#otho-ra

branched off from a discord convo about Clark and Kara

Phaelosians come from a section of krypton that was banished many years before it was actually destroyed. they have a connection, but one severed while it was still alive and far before they were ever even born. Phaelosians did cling onto whatever traditions, cultural elements, and stories of Krypton they could. As explained later, the echoes of Phaelosians are pretty sparse from Kryptonian knowledge with only house fables or a different view on history (ex: Phaelosians prays to a woman Kara only knows of as a scientist and some speaking a dead version of kryptonese).

and then we jump ahead to warworld, the twins do not remember the surviving colony. they were babies when their people were taken so once again, they are stripped even more of the very small connections they have remaining as Phaelosian culture crosses over with Warzoon and other enslaved aliens because they simply have no other choice. With Otho and Osul specifically, they also strongly believe they want to be like Mongul until they realize what that means (spoilers…) and they can't live like that, but also spent most of their lives rejecting that

lastly, we get Clark and Kara. First rescued by Clark who similarly was taken away from his culture as an infant but still had the connection to learn over time and even taught them. maybe to the point of acceptance of a culture they didn't know they could. they get their first toys ever and they're kryptonian. they meet Kara and she doesn't just connect with them on a kryptonian level but a phaelosian level by bringing them their house fable. something they didn't even know existed because phaelosian elders lost hope in anyone ever knowing that again like their entire lives, something has been ripped away from them and just like thinking about how trafficking relates to their story…they're looking for something that the only person who can give it to them lost forever (explosion) but was also aware of how it was taken away in the first place (exile)

like look at their little faces. they didn't know

Superman family designs by Dan Mora

𝐃𝐂 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐂'𝐬 𝐊𝐚𝐥-𝐄𝐥-𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐚 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 #𝟏 𝐛𝐲 𝐁𝐫𝐲𝐚𝐧 𝐐.𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫, 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐬 & 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐢 𝐁𝐚, 𝐉𝐨𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐚𝐳𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬, 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐬 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥!

I have seen a lot of my beloved mutuals talk about adoption as a theme in the superfam, and thats true, thats very much a thing, but thats more a subsection of the larger idea with the superfamily: You get to choose your family, and define your relationship to them.

Clark and Kon come to mind. They've been discussed a lot lately, huh? Namely people saying Clark does not treat Kon well. This is false, by the way, they get along great.

But let's sort of dig into the actual story told by their relationship here: Kon was created by Lex without Clark's consent. Clark had no say in how part of his DNA would be used to create a new life.

(This is coincidentally why it irks me that certain fans will act like Clark is a monster for even HYPOTHETICALLY not wanting a relationship with Kon. Guys, you sound like pro-lifers. Lets watch it!)

Despite this, Clark accepts Kon with open arms. Now, as myself and others have pointed out, Kon's technically... he's not a clone, he's a test tube baby. Technically, biologically, he's Clark & Lex's son. D.. diversity win...?

But thats not how Clark and Kon choose to define their relationship. They instead decide, hey, we were raised by the same people, we're brothers.

Kon is not an outsider to the Superfam, even as he is an outsider to this world- He is welcomed with open arms once it is clear he needs a home. And with Clark and Kon, they get to choose how they define their relationship, not Lex, not anyone else.

Then, John Henry and Nat. John Henry is not Natasha's father, but their relationship is very complex and often veers into that territory, for the simple reason that he shows up for her in that capacity when Natasha's own father fails her.

Even while their relationship has its ups and downs (read 52 guys for THEM), they manage to forge a relationship based on mutual respect, enough to the point where during Steelworks, she is not just his niece, but his partner in building a better tomorrow. It is a fatherly/daughterly relationship built on mutual respect largely independent of their blood relation, built on the security that Clay failed to provide Natasha with.

Of course, to talk about adoption, Clois adopting the twins. I think Phillip Kennedy Johnson handles the topic of adoption EXPERTLY with Otho-Ra and Osul-Ra, specifically as a metaphor for transracial/transethnic adoption.

Clark's relationship with the twins is built throughout the Warworld saga, and does not start... great (they discuss looting his corpse lol), and often they. But Clark understands that the kids are traumatized, and seeks to guide them to a better situation.

Now I would be irresponsible to not mention that, during this time, Clark is still struggling with Jon's age up. He mumbles, disoriented during their first meeting, that the kids are the same age as his son (no they are not). In a less tightly written book by a worse writer, it'd be a thing where Clark completely uncritically finds 'replacement kids' in the twins... Which is NOT what happens here, because PKJ is the GOAT.

In the end, his relationship with the twins is built not only independently of his struggles with Jon, but the way he connects with them helps Clark realize that whats done is done. They need him to be Clark, not a man hanging onto the past he will never get back. To move forward, they must do it together, it won't work if the twins remain on Warworld and he remains mentally in Hamilton. Its why it is SUPER important, also, that in the end, Clark doesn't ask them to come with him- rather, they ask to go with Clark.

(Sidenote: The twins lost not only their parents on warworld, but an older brother, too. Clark isn't the only one who finds a healing way forward via the Ra-El relationships, but that's gonna be another post!) And their hero names, Red Son and Starchild, are from their original culture (the Phaelosians), a culture that was systematically robbed from them when Warworld trafficked them into service. Rather than forcing them to conform to the house of El and their legacy, they help the kids reconnect.

These are his children. They found each other in the scariest place in the universe, and together, they find a way past the things they've both suffered through.

I'm afraid I don't know much about Kara (kara mutuals, reading recs appreciated! i've only ever read WOT and a few issues of the most recent Supergirl run) but I do know that her relationship to Clark is inherently different than it was supposed to be, and she has to roll with it and redefine it accordingly. She was supposed to be older than him, be able to take care of him, but by the time she actually finds him, he's the one doing that for her.

(I dont really have a panel here I fear, so look at the pretty art from Woman of Tomorrow. If someone wants to say more on Kara, you're welcome to hijack my post for a bit!)

Kenan is an example of this theme going kind of sideways and being examined from another angle- He's forced to choose between his two found families, and with either choice, he stands to lose something. Either his connection to Superman, or his connection to home:

Kenan already has a messy relationship with family, considering the soap opera level drama his parents inflict on him in his solo. Now, separated from his culture by circumstances he can't control, Kenan's relationship with the Superfam is forced by circumstance, even as it isn't unwanted. He's forced to make the most of what he has.

Then you have Clark and Jon, where the 'and define your relationship to them' part of my thematic statement REALLY becomes important.

I've seen it argued many times that giving Jon the Superman mantle weakens the theme of found family, but I'd argue it strengthens it, because Jon not having a choice in becoming Superman is EXPLICITLY framed as a bad thing.

Jon's not ready to be Superman. He doesn't even really WANT to be superman. But because of the circumstances of his birth, the world, and his father, push him into it. Clark never asked Jon to be Superman, during the Son-of-kal-el + Warworld era. He assumed he would be.

It tarnishes Clark & Jon's relationship, actively preventing Jon from connecting with his father and the WORLD fully in the way they both want. This is a key theme of Superman: Son of Kal El, from the very moment of Jon's actual birth:

All throughout post-age up Jon is the idea that Jon is just as burdened by the expectations placed upon him by his blood as he is comforted by what the mantle represents.

(I know I use this panel like every analysis but its a GOOD PANEL, SHUT UP) And there's of course the fact that... y'know. Well. Y'know.

Y'KNOW.

I think there's a potentially strong story in either Jon walking away from the mantle entirely, or redefining it to be his own. But first, he's going to have to suffer for the fact he wasn't ready for what many people call his DESTINY, including his abuser.

And where does this leave Jon and Clark?

Here.

The last note before Absolute Power of these two is this bittersweet moment where Jon still isn't fully heard. Where he still doesn't get a full say in what he and Clark's relationship will be. And judging by THIS interview from Mark Waid, this particular idea is about to finally come home to roost:

Lastly, there's of course the Most Found Family Thing Of All that i basically see NO one talk about: The fact that the Irons and the Kents just. Share all their big life events with each other. They're literally not related to each other by blood at all, but throughout PKJ's Action Comics, they ARE family!

Teamwork makes the dreamwork guys!

The superfamily is a wonderfully diverse cluster of relationships and examinations of the way family finds each other. Even moreso than the Batfam, which is often defined by their father-son relationship with Bruce in fanon, the Superfam displays a wide array of the various ways non-nuclear families can build each other.

This is all to say you guys should read PKJ's action comics run. It rules.