Superman's attitude toward Superboy

[Gotham Central]

Does anyone find Clark's attitude toward Connor somewhat...odd?

I find it strange that he has always kept Connor at a distance and never shown to be that close with him.

Its weird that Lex Luthor, in his own twisted way, has tried to be a father figure to Connor. But Clark, not only keeps his distance, but actually has his mother "raising" him. You'd think that Martha would have a talk with him about that..."I know you didn't ask to be a parent, and that this kid one day sort of turned up through no fault of your own...but guess what Clark...having family and responsibility simply fall out of the sky seems to run in this family...and you need to step up to the plate."

Its even more peculiar given how eager He and Lois were to be parents to Chris Kent. Connor is Clark's own flesh and blood (although he has the dubious distinction of having two fathers and no mother). Chris was just a young Kryptonian. Yet they rolled out the red carpet for him while simultaneously shuffling off Connor to Smallville.

In some ways its tragic. Connor is a kid that probably could really benefit from having Clark as a fagther figure. He has no family of his own, had no childhood, and the only person who's gone out of their way to try and be family to him has been a supervillan.

One wonders why they've kept Connor at such a distance. It makes sense that Kara was able to stand on her own. She had a family and got to grow up with loving parents. Connor has been on his own for most of his life.

His approach to Connor seems a bit out of character for someone who has always been depicted as being great with kids. He's like to cool uncle to Dick Grayson and Tim Drake- Wayne.

So why the distance between himself and the closest thing that he has to a son (whats even more bizzare is that he's called Connor his BROTHER).

 

[Admiral_Young]

It is an interesting question. I have thought of Clark and Connor as brothers more than anything else. I suppose that the easiest answer would be that Clark is still possibly bothered that Connor is a clone of him? Clark also has his own life and doesn't really have the time to interact much with Connor. I suppose that their relationship might be different if Connor was younger than he was when he first emerged from Cadmus. If he wasn't already a teenager with all the memories and experiences of Clark Kent already intact maybe Clark would be more of a father figure. I don't think there is that much distance from them but there is a separation. It's not like Bruce with his sons. Also Clark doesn't have any experience raising anyone like Bruce does. This might also have something to do with it and a reason he asked Jonathon and Martha to look after Connor.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Because they're usually in their own books/storylines doing their own things.

But I'd say in universe he is more like a brother (well an odd kind of younger twin half-brother I guess) than a son. I like to assume there was all sorts of bonding/hanging out off screen.

 

[Gotham Central]

It is an interesting question. I have thought of Clark and Connor as brothers more than anything else. I suppose that the easiest answer would be that Clark is still possibly bothered that Connor is a clone of him? Clark also has his own life and doesn't really have the time to interact much with Connor. I suppose that their relationship might be different if Connor was younger than he was when he first emerged from Cadmus. If he wasn't already a teenager with all the memories and experiences of Clark Kent already intact maybe Clark would be more of a father figure. I don't think there is that much distance from them but there is a separation. It's not like Bruce with his sons. Also Clark doesn't have any experience raising anyone like Bruce does. This might also have something to do with it and a reason he asked Jonathon and Martha to look after Connor.

Clark might have his own life, but he an Lois jumped at the idea of raising Chris (Lor-Zod) as their own.

 

[Gotham Central]

Because they're usually in their own books/storylines doing their own things.

But I'd say in universe he is more like a brother (well an odd kind of younger twin half-brother I guess) than a son. I like to assume there was all sorts of bonding/hanging out off screen.

What's even more peculiar...Clark didn't even tell Superboy his secret Identity. Connor found out on his own after a trip through hypertime.

Plus Dick and Tim have their own titles (usually) but that has never stopped them for being big parts of Bruce Wayne's life.

 

[Captain Mike]

It is an interesting question. I have thought of Clark and Connor as brothers more than anything else. I suppose that the easiest answer would be that Clark is still possibly bothered that Connor is a clone of him? Clark also has his own life and doesn't really have the time to interact much with Connor. I suppose that their relationship might be different if Connor was younger than he was when he first emerged from Cadmus. If he wasn't already a teenager with all the memories and experiences of Clark Kent already intact maybe Clark would be more of a father figure. I don't think there is that much distance from them but there is a separation. It's not like Bruce with his sons. Also Clark doesn't have any experience raising anyone like Bruce does. This might also have something to do with it and a reason he asked Jonathon and Martha to look after Connor.

Having not read any of the stories much since before "Birthright", except for Infinite Crisis, when S-Boy first emerged it was prematurely and he had basically his own memories. Never much of Clark's at all. Did all that change?

Because they're usually in their own books/storylines doing their own things.

But I'd say in universe he is more like a brother (well an odd kind of younger twin half-brother I guess) than a son. I like to assume there was all sorts of bonding/hanging out off screen.

I too think it was a more "brotherly" relationship between the two from the very beginning. There was a issue of Adventure's, or Superman itself that didn't Clark show him by holographic images of what life was back on Krypton?...hence he gave him the moniker of "Con-El", making him his brother of sorts? I am guessing that turned into "Conner"?

 

[Nerys Myk]

Wasnt Connor dead when Chris turned up? Perhaps part of Lois and CLarks willingness/desire to raise Chris came from Connor's death. By the time Connor came back they realised that they werent cut out to raise a teenager at that stage of their lives.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Because they're usually in their own books/storylines doing their own things.

But I'd say in universe he is more like a brother (well an odd kind of younger twin half-brother I guess) than a son. I like to assume there was all sorts of bonding/hanging out off screen.

What's even more peculiar...Clark didn't even tell Superboy his secret Identity. Connor found out on his own after a trip through hypertime.

Plus Dick and Tim have their own titles (usually) but that has never stopped them for being big parts of Bruce Wayne's life.

Thats becuse they were created as sidekicks and not independent characters. Connor's been a solo star since his creation. In that way he's a lot like Donna Troy who never figured greatly in Wonder Woman stories from the 60s-80s

 

[Admiral_Young]

When Connor first encounters Lois he recognizes her. It might have been retconned out that he possessed Clark's memories (just like it was retconned by Geoff Johns that he had Luthor's DNA in him). With regards to Lor-Zod/Chris Kent again see my point in my first post about age. Clark immediately felt responsible for Chris because of his age, not to mention the fact that he was the infant son of a zealot would be tyrant. I stated that this could have been the case with Connor had he been younger than he was. Also there were people in Connor's life that he could immediately interact with. Clark probably felt no immediate responsibility towards Connor. If I recall correctly during the Return of Superman storyline he was originally cautious towards him, naturally so considering he wasn't aware of the back story behind his creation yet.

 

[shivkala]

Conner never had Superman's memories, and, as much as I like Karl Kessel's writing, I wasn't a big fan of how Superboy reacted at the Daily Planet when he first hit the scene. I understand Kessel was going for the mystery aspect (as in, "Could this really be Superman, reduced to a teenager?"), hence why he was drawn to Lois and his clumsily pushing back his hair.

I don't think you can compare Chris and Conner for several reasons. First, Conner appeared during the time Superman was "dead" and established himself. Even when Superman came back, he wasn't eager to hang around him, happy enough to go off to Hawaii with Superman's blessings. Next, Chris was younger than Conner, just a boy, compared to Conner, who was a teen when he first appeared. Then, there's a difference between being a clone and being Kryptonian. As explained at the time, Superboy barely had any of Superman's DNA and was more of a clone in looks, than in anything else. Even his powers worked differently, with the emphasis on his aura giving Superboy his powers, not Kryptonian DNA. Lastly, Chris came after Conner and Kara, both of whom provided lessons for Superman.

Plus, Superman knew Conner's origins, as a result of an experiment by Project Cadmus, which he came to only begrudgingly trust, as it had points in its favor, such as the Guardian, the Newsboys, and Dubbilex, as well as points against it, such as Director Westfield and Dabney Donovan. I'd say he wasn't quite sure which side Superboy would end up on, and decided to keep an eye on Superboy, without fully "adopting" him.

Then there's the fact that Superman didn't exactly brush Conner off. He made sure he was in good hands, with Dubbilex looking after him and, as I said, Conner was in favor of living life on his own. As far as revealing his identity, he didn't exactly go around revealing that, as it too him some time to reveal himself to Steel, as well. And once Superboy found out, Kal sort-of apologized to him by helping him go through a Kryptonian rite-of-passage and giving him the Kryptonian name Kon-El. This lead to his later decision to help him set-up an alter-ego and encourage him to live on the farm with his parents.

There's also the fact that Clark and Lois were married when Chris came along and they both had previously discussed having kids. When Superboy arrived, he and Lois were only engaged and did not live together. In fact, not long after Superman came back from the dead, Lois called off the engagement. Of course, they eventually reconciled and married, but, again, by that time, Superboy was established and did not want to be "adopted." He only agreed to live with the Kents after Young Justice fell apart, leaving him without a support network for probably the first time since he escaped from Cadmus.

It's only been since his return from the dead that he really has embraced his role as a "Junior" Superman and actively wanted to follow in Superman's footsteps. I have a hard time seeing Conner, who, prior to his death, was always portrayed as an independent character, wanting to be adopted by Superman.

 

[Mike Farley]

The Superman DNA is a Johns recon too. Originally Superboy's DNA was entirely human, tweaked to simulate Kryptonian powers. If I recall it was hinted (although not actually outright stated) that he was a clone of Cadmus director Donald Westlake.

So for much of his existence Superboy had no real connection to Superman other than being another person wearing the "S" Shield. Certainly no familial connection. Much like the Matrix/Linda Danvers Supergirl--another "S" Shield character that Clark had no real connection to.

 

[sojourner]

Connor was obviously flawed in some respect. I mean the kid couldn't go 20 minutes without saying "tactile telekinesis", surely a sign of mental damage.

 

[Mike Farley]

Not to mention his original haircut...

 

[Myasishchev]

^Ha.

I always wondered: if it's tactile, it's not really telekinesis, is it? But I kid.

Anyway, I liked the Matrix Supergirl. Not Linda Danvers later, just the Matrix. She was kind of a great weird concept.

Slight deviation from the subject of the thread, to deliver a question to those who know more about the Superman family, especially their current status, than I do:

Kara Zor-El is a potentially stronger concept, but I just don't really get her.

Like, I'm not sure it's even been fully acknowledged how horrific her history is. Ignoring the fact that she is or should be far more fully alien than Superman, completely indisposed to even having a secret identity (her identity is or should be "Kara Zor-El," in the same sense that the Silver Surfer's is "Norrin Radd" or Namor's is "Namor," in a manner very distinct from how Superman's is "Kal-El"), the quality of her tragedy is far greater as well.

Superman never really lost Krypton--his interest in Krypton is more of an interest in himself, whereas Kara lost an actual living world in young adulthood, and in fact lived an entire young adulthood in worse-than-siege conditions. Her family, her friends, that guy her parents were going to arrange for her to marry*? The billions more she'll never have a chance to know? They were real people to her, and dead.** Survival, superpowers and the human species can't really be that much of a consolation.

I mean, origin-wise, she's not Superman's counterpart, she's the Martian Manhunter's. But whereas that guy's very obviously tragic, my impression is that she's just this teenager with superpowers, too-often drawn by ephebophiles, and this has kept me away from the character. So maybe my concerns have been addressed, and I'm merely ignorant of it.

*I think this is still canon for Kryptonian culture, or at least the House of El. It sounds like it should be, if it isn't.
**Don't know enough about the New Krypton arc to say how this changed things, although as I understand it Zor-El and Alura are/were alive?

 

[Nick Ryder]

I originally kind of liked the 'kid-Superman' when he first came out, sure he was annoying at first, but I always thought - well at least he's better than the hokey old Superboy and besides... with the differences in powers and the thought that 'Well maybe someday when they've written him for a few more years, he'll grow up and be be a regular full on character like Nightwing, not a kid character like Robin.'

I do like the path they took with him later on, although the whole adventures in Hawaii with Tana Moon, Roxy and Rex and Dubbilex was kinda fun for a while, actually in the right hands, they could have easily made him DC's Spider-Man, the awkward teenager with powers and yet a responsiblity to use them correctly - although to live up to the Superman ideal. Sort of like how Spider-Man always sort of aspired to be like Captain America, or Iron Man or other heroes he looked up to.

Connor was never a character I would ever have looked at to be a 'son' of Superman. I always saw him as his own character, as a Superboy on his way to being a Superman, but on his own path. A sort of 'What if Superman didn't start out as Clark Kent, what if he was always Super." Brother to Superman, sure - in a way that Dick Grayson is like a brother/son to Bruce Wayne.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Not to mention his original haircut...

The original haircut was goofy, no doubt, but I wouldn't mind seeing a return of either Connor's original costume or his Legion costume. The current "t-shirt and jeans" look doesn't work for me.

 

[shivkala]

The Superman DNA is a Johns recon too. Originally Superboy's DNA was entirely human, tweaked to simulate Kryptonian powers. If I recall it was hinted (although not actually outright stated) that he was a clone of Cadmus director Donald Westlake.
.

Not quite. In Superboy Annual #2, they stumble upon a tape from late Paul Westfield, who served as the director of Cadmus when they stole Superman's "dead" body, in which he admits that he served as the template for Superboy's DNA, at least the part they couldn't figure out from Superman's Kryptonian DNA. It wasn't implied, rather, it was stated outward, leading Superboy to briefly have an existential battle over whether Westfield's DNA made him any less heroic (Westfield was a jerk and, as seen with the incident in which Cadmus stole Superman's body, wasn't always the most moral individual). With some help from Superman and needy kids, he realized that he wasn't bound by who his DNA came from. Needless to say he got over that quicker than he did finding out that he had Luthor's DNA.

 

[Admiral_Young]

That's because Westfield is a non-entity compared to Lex I'm not sure all the hate towards the t-shirt and jeans costume. I always chalk that up to two reasons. A) It's a style thing for Connor and B) He doesn't feel like he's ready to don the suit and cape. Although the Legion storyline would have proved otherwise.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I like my superheoes to dress better than I do. Currently I'm dressed like Superboy.

 

[shivkala]

I liked Superboy's second costume. It was definitely less 90ish and had a jacket, but one that was designed to go with the costume (instead of just a leather jacket that was given to him).