You’ve talked before about similarities between Kon and the version of Lex from Smallville, so I was just wondering if you could elaborate more on that? While I have mixed feelings on Kon and the Clex test tube baby retcon, I do ultimately enjoy the idea that Kon takes after Clark and Lex without meaning to do so.

sure! as i'm sure you've gathered i love talking about lex soooo... 😅

to preface, it probably goes without saying, but when i say kon has a lot in common with lex, I'm talking specifically about the original version. as much as i love the concept of kon being a........."binary clone", as DC insists on calling it (insert "sure jan.gif" here), the black tee era feels almost unrecognizable as the same character at points.

but lex in the early seasons of smallville has a certain reckless disregard for his own well-being that kon also shares, and kon is also impulsive in a way that clark isn't but lex -- especially in his younger years -- is. (tbh i think you can make a strong case for both having bipolar disorder, but then we're just getting into my personal headcanons.)

kon is very flirtatious, and cocky, and a little bit vain, all of which are traits that he has in common with lex.

i also like the idea of kon looking a little like lex, and while you can argue that kon is so much shorter and leaner than clark because he's perpetually stuck as a teenager, i like to think part of it is him taking after lex a little bit. i am a "green eyes kon" truther til the end.

i think the biggest similarity the two have, though, is -- ironically -- some of their specific forms of parental trauma. post-crisis/pre-flashpoint lex was...kind of a nightmare every time he and kon interacted, unfortunately. it's not really a secret that smallville drew a lot from post-crisis lex for lionel's characterization and backstory, so (probably on accident, lbr, because i don't think geoff johns was thinking about it that deeply) you kind of end up with a narrative of lex perpetuating the same kind of abuse that he went through at the same age. given smallville lex's intense fear of becoming his father, there's something potentially really tragic there, to me.

i think, in the hands of a writer who was actually interested in exploring it, you could spin a pretty compelling narrative about cycles of abuse and lex either perpetuating or making an active effort to break that cycle -- regardless of which side of things you're inclined to come down on -- but unfortunately, geoff johns didn't seem that interested in digging into lex's psyche when he was writing kon.