Superman is one of the biggest, most iconic heroes of all time. At the very least, he’s the hero who started the genre, defining what superhero comics and their extended casts should look like. Every superhero is judged against him, which means that it only makes sense that the other heroes in his extended heroic family are the basis for every other of their kind. The Superman Family has changed a ton over the years, including more and more heroes, where before it was nearly entirely civillians. They’ve all grown to help Superman fight to save the day, but in doing so, some of them have lost something special.
While having more superpowered heroes doesn’t make Superman less important, having so many people with similar powers does make some of them feel redundant. These characters are without a niche or unique identity to call their own. For years, Jon Kent was the poster child for this, but he’s recently turned it all around as Tomorrow Man and a member of the Titans, carving his own path as the Superman of a new generation. Today, we’re going to look at five other Super-Family heroes who need the same help carving their own corner of the universe, and presenting potential ways for them to do so.
Kong Kenan was once a normal boy, but he gained Kryptonian powers when he was infused with the life energy of the dead New 52 Superman, transforming him into the Super-Man of China. For years, he was a member of the Justice League of China as its version of DC’s Trinity protected the world from all kinds of threats, all while he dealt with personal growth and learned to be a true hero, instead of just a celebtrity. This was his niche and it was beautiful, but all of that was lost when he joined the rest of the Super-Family, needing to cut ties with the JLC to save their lives.
Kenan went from an interesting new take on Superman to an accessory who, while never feeling out of place, simply blended into the grander Super-Family. What he needs is to return to where he was best, which is working with the JLC and his friends there. The other Chinese heroes are distinct new versions of the original heroes, all of whom bounce off of Kenan in a great way and deepen each other’s stories. He can still definitely join Super-Family adventures, but he should predominantly work with the people he knows well and has deep connections with, instead of the people whose powers are similar.
Natasha Irons is the niece of John Henry Irons, and both share the heroic identity of Steel. Just like her uncle, Nat is a genius mechanic who can design and build just about anything she sets her mind to. Currently, she works alongside her uncle as one of the brains behind Steelworks, which is one of DC’s most advanced scientific companies and have become the de facto people Superman goes to when he needs some help with technology. The problem with Nat, however, is that all of her accolades involve mentioning her uncle. Their sharing the Steel mantle is fine, but she literally has nothing that he doesn’t have in his own way.
Even when Nat joined Superman’s Authority, there was nothing she did that her uncle couldn’t have, and no unique insights that made her feel like she stood out from him. Nat needs to be given the chance to lead a project of her own, outside of her uncle’s influence. Their connection offers great storytelling potential, but as long as he’s over her shoulder, the focus will always be more on him. She’s in a similar spot to where Jon was a few months ago, but her change doesn’t need to be so drastic. All she needs is a problem that only she can overcome, and we’re golden. Maybe she could be the alien tech expert, for example.
Conner Kent was introduced in the ’90s as the new version of Superboy. Unlike Clark, who was humble, kind, and Boy Scout-coded, Conner was brash, arrogant, and the embodiment of counterculture. He was the young perspective that Superman’s comics never had before, and fans got to watch him grow up from a rebellious teenager into a truly mature hero. However, the role of the next generation’s Superman and young-man perspective now belongs to Jon, and Conner has completed his major character arc, so he’s left in the cold as to where to go now.
Conner is stuck in a strange limbo where he isn’t Superman, but he isn’t the young perspective that he once was, either. What he needs is to fully move into being an adult hero, his name notwithstanding. Giving Conner a normal life, or letting him mature and get a job, experiencing adulthood, is the perfect way to draw lines between him and Jon, who is seen as just a little bit younger, around eighteen. Conner can be the Super-Family member who is in his mid-twenties, which doesn’t sound like much, but committing to that would do wonders for his depiction.
Marilyn Moonlight is the newest addition to the Super-Family’s ever-expanding cast, but she’s actually older than everyone else, having been Metropolis’s first superhero from back when it was a Wild West town. She lived until her natural death, but was resurrected in the modern day as a ghost with moonlight-based powers. Marilyn already has everything going for her, being a ghost cowgirl with photokinesis. Any of this is enough to separate her from the pack, but all of this combines to paint a truly interesting new character. The problem is that, up until now, she hasn’t been given the chance to actually do anything with any of this.
So far, all Marilyn has done is assist Superman on a few missions and recharge him with her powers. What she needs is her own adventures that chronicle what she does best: fight crime at night. Superman operates whenever he’s needed, but he’s a hero who is best-known for flying in the sunlight. Marilyn can be Metropolis’s nighttime protector, tackling threats that are either darker or aesthetically different than the Man of Steel. Marilyn’s character is ready to take off. All she needs is a story to put her front and center.
Otho and Oso-Ra are two distinct characters, but they’re really a package deal, so we’ll talk about them both here. Starchild and Red Son were Phaelosian prisoners on Warworld, raised in the gladiator pits and dedicated to Mongul. Eventually, they were freed by Superman, who taught them that there was a better way to live and who, eventually, adopted them as his own children. They were the young heroes from an alien world that were meant to replace the aged-up Jon in fans’ eyes, and the Super-Twins are genuinely great when they appear, but there’s a major problem with them.
The biggest issue with the Super-Twins is that nobody seems to want to do anything with them. Jon had enough trouble finally finding his own rhythm, but as he did, he became closer to his parents as their son who needs their guidance as he’s reaching adulthood, which really doesn’t leave any storytelling room for the Twins. They need to be allowed to interact with other heroes their own age, maybe even join the newest iteration of the Teen Titans. They’re still the youngest characters around, and their adoption mimics Superman’s own, which has loads of storytelling potential. Superman and Lois deserve to raise young kids, hands down.
These Super-Family members all have their own strengths and weaknesses, but they definitely need a helping hand when it comes to standing out. How would you make them all develop their own niche?
