| Conner Kent | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | The Adventures of Superman #500 (June 1993) |
| Created by | Karl Kesel Tom Grummett |
| In-story information | |
| Species | Metahumanclone (1993–2003) Human/Kryptonian binary clone (2003–present) |
| Team affiliations | Young Justice The Ravers Legion of Super-Heroes Superman family Teen Titans Justice League |
| Partnerships | Superman Superdog (Krypto) Robin (Tim Drake) |
| Notable aliases | Superboy Kon-El The Metropolis Kid The Hero of Hawaii Superman Prime Experiment 13 "Superman" The Boy of Steel K-on |
| Abilities | See list
|
Conner Kent is asuperhero appearing inAmerican comic books published byDC Comics. The character first appeared as a modern variation ofSuperboy inThe Adventures of Superman #500 (June 1993), and was created by writerKarl Kesel and artistTom Grummett.[1]
From the character's debut in 1993 to 2003, Superboy was depicted as a genetically-engineeredmetahumanclone of human origin designed byPaul Westfield ofProject Cadmus as a duplicate and equivalent ofSuperman, though released before he had fully matured. The character wasretconned inTeen Titans (vol. 3) #1 (September 2003) as ahuman/Kryptonian binary clone made from the DNA of Superman andLex Luthor. This has since become the character's most enduringorigin story in later comic books and media adaptations. He later adopts the honorary Kryptonian nameKon-El and the private name Conner Kent.
Conner made his live adaptation debut in the final season ofSmallville, portrayed byLucas Grabeel, and appeared as a regular ofTitans starting in the second season, portrayed byJoshua Orpin. Additionally,Nolan North andCameron Monaghan have voiced the character in animation.
Kon-El is depicted as a modern incarnation of Superboy, originally portrayed as an identity used by Clark Kent. WriterKarl Kesel and artistTom Grummett envisioned a contemporary take on Superboy that would appeal toGeneration X/Millennial readers as well as a character both creators would have fun working on, which they did.[2] The concept of a modern Superboy was decided during the 1992 annual "Superman Summit", where DC teams gathered to plan the next year's worth of stories.[3] Grummett statedJon Bogdanove andJackson Guice came up with the nameSuperboy and Grummett responded, "Don't call me Superboy!".[4] After it was decided that Kesel and Grummett would oversee the character, Grummett sketched Superboy's fully-formed look on an airplane napkin on his flight home, adding Superboy's leather jacket when he returned to his home studio andfaxed the design to editorMike Carlin. Grummett said that he did not base Superboy off of one person or model and his design came spontaneously.[4] Kesel and Grummett pitched their idea to DC Comics and the new Superboy debuted inThe Adventures of Superman #500 (cover date June 1993).[1] According to distributor estimates,Adventures of Superman #500 was likely the best-selling comic of 1993, while April (the month it was released to the public) had the highest monthly sales in comic-book history.[5][6] Kesel bought aslang dictionary to assist with writing the teenaged Superboy.[2]
The character was the first to which theHypertime concept was applied, beginning inSuperboy (vol. 4) #60 (cover date April 1999). Kesel viewed this story arc as the high point of his run on Superboy.[2]
Volume 4 ofSuperboy ran for 100 issues, two specials, and fourannuals from 1994 to 2002. Kesel and Grummett left the series after issue #26 citing Kesel's lack of new ideas but returned on issue #50 after Kesel experienced new inspiration for the character.[4] The team left again after issue #80 but contributed some cover art. In 2002, Kesel and Grummett returned to work on the 100th issue series finale.[7]
For the 30th anniversary of theReturn of Superman in 2023, Kesel, Grummet,Doug Hazelwood and Glenn Whitmore, all of whom worked on Superboy's first appearance inThe Adventures of Superman #500, were credited forThe Metropolis Kid story, withRichard Starkings as letterer replacing Albert DeGuzman, who died in 2022.[8]
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AfterDoomsday kills Superman,Project Cadmus directorPaul Westfield intends to create a clone replacement ofSuperman as a safeguard. After failed attempts to acquire Superman's DNA,[9][10][11] Westfield decides to genetically alter a human clone to resemble Superman and make the clone to be the closest human equivalent to aKryptonian as they could based on their research. While studying Superman's corpse, Westfield's scientists discover a bio-electric aura surrounding his body that provides some of his powers, including invulnerability and flight through a form of self-telekinesis. The aura is translated into a telekinetic field for a human that gives the clone the ability to simulate Superman's powers, known as "tactile telekinesis".[12] After twelve failed attempts, the clone known as Experiment 13 is given implanted memories and artificially aged to match the age of the original Superman. However, he is released from his cloning tube early, possessing the appearance and mentality of a teenager.[13] Superboy escapes Cadmus with the help of clones of theNewsboy Legion.
When Superboy arrives inMetropolis, he uses the name "Superman", but makes it clear that he is not the original Superman. This information is first revealed toLois Lane, who is not interested. This prompts the Kid to turn to another reporter,Tana Moon, who breaks the story live on WGBS. Three other Supermen emerge simultaneously: "The Man of Tomorrow" (Cyborg Superman), "The Last Son of Krypton" (Eradicator), and "The Man of Steel" (Steel). After the original Superman returns, Superboy begins operating alongside him as an independent hero for a time, refusing to be called a sidekick.
After a few weeks of traveling the country for a promotional tour, Superboy andDubbilex arrive in Hawaii, joined by his newagent and managerRex Leech and Rex's daughter Roxy Leech. After a battle with Sidearm on the beach, Superboy learns that Tana Moon had moved to Hawaii. Superboy, smitten with Moon, decides to stay on the islands, stylizing himself as the "Hero of Hawaii". He rejoins Cadmus and begins working as a field agent with Dubbilex andGuardian.
Superman asks Superboy to come with him to theFortress of Solitude. While there, Superboy visits a simulation ofKrypton and experiences the life of a Kryptonian soldier who saved the life of Superman's ancestor Van-L during a battle against the terrorist groupBlack Zero. Superman tells Superboy that he considers him family and gives him the Kryptonian name Kon-El after a descendant of the soldier who was killed when Krypton exploded.[14]
Superboy is a founding member ofYoung Justice, alongsideRobin (Tim Drake) andImpulse (Bart Allen).[15] After the events ofTitans/Young Justice: Graduation Day and the apparent death ofDonna Troy, Young Justice disbands.[16]
Now based in Smallville with a new civilian identity as Clark Kent's cousin Conner Kent, Superboy is asked by Superman to acceptCyborg's invitation to join a new incarnation of the Teen Titans with his former Young Justice teammates Robin, Impulse, and Wonder Girl as well as Cyborg,Starfire, andBeast Boy. Superboy isretconned as a hybrid clone created from the DNA of Superman andLex Luthor and gains Kryptonian powers while retaining his telekinesis.[17][18]
After encounteringdark reflections of themselves from a possible future, the Titans make it back to the present and contemplate what they have seen. Not long afterward, Lex Luthor takes control of Superboy and forces him to attack the Titans. His mind is eventually restored, but he is horrified at what he has done to his team and friends. Conner takes a leave of absence from the Titans and secludes himself in the home ofJonathan and Martha Kent. He doubts whether he has a soul, butRaven shows him that he does.[19]
InInfinite Crisis (2005),Superboy-Prime watches Conner during his seclusion in an alternate dimension.[20][21] Along withAlexander Luthor Jr., another survivor of the previousCrisis, Superboy-Prime intends to reconstruct the universe in his image after determining that the heroes he has been observing do not meet his standards of heroism. Resentful of Conner, whom he claims has lower standards than his own despite a seemingly perfect life, Superboy-Prime attacks him. Superboy is killed during the battle and buried in Metropolis alongside theSuperman andLois Lane ofEarth-Two.[22]
InFinal Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds (2008),Starman recovers Conner's corpse and places him in a Kryptonian healing chrysalis, resurrecting him in the 31st century.[23] Superboy battles Superboy-Prime before returning to the 21st century.
During theBlackest Night storyline, Conner is briefly turned into a member of theBlack Lantern Corps due to having previously died.[24] Wonder Girl manages to free him by using the temporally-complex nature of his resurrection against his Black Lantern self, luring him to the Fortress so that the ring can be drawn off him and destroyed.[25]
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In September 2011,The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Superboy is introduced with a new origin story. He is a human-Kryptonian hybrid created by the mysterious organizationN.O.W.H.E.R.E., which seeks to control the new generation ofmetahumans.
Following the "Forever Evil" storyline,Johnny Quick throws the Teen Titans forward in time. After he is separated from the Titans, Kon-El encountersJon Lane Kent, the villainous future son of Superman and Lois Lane. Kon-El is revealed to be a clone of Jon Kent created by Harvest, the founder of N.O.W.H.E.R.E., to find a cure for Jon's illness. During their battle, Jon is seriously injured and Kon-El falls through a portal. He is transported to Krypton'sArgo City in the past, days before the planet's destruction. Kon-El sacrifices himself to lift Argo City off Krypton and ensure thatSupergirl can make it to Earth, accepting himself as more than a weapon.[26]
Meanwhile, Jon is recovered byBeast Boy andRose Wilson's future selves and given Kon-El's costume. The present-day Teen Titans find Jon, who joins the group and pretends to be Superboy. It is later revealed that Kon-El survived and is serving a being called the Oracle, patrolling the past, present, and future.[27]
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Following the 2015Convergence event, which restores the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earthsmultiverse, the New 52 version of Superboy does not appear. The mantle of Superboy is held byJonathan Samuel Kent, the present-day son of Superman and Lois Lane. Conner Kent is not reintroduced until the third volume ofYoung Justice in 2019, where he is revealed to have been transported toGemworld. He is unaffected by the universe's reboot due to being outside the main universe at the time.[28][29]
After being rescued by Young Justice, Conner returns to Earth, where Superman and Lex Luthor do not recognize him.[30] After aiding Superman and his family againstLeviathan operatives, Conner decides to remain at the Kent farm in Smallville, as the Kents andKrypto are among the few who remember him.[31]
Superboy begins to feel aimless living in a universe that no longer remembers him and flies into outer space, following a galactic distress signal.[32] As of 2024, Superboy's appearance has largely returned to his 1990s look, though his 2003 retcon as a clone of both Superman and Lex Luthor remains canon.[33]
Originally, Superboy's only superpower is "tactiletelekinesis", a force field that surrounds his body and enables him to telekinetically manipulate objects via touch. This enables him to generate telekinetic shockwaves and survive in space by creating an air bubble around himself.
DuringTeen Titans, Superboy developed Kryptonian powers including superhuman strength, durability, speed,[34] heat vision,[35] x-ray vision,[36][37] super-hearing, and ice breath.[25]
A March 23, 2006 court decision returned the legal rights to Superboy to the family ofJerry Siegel, the co-creator of the character. The decision, issued six days before Superboy's death inInfinite Crisis #6 was published, states that the Siegel family have owned Superboy since November 17, 2004. As a result, Superboy was not referred to by that name for some time.[38][39]
| Title | Material collected | Published date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Superboy Book One: Trouble in Paradise | Superboy (vol. 4) #0-10 | January 3, 2018 | 978-1401275136 |
| Superboy: The Boy of Steel | Adventure Comics (vol. 2) #0-3, 5–6, and material fromSuperman: Secret Files and Origins 2009 | May 17, 2011 | 978-1401227739 |
| Superboy: Smallville Attacks | Superboy (vol. 5) #1-11 | December 13, 2011 | 978-1401232511 |
| Superboy Vol. 1: Incubation | Superboy (vol. 6) #1-7 | August 7, 2012 | 978-1401234850 |
| Superboy Vol. 2: Extraction | Superboy (vol. 6) #0, 8-12,Teen Titans (vol. 4) #10 | May 29, 2013 | 978-1401240493 |
| Superboy Vol. 3: Lost | Superboy (vol. 6) #13–19, Annual #1 | December 31, 2013 | 978-1401243173 |
| Superboy Vol. 4: Blood and Steel | Superboy (vol. 6) #20–25 | July 2, 2014 | 978-1401246853 |
| Superboy Vol. 5: Paradox | Superboy (vol. 6) #26–34,Superboy: Future's End #1 | January 7, 2015 | 978-1401250928 |
| Convergence: Zero Hour Book One | Convergence: Superboy #1-2 andConvergence:Justice League International #1-2,Convergence: Catwoman #1-2,Convergence: Green Arrow #1-2,Convergence: Suicide Squad #1-2 | October 13, 2015 | 978-1401258399 |
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The Kon-El incarnation of Superboy has been ranked as the 196th greatest comic book character of all time byWizard Magazine.[51]IGN also ranked Superboy as the 83rd greatest comic book hero of all time, stating, "This genetic clone of Superman and Lex Luthor often bears the weight of the world on his burly shoulders. But over the years he's managed to carve his own legacy and win a large legion of fans."[52] In 2013,ComicsAlliance ranked Superboy as #35 on their list of the "50 Sexiest Male Characters in Comics".[53]
The issue also featured four teaser comics that introduced a group of contenders all vying for the Superman name...A cloned Superboy escaped captivity in a yarn by writer Karl Kesel and artist Tom Grummett.
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