Superboy

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Real name: Kal-El
Secret Identity: Clark Kent


The Adventures of Superman when he was a boy!

Upon his arrival on Earth from Krypton, the baby Kal-El was adopted by Jonathan & Martha Kent. At various times, the Kents were farmers, and during the majority of young Clark's school years, owners of a general store in Smallville. Superboy first announced his existence to the world in an Untold Story.

Superboy's love interest and a pain in young Clark Kent's neck was the red-headed Lana Lang, who alternately tried to prove that Clark and Superboy were the same or found herself turned into some sort of Insect Queen. Lana was the younger counterpart to grown up Lois Lane.

Unbeknownst to Superboy, Clark Kent's best friend, Pete Ross, accidentally discovered his true identity. Being a true friend, Pete kept that secret to himself and often aided Superboy/Clark without him realizing it.

Superboy often teams up with his super-powered pet dog Krypto the Superdog. Superboy also builds various Superboy robots that help him during some of his exploits. These are forerunners of the more sophisticated Superman Robots from later in his career.

Before the laboratory accident that causes him to lose his hair (and for which he blames Superboy), Lex Luthor is also a friend of Superboy, and invites him to witness some of his scientific experiments and devices. Luthor becomes one of his deadliest foes subsequently.

Superboy didn't think of himself as "Superman" until college, when one of his professors tried to prove that Clark Kent and Superboy were one and the same by wiring young Clark to a lie detector. "Clark Kent's College Days".

When needed by the authorities in an emergency, Police Chief Parker, could summon Superboy by means of an ingenious flashing light system.

The town of Smallville has set aside a special holiday for Superboy. Superboy Day, as it is called, is celebrated annually (S No. 116, Sep 1957: "Disaster Strikes Twice!").

Some of Superboy's foes included young Lex Luthor, The Kryptonite Kid, Dev-Em a.k.a. the Knave from Krypton, and The Superboy Revenge Squad.


Contents

Earliest Adventures

"There had been rumors floating around the region about a super-powered tot almost since the day of young Clark's arrival on Earth. At parties, on hayrides, in local newspaper offices and the like, people would swear that they had seen a three-year-old boy punch a timber wolf and fly away. Or people would tell about others they knew who told some such story." (LSOK)

Even before he was adopted by the Kents, Superboy demonstrated his amazing strength after they found him and placed him in an orphanage. The baby Kal-El wreaked havok in the "orphan asylum," lifting various pieces of heavy furniture. The director of the orphanage breathed a sigh or relief when the Kents returned to adopt the baby they'd found: "--Whew! Thank goodness they're taking him away before the wrecks the asylum!" (S No. 1, 1939.)

The Kents soon found that the blankets he'd been wrapped in when they discovered him were indestructible, and used them to make a playsuit for the mischevious baby. As his powers developed, "super-baby" sightings were reported all over the world, the same sort of tabloid discussions that might include Bigfoot or UFOs. (LSOK) However, in many instances these tabloid-style tales really did happen. (see Superbaby.) In one notable instance, the Kents took young Clark to a secluded pond outside of Smallville to play. He began to chase a bird, losing sight of his parents. This made him upset, so he decided to cross a pond to look for them...however, the "pond" he crossed was actually the Atlantic Ocean, and he soon landed in London! Though he was gone for a week (while his parents were worried sick) he later returned, after helping Scotland Yard catch several criminals and spare an innocent man from execution (SB No. 73, Jun 1959: ""Superbaby in Scotland Yard").

After two other boys saw him lift an automobile over an injured man, a young Clark Kent said "My powers give me the chance to do a lot of good--but I can't let people know that Clark Kent can do these things...the knowledge might be dangerous!" The Kents then fashioned the colorful red and blue costume that is famous today, and Clark adopted the identity of Superboy. (MF No. 101, Jan/Feb 1945) Most sources elaborate that the Kents designed the costume from the materials found in baby Kal-El's rocket, and that Pa Kent guided Superboy's actions during the next few years.

The last power that Superboy mastered was flight. After presenting him with his costume, Pa Kent revealed that Clark had flown when he was a baby, and encouraged him to try practicing it again. After his first attempt, he crashed into an oil derrick and ruined it. The next day he designed a box kite with a steel cable and tried again. While he held on to the inside of the box kite, Pa Kent unwound the cable, allowing Superboy to stabilize himself in midair. A pilot named Captain Burton photographed this ridiculous-looking exercise, but Superboy overexposed his film using his x-ray vision. On the third day of practice, his box kite was destroyed by lightning, but by the fourth day Superboy was at last able to control his ability to fly, and flew to the edge of outer space for the first time. (SB No. 59, Dec 1958: "How Superboy Learned to Fly!")


Superboy Goes Public

For many years Superboy operated anonymously and in secret. He appeared only occasionally as a quickly moving red and blue blur, never revealing himself to those he helped and only rarely to the criminals he hindered. His actions were noticed however, and a legend grew of a kindly spirit who haunted Smallville, performing good deeds and the rare harmless prank.

Superman recalled his first public appearance as Superboy in April, 1961. When young Clark Kent annouces that he has spotted a robbery in progress using his x-ray vision, Jonathan Kent declares, "The time has come for you to perform publicly as Superboy! People won't believe you exist at first, but you'll soon convince them! You'll crusade for good!"

Donning his costume, Superboy foiled the robbery, after first introducing himself to two Smallville police officers as "Superboy, foe of all criminals." The policemen introduced Superboy to Smallville's Mayor, who in turn introduced him to the Governor. Eventually, Superboy met the President of the United States, in the process saving the President's life, and was finally revealed to the United States at large through "representatives of the armed services, leading cities, and various charities" for whom Superboy performed special tasks in the following days.

As the adult Superman notes, "By now, the entire world knew that a Superboy existed, and the whole Earth was gripped by a thrill of excitement." Indeed, radio broadcasts announce that "A Superboy exists! He can fly! Bullets bounce off him! He has amazing super-vision! He battles for justice!" (S No.144/2: "Superboy's First Public Appearance!").

The years that follow this event are perhaps the most well-known of Superboy's chronicles, in which many significant life events occurred in the town of Smallville. In the beginning, Clark Kent's circle of friends included the pretty, blond-haired Margo Giffiths, who would later grow up to be a nurse in Metropolis. (SB No. 1, Mar-April 1949) However, as time passed Clark became more well-acquainted with some of his lifelong friends and foes: Pete Ross, the Lang family, Professor Potter, Lex Luthor, and others.


The World of Smallville

Lana Lang is the beautiful, red-haired girl next door, the daughter of archaeologist Lewis Lang. Clark Kent secretly admires her, and Lana secretly admires Superboy...however, she has eventually come to suspect that Clark Kent and Superboy are one and the same, forcing him to resort to such tricks as using Superboy robots to allay her suspicions. Pa Kent suspected when Clark was very young that the pair would become interested in one another. (LSOK)

Lex Luthor was a farmboy, a huge fan of Superboy who stored photos and Superboy memorabilia in his barn, but dreamed of becoming a scientist. One day he saved Superboy's life by pushing away a rather sizeable kryptonite meteor with a bulldozer, and Superboy repaid him by building a state-of-the-art, modern experimental laboratory and presenting it to him as a gift. The two quickly became friends. Luthor immediately began work in his new laboratory, creating a kryptonite antidote and working on a discovery that he called "the secret of life itself," but when a lab accident started a fire, Superboy's super-breath accidentally destroyed Luthor's new discoveries, and the fumes from the chemical fire caused Luthor to lose his hair. He blamed the act on Superboy's jealousy of his scientific mind, and the two have become competitive foes for all of the foreseeable future. (Adv. No. 271, Apr 1960)

Clark Kent's "only close friend" is Pete Ross. "Grown-up and logical," he told Lana Lang that anyone who knew Superboy's secret identity would be in constant peril, and it would be best for nobody to know. Several days later, he did find out Superboy's identity, after seeing Clark Kent change to Superboy on a camping trip. He has never told anyone that he knows Clark Kent is Superboy, even Clark himself. (S No. 90, Jul 1961: "Pete Ross' Super Secret!")

Krypto, Superboy's lost puppy from Krypton, eventually found his way to Smallville and frequently joins Superboy in many of his adventures. From time to time, he leaves Smallville to go on long "Space-romps," but always returns to his master in the end. More recently, on one of his romps in space, Krypto was anointed king of a distant planet...only to play dead and escape when his new subjects presented him with a shiny new meteor rock- kryptonite, the only substance that can kill the Dog King! (SB No. 77, Dec 1959: "The Space Adventures of Krypto!")


Boyhood Adventures Outside of Smallville

Another of Superboy's boyhood adventures marks the first appearance of Bizarro. Using a duplicator ray, Superboy accidentally creates a "bizarre" imperfect duplicate of himself. The duplicate creature then names himself Bizarro, goes on a mini-rampage on main street, breaks into a farmhouse to tell an older couple "I BE YOUR LOVING SON!", and finally befriends a blind girl who could not be afraid of his chalky white appearance. Superboy apparently destroys Bizarro, but the ensuing vibrations cure his friend's blindness. (SB No. 68, Oct 1958: "Bizarro: The Super-Creature of Steel") While he appears to die that day in Smallville, the future "Bizarro No. 1" has apparently survived and used a duplicator ray to create an array of other Bizarro creatures on the planet Htrae. Conversely referred to as "The Thing of Steel" or "The Idiot of Steel," he lives with his wife Bizarro-Lois No. 1. Superboy and Krypto occasional travel to Htrae and ecounter the Bizarros, as seen when they crash through the time barrier in July 1961 (Adv. No. 285, "The Shame of the Bizarro Family!")

Superboy also first encounters The Legion of Super-Heroes, a super-hero club founded in his honor, during this time period. His adventures with the Legion have carried him to many various times and places.

Superboy's Teenage Adventures

coming soon

The College Years

coming soon

The Thirtieth Century

Superboy was also the inspiration for the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th Century. After an initation, he became a regular member of the Legion, which later includes his cousin Supergirl.

Superboy first encounters the Legion in April 1958 when he meets three teenagers in Smallville who inexplicably know his secret identity. In time, the teenagers are revealed to be Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, and Cosmic Boy, members of a "super-hero club" from the 30th Century called the Legion of Super-Heroes. Acknowledging Superboy as an inspiration, the Legion journey back in time to recruit Superboy as a member. After a series of tests in the far-future, Superboy is awarded membership and returned to his own time (Adv No.247/1: "The Legion of Super-Heroes!").

Discrepancies in Earliest Accounts

According to the earliest accounts, Clark Kent embarked on his super-heroic career as Superman only after reaching adulthood (S No.1/1, Summer 1939; and others), and first learned of his extraterrestrial origins as late as November-December 1949, when, after having already functioned as a super-hero for more than a decade, he journeyed through the barriers of time and space --to the planet Krypton prior to its destruction-- and actually witnessed the cataclysm that destroyed his native planet. He also witnessed the aftermath of that cataclysm, including his arrival on Earth in a rocket and his adoption by the Kents.

"That old couple ... they're my foster parents!" thinks Superman excitedly as he watches Jonathan and Martha Kent lift his infant self gently from the rocket that has just brough him to Earth. "I'm Clark Kent! Then that's me .. that infant is me back in the past!

"Now I understand why I'm different from earthmen! I'm not really from Earth at all --I'm from another planet-- the planet Jor-El called Krypton!!"

"So at last," notes the textual narrative, "after all these years, Superman is at last aware of his birthplace, and why he is the strongest man on Earth!" (S No.61/3: "Superman Returns to Krypton!").

In the years that followed, however, these early accounts underwent substantial revision. In the newer version, Superman was portrayed as having battled crime and injustice as a youngster --as Superboy-- prior to embarking on his adult crime-fighting career as Superman (S No.72/2, Sep/Oct 1951: "The Private Life of Perry White!"; and many others), and he was described as having learned of his extraterrestrial origins while still a boy "by overtaking and photographing light rays that had left Krypton before it exploded" (S No.132, October 1959: "Superman's Other Life!" pts.1-3 "Krypton Lives On!"; "Futuro, Super-Hero of Krypton!"; "The Superman of Two Worlds!"; and others) In addition, it was stated that "Because of his super-memory, Superman can recall all the incidents of his childhood!" (Act No,288, May 1962: "The Man Who Exposed Superman!"; and others).

Despite this revision, however, all the texts of the Superman chronicles agree that Superman has lived a double life since the onset of his super-heroic career, using his super-powers openly only as Superboy or Superman while concealing his true, extraterrestrial identity beneath the deceptive guise of mild-mannered Clark Kent.

External Links

External Links to Online Comics

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