#Lex Luthor is Conner's Parent

[bluejaysandblackbats]

If There's Nothing Missing In My Life...

Fandom: DC Comics, Superfam

Summary: Newly-emancipated popstar and child actor, Conner (screen name: Lucky) navigates high school and stardom on his own.

Chapters: 1/?

Characters: Conner Kent, Lois Lane, Roxy Leech, Rex Leech, Lois Lane, Clark Kent, Hillary Chang

Additional Tags: Highschool AU, Celebrity AU, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Exploitation, References to Depression, Conner Kent Needs a Hug, Conner Luthor, Lex Luthor is Conner's Parent, Childhood Trauma, Self-Confidence Issues, Teen Angst, Angst, POV First Person, No Powers AU, Conner Kent-centric, Bisexual Conner Kent, POV Conner Kent, Protective Lex Luthor, Child Celebrity AU

Chapter One: Dear Diary

"You are gonna kill this whole high school publicity stunt thing!" Rex exclaimed while I sat on my balcony, soaking in the sun. I hadn't broken it to Rex that I'd actually enrolled in a real public high school. Rex would've blown a gasket if he knew, so I decided to wait until after my first week to tell him. "What are you gonna wear? Have you come up with a caption for the Face-sta-gram yet?"

"Please never say that again... And I haven't decided yet. I thought I'd keep it caj and wear board shorts. The weather's gonna be nice. Clear skies," I replied. Someone stood, blocking the sun, and I snatched off my sunglasses. "What gives!"

"Lucky, you've gotta take this seriously. Board shorts? Are you out of your mind? You're peddling unattainability. Any high school chump can wear board shorts on their first day. You've gotta go big or go home," Rex chastised me. I pinched the bridge of my nose.

I put my sunglasses on and tried to regain my cool. Sometimes I wished Rex would shut up and find someone else to bother, but I think I was his only client. "Can you move this lecture like three feet to the right?" I asked.

"You mean the left, right?" Rex questioned. I grinned. "Oh, so now you're a comedian?"

I chuckled and gave him the finger because he hated when I did that. The sun hit my skin as he stormed off. He finally let me be alone with my thoughts for a few minutes, and I started feeling homesick. I wanted to call my dad and talk to him, but that's what he was waiting for. He wanted me to give him a reason to think I regretted the emancipation proceedings. I didn't. I only wanted to hear his voice. He was my father, after all. It wasn't like I got emancipated because he was stealing from me or abusive. He wasn't any of that. I got emancipated because I wanted to go to public school and stay out late on the weekends. It didn't mean I didn't miss him. I teared up under my sunglasses and used my face towel to wipe my eyes, pretending I was dabbing sweat from my cheeks. I always thought he'd eventually break and take me to my first day of public school. Dad always told me it was too dangerous to go to public school. Instead, I'd be taking myself.

The sunlight and cool ocean breeze put me to sleep. Rex woke me up to get me out of the sun and bothered me about my first-day outfit. "Rex, go home. I will pick a fit so sick your grandchildren will print pictures of my student ID on t-shirts," I lied in the hopes that I'd be able to shower and work on one of my songs in peace and quiet. It worked.

I got cleaned up, sat in front of the muted tv, and screwed around on the guitar. Everyone decided pop would be my sound. I didn't have a choice because they thought I was too young to get into heavy sounds. I argued with them for weeks, but my dad said pop was safe, and I got stuck with the genre. I still wrote my own stuff when I got a moment to myself, but I never showed anyone out of fear they'd say I was a bummer. Most of it was my way of venting out all the negative emotions I felt that weren't profitable. In the words of my ex-publicist, whenever my dad wasn't around, "Depression doesn't sell." A few hours passed, and I went to my closet to pick out something for my first day to appease Rex. I picked a fitted white t-shirt and a pair of powder blue splash pattern wool trousers and sent him a picture. He was so nitpicky about everything, even though fashion wasn't really his forte. I figured he'd have Roxy look at it and give him a thumb's up or down.

Afterward, I made my lunch for school while heating up some leftover pizza in the microwave. It was quiet. Around this time, my dad would nag me about my wind-down routine. He did it with me my whole life to prepare me for bed, but I had gotten too old. I loved it when I was a kid, though. We'd say three good things and three bad things about our day, he'd give me a kiss on the forehead, and we'd sit together in silence and read for thirty minutes. He used to read to me, but he stopped doing that when I was eight. I wanted to tell him about my six things so badly I couldn't stand it, but I knew he'd say I wasn't ready to live on my own. It'd been nearly a month since we talked, and I felt like I could've been kinder, but I was dumb. I got cocky, and I said things I couldn't take back.

I turned the sound on the TV and flipped to the first celebrity gossip show I could find to see if my dad was doing anything. Instead, they were talking about me. "Is Lucky getting lucky? It's rumored that the freshly emancipated minor was spotted leaving the hottest-."

My phone rang. I knew who it was before I answered. "Have you ever heard of motels, kid?" Rex yelled at me. I put the phone on speaker and knocked my head against the back of the couch.

"That isn't true. Do you think my dad saw this?" I asked. I was mortified as I read the closed caption and saw some of the jokes they made.

"Your old man is the least of your problems! Do you know how bad this looks?" Rex questioned.

I hung up on him and called my dad. "Dad, what they're saying isn't-."

"I know. Is that all?" Dad questioned. I swallowed hard.

"Yeah," I replied. He was still mad at me, and I couldn't blame him for that, but it made my stomach feel empty in the worst way. "Oh! I forgot it's like two a.m. where you're at."

"I was awake... But be mindful that our time zones are six hours apart. Conner, what you've done or haven't done is no longer any of my business," Dad replied. That stung but not as bad as it had to sting when I told him he wasn't even my real dad.

"Right... Sorry. Well, I love you, Diddoo," I whispered to show him it was no hard feelings. Diddoo was my first word. I called him Diddoo whenever I wanted to say sorry for something stupid I'd done.

"I love you too, Conner," Dad replied before hanging up. At least I knew he still loved me. I rubbed my eyes with my palms to knead away the tears forming in my eyes. I wanted to tell him I missed him, but I couldn't. I couldn't bend for him this time. I had to be my own man, or he would always treat me like a little boy. It was always the two of us, but my emancipation alienated me in ways I never imagined. I thought I could do what I wanted and live on my own while still having my dad around, but I guess I was wrong.

"The sun... The sky... Leftover pizza," I listed, "Missing Dad... Rex got on my nerves today... More gossip." I stood up, washed my hands, and went to my room to read for a little bit. I did it every night, even after my emancipation, because I couldn't sleep without doing it. I wondered if my dad did it too.

[satoshy12]

SuperClonexPhanClone

People would say that because he and she are clones, they would date if they met. Well, they are right. Kon dated Dani after he learned about her being a clone and after spending more time with her. And he and she really spent much time together, and he was surprised to learn her family was totally okay with her being a Clone. And he met the Fenton's a few times, a nice family that was really nice. even if they are mad scientists. The junior reporters, Dani and Kon! For other people, it looks like a mini-Lois Lane and Clark Kent. + Dani said that she knew a few famous people but didn't know about other famous ones:" If Lois Lane didn't write about them, they couldn't be important. Or her sidekick, Clark Kent." (had this from a other prompt, forgot which one it was) Dani fully believes that Clark is Lois sidekick. + As Fenton invited his family for a family dinner, he asked Lex Luthor. He already knew Superman would say no anyway. Kon was surprised, as Lex actually came to the family dinner with the Fentons. And even more, how well he got along with Jack and Maddie Fenton at the dinner.

This became a Monthly family time.

[mistress-of-vos]

I know we all have complex feelings about ROS but this whole sequence is so funny to me.

Lex: "I want an abortion!"

Donovan: "Sir, you can't do that!"

Lex: "Why not!? It's my body, my choice!"

Donovan: "... Sir, your child is 15yo and sitting right here drinking a smoothie"

Kon: "It's fine, doc. He does this every week"

[insomniasleeps]

timkon fic coming I can't handle it I need antihero Kon who just rolls with the fact that everybody thinks he has no powers like the rest of the gotham heroes then boom TTK

well he's really bad it too like all the Bats know he has powers but they just let him slide past the no metas in gotham rule like Duke.

one day the Justice League just see Kon going toe to toe with ppl even Batman doesn't face head-on and are like "wtf how did he throw that punch"

superman avoids him bc he thinks hes the result of some one-night stand of him cheating on lois so he's guilty 24/7

+ Conner Luthor yes fucking Luthor meeting Clark Kent and being like "Hey you should pay child support in the form of yk ACTUALLY talking to me" scandal ensues

"how did lex get pregnant" "he's a billionaire he could do anything"

"how did you grow up, Mr. Luthor?" "Oh I grew in an enclosed space where I was only allowed to read to watch lab experiments until I ran away to Gotham and lived on the streets for a bit, haha good old times" "yeah give me a second *dialing child protective services*" "??? I'm 18"

[codiecoda]

The Mother Allegations - Lex Luthor & Conner + TimKon focused fanfic

After sharing a rather interesting conversation with Tim regarding his biology and how Lex Luthor would technically be his mother, Conner decides to celebrate Lex for Mother's Day, and Lex doesn't know how to feel about this.

[clericxhood777]

Something that always comes to mind when I watch Young Justice, is how the fuck Conner is going to explain to other people that he has to dads.

Like, not in a gay homosexual way, but the fact his first dad is Clark Kent, which isn't really a big deal, because he's a news reporter. But how Lex "fucking billionaire, with daddy issues and has a competitive streak against Bruce Wayne" Luthor is his other dad.

Of course, he can't just say he's a test tube baby or else he blows his cover as Superboy. So, how does that conversation even go??? Does he just avoid the question???

Random person: Hey, so who's your parents?

Conner: Would you look at how blue the sky is today? It's amazing.

Random person: That's not what I asked

Conner: Haha, of course not. So my parents are— is that Robin?

Random person: *Turns to look*

Conner: *Running away from the conversation*

[5up3r-50n5]

Kon:Dad...I like...boys...

Lex:Son, it doesn't matter who you like, I'll always love you

Kon:Good 'cause I'm dating Tim

Lex:...Tim... Drake?

Kon:Yep

Lex: A Wayne...

Kon:...Yeees...

Lex:Son you could do so much better-

Kon:There it is

[idekwthmuistb]

The only reason conner is called a clone instead of test tube baby is bc luthor/dc didn't want to admit that combing two men's DNA is just a normal child and is a little gay

[donnatroyyyy]

I think a lot about how Kon is TECHNICALLY a rape baby and/or an allegory for a rape baby and how that must feed into his self-loathing so much.

[bluejaysandblackbats]

If There's Nothing Missing In My Life...

Fandom: DC Comics, Superfam

Summary: Newly-emancipated popstar and child actor, Conner (screen name: Lucky) navigates high school and stardom on his own.

Chapters: 2/?

Characters: Conner Kent, Lois Lane, Roxy Leech, Rex Leech, Lois Lane, Clark Kent, Hillary Chang

Additional Tags: Highschool AU, Celebrity AU, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Exploitation, References to Depression, Conner Kent Needs a Hug, Conner Luthor, Lex Luthor is Conner's Parent, Childhood Trauma, Self-Confidence Issues, Teen Angst, Angst, POV First Person, No Powers AU, Conner Kent-centric, Bisexual Conner Kent, POV Conner Kent, Protective Lex Luthor, Child Celebrity AU

Chapter Two: Feed The Tree

The big day came. My first day of school. I half-expected a call from my dad, but no one called. I took a handful of pictures and sent them to Rex for him to approve one for Instagram. I played music while I messed with my hair. I felt weird. I was weird. I knew people would stare at me and ask about my work, but I desperately wanted to fit in. I got a text, and my phone dinged. I hoped it was my dad, but I knew it was only Roxy. The text was pleasant, at least. It read: too cute. Missing something... Electric pink button-up, maybe?.

I tried it on and looked in the mirror, and whispered a soft, "Hmph. She was right." Roxy could be a genius sometimes. I sent her a few pictures of the outfit as she pictured it, and she sent me a bunch of exclamation points and the pictures she wanted me to post. I did as I was told, grabbed my backpack and lunch, and headed to school. It was a short walk from my building, and the weather wasn't bad. Besides, I needed to clear my head.

The school was so close to the ocean I could feel the mist on my face as I walked. The campus was huge and looked nothing like the pictures I saw online. I hadn't even gotten to the front gate before the kids started staring at me. I put on my bravest face and pushed forward. I walked through the front gate, and a girl waved me over to her friend group, and I ran a hand through my hair and grinned. "Hey," I smiled.

"Are you going here? Like for real?" she asked. Her friends giggled and whispered to each other, and I nodded.

"Yeah, actually, can I ask you guys a question? If I wanted to find the main gym?" I asked. One of the taller girls in the group took me by my wrist and led me to the big building on my right. I picked up my schedule from one of the front tables. They even put my stage name on it, as I asked. It was weird for me, though, because no one knew my birth name except my dad, so odds were I'd never hear my own name unless I said it to myself.

I had P.E. for my first period, so I sat on the bleachers and popped in headphones. Someone sat uncomfortably close to me and took a picture, and I threw up a peace sign. People tended to do that to me a lot, so I tried to look as happy as possible at all times. I was so scared of disappointing people, but I can't lie and say I got used to the anxiety that comes with being approached by people that don't know me. My dad did a great job of protecting me from the weirdness of it all as best he could. Still, I experienced some pretty scary stuff that stuck with me.

The worst was when I was twelve, and a fan tried to pull me away from my dad on the street. I was so shaken up that I almost quit acting. When people ambushed me, I'd feel like that all over again. I felt drained afterward, but I tried to make the best of it. I figured it'd stop once kids got used to me being on campus. The bell rang, and they told all the P.E. kids to meet on the football field. I followed them out and put my sunglasses on. A kid came up to me and waved. "Sorry, I don't know if you feel like talking. You looked lonely," she whispered.

"Me? Pfft, no!" I laughed it off. She shook her head and laughed.

"I'm Hillary," she introduced herself. I shook her hand. "And you must be the illustrious Lucky... How're things going for you so far?"

"It's going alright. The weather's a lot nicer here, and the people are friendly enough," I replied, "Why?"

Hillary shrugged. "Thought it'd be nice to ask. I did the exchange program a year ago, and no one ever asked if I liked it there," Hillary paused, "I remember being homesick... And cold."

"Where'd you go?" I asked.

"Poland. I did a semester there in the winter," Hillary replied. She was so laid back that I think it made me want to impress her. I took off my sunglasses and looked her in the eye, waiting for her to elaborate. "Ever been to public school before?"

I shook my head. "There are a lot more people at school than on tv... And I haven't seen any lockers since I've been here," I replied. Hillary laughed. I rubbed the back of my neck and stopped talking.

"Swear I'm not laughing at you... It's just-. That's what I said during my first year of high school. So, I get it," Hillary reassured, "And you'll like it here. Especially once you make a few friends."

"Like you?" I half-smiled.

"Don't know yet. Let me get a feel for you first," Hillary replied.

"I've got no problem with that," I joked, and she flicked me on the forehead. I thought I blew it, but she laughed.

"Dumb joke, but I walked right into it... Club week is at the end of the month. Try getting involved in something," Hillary suggested, "Like, I dunno. Theater or music appreciation-."

"Hard pass. I wanted to go to high school to try something new, not do the same thing I've done my whole life," I replied, "And acting and singing is work. I wanna have fun."

"So, do you have anything in mind?" Hillary asked. "Sports, maybe?"

"Yeah, maybe... I'll try cross country or tennis, or I'll wait for baseball next semester," I replied, "Got any recommendations?"

"Creative dance. Cool group of people and they're super accepting," Hillary replied.

"Accepting? Is this about my sexuality?" I asked, feigning offense. She covered her mouth. "I'm joking. I'm joking. I know what you mean." Hillary smiled and punched me in the shoulder.

"Oh yeah... You'll fit right in," Hillary smirked, "Oh, and you should invest in an umbrella. It's gonna start raining again next month."

I wasn't sure if she was joking, but she walked away before I could ask. Two guys came up to me, arguing amongst themselves before finally turning to speak to me. "Can you settle this? He doesn't believe you did that backflip for real," the shorter kid explained.

"Come on, man. You know he can't do that," the other guy replied.

I raised an eyebrow. "You know? From the Crop Top music video?" the short kid described.

"It was supposed to be a backflip, but I couldn't do it consistently, and my dad worried I'd get hurt, so it was a back handspring," I corrected him. I stood up and stepped onto the field where some of the other kids hung out, and I did a backflip. My heart beat so fast I could hear it in my ears because I wasn't sure I'd land it. I don't think they could tell, though. The short kid ran onto the field and gave me a high five before flipping his friend off and collecting ten bucks.

After they walked off, I sat on the turf and caught my breath. The second bell rang, and all the kids on the field lay down, so I followed suit. I turned and whispered, "What are we doing?"

"School tradition. We cloud-watch and chill out for the first ten minutes of class if it's not raining," one of the girls nearby whispered back. "Afterward, we'll line up and get our P.E. lockers assigned. Then we can go back to chilling out for the next week."

I was off to a smooth start. I felt like I'd hit the jackpot for public high schools, but I still had the whole day left. There was still time for everything to go horribly wrong.

[not-so-superheroine]

hmm. reminds me of someone.

[bluerosefox]

Tim, buddy, what do you mean you might had accidentally made a Love Child?!

Danny finds out that

1. He's a clonish 'love child' of two heroes

2. He was accidentally created during one of his donors mental break downs after losing his father and best friends (one of which was his other donor)

3. CW interfered before his creator realized what he made and pulled him out of that dimension because "it would had lead that world to true ruin if he found out at his state of mind. He's better now but it would had been the final straw for him should anything had happened to you in his care and given who he had to partner up with later... I did what I had to."

4. Due to Danny having a bad fall out with his parents after he told them about being Phantom (they didn't attack him... but they did disown him.) Danny is left adrift of what to do. He doesn't wanna bug Jazz, she's in college and dorming. Tuckers place has no room. Sam's parents would never let him stay. Vlad was a definitely a no go. And Dani (Ellie) last check in was near the Amazon rainforest.

5. Danny finds out some of his powers might not be as ghostly as he thought... it does explain the huge power boost some of his powers have compared to other ghosts.

6. He went to Clockwork... who proceeded to tell him the truth, smile his cryptic smile while saying "and now. Have fun this time around. I'll see you again in due time Daniel." Before yeeting him into a portal.

7. Danny woke up in his home dimension.... deaged to being five years old (the age he would be if he stayed and grew by now) (DC timeline is slower than DP in this)

8. He woke up apparently his creator's home city... during a Gala (Danny woke up in a garden, dazed and confused. His memories are fuzzy)... and wandered into the party... and apparently he looked like a perfect mix of his.. dads? Which catches A LOT of peoples attention.

9. Especially with Tim Drake-Wayne and Conner Kent-Luthor just announcing they're dating that very night.

10. Rumors and gossip of a random kid, who looks just like the recent happily announced couple, go flying quickly among the elite... and reaches certain ears before it gets to batfam and supers (I have a feeling they learned how to block out rumors and gossips during these events)

11. Those ears happen to be Lex Luthor and Ra's al Ghul (both who are there at the Gala just to annoy and unnerve the Bats and Supers)

12. By the time the rumors get to Tim and Conner, they find Danny almost getting taken away by one of those two.

[codiecoda]

The Talk - Lex gives his son the talk

Lex gives his son the talk

[captain-wereduck]

Still eyeballing Titans United:Bloodpact.

Still wanting to just pick up Kon and dad!Lex and throw them into some other universe, so they can be Dad and Son in peace and fulfill my need for fell-good fluff fix-it shit.

But what universe to pick? Dick around with early MCU, before everything went meh with a sad farting balloon noises? Smallville, so I can see how fast I can break the entire plot of the show? (that I watched like a whole season of, before I've noped out of it) Timmverse, so they can awkwardly hang out with the bestest Superman?

[luludeluluramblings]

Pregnant neglected reader meme:

*Bruce, Clark and Lex Luthor trying to get into readers computer for some reason*

Lex: The password hint is "My babies best grandparent"..... Well I think we all know who tha-

Bruce: *immediately puts in his own name*

*wrong password*

Bruce: *internally screams, cries, and throws up*

Lex: Oooo sorry friend, not sorry, but I'm clearly the best grandfath-

Bruce: *puts in Lex's name*

*wrong password*

Lex: *Depression*

Clark: Oh my gosh it's me! I never knew she thought of me like that. That's *sniff* so sweet of her-

Bruce: *types in Clark's name*

*wrong password*

All of them: ...............

*A few minutes later*

Barbara: So I hacked in for you turns out the password is AlfredLoisForever.

(Another one for extra laughs)

Conner whose injured and on pain meds: You know my wife will get mad if she sees you touching on my chest like that.

Reader who was rubbing his chest: I am your wife!~

Conner: *heart rate speeds up on monitor* ReAlLy?!

Reader: Of course!~

(This is the last one I swear!)

Readers son: Hey Lois can I have a dollar?

Lois: Sure honey here.

Reader: Ah no stop right there young man! That so disrespectful she's your grandmama!

Son: What's wrong with that it's her name!

Reader: No son of mine is gonna do that! Why won't you call her grandma anyway?!

Son: Cause ma she doesn't look like it! Just look at her!

*Everyone looks at Lois who doesn't look a day over 30*

Reader: Well you may have a point but it's still wrong.

Son: But ma the kids at school keep thinking she's my mom and that your my sister they give me weird looks when I correct them.

Lois: *laughs*

Reader: I may need to have a talk with your teacher...

Can you imagine being that kids Teacher when they go to school?

Kid's gonna have hot parents, rich hot and smart grandparents. The parent teacher conference is gonna be awkward. (Y'all know Bruce would insist on being there, nosy ass. And Clark and Lois would show up to try and balance things out. And, then the rest of the family sans Jon and Damian would show up because they're also a bunch nosy asses.)

[jesncin]

Okay, I'll bite, what are your feelings on the trans conner pitch?

Oh boy! Thank you for tossing me this bone because I have a lot of mixed feelings!

I notice that people online are very hot and cold about the Trans Superboy Pitch, they either love it or hate it and that doesn't leave a lot of room for nuance + discussion. So to be respectful to a fellow trans peer in the industry, I want to do a fair review/analysis of Skyrocket: the trans Conner Kent pitch by Magdalene Visaggio.

My general takeaway from the pitch is that I like the premise, but the details fumble the execution for me. I can really feel from reading the pitch that Visaggio cares about Superboy. She understands that he's a very weird legacy character who has struggled to find proper footing in the DC Universe after all these years. An effective legacy character is one who is able to spin off and expand upon the themes of the character whose mantle they carry. But the cheesy whatever-goes 90's-ness of Superboy's original run didn't give future writers a lot to work with in terms of a Superman Legacy Character.

It's why I genuinely believe the later retcon reveal that -part of Conner's DNA is from Lex Luthor- is a fantastic addition to his character. It takes a character who was just kind of screwing off to gentrify Hawaii back into the center of Superman's good vs evil conflict. But now Conner's problem is that his story is too tied to his origin and Superman's shadow. Placing Conner with the Kents in Smallville afterwards made him narratively redundant. What's next for him?

So let's dig into the pitch!

I like what's at the heart of this pitch. It's a very season-3-ATLA-Zuko "honor wasn't all it's cracked up to be" arc and I think that suits Conner's character really well! It's the details I have gripes with:

"Conner has been largely relegated to the Jason Todd of the Superfamily" oof, haha that's not a particularly fair characterization.

The constant comparing of Superman to Christian imagery. He's described as basically "Jesus goddamn Christ" in the pitch. The Tyrannical Kryptonians are named Saint, Shepherd and Savior. No surprise I don't like seeing a character who allegorically represented Jewish immigrants to be constantly compared to Christian imagery and deified.

It's inevitable with pitching to the company, but the pitch is bogged down by a lot of convoluted plot points. I get that it's necessary to pitch event tie-ins and universe hopping shenanigans, but it's a lot.

Leland feels like a plot device in this. I'm sure there were plans to flesh out the brotherly clone relationship between him and Conner so that he can feel like his own character, but from the summary he just kind of revolves around Conner the way the pitch describes Conner revolving around Superman. Oops!

Conner's relation to Luthor and Superman works as a story about legacy, bloodlines and the things parents pass down to their kids. It's best when handled thematically and not literally because it's easy to get into essentialist "good genes" vs "evil genes" near-eugenics talking points. Unfortunately this pitch has a lot of that vibe. Leland has more Lex genes so he's super smart. Conner and Leland are able to start a schism in the Future Tyrannical Kryptonian House by "proving their truer genetic link to the original Superman, unsullied by thousands of years of tinkering" thereby gaining allies. Not great!

The part where Conner wants to find "his own Metropolis" by moving to Dripping Springs, Texas. That's Jinny Hex's field of operations, so is it really his own space? I would've just given Conner a new town so he can better stand on his own and build out a unique cast system.

Okay let's talk about the trans stuff!

I get that it makes for an Iconic Visual Superhero Moment, but I really don't like the part where Conner steps through a magical crystal and pops out the other side as a trans woman. It robs her of having that discovery on her own. The pitch says "I believe that this is as natural a move as Iceman's coming out". And just?? Man, remember when Jean Grey read Iceman Bobby Drake's mind and robbed him of his agency by outing him through that invasion of privacy? For a pitch all about Conner's journey of defining herself, it weirdly robbed her of that moment.

The pitch does such a good job talking about how Conner feels like her whole life revolves around Superman and how pointless wanting to be Superman feels now that Jon Kent has taken the mantle. She has Clark's genes, goes to Clark's hometown school, is raised by Clark's parents and all that. So then why is she eventually named after the women in Clark's life? Constance "Connie" Lara Kent. Clark's Kryptonian mom and human grandma? Was the world so small that she could not name herself after anyone else or come up with a new name? Connie doesn't even get to name herself, her new name is one Martha Kent bestows her with. It's hypocritical, and doesn't have the same impact that Superman giving Superboy a Kryptonian name does.

Speaking of which, this right here is my biggest gripe. It's not in the pitch itself but?? Wait- why go on about how Conner deserves a name that's not given to her and then turn around and make Martha name her? Sure, Connie comes up with the superhero name "Skyrocket" herself but surely she also deserves to name herself considering the thesis the pitch built up about self discovery and agency right?

Also with all due respect, this is the whitest queer take on Conner's identity. I wish white trans people could understand that you can have multiple true names that reflect different parts of you.

When Clark gives Superboy the name "Kon-El" it matters that it's given. It ties so well to the idea of familial acceptance into a nearly-extinct culture. You wouldn't know how to reclaim that part of your identity when that culture's been wiped out, so of course it's an honor to be trusted with a name that preserves Krypton's culture. This is a common practice with diaspora reclaiming cultural names from closed cultures, they are gifted their names by someone more culturally connected. I think the pitch having Martha name Connie is trying to echo this, but it doesn't hit the same without that cultural context. It also undercuts the genuine joy Conner felt from finally having a name he truly identifies with. Conner was only ever referred to as Superboy before then. When Clark gives him the name Kon El, Conner cries out that Kon El is his "real name". It's one of his defining moments, and to have that be diminished by saying "It's still a name someone else gave him" is so disappointing.

Then there's the design.

This is gonna lean more into preference, but I'm not the biggest fan of this design! I get what it's going for but it has too much going on everywhere. It also doesn't have that proto-punk look original Conner had, so it ends up not feeling like him. It's too superhero, and not enough casual-wear-on-a-supersuit that Conner sports really well. I see how it fits in with the everyone-in-Superfam-is-wearing-jackets-era, but I also think those new designs don't look good either. Especially Supergirl's. I feel like Conner should be more punk post transition. No respectability beam for her!

Also the name Skyrocket? It's giving knock off-brand toy vibes to me I'm sorry D: People on twidder suggested Supernova and that sounds way better! Even Visaggio stated she prefers that name so you can't be mad at me for this.

Overall big conclusion feelings!

I've been following Visaggio's work for a while because it's awesome seeing trans people getting picked up in comics. While there are some things about her writing I like, for the most part I've felt like her work isn't my cup of tea. I tried reading up a bunch of interviews she's in to try to understand why her writing wasn't clicking with me, and what I discovered is that we have fundamentally different approaches to queer storytelling.

From Paste Magazine. I get where she's coming from, trans characters deserve to have multi-faceted narratives that don't overly center how they're othered at the expense of further characterization. But also? I just actually find the interior lives of queer people and identity interesting. I like writing the kind of escapism and joy that's informed by surviving and inheriting hardships rather than erasing those things or skipping past it. I think this is why Connie is robbed of her trans discovery in the pitch. Why we don't get to watch her grapple with gender identity in a political way. Queer stories about queer struggles are considered archaic and unnecessary nowadays. It's part of the escapism Visaggio values in her work; to give a place of respite for trans readers from the cruelty they experience in reality, but I don't connect to stories like that personally. Whenever I try to share queer Indonesian art and writing with my peers, I'm often told it's too painful to look at. That our pain doesn't fit the modern expectation for happy, empowering queer stories. "trans people get enough hardships in real life, they don't need that in their fiction" Visaggio still talks about her newest projects like this btw.

I'd love to see a take on Conner that more holistically continues the political immigrant themes of Superman. The white parts of fandom love interpreting Conner's identity crisis as primarily a queer struggle, but it's also one of a person grappling with his mixed heritage. He's a diaspora kid separated by a generation away from Krypton. He has yet to make peace with the Luthor side of his identity, one borne of generational trauma and resentment for one's roots. Instead of a take where his queerness separates him from the pressures of legacy, I want to see a Conner take that has themes that are intersectional about his mixed diaspora and queer identity. I want his superficial punk aesthetic to graduate into actual punk ideals. The anti-establishment and radical love philosophies of punk culture would make such a cool extension of Superman themes and it would make so much sense that someone facing so many intersections of marginalization would be radicalized from their experience. I want a queer Conner who isn't just empowering and idealistic, I want one that also gives space for queer readers to feel like their pain is seen too. Conner isn't "Truth, Justice and the American Way" he's famously "Truth, Justice, My Way".

There's a tendency in media criticism to treat marginalized talent as infallible, and I don't think that fair to creatives like Visaggio. Being able to look at their ideas with nuance instead of essentializing it as being Good or Trash is the best way to respect diverse creativity. And my nuanced feelings are that a white queer person who looks at Conner's story and just sees the queer part and dismisses the diaspora mixed heritage side of him,,, is not going to give me the Conner story I want to see.