Jon Kent is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the son of the superhero Superman and Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane. Created by Dan Jurgens, the character first appeared in Convergence: Superman #2 (July 2015). Jon is the newest character in the DC Universe who assumed the superhero persona of Superboy, and later taking on the mantle of Superman and Tomorrow Man.
The character has appeared in other media, including the animated film Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons, the TV series Superman & Lois, and the animated series My Adventures with Superman.
Publication history The character was created by writer/artist Dan Jurgens and first appeared in DC's "Convergence" event in the miniseries Convergence: Superman #2 (July 2015). Half Kryptonian and half-human, Jon is the biological son of post-Crisis Clark Kent / Superman and Lois Lane and the couple's child in DC Comics canon. His parents named him in honor of his grandfathers, Jonathan Kent and Samuel Lane. On the character, Dan Jurgens said: "The way I describe him is that he looks like Clark but has Lois' spitfire attitude and inquisitiveness." Jurgens also explains: "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."
Following "Convergence", he appeared in the eight-issue comic book series Superman: Lois and Clark as a child who begins to develop superpowers of his own. In the DC Rebirth (a continuity established by DC's company-wide relaunch of its comics books in 2016), Jon appears with his parents in Action Comics and Superman when his father becomes the new Superman in DC Comics. Jon's origins are retconned in the story arc "Superman Reborn". In the four-part story, two different versions of Superman and Lois Lane (the New 52 and post-Crisis) are merged into one complete version, creating a new DC Universe and a new origin story for Jon.
Jon is the most recent character in DC Comics to assume the mantle of Superboy. He was officially introduced as Superboy in Superman vol. 4 #6 (Nov. 2016). He co-stars with Damian Wayne in the Super Sons comic books as Superboy and Robin. In 2019, the character joined the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st century in the comic book series Legion of Super-Heroes by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Ryan Sook.
In 2021, Jon began starring as the protagonist in the comic book series Superman: Son of Kal-El, which temporarily replaced the Superman monthly title. The series, written by Tom Taylor, features Jon protecting the Earth as the new Man of Steel in the DC Universe. Following the conclusion of the series, Taylor wrote the six-issue miniseries Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent in 2023, with art by Clayton Henry.
In October 2021, DC Comics revealed that the character is bisexual and began a romantic relationship with a male friend, Jay Nakamura, a superhero and online activist. On the creative decision, series writer Tom Taylor said: "It's not a gimmick. When I was offered this job, I thought, 'Well, if we're going to have a new Superman for the DC Universe, it feels like a missed opportunity to have another straight white savior.' So, well, this isn't everything to do with them. And there's a reason this is, this is coming in issue five and not issue one. We didn't want this to be 'DC Comics creates new queer Superman,' we want this to be 'Superman finds himself, becomes Superman and then comes out.' And I think that's a really important distinction there." Taylor also stated: "I've always said everyone needs heroes and everyone deserves to see themselves in their heroes and I'm very grateful DC and Warner Bros. share this idea. Superman's symbol has always stood for hope, for truth and for justice. Today, that symbol represents something more. Today, more people can see themselves in the most powerful superhero in comics."
Following the conclusion of the Kingdom of Zod storyline, Jon under the identity of Tomorrow Man will begin headlining the Superman Unlimited comic, written by Dan Slott, alongside his father Superman and mother Lois Lane from issue #18 onwards.
Age and appearance Like his father, Superman, Jon has a civilian disguise, which includes a pair of glasses and a baseball cap. He first appeared in his Superboy attire in Superman vol. 4 #2 (Sept. 2016). His Superboy outfit consists of red sneakers, blue jeans, zippered jacket with the "S-shield", and a cape attached to the back.
On designing Jon's Superboy costume, artist Jorge Jimenez said: "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."
It was stated that Jon is 10 years old in Superman vol. 4 #9 (Dec. 2016). During the 2019 story arc "The Unity Saga: The House of El", Jon was aged up to 17 years old and given a new Superboy Kryptonian suit of armor.
Fictional character biography Convergence
In the 2015 DC Comics "Convergence" storyline, Brainiac gains access to Vanishing Point, which allows him to gain the ability to look back into the histories of the DC Universe. He collects cities and inhabitants from various timelines that have ended, trapping them in domes on a planet outside of time and space. When Flashpoint resets the DC continuity, Superman and Lois from the post-Crisis continuity have been trapped on the planet Telos in Gotham City, with the city transported there by Brainiac and sealed under a large dome. The couple is trapped in the city for almost nine months, and as Superman's powers are suppressed during this time, he and Lois conceive a child. During the event, Superman manages to get Lois out of danger and into safety and helps her with the birth of their son Jonathan, after she was kidnapped by a mentally unstable Flashpoint Superman. At the end of the Convergence story arc, Superman, Lois, and Jon travel across time and dimensions along with Parallax, the pre-Crisis versions of Supergirl and the Flash, where they can prevent the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths and save the original multiverse. Afterward, with their world no longer existing, Brainiac offers to send Superman and Lois to a universe of their choosing.
Superman: Lois and Clark In the series Superman: Lois and Clark, after Convergence, the Kent family arrive during the beginning of the New 52. Superman and his family live in secrecy for many years. Moving to California and adopting new identities, taking the surname "White" (a tribute to Perry White) and keeping a low profile, they stay out of the lives of this world's superheroes, with Lois becoming an anonymous author, while Superman continues his superhero duty quietly behind the scenes. Jon grows up in a normal life with his parents and is unaware of their real identities and secret activities. He begins noticing contradictions in his parents' stories and begins to suspect that his parents are more than they claim. Jon is eventually shown starting to develop superpowers of his own similar to those of his father, Superman. After he and his mother were kidnapped and almost killed by Intergang, his parents finally reveal their true origin to him.
DC Rebirth
In June 2016, DC Comics relaunched its entire line of comic books series with DC Rebirth. DC once again re-established the Post-Crisis Superman as the Superman in DC Comics, along with his wife, Lois Lane, and their son Jonathan.
In the "Son of Superman" story arc, the Kent family relocate from California to a farm in Hamilton County. At the farm, Jon tries to save the family cat from a hawk but accidentally kills both animals. Clark decides to take Jon on a mission. Arriving in the Arctic together with his father's encouragement, Jon successfully helps Superman rescue a submarine attacked by an Enteroctopus. Afterward, father and son have a long conversation about superhero responsibilities and that soon Jon will have to embrace the superhero mantle himself.
Back at home, Jon falls off a tree and becomes unconscious. Clark and Lois decide to take him to the Fortress of Solitude. At the Fortress, the Kent family is met by the Eradicator, who informs Superman that he is one of a series of robots created by General Zod to seek out and arrest Kryptonian criminals, extract their life force and transfer them to a Phantom Zone projector, where they will await trial with their bodies placed in cryo-chambers. The Eradicator witnessed the destruction of Krypton. Part of his protocol is finding Kryptonian survivors; he eventually found Superman in the Earth solar system, including his son. The Eradicator tells Superman he can rebuild Krypton, but because his son is half human, his human genome will have to be eradicated for Krypton to stay true and pure. He attempts to ingest Jon, and Superman fights the Eradicator. After some reassurance from his mother (that he has the best of both worlds and has the ability to do great things), Jon joins his father in the fight against the Eradicator. With the combined forces of Superman and son, the Eradicator's outer shell is shattered, releasing the Kryptonian souls he has captured and causing a massive explosion in the Fortress.
Superman and his family are teleported into a bar in Metropolis. The Kryptonian spirits decide to help Superman and allow themselves to be reabsorbed by the Eradicator, while Superman puts Lois and Jon inside a fully equipped submersible and escapes with his family to Batman's secret Batcave on the Moon. The Eradicator soon arrives in the Batcave and continues his battle with Superman. During the battle, the Eradicator absorbs Superman and begins to search for Jon in the cave. Lois finds and puts on Batman's Hellbat armor and battles the Eradicator with Jon joining the fight. Superman eventually escapes the Eradicator. The entire Kent family fight the Eradicator, who is finally destroyed. Later, after returning to the family farm, Clark gives Jon a pair of glasses and a hat as Jon's new civilian disguise. He takes Jon to the Watchtower and officially introduces him as Superboy to the Justice League.