i've been meaning to shout about this ever since i first watched yj s1 but holy cow did they do clark and kon so dirty. are you telling me that clark - lonely clark! empathetic clark! clark who has dedicated his entire life to helping those who need him! clark who has spent his entire life thinking - and then knowing, with terrible certainty- that he was the last of his kind! you're telling me clark took one look at a half kryptonian boy who had clearly been mistreated and abandoned, and was looking at him with hope that superman wouldn't abandon him too- and turned away? rejected him? are we talking about the same character here? like I can see him being shocked and appalled that what was essentially his child had been made without his consent. and by lex luthor especially. but i can't believe superman, of all people, would be so cruel as to allow himself to project the personal contempt he has for lex onto a child who had no say in the matter. and then they completely offscreen the development of clark and kon's relationship! insult to injury!
like come on. where is my clark who meets kon and his heart immediately goes out to him - yes this is a terrible violation, but more than that this is a scared, lonely boy who desperately needs his guidance. where is my clark who has no idea what to do with a surprise teenage son, but he takes kon back to his tiny metropolis apartment anyway and awkwardly shows him where the towels are and tells him he can stay as long as he wants. where is my clark taking kon to the batcave so batman can help him get his papers together and kon is SO nervous around bruce but clark tells him not to worry. where is my clark who fumbling through how to be a dad, so he fucks it up a lot of the time- especially with how much he's constantly juggling- but never lets kon feel like kon's not a priority for him, that kon isn't someone he loves and cares for.
like give me kon who is learning his place in the world and on a superhero team but it's ok because clark always has his back! give me a clark who believes in him unconditionally and tells him he has the capacity to be a good person no matter what! when kon's weirder powers come in and he freaks out, clark's there to help him calm down and talk through it. when kon mentions he hasn't watched mean girls clark sits him down on his lumpy couch and they watch it together. clark teaches kon kryptonian with the fortress' help, and they speak it to each other at home to keep each other in practice. they ask martha for her pie recipe and try making it themselves and nearly burn down clark's apartment together. they don't need comms because they both have superhearing, so they have a code they listen out for to get each other's attention if they need it. kon tests it out, skeptical, and learns that superman will always come when he calls.
And kon eventually comes to trust that he belongs in the world, that no matter what he has a place by clark's side, that he has value as a person- that he is a person who is loved and not just an experiment. and when luthor comes knocking with his speeches and his weird ass steroid patches kon doesn't even think twice before he calls his dad.
