Origin
After Doomsday kills Superman, Project Cadmus director Paul Westfield intends to create a clone replacement of Superman 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 a Kryptonian 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 the Newsboy Legion.
The Metropolis Kid (1993)
When Superboy arrives in Metropolis, he uses the name "Superman", but makes it clear that he is not the original Superman. This information is first revealed to Lois 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.
The Hero of Hawaii (1994-98)
After a few weeks of traveling the country for a promotional tour, Superboy and Dubbilex arrive in Hawaii, joined by his new agent and manager Rex 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 and Guardian.
Young Justice (1998–2003)
Superman asks Superboy to come with him to the Fortress of Solitude. While there, Superboy visits Krypton via virtual reality and experienced the life of a Kryptonian soldier who saved the life of Superman's ancestor Van-L during a battle against the terrorist group Black Zero. Superboy later experiences the life of Kon-El, a descendant of the same Kryptonian soldier and a member of the second House of El established by his predecessor. Superman tells Superboy that he considered him his family and gives him the Kryptonian name Kon-El. After Cadmus is shut down, Superboy relocates to Metropolis and later to Smallville, living with Jonathan and Martha Kent.[14]
Superboy is a founding member of Young Justice, alongside Robin (Tim Drake) and Impulse (Bart Allen). The three first work together to stop the machinations of Bedlam, a teenager with godlike powers who had transported all adults on Earth to another dimension.[15] After the events of Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day and the apparent death of Donna Troy, Young Justice disbands.[16]
Teen Titans (2003–05)
Now based in Smallville with a new civilian identity as Clark Kent's cousin Conner Kent, Superboy is asked by Superman to accept Cyborg'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, and Beast Boy. Superboy is retconned as a hybrid clone created from the DNA of Superman and Lex Luthor and gains Kryptonian powers while retaining his telekinesis.[17][18]
Superboy later begins dating Wonder Girl. During their first date, Superboy is sucked through a portal to the 31st century. When Superboy reappears, it is revealed that he was mistaken for Clark Kent and taken to the 31st century, where he fought alongside the Legion of Super-Heroes. After assisting the Legion in battling a new threat, the team attempts to return to the present, but accidentally arrive ten years in the future instead of the present. In this alternate future, Conner has greater control of his powers and regards Lex Luthor as a father figure.[19]
Infinite Crisis, death, and return (2005–11)
In Infinite Crisis (2005), Superboy-Prime watches Conner during his seclusion in an alternate dimension.[21][22] Along with Alexander Luthor Jr., another survivor of the previous Crisis, 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 the Superman and Lois Lane of Earth-Two.[23]
In Final 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.[24]
The New 52 (2011)
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 organization N.O.W.H.E.R.E., which seeks to control the new generation of metahumans.
Following the "Forever Evil" storyline, Johnny Quick throws the Teen Titans forward in time. After he is separated from the Titans, Kon-El encounters Jon Lane Kent, the villainous future son of Superman and Lois Lane. Kon-El is revealed to be a clone of Jon 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's Argo City in the past, days before the planet's destruction. Kon-El sacrifices himself to lift Argo City off Krypton and ensure that Supergirl is transported to Earth, accepting himself as more than a weapon.[27]
Meanwhile, Jon is recovered by Beast Boy and Rose Wilson 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.[28]
DC Rebirth
Following the 2015 Convergence event, which restores the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths multiverse, the New 52 version of Superboy does not appear. The mantle of Superboy is held by Jonathan Samuel Kent, the present-day son of Superman and Lois Lane.
Conner Kent is not reintroduced until the third volume of Young Justice in 2019, where Bart Allen encounters him while stranded in Gemworld. Conner is revealed to have been teleported to Gemworld during a confrontation at S.T.A.R. Labs. As a result, he was unaffected by the events of Flashpoint, which rebooted the main universe.[29] After returning to his universe, Conner aids Superman and his family against Leviathan operatives. He decides to remain at the Kent farm in Smallville, as the Kents and Krypto are among the few who remember him.[30]
Dawn of DC
Superboy begins to feel aimless living in a universe that no longer remembers him and flies into outer space, following a galactic distress signal.[31] 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.[32] Superboy helped Superman fight Brainiac,[33] and helps the Green Lantern Corps deal with the fractured emotional spectrum while also pursuing a relationship with a girl named Odyssey.[34][35]
