I LOVE SUPERHEROES

I read an interesting meta post about Kon's time in Smallville the other day and it got me thinking about how all the non-Steel Supers have three identities: superhero (Super), secret identity (Kent, usually), and Kryptonian (El). But they don't all identify with those identities in the same way.

Clark, in his heart, is human. Yes, obviously he isn't literally human, but he was raised his entire conscious life on Earth, by humans, surrounded by humans. He married a human. His two closest friends are humans. Until puberty, he thought he was human. It's not that Superman is a disguise, exactly, but as Lois and Clark put it so beautifully: "Superman is what I can do. Clark Kent is who I am." And Clark Kent is human.

(Same with Jon, if not moreso. Jon was born on Earth and didn't know he was half alien until he was ten. Jon is also human in his heart.)

Kara, meanwhile, is Kryptonian. Kara lived on Krypton until she was sixteen. It shaped her beliefs and her values. I don't think this necessarily means she's forever alienated, it's just a different experience of life than Clark has. And I think it's telling that she's had so many identities on Earth: Linda Lee, Linda Danvers, Kara Kent, Linda Lang, Kara Danvers, probably some others I'm forgetting about. None of them are as foundationally real to her as "Kara Zor-El," or as "Clark Kent" is to Clark. Supergirl is what she can do, but Kara Zor-El is who she is. And Kara Zor-El is Kryptonian.

But Kon? Kon was created to be Superman. Kon didn't have a name besides "Superboy" or "SB" or "Kid" for years. Even after Clark offered him the Kon-El name (and don't get me wrong, that was an incredibly meaningful moment for Kon), he didn't develop it as a separate identity. For the first nine years Kon existed in canon, he had no secret identity whatsoever. He was an extremely public hero, he loved being a public hero, and he had absolutely no desire to live any other way. When he was given the name "Conner Kent" and the secret identity that came with it, it wasn't something he wanted, and it took literally dying and coming back to life for him to see any value in it at all. He had to pretend to be something he wasn't, but hey, at least he wasn't dead! Even as recently as his current miniseries, Kon has chosen to "find himself" by leaving Earth and going on a mission in space where neither the Kon nor Conner identities are in use or at all relevant.

In other words, at the end of the day, Clark identifies as human and Kara identifies as Kryptonian. But, in a way that's half inspiring for what it says about his heart, and half tragic, like a grown-up child actor who has no idea how to interact with ordinary people, Kon identifies as a superhero.

Listen, DC, if you don't want me to ship them, maybe consider not having them hold hands in a story centered on Tim learning to deal with his bisexuality and figuring himself/his relationships with others out. p.s. I'm joking around LET TIM AND KON HOLD HANDS ALL THEY WANT.

I love Clark Kent because realistically both a nice 6'5 superhero with godlike powers AND a friendly 6'5 country boy reporter would be rolling in bitches, but Clark suffers from terminal Sweetiepie Syndrome and has zero game as a result

Fighting for his LIFE on the phone with a cute girl. He's so real for this.

LOKI SEASON 2 ✦ TRAILER

Listen, we have different styles. You are man of action, which is fine. I take a more slow, deliberate, cerebral approach.

Loki and Mobius in Loki season 2

One of my favorite variations on the “Justice League Meets the Batfam” trope is the one where Dick, as Nightwing, joins the Justice League and makes Bruce suffer for it. Nightwing is unaffiliated with Batman so for all anyone knows Nightwing at most someone copying Batman’s philosophy in the neighboring city. More likely neither of them have ever spoken before. Bruce has to pretend like he doesn’t know His Son who is running around with the League. Dick is having a grand ole time being just a liiiiitle too familiar with Batman, not enough to blow their covers immediately but enough to make people confused and Bruce grumpy. Everyone thinks Batman is in the process of literally planning the murder of their new team member meanwhile Dick is in the Batcave getting yelled at about secret identities. He is clearly not listening to the lecture. Steph is behind Bruce mimicking his speech and acting innocent whenever he turns around. It’s great.

😂😂😂 the entirety of the batfam pretending not to know one another. It’s gold.

Spoiler: I know a Bat girl. I’ve also heard of Blackbat but I’ve never heard of this “Batman” guy before.

Signal: I’m the only vigilante in Gotham. It’d be nice to have some help once in a while. Maybe someone for the night shift, ya know?

Red Robin: I thought those were sleep deprivation hallucinations… you’re telling me there’s other heroes in Gotham?

So on and so on.

Try being the clone of Superman and Lex Luthor.

she's going through some hard stuff with her dada

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS (2011) dir. Matthew Vaughn

Clark is literally just minding his business! Just walking down the hall, after an elevator interview with Luthor! And baby Dick Grayson immediately just fucking CLOCKS HIM as different. Didn't even see him rescue anyone! No amazing feats of strength! No super speed! No weird coincidences! Just Clark Kent walking down a hallway and Dick Grayson is immediately ALL THE HELL OVER HIM and he's RIGHT. And he knows when someone is cheating, he may not know how yet (alien with x-ray vision, to be fair, is a bit out there for his current level of experience), but that kid KNOWS WHEN SOMEONE IS CHEATING. Also, absolutely PHENOMENAL that, while Bruce apparently leaves Dick in the LEXCORP KIDZ-ZONE while he's busy, I'm sure Dick loved that, even at thirteen years old.

this is my new favorite thing

I will never understand the obsession with making tims favourite robin Jason when it couldn't be more painfully obvious that tims favourite robin was Dick

Like people are so caught up in the concept, the made up angst, that tims favourite robin beat him up that they straight up misunderstand how much more significant Tim and Dicks relationship is not to mention the added layers of Tim originally being created as the ultimate self insert character which for a good number of readers meant they grew up with Dick as their favourite robin and didn't really like Jason just for not being Dick

Nothing illustrates this more than the Knightmare issue of Robin. From the get-go, Tim and Jason are so awkward with each other and they *begin* with antagonising each other. I just don't understand the whole "Jason was Tim's favorite Robin" bit. He wasn't. Tim is literally so upset about Damian becoming Robin and I know that's mostly because he wasn't ready to give up Robin. But it's also because he doesn't get to be *Dick's* Robin!

Bruce always worries when his children disappear or leave Gotham, but he gets even worse when it's Dick or Tim.

This is the thing, Jason goes off world with Kori and Roy and comes back calmer and saner.

Cassandra rarely stays in Gotham. She has a hard time remembering to call home, but she does, and Bruce is immensely happy to hear from her.

Damian goes off and returns with a sense of self and victory. He had a lot of fun with Jon, no one knows what they were up to.

Dick leaves and when he's back, he is carrying 3000 new tons of ✨trauma✨. He's been tortured, held hostage, save a small planet, lost his teammates. It's been a hellish week, let alone a month.

Tim disappears, doesn't call, doesn't text, nobody knows where he is. He comes back one day with a longer criminal record and the loyalty of a gaggle of assorted unhinged individuals.

Bruce trusts Jason, Cass and Damian to be responsible. Dick attracts danger, and Tim stumbles into it instead of sidestepping it.

listen. i know it's not 2014 anymore and i know it's just a throwaway line and that the russo brothers didnt intend for marvel action blockbuster captain america the winter soldier to become the tragic gay love story that never was but man. having steve say "it's kind of hard to find someone with shared life experience" in a conversation about romantic relationships right before the bucky reveal is so cruel. it's not just about steve and bucky obviously having the shared experience of being "out of time," it's the fact that they've both been stripped of their humanity in opposite directions. steve is a legend, he is an american hero and a national icon before he is a human being the same way that bucky is a weapon and a killing machine before he is a human being. steve knows that anyone who falls in love with him in the 21st century fell in love with captain america first, and that's just not him. but then the one person who knew him first and knew him best and loved him (not captain america, that little guy from brooklyn) so much he died for it is alive, impossibly. and it's a miracle because he's back and it's horrific because he's back under the worst possible circumstances. but to steve, the winter soldier is worth tearing the world apart for because he's always been bucky first. they find each other and suddenly they're human again. and maybe, despite it all, being "out of time" becomes a blessing, because in this century they'd finally be allowed to love each other the way they've always wanted to. like real people do.

like. no. the captain america trilogy isn't about two queer men traumatized and alienated by war and modern life rediscovering and reclaiming their humanity through their love for each other. but. i mean. it couldve been

op TAGS !!

OTP with a hurt/confort moment.

X-Men: Hellfire Gala #1 (2023)

X-Men: Hellfire Gala #1 (2023)

Extreme Venomverse #4 - "Sparkle and Shine" (2023)

i’m so obsessed with panel, there’s so much happening despite absolutely nothing happening. dick with his gold chain while in a suit jacket, damian’s phone out at the table, bruce struggling with what looks to be sushi during christmas dinner??? amazing. why is any of this happening