Superman and Lois actor addresses whether bisexual Superman will make it to TV
Superman and Lois star Jordan Elsass thinks it’s unlikely his character, Jonathan Kent, will be bisexual in the series. Jon Kent is canonically queer in the comics. (Erik Voake/Getty for Hulu)
Superman and Lois actor Jordan Elsass has addressed whether or not Jonathan Kent is bisexual in the CW series.
DC Comics announced Jon Kent, the son of OG Superman Clark Kent and Lois Lane, will be bisexual in the upcoming comic Superman: Son of Kal-El #5. The comic book series features Jon protecting Earth as the new Man of Steel while his dad is fighting evil off-planet.
In the upcoming November comic, Jon eventually becomes physically and mentally burnt out from the burden of being Superman when pink-haired reporter Jay Nakamura steps in to take care of the hero. The pair develop a strong connection and eventually share a kiss.
However Elsass, who plays Jonathan in Superman and Lois, suggested it’s unlikely that the bisexual storyline from the comics will end up making its way into the CW series.
He told ComicBook that his character, Jonathan Kent, is divorced from the comic book character of the same name, and is from a completely “different Earth”.
“That is the comic version of the character,” Elsass said. “This character is a different Earth, it’s a different version.”
But he said there is “always that possibility” that the CW show’s producers could introduce a queer arc for his character in the future.
“There’s always that possibility, but it’s looking like Jonathan Kent this version is most likely straight,” Elsass admitted. “We don’t even know if he has powers at this point.”
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Superman and Lois does differ from the comic books’ representation of Superman’s son. In the series, Clark (Tyler Hoechlin) and Lois (Bitsie Tulloch) move to Smallville – the childhood hometown of Superman – with their twin sons Jonathan and Jordan (Alex Garfin).
In the comic books, Clark and Lois only have one son, who has had powers since he was young. But in the TV show, Jonathan doesn’t have any powers while his brother Jordan does.
Garfin told Decider that the CW show focuses more on the “inner workings” of the Kent family dynamics “on such a close level” that “adding sexuality into it would be very intense”. But he said it could be “something maybe down the line”.
“But as of now, this is a Superman story. Superman is not a linear thing,” Garfin said. “We are taking what we like from the comics, what the writers… like from the comics, and telling the story they want to tell.”
