappeared Amanda Waller. It’s a new direction for Jon that tumbles out of the finale of last year’s Absolute Power. Most recently, Jon Kent appeared in Shazam! #20 in a story that more or less told readers to forget about ever seeing Jon as a young boy again. The days of the Super-Sons are over, Damian Wayne says it as much in the comic. The issue ends with the a meta textual sequence that reinforces the notion that artificially aged up Jon is better and here to stay, so readers should just get over it.
Since Jon Kent was aged up by Brian Michael Bendis he’s struggled to find a direction. After fumbling through a couple years under Bendis’s pen and failing to ignite interest in his revamped Legion of Super-Heroes, Jon was tapped to be the successor to the Man of Steel in the never launched 5G publishing initiative and continuity reinvention. This left Jon in a bit of no man’s land. He wasn’t going to take over as Superman for good, and he was already redundant as a late-teen Superboy.
One of the Super-Sons
There’s still a lot of fans who would like to see Jon Kent and Damian Wayne as the Super-Sons. It was a natural evolution from his first appearance back in Convergence: Superman #2 all the way back in 2015. Creator Dan Jurgens began exploring the potential of the character in Superman: Lois and Clark as a young boy developing his own superpowers. Over the course of the Rebirth era, we got to see Superman and Lois raising Jon and nurturing him through the trials of a pre-adolescence as as well as coming to grips with what it’s like to be the son of Superman. This idea was and still is fresh and unique…different. We hadn’t seen this before, and since it was truncated due to Bendis’s interference, we still haven’t seen the concept reach its full potential.
While Jon was part of the Super-family, he was also one half of the Super-Sons. He teamed up with Damian Wayne on a number of adventures unsanctioned by their fathers in two series shepherded by Peter Tomasi. These stories created a fan base for these two as friends. Their personalities may have differed, but they developed a genuine friendship and the stories allowed for some growth and development of both of them. The potential for these to grow up together as the sons of the World’s Finest team was palpable. Like Superman and Lois raising their biological child, the sons of Superman and Batman growing up together is an idea that has not been properly explored. The idea is still there. It’s not a rehash of something we’ve seen before.
Is Secret Six the Answer?
Does Secret Six offer an opportunity for Jon Kent to find a reason to be? Is sticking the son of Superman with some villains and Dreamer going to give Jon Kent a viable direction? What is Jon Kent’s purpose? How do you carve out a unique space for a character? It’s not easy. It takes time. He was there when Bendis aged him up. And then it all changed overnight, and he still hasn’t recovered. He has yet to find his place in the DC Universe. He’s not Superman’s partner. He’s not a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. He’s not Superman, and he won’t be for a long time. So what should he be? How do you move him forward and give him direction?
The “Ultraman’s Son” Theory
The Secret Six mini-series promises to give Jon a new superhero name- Super Son. While it’s a start at giving Jon a direction and heroic identity he can own, there is a better more interesting idea. Remember how Jon Kent was trapped in a volcano on Earth-3 and sort of raised himself while in fear of Ultraman? Nothing about that really makes sense, nor does Jon coming out of the experience unscathed. However, the answer to giving Jon a direction is hidden in that volcano.
You see, the real Jon Kent hasn’t returned. He’s still in space somewhere, and due to a time warp when he does come back he’ll be only a little older. The Jon Kent that returned is actually Ultraman’s son, and he has a job to do. He needs to go back to Earth-3 (an Earth in severe need of heroes) and become that world’s Superman. It’s the opportunity for Jon Kent to BE Superman where he can BE Superman and not redundant. Make him the hero of that Earth, there’s a lot of work to do there. He can take Jay Nakamura with him if he wants, or Dreamer, or both! Give adult Jon the chance to be his own man where he can flourish as a hero, THE HERO. Don’t make him compete with his dad and other members of the Super-family for attention. If you want him to be a viable character who can stand on his own he has to have the space. Its the same reason that Captain Marvel (Shazam/ The Captain) works best as THE hero of his own Earth (Earth-S/5). And, bring back young Jon so he can have a chance at a childhood and be raised by Lois and Clark and be best friends with Damian Wayne- let the Super-Sons live.
