Superboy (Kon-El)
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Superboy (also known as Conner Kent or Kon-El) is a fictional superhero in the DC Comics Universe. He is a clone of Superman and his archnemesis Lex Luthor, and a modern update of the original Superboy, who is a younger version of Superman.
Character history
Superboy's origins start with Project: Superman, which is the Superman cloning project originally intended to thwart the Man of Steel. Due to the inability to replicate Kryptonian DNA, the clones' bodies degenerate after a short period of time.The Man of Steel #5 (1986) Upon Superman's deathSuperman (Vol. 2) #75 (1992), the project is reinstated in conjunction with Lex Luthor II and Cadmus Labs, this time, to replace the fallen hero. Human DNA, originally thought to be that of Director Paul Westfield, is used to stabilize the Kryptonian DNA and the result: Superboy, the first successful clone of Superman.Reign of the Supermen
In his first appearanceAdventures of Superman #500, Superboy is rescued by the Newsboy Legion. His artificial aging process is interrupted due to the rescue, and is only aged to mid-teens and implanted with the necessary knowledge of someone his biological age.
Upon his arrival in Metropolis, Superboy goes by "Superman" and has no other identity. He immediately rebukes any insinuation that he is the original Superman in any form. In fact, he tells anyone who will listen that he is a clone of Superman. He first reveals this to Lois Lane, but she has no time to break the story because Tana Moon breaks the story live on WGBS. Adventures of Superman #501, 1993 The Cyborg Superman, John Henry Irons, and the Eradicator also make their first appearances as a "Superman" at this time as well.
Hank Henshaw's eventual betrayalAdventures of Superman #504, 1993 is followed by the real Superman's return. His first action upon returning is instigating an assault on "Engine City" (built on top of Coast City), along with Superboy, Supergirl, Steel, Hal Jordan, Superman, and the Eradicator. The united Supermen are successful and defeat the Cyborg-Superman and destroy his body. Superman (Vol. 2) #82, 1993
After Engine City, Superboy is convinced that the returning Kal-El is the real SupermanSuperman (Vol. 2) #82, 1993. Upon Superman's return to Metropolis, he is informed that the boy had been created from human DNA only and genetically engineered to look like Superman and mimic his major powers by way of telekinesis. Superman tells him his actions have earned him the name "Superboy"Adventures of Superman #505, 1993. At first he has a temper tantrum, but then he accepts the new name and decides to go on a "Superboy World Tour". He gets as far as Hawaii before deciding to stay there.Superboy #1, 1993
Superboy
A Superboy series debuted in 1994 and lasted for 100 issues. In it, Superboy settles in Hawaii with a supporting cast consisting of his sleazy agent Rex Leech, Rex's daughter Roxy, Project Cadmus "DNAlien" Dubbilex, TV reporter Tana Moon, and Bibbo Bibbowski's white puppy named Krypto. Early in the series it is revealed that Superboy is cloned from Cadmus' unscrupulous Senior Director Paul Westfield, who had been killed by mad scientist Dabney Donovon. This was later retconned. Karl Kesel was the writer for the first 30 issues, introducing many new villains. These include Sidearm, B.E.M., SilverSword, and King Shark.
Superboy begins the series acting immature; however, by the end he becomes more serious. Superboy almost dies when he, along with the majority of Cadmus' clones, are infected by the Clone Virus. In reaction, Superboy and the Suicide Squad team up to take down the lair of the Silicon Dragons, an infamous Pacific crime syndicate who maintain a base of operations on the bottom of the ocean.
In another storyline, Superboy is legally required to attend school because he is a minor. He attends public school but Dubbilex later remands him to home schooling after the school is severely damaged in a battle.
One of Superboy's villains is Knockout, a thrill-seeking former Female Fury on the planet Apokolips, who fled while in training. After teaming up several times with Superboy, Knockout becomes his fulltime partner. They take down Killer Frost, the Technician, and Silversword. The Furies would later arrive to capture Knockout. As a result, a huge battle breaks out, with the local police involved. A police officer is killed in the fight, and an investigation concludes that Knockout herself had struck down the officer. Superboy refuses to believe that Knockout is guilty, and he and Knockout briefly became outlaws until she kills again in front of him.
Ron Marz' run featured an organization called the Agenda attempting to capture Superboy and use his DNA to create a clone army. The Agenda uses an operative named Amanda Spence to capture Superboy and subsequently created the clone named Match. After a battle in the Agenda's headquarters, Superboy defeats Match and the Agenda, but the Agenda reveal it has infected Superboy with a deadly virus. The virus causes his cellular structure to breakdown, and Superboy is rushed back to Cadmus again, where an emergency transfusion of Roxy's blood stabilizes him; unfortunately, it locks him permanently at the age of 16. The news devastates Superboy, since he had always dreamt of growing up to replace Superman.
The cast soon disbands with Tana Moon breaking off her relationship with Superboy and leaving Hawaii on a business trip, a humiliated Superboy disappearing, Dubbilex returning to Cadmus, and Roxy leaving Hawaii in search of her fugitive father. In issue #50, Kesel and Grummett's return, Superboy is crushed to find that his friends have all left Hawaii. He returns to Cadmus, and becomes a field operative, teaming up with Dubbilex and Guardian.
Superboy finally got a name when he and Superman visit a virtual reality Krypton. Later on, Superman gives him the Kryptonian name Kon-El, telling him that he considers Superboy family.Superboy #59, 1997
Superboy is one of the first DC Comics characters to explore Hypertime. During a journey through Hypertime, he learns that Superman is Clark Kent. The idea that his closest "relative" had kept this from him leads to a bad feeling between them, but it soon passes.
The Agenda takes over Cadmus, using the villains Simyan and Mokkari to create a clone army and turning the lab into the "Evil Factory." With the help of some allies, Superboy manages to regain control of Cadmus, battling his doppelganger Match along the way. Tana Moon returns and is brutally murdered by Amanda Spence, who reveals that she is Paul Westfield's daughter and holds Superboy responsible for his death.
During the Sins of Youth storyline, the anomaly preventing Superboy from aging is corrected, but Superboy is rendered powerless. When an alien slaver arrives, Superboy is forced to rely on his wits and some gadgets to succeed against the enemy before his powers are restored at the last minute. During the Our Worlds at War crossover, Superboy fights Amanda Spence, now an insane cyborg, for the last time. Cadmus is destroyed.
At the end of his series, Superboy gets an apartment in Metropolis, working as the building superintendent to pay the rent.Superboy #100, 1999
Superboy is later taken in by Superman's parents Jonathan and Martha Kent. Superman also sets up Superboy with a civilian identity. He became "Conner Kent", cousin to Clark Kent. Feeling that Superboy might feel lonely in Smallville, Superman entrusted Krypto the Superdog into Superboy's care. Teen Titans (Vol. 3) #1
Teen Titans
Superboy is a founding member of Peter David's Young Justice, as well as the most recent version of the Teen Titans, which is as much a sequel to Young Justice as it is to previous Titans books. Following the death of Donna Troy, Superboy and former Young Justice members Robin, Impulse, Wonder Girl, along with Titans veterans Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy, become the new Titans.Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day
Superboy and Wonder Girl's relationship is developed throughout Young Justice and Teen Titans. At first, Wonder Girl's infatuation with Superboy is unrequited. When they first meet, Superboy is still dating Tana Moon. After Tana is killed in the Sins of Youth crossover, Superboy develops an interest in Wonder Girl. During their first date, Superboy is forcibly sucked through a time portal to the 30th century.Teen Titans (Vol. 3) #15, 2004
When Superboy reappears, he is wearing the classic Superboy outfit (with a Legion belt buckle). It appears to Cassie as though he was only away for a couple seconds, but Superboy has spent five months in the 31st century with the Legion of Super-Heroes fighting the Fatal Five-Hundred. He returns to enlist the help of the Titans, bringing the Titans to the future where they help the Legion to victory.Teen Titans (Vol. 3) #16, Titans/Legion Special
On the return trip home, they accidentally arrive 10 years in the future instead of the present. The Teen Titans meet their adult versions of themselves. Superboy finds that he is now Superman, Tim is Batman, Cassie is Wonder Woman, and Bart is the Flash. In this alternate future, Superman has greater control of his powers, Cassie chooses him over Captain Marvel Jr., Lex Luthor is his mentor/father-figure, and the Titans are "freakin' bad guys". They discuss the possibility of breaking up the team when they get back to the present, but Cyborg 2.0 tells them that the future developed the way it did because the team was not together during the "Crisis".Teen Titans (Vol. 3) #17-19, 2004
During Teen Titans it is retconned that Superboy is half-Kryptonian: Half of his genetics come from Superman, but the rest come from the supervillain Lex Luthor. Luthor reveals that the reason he had donated his DNA to help create Superboy is to generate a sleeper agent that he can use to destroy Superman. He had been intimately involved with Project: Superman (a.k.a. Project: Superboy, Project: Lionel, and Project 13), and he had implanted verbal commands into Superboy under Cadmus director Paul Westfield's nose.Teen Titans (Vol. 3) #1, 2003
Brainiac and Luthor lead an attack against the young heroes of the Teen Titans and the Outsiders using a brainwashed Superboy. Conner manages to shake off the implanted mental command and return to his friends, but not before breaking Robin's arm and savagely beating his own girlfriend, Wonder Girl.Teen Titans (Vol. 3) #24-25, Outsiders #24-25
Afterwards, Conner takes a "leave of absence", and secludes himself in the Kents' farmhouse. There, Raven shows him that he had a young soul, that was stronger than his inner demons and steadily growing. Teen Titans (Vol. 3) #26, 2005
Infinite Crisis
In the DC Comics' limited series Infinite Crisis, the other-dimensional Superboy-Prime watches Conner during his seclusion in Smallville. Resentful of Conner, who seemingly has the perfect life, Superboy-Prime attacks him, telling him that he would be replaced. This vastly more powerful Superboy pulverizes Conner, badly injuring him, until the Teen Titans, Doom Patrol and Justice Society of America join the fray, leading to a climactic battle where various Flashes pull Superboy Prime into the Speed Force.Infinite Crisis #4, 2006
The battle against Superboy-Prime overtaxes Conner's body. His body begins to fall apart to the point that even JSA physician Doctor Mid-Nite can not aid him. Knowing that Lex Luthor wants to keep Superboy alive as much as the Titans do, Robin leads Speedy, Wonder Girl and Beast Boy to find a cure, while Raven keeps watch over him.
The Titans succeed, and they immediately administer the cure to Conner, who makes a complete recovery; however, Luthor informs Robin it will only work that one time. In the Teen Titans Annual, Wonder Girl volunteers to look after Conner as he recovers while the other Titans are called away to organize the relief effort in a decimated Blüdhaven. Conner awakens, and he and Wonder Girl spend time alone, reminiscing and longing for "simpler times". Thinking this may be their last night together, they make love on the Kent farm.Teen Titans Annual #1, 2006
Superboy, Nightwing and Wonder Girl infiltrate Alexander Luthor's base and work together to foil his plans. They free Martian Manhunter, Power Girl, and the rest of Luthor's captives, but the tide of the battle turns with the return of Superboy-Prime.
Superboy-Prime makes short work of many of the heroes until an enraged Conner attacks him. Conner and Superboy-Prime battle intensely until Conner, realizing that he can't match Superboy-Prime in terms of power, charges Superboy-Prime, sending both of them headlong into Alexander Luthor's apparatus. The machine explodes, re-merging the worlds and apparently foiling Alexander Luthor's plans for good.
Superboy, fatally injured from the explosion, lies dying in the arms of Wonder Girl. When Cassie tells him that he had saved the Earth, Conner replies, "I know, Cass. Isn't it cool?" Moments later, he dies. Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman, and Earth-Two Superman arrive , too late to save Conner's life.Infinite Crisis #6, 2006
The Cult of Conner
Although Conner is dead, he is not forgotten. Following Superboy's death, Wonder Girl leads a memorial broadcast over the Internet, and she and hundreds of others pay their final respects to Conner in a traditional Kryptonian way. It is revealed that the mourners are part of the Cult of Conner. Ralph Dibny hypothesized that the Cult and Wonder Girl are responsible for defacing the tombstone of his wife Sue Dibny with an inverted Superman insignia, the Kryptonian symbol for hope. When placed upside down, the symbol has a new meaning: resurrection.52: Week Two
The description for 52: Week 22 is a quote that says, "Good news, sir. Your son Kon-El didn't die in the Crisis after all."One Year Later
Superboy memorial statues are erected in Metropolis next to Superman's memorial statue (although Superman already resurrected) and outside of Titans Tower. One year later, Lex Luthor still mourns his son's death.Superman #650, 2006 Meanwhile, unknown to his teammates or even Superman, Robin is attempting secretly to recreate Superboy using DNA from Superman and Lex Luthor.Teen Titans #33, 2006 Robin has a memorial to Conner, which contains Conner's last costume, the jeans and S-shield T-Shirt, similar to the memorial Batman keeps for the second Robin, Jason Todd.Identities
Initially, Superboy is a nameless experiment, and is only referred to as "Project 13", also known as "Project: Superman" and "Project: Lionel", after Lex Luthor's father. When he escapes from Cadmus he used the name "Superman". Those who wouldn't accept him as Superman would refer to him as the Kid. After Superman's return, he let him use the name "Superboy" and continue to wear the S-shield. Later, Superman tells Superboy he considers him family and gives him his first real name: Kon-El. Superman brings Kon-El to the care of his adoptive parents the Kents and he is given a civilian identity: Conner Kent, cousin to Clark. With a lax attitude toward secret identities, his first name "Conner" becomes public knowledge. The Teen Titans use his first name during public appearances. The cult that forms after his death is even called the Cult of Conner.Costumes
In Superboy's first appearance, he has a fade haircut, a modified Superman costume, two belts, an earring, gloves and a leather jacket. His look was designed to be a pastiche of 1990s superhero costumes.His second costume is a slightly modified version of the first, with a new haircut and jacket that complements. His third outfit is a more civilian look featuring jeans and a black S-shield T-shirt, much like the time he lost his powers but sans the special gadgets and gloves. He sports a contemporary Caesar haircut. In the "Superboy and the Legion" storyline, he dons the classic Superman costume, but with a Legion belt buckle. During the five months he spends in the future, he grows his hair to match Superman's.
Power and abilities
Tactile telekinesis
At first, Superboy's only superpower is "tactile telekinesis", a telekinetic force field that surrounds his body as a protective shield and allows him to simulate Superman-level speed, strength, flight and invulnerability. Tactile telekinesis also allows Superboy to disassemble machines and other complex constructions by pushing the field between the individual parts or keep them together long enough before they fall apart. He can also manipulate aggregate solid masses such as volumes of sand or dust in the same way, causing the individual particles to fly apart in an explosive manner to create particle clouds or a forceful attack. The tactile TK field also lets Superboy break free of an opponent's grip by pushing the field outward to force the opponent away. Other creative uses include rendering an opponent immobile by extending the TK field as long as they are both standing on the same ground.The main disadvantage of tactile telekinesis is that it is less effective in blocking energy (including fire and the resulting heat) than it is against solids, leaving Superboy vulnerable to energy-based attacks. It is also less effective against gaseous materials and liquids.Adventures of Superman #505, Superboy #0
Kryptonian powers
As his Kryptonian physiology matures, Superboy gains superpowers that don't derive from tactile telekinesis, including heat vision, x-ray vision, superhuman senses and superhuman stamina. With his Kryptonian powers, Conner no longer relies on his telekinetic abilities for flight, superhuman strength and invulnerability.
Superboy, like Superman, derives his Kryptonian powers from the absorption of solar energy from the Earths yellow sun. Conner, however, does not process solar energy as quickly as Superman. As a result, he cannot push himself and his powers too far; if he does so, his body starts to eat itself for energy.
Like Superman, Superboy's vulnerability to Kryptonite seems to intensify as his full powers become active. Teen Titans (Vol. 3) #1, 2003
Future powers
In Titans Tomorrow, the Kon-El Superman exhibits full Kryptonian abilities and full telekinesis with greater control of his telekinetic fields. In a fight with Captain Marvel Jr, he shields himself from a magic attack, an advantage the modern Superman has never had.Teen Titans (Vol. 3) #17-19, 2004
Trivia
- Superboy's Kryptonian name, Kon-El, is an anagram of "klone" and an homage to the Silver Age Superboy's childhood friend Mon-el.[Superboy's profile @ Titanstower.com]
- Fans speculate that the death of Superboy is related to the court decision that returned the rights to the Superboy character to Jerry Siegel's heirs. The decision was made on March 23, 2006 that the Siegels have indeed owned 'Superboy' since November 17, 2004.[Judge Awards 'Superboy' to Siegels, Smallville in Question]
References
See also
- Superboy
- The Death of Superman
- Young Justice
- Teen Titans
- Wonder Girl
- Infinite Crisis
- Superboy-Prime
- Project Cadmus
- Team Superman
External links
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