Canon Recs & Resources
With the DCU Universe being spread out over so many titles and, let’s face it, so many decades, trying to keep track of all that canon can be exhaustingThis post is designed to make things a little easier, but it needs your help
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With Vic, Gar and Kory acting as mentors, Tim, Kon, Bart and Cassie come back together as the newest incarnation of the Teen Titans. This title is infamous for being Grim Dark, especially compared to the more light-hearted tone of Young Justice, and there are significant changes to the characters within the first story arc. Bart is determined to leave his Impulse image behind, Cassie begins changing from level-headed leader to somebody powered by anger and emotion (literally, in the case of her new lasso) and Tim and Kon are officially established as the BFFs we all knew they were when Kon automatically turns to Tim when confronted with bad news. There are a lot of changes for Kon - he's given the Conner Kent identity by Clark and moves to Smallville to live as Clark's cousin and he learns that his other genetic donor is Lex Luthor. This storyline comes to a head in the crossover Teen Titans/Outsiders: The Insiders, where Luthor takes control of Kon and makes him attack the Teen Titans.
Infinite Crisis
Still avoiding the Teen Titans after his Luthor-controlled rampage, Kon is viciously attacked by Superboy-Prime. The Teen Titans and a whole slew of other heroes come to his aid and Bart manages to take Superboy-Prime into the Speed Force, temporarily stopping him. Kon's badly injured, but once he's recovered he joins Dick and together they travel to the Arctic to destroy the tower being used to create countless different parallel Earths. Superboy-Prime, who has escaped the Speed Force, attacks again and severely wounds Kon. Kon throws himself at Superboy-Prime, flying them through the tower and destroying it, thus saving the world. But he's fatally injured and dies in Cassie's arms, with Tim arriving shortly after to find his best friend dead.
Final Crisis: Legion Of 3 Worlds
After several unsuccessful attempts at cloning Kon and an equally failed attempt at dating Cassie, Kon's ex-girlfriend, over in Teen Titans, Tim begins to move on and there's little Tim/Kon action beyond the occasional mention of his lost best friend. Then comes Final Crisis, and specifically the Legion Of 3 Worlds storyline, where both Kon and Bart (who was killed shortly after Infinite Crisis) are resurrected.
Adventure Comics
Kon adjusts to being alive again, while exploring the idea that his genetic donors are Superman and Lex Luthor and what that means about his own nature. There are several sweet Young Justice/Teen Titans reunion moments, with issue 3 being devoted to him catching up with Tim. Bruce Wayne seemingly died during Final Crisis but Tim is convinced that isn't true and, having not been able to convince the remaining Batfamily of his theories, is investigating on his own. Kon believes him unconditionally and confesses his own mission to determine if he's more Clark or more Lex.
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♥ JLA: World Without Grown-Ups
♥ Young Justice: A League Of Their Own
♥ Young Justice: Sins Of Youth
♥ Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day
There is some good news, however. The new Young Justice tv show may not be connected to the comics bearing the same name, but it has inspired DC to release several Young Justice specials collecting key stories. These all came out in the past 12 months, so finding back-issues should be much easier and cheaper than finding the out-of-print trades.
♥ DC Presents Young Justice 1
♥ DC Presents Young Justice 2
♥ DC Presents Young Justice 3
In comparison, most of the Teen Titans run has been collected in trades (although DC, as ever, lag severely behind in how long it takes them to get those trades out). A full list of trades and the issues they contain can be found here, although for Tim/Kon shippers I'd recommend the following...
♥ A Kid's Game
The first trade from this run of Teen Titans, it establishes the new version of the team, and has Kon and Tim investigating whether Luthor is really Kon's genetic donor, a secret the two of them keep for quite some time.
♥ The Insiders
A crossover with the Outsiders, where Luthor uses Kon to attack the Teen Titans. Although not, perhaps, an essential Tim/Kon title, this is a significant arc for Kon.
♥ The Death and Return of Donna Troy
Another crossover with the Outsiders. Included here because it collects Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day in a book that's still in print.
♥ Life And Death
This collects the issues of Infinite Crisis relevant to Kon's story, meaning you don't have to read the whole crossover event (which can be confusing, since it splits its focus between between pretty much every character in the DCU). Corresponding issues from Teen Titans and Robin are also included.
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♥ World's Finest 3
As featured in the first comment on this post. I've yet to find these 2 issues in any comic book shop I've visited, but that doesn't mean they're not still out there.
♥ Superboy 85
Although this issue revolves around Kon's first encounter with Cass Cain, it starts with some laugh-out-loud banter between Kon and Tim. Kon is quite adamant in his belief that the entire Batfamily should talk like they just stepped out of Adam West's Batman tv show.
♥ Robin: Tales Of Fire And Madness
The story will probably make more sense if you read the entire trade, but the Tim/Kon interaction is all in issue 141, when Tim asks Kon to pose as Robin to help maintain his secret identity. More banter, more of Kon abusing the word "chum".
♥ Final Crisis: Legion Of 3 Worlds
I wouldn't call this essential, since Kon is only featured towards the end, but it does show his resurrection for those wishing to read it.
♥ Superboy: Boy Of Steel Collecting the relevant stories from Adventure Comics after Kon's return. You could choose to only buy issue 3, which is the most Tim/Kon heavy issue, but I'd highly recommend going for the entire book if you're a Kon fan.
♥ Red Robin: Collision
After Final Crisis, the Robin identity was passed to Damian Wayne and Tim became Red Robin. This is the second trade from the Red Robin title, which as a whole is extremely enjoyable, but if you're looking for individual issues then check out issue 9 where Kon visits Gotham and there's some adorable Tim/Kon hugging.
♥ On The Shoulders Of Titans - Not yet collected in trade, this two-part storyline consists of Red Robin 20 and Teen Titans 92. Tim works with the Teen Titans for the first time since Kon and Bart's return, having to deal with Damian also being on the team. There's a lovely Teen Titans group hug and Kon gushing about how Tim will always be his Robin.
This isn't a comprehensive list of their interactions, but it should give potential readers a starting point and a guide to what's actually available to buy.
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