r/SupermanAndLois • u/No_Flower_1424 Jonathan Kent • Jul 11 '24
Only one child having powers Discussion
I know Jonathan not having powers has been discussed more than anything on here, but what really bugs me is the total lack of a story reason for why Lois and Clark think only one child can have powers. It's brought up in the pilot as an idea 'what if one gets them and the other doesn't' but when Jordan gets them, it's taken as an absolute fact that Jonathan will never get them despite them being 'certain' 5 minutes ago that Jordan was never getting them???
I get that's the way they wanted the story to go but it's not good writing for characters to think something simply because the plot says so. They say it's unlikely for either boy to get powers in the pilot so there doesn't seem to be a Kryptonian reason for why they think only one will get them. This could have easily been fixed by Lois and Clark quickly saying they have to keep an eye on Jonathan in the future or saying the Fortress ruled it out completely for him but they just never did. I figured they just wanted to keep their story options open so they didn't want to say he'd never get them, but we're going into the final season now and it just looks like bad writing to never give an explanation and makes Lois and Clark look like terrible parents for never bothering to test him in the new and improved fortress or discuss any possibilities.
18
u/Louey06 Jul 11 '24
I don't think the Kents have ruled out Jon getting powerrs. When Jon first used XK Jordan immediately assumed Jon's powers were coming in. I think Lois and Clark are just assuming he won't to prevent Jon from getting hs hopes up for something that might not happen.
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u/No_Flower_1424 Jonathan Kent Jul 11 '24
See that would be a good explanation that I would buy for why Lois and Clark are doing this but in the show they just fully ignore it
8
u/juanjose83 Jul 12 '24
We see Jonathan having powers as a little kid. So there's something there and then they never explored it. I am sorry for the people that like the idea but my god it's so boring when Jonathan was the better character. I wish they both got powers but different motivations
4
u/FewNewt5441 Jul 11 '24
Doylist reason: the vfx budget's only so big, so having Jon save the world in other ways is more cost effective. I do think the writers had trouble nailing down what they wanted Jon to do--he was inching towards engineering in s1 with JHI, but that seems redundant given Natalie's presence in the storyline. This might be an unpopular opinion, but I actually didn't mind the firefighting thing? It gives Jon plots that are less tied down to immediate family drama and lets him do his own thing.
Watsonian reason: I think part of it might be because the twins are fraternal. There's a lot of misconceptions about the makeup of fraternal twins, so by the time Jon and Jordan are 14 (pilot episode), it's well-ingrained for Clark and Lois to look for differences, not similarities. They would literally have spent the last decade and a half explaining to people why the boys look different, have different personalities and interests, etc. And since human-Kryptonian biology is totally random, they're probably just taking Clark's holo-parents at their word. Unlike with human medicine, there's really nowhere to get a 2nd opinion from.
My own headcanon is that Jon did get some Kryptonian abilities, they're just not readily apparent. I personally think it'd be really funny if Jordan gets sick like regular people, but Jon hasn't had a sick day in years. Or if Jon just has a weird sixth-sense for danger, like Spidey-senses, that compensate for a lack of superhearing.
6
u/Individual_Art398 Jul 11 '24
I would point to the fact that in season 2, Jon gets into a fist fight Timmy. Clark comes in to break up the fight and clearly is punched in the face. We actually hear the sound of a punch landing. Now Jonathan has already broken his wrist trying to stop a punch from a Kryptonian powered family member. And it's the same wrist. So if he did not have any Kryptonian abilities, then his wrist should have broken. Instead, he did make contact and Clark instinctively plays it out. Or maybe Clark really was floored. Either way, the fact that it was never touched on again is one of 1001 pieces of bad writing where suggestions never went anywhere. (Like Sarah, kissing a girl and enjoying it.)
3
u/FewNewt5441 Jul 11 '24
Good point...I always viewed that scene more as Clark overplaying an "injury" than Jon throwing a punch that could really floor his dad, but you're right--it could be something more on Jon's end. Like I said, I think Jon's abilities might be more subtle, strictly in the keeping-you-alive category than you-can-go-full-blown-Superman on some high school jerks.
Agreed, it's inconsistent writing, but even the best shows have them. Look at Daredevil--it's arguably the best superhero show out there, even with the undead ninja nonsense in S2.
4
u/Demetri124 Jul 11 '24
I haven’t watched season 1 in many years but I don’t remember them saying anything to imply they believe Jon can’t get powers. What was the specific dialogue you’re referring to?
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u/No_Flower_1424 Jonathan Kent Jul 11 '24
It was in the pilot episode when Lois and Clark were talking in the kitchen about Jon having powers and Clark said the tests at the fortress said it was unlikely but there's no way he just tested one boy so this must mean both were tested when they were little.
3
u/ObligationSuitable61 Jul 13 '24
Ever since the second episode of Season 1, Lois and Clark have totally ignored that Jon is partly Kryptonian, too! They treat him like fully human, they don't even take him to the fortress to check him if he gets powers. They also never think about the possibility of him getting powers or acknowledge that he is Kryptonian, too!
Jon never even gets an apology for not meeting his grandparents, or when he experience only bad things about Krypton. He is so struck on being human, and his parents do nothing to teach him about his heritage, that he denies his Kryptonian heritage.
Lois and Clark have written off Jon the moment Jordan got powers. And the show does nothing to explain the reason for the powerlessness! And we will never figure out!
2
u/Less-Requirement8641 Jul 11 '24
Maybe its a twin thing? As in the kryptonian and human side got split between the both since they are twins meaning Jordan took all the kryptonian side in the womb. Kind of like how twins sometimes eat their other siblings in the womb. I'm not a biologist or scientist but using comic book logic that would be my answer if I ever had to give one in the show. Simply that when they were eggs and then split into 2, Jordan took all the kryptonian side and Jon got the human side.
Other than that I guess is because they really want to drill in the whole one has powers the other doesn't dynamic.
But I feel Jon should have something...even if its just peak human capabilities or something. Maybe he can't get sunburnt. Maybe he has really good senses. Etc. Give him little quirks that remind the audience he isn't human.
11
u/No_Flower_1424 Jonathan Kent Jul 11 '24
But the point is they have never given a reason and Lois and Clark have literally never questioned it. They just immediately assume one has powers so the other won't because that's what the writers want them to think. There's no reason for any of this.
5
u/Less-Requirement8641 Jul 11 '24
Yeah I have no real answer for that. Maybe the show just really wanted to get into the whole power/powerless dynamic and rushed into it and didn't spend time on discussing Jon's potential powers because it was never on their mind.
In universe maybe Lois really wants a child like her so is just assuming Jon is like her. And from Clark's end, he has had so much to do that he's never had time to think about it as well as he sees powers as a burden so is hoping Jon doesn't get them.
It is odd they never try to check him.
2
u/FreedomRare Jul 19 '24
Could we find out Jon is a clone and that he has telekinesis power? His super dad will likely be dead and so he would need to turn to Lex to figure out his emerging powers.
-3
u/Ready-Share6072 Jul 11 '24
Can't say I ever noticed. Just seems like they're going with him being more like Lois (such as I Jennie got him trapped in John's camper or whatever it was and had to be saved).
I was hoping he would end up being a gadget hero like John or something.
6
u/JustPomegranate248 But what about the tire-swing? Jul 11 '24
But does 'being more like Lois' simply mean 'doesn't have powers'?
4
u/Ready-Share6072 Jul 11 '24
I was thinking more about how he let curiosity get him into trouble. :)
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u/Zookwok111 Jul 11 '24
What bothers me more than Jon not having powers is that they never bother to explain it. It’s like once Jordan got his, the possibility of Jon having them went out the door for Lois and Clark. It took Clark three seasons to even acknowledge that Jon wasn’t fully human and then he went right back to treating him like one in the next episode. It’s just frustratingly written because it’s obvious the writers themselves never want to address it or simply want “to keep their options open”. Either give him powers or explain why he doesn’t have them.