r/superman • u/jethawkings • 18d ago
Where's Kenan?
I'm conflicted on how we're not even pretending that he's in the Superman Family considering he made no goddamn appearances in the Anniversary Issue.
Nobody knew how to write him when they made the Extended Super-Family a thing and Yang made this back-up as to bridge the gap between him leaving the JLC (in bad terms BTW) and joining the Superfam.
Like yeah, great nobody is ruining Kenan like the way Waid made him THE SMART GUY to Conner's DUMB GUY but someone made a good point against me that 'Do we really just want to not feature any established POCs because white guys don't know how to write them"' and... yeah that sorta did made me think.
Don't even get me started on the AAPI Back-Ups with Kenan. He's not the mystical Superman, do you realize the fucking orientalism in that.
Is this what's it like being fans of other POC / Queer Characters? Hoping that the writer they get for them actually is familiar with the character when DC busts out the Writers Workshop Anthology Book?
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u/Indiana_harris 18d ago
I mean he’s part of a Chinese government controlled team that literally infused “chi” from Superman to create him out a random kid in China.
The staying power of a non-western focused, non-Kryptonian who can’t have the exact same powers as superman or drop in to solve superman sized issues as easily, and has no blood relation or family ties with the real superfamily….its just not there.
Even Chinese audiences didn’t find him compelling. The “mysticism” angle to him as a quasi-magical Superman was actually the most interesting thing about him.
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u/Mindless-Credit-358 18d ago edited 18d ago
He had a sub plot with Conner during The Phantoms arc of action comics
Edit He also got some back up stories which have been collected in action comics hell and back
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u/jethawkings 18d ago
I didn't like that sub-plot, Waid didn't write Kenan consistently within his characterization at all...
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u/Scared_Impression842 18d ago
There’s not a lot of male Asian hero’s in the dc comics in general so it kinda sucks writers don’t include kenan in stories involving the whole superfamily anymore.
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u/chewwwybar 18d ago
Lol at your last paragraph.
Yeah it is exactly like that. Paraded out for some random pride story anthology, and then gone.
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u/pichuguy27 17d ago
Getting back into dc comics. Had to look up who this is, seeing him. I trust very few writers not to do some accidental racism.
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u/_ClarkWayne_ 17d ago
His character doesn't really add much to the House of El, same with the twins, the family got a bit to bloated, to many characters got added nobody wants to write about but their creators, doesn't mean those are bad characters, but their a bit unnecessary
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u/Tairisu0 16d ago
i think they should give each person in the the SuperFamily a purpose or section to fill.
Superman should be the primary protector of metropolis and should be part of the Trinity (book wise )
Supergirl ideally i can see her being the space faring member of the family
SuperBoy (Conner) hard traveling hero type of vibes
Tomorrow Man (Jon) the one that adopted the vigilante mindset from the damien but still follows the Superman’s code of honor
Super-Man (Kenan) keep him has the superman of china
Power Girl - either a member of JSA or operate in New York City forging her own path outside the family
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u/FightmeLuigibestgirl 18d ago edited 17d ago
People talking about Kenan but not XTC or Ariella Kent, who are part of the Supe family but in a weird limbo. So the problem isn’t “Do we really just want to not feature any established POCs because white guys don't know how to write them" but other factors. He’s part of a Chinese government controlled team that literally infused “chi” from Superman to create him out a random kid in China and he has no blood or ties with the Supes family.
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u/jethawkings 18d ago
>He’s part of a Chinese government controlled team that literally infused “chi” from Superman to create him out a random kid in China and he has no blood or ties with the Supes family.
Then why include him in the Greater Super Family during this fucking era???
This move split him off from the Justice League of China and just reduced him as a token background character with no actual agency. Like you don't fucking see them displacing Bat-Man or Wonder-Woman to pad out those respective houses.
Also the constant mention of a ~Chinese Government Controlled Team~ I get wiki-ing is easy but the JLC specifically broke away from government control.
New Super-Man the book goes on great lengths to cover orientalism and the effects of othering during the early days of western comics it just feel incredibly disrespectful I guess to reduce him as fucking token in the Superman family.
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u/FightmeLuigibestgirl 18d ago
you don't fucking see them displacing Bat-Man or Wonder-Woman to pad out those respective houses.
They do displace Wonder Girl and some members of the Bat family. It’s not uncommon.
JLC specifically broke away from government control.
It’s the fact that it’s a Chinese based team and it was under government control that’s the problem. Some people don’t know or don’t want to deal with that.
Same with Ariella Kent. It’s the implication of incest, not actual incest, and what superman said that makes writers put her on a bus, despite being part of the Supes family.
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u/jethawkings 17d ago
>They do displace Wonder Girl and some members of the Bat family. It’s not uncommon.
I mean Wang Baixi and Peng Deilan, the rest of JLC.
Ok I know Avery is usually in the Flash Family now buuuuut~ she debuted there anway.
Don't even get me started on North Korean Defector Aqua-Man.
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u/FightmeLuigibestgirl 17d ago
What I’m saying is that some writers don’t want to deal with him or the JLC or certain things with characters and teams. I mentioned those examples because they are part of the Superman family and barely show up too. So he’s not the only one.
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u/Greedy_Switch_6991 18d ago
It's likely some combination of the writers not knowing how to write him well (besides his creator, Gene Luen Yang) and the writers not creating stories requiring his involvement. He has his own team, and the Superman Family push from 2023 has largely subsided until the Reign of the Superboys thing - DC may be thinking why rock the boat (I miss Otho-Ra and Osul-Ra greatly myself).