Jonathan Samuel Kent
Jonathan Samuel Kent is a male comic superhero who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Jonathan Samuel Kent was the son of Superman and his wife Lois Lane with his birth coming through a unique set of circumstances. The supervillain Brainiac managed to gain access to the Vanishing Point allowing him to look across the history of the Multiverse. This allowed him to collect cities from across various points of the timeline with the inhabitants being imprisoned in domed structures with them deposited on Telos the Planet Incarnate located outside of time and space. (Convergence v1 #1) Among those cities were a version of Gotham City from after the Infinite Crisis with it holding a version of Superman and Lois Lane. Whilst trapped within it, Superman was deprived of his powers that were suppressed by the time with him and Lois remaining trapped in the city for a period of nine months. Whilst together, the pair were able to conceive a child as Superman's non-powered state allowed Lois to get pregnant. (Convergence: Superman v1 #1) When Brainiac was missing, Telos opened the domes to one another forcing the various cities to fight with this version of Superman regaining his powers and being forced to battle the people from the Flashpoint Earth. By this point, Lois had gone into labour with her being taken to the Flashpoint Batman who was a doctor that helped in the birth. Lois gave birth to a healthy baby boy with her thinking of a name with both Superman and Lane deciding to name him after their respective fathers leading to him being named Jonathan Samuel Kent. (Convergence: Superman v1 #2) His parents survived the journey to stop the original Crisis from manifesting which caused changes in the timestream whereupon they found themselves on Prime Earth. Jon’s parents then set up new lives for themselves as they lived in secrecy as they cared for their son who went by the name of Jonathan Samuel White with his and his family’s past being hidden from him. (Superman: Lois and Clark v1 #1)
However, changes in reality resulted in a different origin being given for Jon Kent where it was shown that he was native to the prime reality. In this new timeline, he was shown as having been born on Earth at the Fortress of Solitude with his parents by his side along with the Justice League. (Superman: Son of Kal-El v1 #1)
Superboy
The family later moved to Hamilton County where they changed their name to the Smiths and lived on a farm on the countryside. (Superman v4 #1)
Jon came to work on a science project for school with his father at the Fortress of Solitude when a device in the base went haywire and transported them to the dangerous Dinosaur Island. Trapped there, they fought for survival alongside a marooned war veteran named Captain William Storm. (Superman v4 #9) Whilst looking for a Christmas tree in Hamilton, Jon was captured by Damian Wayne who believed the new Superboy to a threat to the world. It was then that both Batman and Superman had arrived leading to a confrontation until Jon stopped the fighting. Batman asked to check Jon's genetic structure at the Batcave where Alfred Pennyworth showed Damian's various pets. However, Damian refused to accept Jon's friendship and a fight emerged that had to be stopped by both Batman and Superman. (Superman v4 #10) In order to properly discipline their sons and teach them the value of working together, Superman and Batman had them undergo a series of challenges, but their lack of teamwork caused them to fail every challenge. The boys finally managed to put aside their differences and save their fathers from an apparent threat in the Batcave, which later turned out to be a ruse. (Superman v4 #11)
The aliens were now stranded on Earth and their ship was a base where they defended against a dark force on the other side of a 'rift'. Manchester Black claimed that Jon Kent's powers would surpass those of Superman's, and he kidnapped Superboy and enslaved him. Kathy's uncle sacrificed himself in defiance of Black, which led more of the aliens siding with Superman. (Superman v4 #24)
Jon was then abducted by the Imp Mister Mxyzptlk who resented the fact that Superman had forgotten him as he devoted time to his son. (Action Comics v1 #975) The fifth-dimensional imp was angry at Superman for not rescuing him from Mr. Oz and intended to get revenge by erasing Superman's son from their minds and history. With Lois Lane already forgetting about their child, Superman desperately offered to play a game with Mxyzptlk in order to get Jon back. The imp agreed and created an obstacle course called the Infinite Planet. (Superman v4 #19) After Lois and Clark completed the course, Jon emerged from the top of the course, infused with red energy, which turned out to be the essence of the Prime Earth versions of his parents, who, in their reality, never had Jon and were never married. After Mxyzptlk abandoned them, Jon convinced his reality-displaced parents to merge with their alternate-reality counterparts to form one set of Superman and Lois Lane with both their histories. (Action Comics v1 #976)
He later came to be unwillingly recruited to investigate a series of break-ins at LexCorp but their investigation faced an obstacle in Lex Luthor who tried to capture the two young heroes. (Super Sons v1 #2) The two boys managed to escape and follow a lead to a secret family who still retained their powers from the Amazo Virus. However, one member by the name of Reggie Meyer was driven insane by the excessive use of his powers and took the alias Kid Amazo. He had also stolen the Amazo Armor from Lexcorp and had planned to use it to lure the Justice League into a trap. (Super Sons v1 #3) Thanks to the arrival of Lex Luthor and Reggie's super-powered sister Sara, the Super Sons managed to take Kid Amazo down. Not wanting to explain themselves, Robin and Superboy quickly left the area. However, their absences from their respective homes did not go unnoticed and they were punished by their families. (Super Sons v1 #4)
Despite being becoming Superboy, Jon did not immediately have all of his father's adventures revealed to him, and he remained somewhat uneducated on the nature of some of them. It was not until after he moved to Metropolis that, during a special presentation at school, Jon first learned that his father had once died fighting Doomsday, something his parents had been 'waiting for the right time' to tell him about. The same day, his father was attacked by Doombreaker, a construction worker mutated by long-term contact with a torn piece of Doomsday's hide. Eventually, after Lois and Jon recovered the shard of Doomsday's hide and Clark was able to use it to reverse the mutation. (The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special v1 #1)
For a Better World
Jon's altercation with future-Tim Drake actually affected him more than he let on. He became fearful of the possible future Savior was trying to prevent and was dejected at the Titans' refusal to let him join, believing that they saw something wrong with him. (The Man of Steel v2 #6) One night at the Kents' residence, the family was visited by none other than Mr. Oz - Superman's time displaced father and Jon's grandfather. Jor-El had come to take Jon on a trip through space to better educate him about the known universe. (The Man of Steel v2 #5) Lois and Clark initially refused, but Jon tearfully revealed his insecurities to his parents, stating that this could be an opportunity to better understand himself. Convinced, Lois agreed and volunteered to go with them, much to Clark's dismay before finally letting his family go. (The Man of Steel v2 #6)
He came to question his place in the universe after noting how much of a hero his father was and that the expectations that were placed on him to follow his example. It was this line of thinking that led to him accepting an offer from his grandfather Jor-El to travel into space despite his own father not trusting the Kryptonian. They went to many worlds when his mother Lois Lane decided to return to Earth. During this time, Jon came to see that his grandfather was mentally unstable as he himself questioned the universe as he believed science brought order but the nature of his existence only showed chaos. Thus, in the years he lived through, he decided that he wanted to find a means of leaving his grandfather and returning to Earth. The nature of time-dilation meant that Jon experienced years when only months passed by back at his home with him aging from 11 years old to 17 years old. Ultimately, his feelings about returning home were conveyed to his grandfather who plotted a course back to Earth when their ship fell into a black hole. (Superman v5 #8)
Jonathan along with his father later fight a horde of mysterious alien creatures that come from a breach in space, after the S.T.A.R. Labs space station seals the breach. When the breach later opens up again, Superboy and Superman go back into action and after the battle while returning from Earth, Clark says that it's hard for him to accept that Jon is now a young man, only for Jon to cry and say that he learned a lot of things about Superman in the future, including that the next time the breach opens, Clark can't go as he will die, something that he deduces from the lack of information that there is about Superman in the future from this moment in time. (Superman v5 #29) During another battle as the breach opens up again one final time, Superboy protects his father from an attack and weakens the creatures long enough to take the energy source into the breach. Superboy then detonates the power source, seals the breach and reunites with his father, with Jon questioning that the history books from the future seemed to be wrong about Superman's fate. (Action Comics v1 #1029) Jon and Clark later travel to Thakkram where he meets an old ally of his father, Faldr Poornym, whom along his father and Qarath O Daanim stopped and evil Shadowbreed in the past. Superboy is then taken by Clark to the old canyon where the Shadowbreed was defeated, there they discover the Shadowbreed's corpse. Superboy finds his father's old communicator and some kind of device built from the same technology Faldr used to build his radiation bomb, but this device looks like a cage. (Superman v5 #30)
Jon became the new Superman on Earth as his father faced threats from outer space, saying he was going to be gone for a while. After an encounter with a post-human that had heat-radiating powers, Jon started to question his allegiances, he went to Damian for advice and told him that he wanted to solve bigger problems to help build a better world, Damian showed him an underground stream called "The Truth" that reported things that others were afraid to investigate. (Superman: Son of Kal-El v1 #1) He established a new secret identity as Finn Connors where he went for his first day at Metropolis College. However, he was forced to expose his true identity when he responded to one of the students pulling a rifle and looking to kill people at the college. During this time, he met his father on the Moon where he questioned his dad on why he was not more proactive in saving the planet. Superman then said that he had hoped that his son would carry that responsibility in helping unify the planet. He then gifted Jon a key to the second Fortress of Solitude along with Superman's first costume. Jon then immediately began to respond to incidents around the world such as a refugee boat from the nation of Gamorra that was going to sink with all passengers. He then took he people to Metropolis where he stopped the authorities from trying to arrest them as h wanted the refugees to be given a new life in the city. (Superman: Son of Kal-El v1 #2) Jon and his father later helped another post-human that was unintentionally causing an earthquake and took her to STAR Labs. After this Jon went to help Jay and his friends on a protest rally to prevent the Gamorran refugees that he saved from being deported back to their home country at the request of President Henry Bendix. Jon allowed the police to arrest him until he was bailed out by his father. Jon took Jay to the Smallville farm for dinner at the same time Clark said goodbye to him. Right after his father left, Henry Bendix captured Faultline and dropped her from a plane which caused an explosion on the Kent Farm. (Superman: Son of Kal-El v1 #3) Jon managed to save his family and realized that Jay also had powers so he would survive the explosion. As the Justice League arrived to fight Faultline, Jon stopped them and said that it wasn't her fault. After taking Faultline under the care of Wonder Woman and having a quick chat with The Flash, Superman met Aerie and Wink, friends of Jay who gave him information about the post-human projects at Gamorra, Jon realized that Bendix attacked the Kent Farm and went to Gamorra in order to confront him. He instead found out that the heat metahuman he met in the forest was in danger, but this turned out to be a trap created by Bendix. (Superman: Son of Kal-El v1 #4) Jon was hit with a localized solar energy flare that amplified his powers, causing him to hear people all over the world without stopping. He spent must of his time doing heroic deeds til exhaustion, which left him in the care of Jay until he recovered. (Superman: Son of Kal-El v1 #5)
After Jon discovered that the US Senator James Henderson was working with the Gamorran ambassador to kidnap and traffic young people for Bendix's experiments, he caught him and revealed to Jay Nakamura that his mother Sara was still alive. (Superman: Son of Kal-El v1 #6)
Jonathan was visited by Batman, who left him a crystal that housed an artificial intelligence based on his father which he activated on the Fortress of Solitude. His holographic father talked to him about Lex Luthor and about how he didn't want him to make the same mistakes he made with Lex if he ever returned. As Luthor returned to Metropolis, he bought the tallest building in the city and put a LexCorp sign on it. Superman intervene when the building was attacked by some guard robots created by Luther himself, but that were now attacking him due to one of his competitors also had a hand on key components of said robots. Superman and Luthor on his suit teamed up and defeated the robots, Lex then offered Jon play a game of chess he and his father never finished many years ago. Jon agreed with the condition that if he won Luthor had to take the LexCorp sign off his building, the two played chess while Jon talked about how Luthor could help improve the future of the planet as it was in his self-interest, Jon then beat Luthor on the chess game and quickly left not before taking the damaged L off the sign that now said 'ExCorp'. (Superman: Son of Kal-El 2021 Annual v1 #1)
Overview
Personality and attributes
Initially, he went by the name of Jonathan Samuel White in order to hide and protect his true identity with Jon being unaware of it at the time. (Superman: Lois and Clark v1 #1) At Hamilton County, his family changed their surname with him going by the name of Jonathan Smith. (Superman v4 #1) Jon later came to take the superhero identity of Superboy. (Superman v4 #6) At one point, Manchester Black came to mentally manipulate Jon to turn against his father where he was given the name Superboy Black. (Superman v4 #25) At another time, a had a new secret identity created himself where he went by the blonde-haired Finn Connors that was created for him by Batman and Oracle. (Superman: Son of Kal-El v1 #2)
At first, he was not aware of the fact that his father was Superman and was initially angry at his parents for hiding this from him. (Superman: Lois and Clark v1 #1) He initially resented at having to keep secrets and hide his true identity from others. (Superman v4 #1)
Initially, Jon was told to not use his powers when his father was not around. (Superman v4 #1)
He had to contend with living under the biggest shadow in the universe namely being the son of Superman. (Superman: Son of Kal-El v1 #2)
Jon later showed that he identified as being bisexual. (Superman: Son of Kal-El v1 #5)
As a young boy, he had a pet down that was named Ranger. (Superman: Lois and Clark v1 #1) On the Smith Farm, he came to have a pet cat who the family named Goldie until she was accidentally killed by Jon. (Superman v4 #1)
He came to show romantic interest in Jay Nakamura with the two having a moment and kissing each other. (Superman: Son of Kal-El v1 #5) Jay was a Gamorran refugee who had been experimented on and gained the ability to phase through objects. (Superman: Son of Kal-El v1 #4)
Powers and abilities
According to Batman, as a Kryptonian/Human hybrid, Jon had the potential to become more powerful than his father with his abilities being off the chart. (Superman v4 #20) At first, it seemed though that his powers were more unstable and in a state of flux that were dependent on his emotions. (Superman v4 #10) Lack of solar energy in long periods will gradually weaken his abilities, ultimately making him vulnerable. (Adventures of the Super Sons v1 #7)
One of the first powers he came to develop was super-hearing. (Superman: Lois and Clark v1 #5) In time, he came to develop his X-Ray vision allowing him to scan a person for weaponry. (Superman: Son of Kal-El v1 #2)
Another power he came to learn to possess was invulnerability where he was not injured in scorching flames that would have burnt an ordinary human. (Superman: Lois and Clark v1 #1)
He then began to develop the ability to fly rather than be limited to giant leaps. (Super-Sons v1 #10)
In time, he came to faster than the speed of sound. (Superman: Son of Kal-El v1 #2) He could use his superspeed to disarm opponents, catch bullets or shrapnel and cross vast distances in seconds. (Action Comics v1 #966) In one case, his speed allowed him to break free from the Time Commander's Chronokinesis. (Super Sons v1 #7)
Jon later came to manifest his heat vision where initially he struggled in controlling it with strong emotions causing it to fire out from his eyes. (Superman v4 #1)
Later on, he would demonstrate to showcase freezing breath. (Superman v4 #10)
One ability he seemed to had developed was his solar flare where he was overcharged with solar energy and emitted it as a powerful blast from his body. He was said to be unable to control this power which acted as a jamming field filling the air with static and emitted an energy signature. (Teen Titans v6 #15) It was possible to overwhelm him with a solar flare to supercharge his abilities to the point that he had no control over them. (Superman: Son of Kal-El v1 #5)
Jon later was able to manipulate the stored solar energy within his body in ways that an average Kryptonian could not accomplish. He could either use it to temporarily boost his baseline powers or display new powers outside the typical Kryptonian template. (Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent v1 #3) It was shown that Jon's body emitted his stored solar energy as a powerful electrical energy where he was able to manipulate this electricity for a variety of effects. (Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent v1 #2)
Notes
- Jonathan Samuel Kent was created by Dan Jurgens where he made his first appearance in Convergence: Superman v1 #2 (July, 2015).
- In an interview on Newsrama, Jurgens wrote, "The way I describe him is that he looks like Clark but has Lois' spitfire attitude and inquisitiveness."
- On Comicbook.com, Jurgens further noted in an interview that, "Lots of people might expect Jon to be something like his dad’s younger self, but it would be a bit of a mistake. His parents are not Jonathan and Martha Kent. It’s Lois and Clark. They’re different people with different ways of parenting."
- Artist in an interview on Newsrama commented on the characters costume, "I started trying out some of the more classic designs as a mini homage to the classic Superman, but the guys at DC wanted to experiment with something more casual, as those are the designs that have been working better recently. We are also looking at an incomplete "Superboy;" he's not super yet, so it's reasonable to say that if he's only half super, that he should have clothing that's half super. So we started to play around with clothing that I see as popular right now with teenagers. For example, tight ripped jeans, at least in Spain, are very popular right now and I think they give a lot of mobility to the character when I draw him on the page. I've also used a popular shoe design. I must mention that I like putting effort into what I wear personally, so this way I was able to add a bit of myself to the character. The short length of the cape gives it a younger look, and the zipped hoodie… I did that thinking they might make a real version for people to wear. I also think that this aesthetic could make a connection with the younger readers."
Alternate Versions
- In Son of Superman v1 (1999), a Jon Kent appeared in the alternate Elseworld setting where he was the son of Superman and Lois Lane. His father was captured and missing for years with his mother Lois raising her son by herself where she kept his parentage from him as he did not manifest powers and thus believed his father was an ordinary Clark Kent. During his teenage years, he began to manifest his abilities and later came to learn that his father was Superman. When a solar storm's radiation triggers his Kryptonian powers, he learns the truth about his father from his mother Lois Lane. Jon dons a costume inspired by his father's, and later successfully rescues his father from a secret facility where he is being held as a prisoner. Superman reunites with his family. When it's revealed that Lex Luthor was responsible for Superman's capture, Jon teams up with his father to stop Lex. After a prolonged battle, Lex is defeated. Superman decides to temporarily retire from being a superhero and focus more on his family. This leaves Jon to be the first of a new generation of superheroes.
- In Batman Beyond v5 #11 (2016), Jon appeared in an alternate future set in a variation of Batman Beyond. It was shown that he was the Superman of this era and part of the Justice League Beyond with the fate of his father being a long story. During Brother Eye's attack on the world, the Justice League Beyond were captured and kept in stasis until brainwashed by Abel Cuvier. A time displaced Tim Drake from Future's End came to this timeline where he became Batman Beyond and rescued the Justice League Beyond after learning their fate.
- In Justice League v3 #27 (2017), it was shown that in an alternate timeline where the members of the Justice League had children. In this timeline, Diana had a son named Hunter but she abandoned the boy with Superman and Lois Lane adopting him where they cared for him as he was their child with hi being raised alongside their own son Jon Kent.
- In Superman v4 #42 (2018), an alternate version of the character named Boyzarro was shown to be an inhabitant of Bizarro World.
- In Green Lantern: Blackstars v1 (2019), an alternate version of Jon Kent was shown in a reality created by Controller Mu after he used the Miracle Machine to change the universe. Jon Kent was born the son of Superman where he wanted to join the ranks of the Blackstars but his father banned him and warned Hal Jordan that any attempt at taking his child would result in war. At the time, Jordan was looking to restore the Prime Earth and abducted Jon to trigger a war between Superman and the Blackstars in order to distract Countess Belzebeth.
- In Future State: Superman of Metropolis v1 #1 (2021), an alternate future version of Jon Kent was shown in the reality of Future State. This version had taken his fathers place as Superman and was a superhero that protected the Earth. He later came to be a member of the Justice League alongside the new Wonder Woman Yara Flor.
In other media
Television
- In Young Justice: Outsiders, Jonathan appeared in the setting of the animated television series 3rd season. mother Lois brings him to the home of Iris West for a playdate with the children of other superheroes. In the season 4 episode "I Know Why the Caged Cat Sings", Jon is at the Kent farm in Smallville for a family gathering while his parents explain the death of Conner Kent. In the season 4 finale, Jon is delighted to learn that Conner is alive and serves as a ring-bearer at his wedding to Miss Martian.
- In the Arrowverse, Jonathan appeared in the shared continuity setting:
- In Supergirl, the child of Superman and Lois Lane appeared in the live-action television series. During the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover, the child was identified as being named Jonathan.
- In Batwoman, Jonathan appeared in the live-action television series during the Crisis on Infinite Earth's crossover. The Earth-96 Superman stated that Jonathan resembled his own reality's son 'Jason'.
- In Superman & Lois, Jonathan Kent appeared in the setting of the live-action television series where he was portrayed by actor Jordan Elsass. Jonathan was said to be a modest and kind-hearted boy who had a brother named Jordan Kent.
Films
- In Superman Returns, Jason White appeared in the live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Tristan Lake Leabu. He was the son of Superman and Lois Lane with his father being unaware of his conception as he had departed Earth to find Krypton. Following Jason's birth, his mother hid Jason's parentage and had been involved in a relationship with Richard White where she claimed that he was the father. The pair were thus responsible for raising the young Jason White who had hidden his powers from the world. When first seen, Jason has asthma and is a "fragile" child according to his mother, who at one point rattles off a list of the different medications her son has to take. While investigating Lex Luthor's yacht with Jason, the two are abducted by Luthor himself. When Luthor brings out some Kryptonite, Jason appears faintly weak, inspiring Lex to ask Lois who the child's father is. Lois informs him that it is Richard. Luthor then holds the kryptonite much closer to Jason, but it produces no apparent effects on Jason. Luthor seems to shrug off his suspicions. Not long after, Luthor's henchman Brutus brutally attacks Lois, only to be suddenly crushed to death by a grand piano which flew horizontally across the room, yet was several steps down and not on wheels. The camera pans over to Jason who has his hands extended. Jason had thrown the piano, proving that he is really Superman's son. He had been frightened and out of breath just moments before, but afterwards produces his inhaler only to realize he did not need it. When informed of his henchman's rather odd death, Lex realizes that Jason is Superman's son. Lois and Jason are then thrown into a locked pantry, when Lois asks if he can help with the door, Jason says, "I'm sorry". After Lois tries for several frantic minutes to break the door open, Jason approaches the door as she watches with bated breath. At that moment, Richard arrives and opens the door from the other side. Before they can escape however, the yacht breaks and is about to capsize and drown them, but Superman successfully saves them and helps them get back to the mainland while he deals with the Kryptonite island Luthor built. Superman successfully pulls the landmass out of the ocean and hurls it into space, but the prolonged Kryptonite exposure leaves him badly weakened and comatose. While Superman is recovering in the hospital, Lois confesses she has something to tell him, and whispers in his ear while glancing at Jason, telling Superman about Jason's true father. After recovering, Superman visits Jason late one night while the boy is sleeping in his bed, and, standing over him, delivers the familiar soliloquy that his own father (Jor-El) gave to him in the original Superman film, slightly modified. This speech ends with the line "the son becomes the father, and the father becomes the son."
- In Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons, Jonathan Kent appeared in the setting of the 2022 animated film where he was voiced by actor Jack Dylan Grazer. An 11-year-old Jon, the son of Superman, discovers he has superpowers and is thrust into the world of superheroes and supervillains and joins forces with Damian Wayne, the son of Batman, to save the planet by becoming the Super Sons they were destined to be
Video games
- In DC Legends, the Jon Kent Superboy was introduced as a playable character in the mobile video game.
Appearances
- Convergence v1: (2015)
- Superman: Lois and Clark v1:
- Superman v4:
- Super-Sons v1:
- Teen Titans:
- Adventures of the Super-Sons v1:
- Superman v5:
- Legion of Super-Heroes:
- Green Lantern: Blackstars v1:
- Legion of Super-Heroes:
- Future State: Superman of Metropolis v1: (2021)
- Future State: Justice League v1:
- Future State: Superman/Wonder Woman v1:
- Superman: Son of Kal-El v1: (2021)
- The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special v1:
External Links
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