DC seems to have problems with Jon Kent, but that was not always the case. While not every fan liked DC’s Convergence event from 2015, where it pulled heroes from across timelines into a collapsing multiverse during the two months when DC Comics physically moved its offices from New York to the West Coast, using the story as a bridge while the company transitioned. It did serve to introduce Jon in Convergence: Superman issue 2.
When DC did their revamp of the DC mythos, like anything else, the marriage of Lois and Clark was retconned out of it. The Convergence event not only brought back the “real” Lois and Clark, but also the birth of their son. Before long, Lois, Clark, and Jon were brought back into continuity as if they had been part of it all along.
Fan reception was really positive toward the introduction of Jon Kent, and he soon became the new Superboy. For the next two years, built on the characters—including Damian/Superboy becoming the Super Sons. Then things went into a totally different direction in 2019.
During Brian Michael Bendis’s run, Jon Kent was taken from childhood into his late teens after an off‑world adventure in which time passed differently for him. My style is not usually one to be overly critical of creators. While some of his choices at DC during this time were not well-received by fans—you also need to look at the context of what was going on at the time.
Despite DC’s continued push to establish an adult Jon Kent—including high‑profile arcs from writers like Tom King—many readers still point to the strength of his earlier
Super Sons era with Damian Wayne. Their partnership had become a genuine fan favorite. For many readers, the creative potential of a young Jon Kent felt more exciting than the immediate move toward a second adult Superman.
Flashforward to 2026, and, as part of the Reign of the Superboys event, young Jon Kent was reintroduced in Superman Unlimited. He was basically pulled out of the timestream before—well, let’s not get too into the weeds! We’ll be here all day!
But as of now, THREE Jon Kent Superboys are running around DC these days. Like many things, DC, you almost need a scorecard to keep track of things—because there are actually a total of six Superboys running around. I find it extremely amusing that decades ago, Crisis came about because the writers and editors thought the mythos was too complicated for fans to follow. Now, at times, you practically do need a scorecard to keep track of things!
I give DC credit on the Jon Kent Superboy thing—because no matter how it plays out, some fans are not going to be happy. Not everyone likes the aged-up Superboy—some do! And, there are now years of continuity with the aged Jon Kent. It will be interesting to see how this all eventually plays out.
From this fanboy’s humble opinion, I do think aging him up was a misstep and sloppy storytelling. Personally, once a publisher makes a major shift in a character’s mythos, that company should stick to that choice. Just because a current or future writer or higher-ups want to undo (in some cases, decades of story) something, because it doesn’t fit into their current ideas for a character, is wrong—in my eyes.
The other Jon Kents? Well, the current adult Jon is the leader of one of the two Titan groups! And, this fanboy’s head is just spinning trying to sort everything out! If I miss something or forget something—give this poor fanboy a break! And, the other appears as Tomorrow Man with the young Jon Kent.
How it turns out is anyone’s guess, really. But, here’s the thing about DC, at least for me—over the past few years, I have learned to, in a way, to trust DC. While I may not like everything that DC does all the time—for the most part I enjoy what DC is doing these days, which is something I can’t say about a certain other publisher.
About Author
