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 he first when to college and 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 tabliod 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, and he decided to cross a pond to look for them...however, the "pond" he crossed was actually the Atlantic Ocean, and he landed in London! Though he was gone for a week, his parents worried sick, he later returned after helping Scotland Yard to catch several criminals and spare an innocent man from execution (SBA No. 1, Summer 1964, pt. IV: ""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. (SBA No. 1, Summer 1964, pt. VI: "How Superboy Learned to Fly!")


Superboy Goes Public

For many years Superboy operated anonymously and in secret, appearing only occasionally as a quickly moving red and blue blur, never revealing himself to those he helps and only rarely to the criminals he hinders. His actions are noticed however, and a legend grows of a kindly spirit who haunts 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 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 foils the robbery, after first introducing himself to two Smallville police officers as "Superboy, foe of all criminals." The policemen introduce Superboy to Smallville's Mayor, who in turn introduces him to the Governor. Eventually, Superboy meets the President of the United States, in the process saving the President's life, and is finally revealed to the United States at large through "representatives of the armed services, leading cities, and various charities" for whom Superboy performs 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!").


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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