The Superman Family is great, and honestly, it’s one of my favorite superhero families in comic books. I know not everyone is a fan of heroes having large, expansive teams, complied of close friends and relatives. But I find them so incredibly charming. Especially for Superman. Let’s face it, if anyone has ‘team dad’ energy, it’s the Man of Steel. And for the most part, I think his particular family works. However, there are some wrinkles that I feel could be smoothed out to make my favorite superhero family work even better.
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Now I’m not suggesting wiping the slate clean on these team members necessarily. ‘Reboot’ can mean a lot of things from a new series to a change in direction. Sure, I’d go a little further with some, but only tweaks or changes that I feel could really improve this collection of Superman Family heroes. I love the Man of Tomorrow and his entire coterie, but for the following four heroes, I’d make a few small adjustments to really help them bring out their best in the Superman Family.
4. Beppo the Super-Monkey
Admittedly, a character like Beppo is hard to make work since the Super-Monkey’s origin has him being one of the test subjects Jor-El used when testing rockets for Kal-El. And since DC has recommitted to Krypto also being a test subject, it just makes Superman’s dad look like a psycho if he used multiple animals. Maybe instead he could be a regular Earth monkey who just happened to gain Kryptonian-like strength one day? I’m just saying if we can have Krypto and Streaky hanging around, there has to be room for Beppo, too!
3. Mon-El
Mon-El always seemed to be the real outlier of the Superman family. The guy couldn’t live on Earth, so he lived in the Phantom Zone, then he eventually started living in the future with the Legion of Super-Heroes. But I always thought his childhood friendship with Superman was interesting (I mean, they basically consider each other brothers). I would 100% love to see a series where Mon-El gets to have some extended time in the modern-day Metropolis working with the Superman. Even for just a brief time, I think Mon-El and Superman deserve it.
2. Super-Man
I cannot begin to tell you how much I loved the Rebirth-era title New Super-Man. Kenan Kong’s growth from bully to true hero was one of the best character arcs in comics. While it was sad to see his series with the Justice League of China end, he did officially join the Superman Family. But he’s kind of stalled since then. Super-Man really, really needs a new series, one that puts him back in the spotlight and maybe even reunites him with his previous family, the Justice League of China.
1. Jonathan Kent
Some might not like hearing this, but I know others will agree. Ever since Superman’s son was aged up, he’s been stagnating. I know he stepped up to become Earth’s Superman while his dad was on Warworld. But that was years ago, and frankly, he’s been struggling as a character. Jon was such a fun, compelling character as a kid, and his older self just doesn’t match. If I were to reset anyone in the Superman Family, I’d have to go with Jon, because the poor guy really needs a chance to start fresh.
What Superman Family character do you think needs a new start? Let us know in the comments and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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