Just pretending to be an adult here...

28. He/Him. Massive nerd. Calm on the outside, screaming on the inside

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Honestly, this whole Tomorrow Man arc has never made me want to hug Jon more and tell him that he'll be okay and that he's deserving of love.

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I went into this new "Reign of the Superboys" thing expecting the kid Jon part to just be temporary. He was either not going to he real or some kind of imposter. But after reading this my mind has gone in a different direction.

Because what if he is the real thing?

The kid's having trauma dreams right now. An imposter wouldn't be having those.

And yet what older Jon has to say on the topic is telling:

This younger Jon is more broken than he ever was. It's not impossible that Jon is simply misremembering or actively suppressing how bad things were, but with the way this story is being set up, coupled with the various previews and cover art from future issues, something is clearly off here.

I trust Lois' instincts as a mother that this Jon is real, but I'm beginning to wonder if this is our Jon.

And this is where the dark parts of my mind wander: What if our Jon wasn't the only Jon who ended up in Ultraman's clutches?

Think about it. It's still really weird that Jon just randomly ended up going through a portal to Earth-3 in the first place. What if he wasn't the only version of himself to do so? I don't know about you but that's a terrifying implication to me.

It would mean this Jon is real but was returned to the wrong universe. And it would give the writers an easy and fair way to remove him from the timeline while also giving our Jon closure on certain subjects. Not all of his issues, but certainly whether things would have been better had he returned shortly after being captured.

Food for thought.

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This cover art is fun to investigate!

Now, comic fans know to take cover art with a grain of salt when it comes to predicting what might happen in the actual story, but I find that Damian's equipment is worth examining.

Obviously he's wearing some sort of power armor to give him an edge against "Jon" (I'm not ready to believe this kid Jon is real until it's spelled out for me in idiot proof text 🤣). But I'm having fun imagining that this might be a little nod towards the Dark Knight Returns.

I'm getting off topic though: Look at the sword Damian is holding as well as the ring on his finger. They're glowing with this light and if you look closely at "Jon" you see that same glow coming from his veins.

Perhaps Damian acquired some form of kryptonite, but then why the strange color? Blue Kryptonite only affects Bizarros and Silver Kryptonite typically causes hallucinations. I wouldn't put it past Damian to find some new form of kryptonite, but I'm looking forward to getting an answer if this cover actually turns out to be a real hint! 😁

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So uuuuuh... anyone want to place bets on the "Witch Queen" attacking Naltor being Maeve Nal, Dreamer's older (and bitter) sister? 🤣

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This might be a stupid take, but lately I've been reading Jon Kent's voice as Steven Universe from Steven Universe: Future.

It just... has that feeling between brightness, but also defined by early childhood trauma, you know?

But anyway, what voices do you hear when you read anything with Jon Kent?

[filibusterfrog]

plant knights

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Superfamily Powerpoint Presentation!

So, I made a presentation about the Superfam for a powerpoint night in a server I'm in, and I figured I'd share the slides here as well!

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Am I going nuts or are they now demanding that I subscribe to something to read Jon Kent: This Internship Is My Kryptonite?

Advice, please, anyone?

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I know issue #17 of Jon Kent: This Internship Is My Kryptonite had some twists, but honestly? The biggest shock of all was Woo-Sung revealing to Jon that they were majoring in ethics and philosophy. 🤣

And then... actually helped Jon better understand the difference in intentions and outcomes between what Lois was trying to do when compared to LNN. After being God's favorite idiot for all those issues til now I was legitimately beginning to think they didn't have it in them. I'm really proud of them! 😁

Oh, and there was the whole Jay thing. While it was a shock, I have my suspicions that something more was going on there. Jay doesn't seem the type to have that specific convo over the phone...

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Hold on. This doesn't make much sense then.

If Nia's vision showed Checkmate restoring Waller's memories, then why did all the files Jay find state that they were going to wipe her mind completely and pin all the blame on her? Does this mean Nia's visions can be wrong?

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You know what I really wish we'd got: Jon's reaction to learning that Damian had in fact died before. And stayed dead for a good long while.

It's been mentioned that he's aware of it before the age up, but that would have been such a good character development moment for both of them.

Jon realizing just how far Damian has gone to protect the people he loves and Damian in turn trusting Jon with a very personal bit of information. Maybe even offering more insight into what happened in the afterlife than what he normally told his family.

And then there's how Jon would react to those who were involved with it. If he has issues with Batman, he'd utterly despise Talia. Which leads me to suspect that Damian didn't tell Jon what happened to him until after he first met Talia.

Which... she already tried to kill Lois. Learning that the woman who almost killed his mom for money had actually killed his best friend, who was her own son? Yeah, Jon would have been in attack on sight mode when it comes to her.

I still enjoy and miss the old Super Sons comics. Sometimes I just needed a dose of fun and cute with no real stakes. That lightheartedness is genuinely good for the soul. But adding a dash of sincere personal development would really have made the comic soar.

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It's funny. No sooner then I mention how I wish Jon would have normal civilian friends who know his identity, it actually happens.

Only it's Woo-Sung from Jon Kent: This Internship Is My Kryptonite! 🤣

I said a normal friend DC! Not the embodiment of entitlement! Even if I do love them for it! 🤣

This is not the sanity check he needed. But it's defintiely more entertaining for the rest of us. 🤣

Now we've just got to pray they don't accidentally livestream his secret identity again! 🤣

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Help! A cursed thought just popped into my head!

I just pictured Jon, Jay, and Nia as Ernest, Madeline, and Helen from Death Becomes Her! 🤣

It somehow feels like that's their dynamic yet at the same time Madeline and Helen were way more toxic than Jay and Nia could ever be lol

I can see it now. Nia floating in the pool, blood pouring out of her.

Jon: OH MY GOD!!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!

Jay: What have I done?! Defended myself, that's what! You plotter! Co-conspirator!

Jon: SHE'S DEAD!!!

Jay: She is? These are the moments that make life worth living!

🤣

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One thing I think Jon definitely needs? A normal friend.

I'm not the only one who has noticed that every long term friendship Jon has had since his introduction has either been another superhero or an outright deception (looking at you Kathy!). Jon has truly never had a normal friend without powers who has no ulterior motive for getting to know him.

Given how wrapped up in his superhero life he is, I think it would do him a world of good to start making some friends who don't have any powers. People that remind him he is also a person with needs beyond the Superman symbol.

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Something I've been contemplating since Absolute Power: Super Son is how exactly Jon dreamed of Nia before she was brought back.

Nia claimed that Jon dreamed of her so often that he essentially resurrected her. Something that no doubt contributes to her feelings for him, but I do have to wonder how coming back to life through dreams can change a person.

After all, if Jon is the one doing the dreaming would he bring her back exactly as she was or how he pictured her in his mind? How much of the Nia who came back is actually herself and what Jon might have idealized or misunderstood about her?

There are a lot of existential questions Nia could ask herself regarding this. Where does she end and Jon begin? How much of her recent actions would she have undergone prior to dying if Jon's dreams had an impact on her personality? Fun stuff basically. 😁

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(Looks right. Looks left.)

...what are they looking at? 🙂

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The panel where Jay vanishes caught my attention a bit. He just demonstrated an ability that basically trumps Batman's classic disappearing act.

Jay can apparently make himself invisible to light and sound, effectively becoming impossible for even a kryptonian to find. And these guys can see what atoms look like up close.

While that's a cool new ability he's been given, my question was: How long has he had it?

Going over what is known about Jay, he's only had his phasing powers for, generously, a year or two. And Secret Six #4 made it clear there are parts of it that he's still figuring out, such as how he can become immune to soundwaves when intangible.

For my money, I think this is the first time he's ever used this power, and I have to wonder if he even meant for it to happen. If he'd had this ability at any point before now, he would have used it to escape Gamorra the first time. Or when he was being hunted down by Amanda Waller in Absolute Power.

Think about that for a second. Jay's been in some pretty messed up situations where he has wanted to get the hell out of dodge before it was too late. Moments when his life was in danger. Yet here he must have wanted to get away from Jon so badly that he actually manifested a whole new power! How tragic is that? The idea that he was more desperate to get away from Jon than he was from people who were actively threatening his life.