Kon-El
Kon-El is a male comic superhero who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
The Superboy was a male clone of the superhero Superman that was developed by Project Cadmus after his death at the hands of Doomsday. After its authorisation, Director Paul Westfield oversaw the project whilst Dr. Carl Packard was in charge of the clones development. Animated memory implants were used to instil in him knowledge of the world from his origins as Superman's clone to general information on mathematics and science to match his growth rate in an effort to give him a normal development cycle. (Superboy v4 #0) Within Lab 13, he remained in development where he was to be implanted with safeguards to better control Experiment 13. However, the Newsboy Legion broke into the laboratory and freed him where they led him out of the Cadmus facility. He was given a leather jacket before he set out into the city though told people not to call him Superboy. (Adventures of Superman v1 #500)
He later arrived in Metropolis during a time when several people had arrived to claim the mantle of 'Superman'. This saw him going to the Daily Planet and met with Lois Lane where he insisted on being called 'Superman' despite being a clone. During their talk, he insisted on being 'Superman' but lost interest in their discussion when he sighted Tana Moon who was a reporter storming the newspaper. Taking her to the side, he flirted with her and offered her an exclusive on WGBS that was a news station under the direction of Vinnie Edge. Edge arranged for events so that 'Superboy' would go to Suicide Slum to apprehend the notorious gangster Steel Hand where during the fight he came to meet Guardian who gave the cocky kid some friendly advice. (Adventures of Superman v1 #501) Vinnie Edge, eager to boost ratings, hired an assassin known only as Stinger to attack his Superman on live television. After a destructive battle between the two, Supergirl joined the inexperienced hero's side, forcing Stinger to enact his escape plan of destroying the Hobsneck Bridge. (Adventures of Superman v1 #502) The teen worked together with his female counterpart to rescue as many people as they could from the tragically engineered disaster. (Action Comics v1 #689)
After hearing Coast City had been destroyed, Superman rushed to ground zero where he was duped by the Cyborg Superman into joining him in a mock investigation. The ruse ended in the kid's imprisonment inside Engine City. (Adventures of Superman v1 #503) The Cyborg and his servant, Mongul, used young Superman's image via video feed to trick the Justice League of America into going off world on a wild goose chase. In a surreptitious play for power, Mongul told Superboy Metropolis was their next target for obliteration, hoping it would prompt the captive into escaping and defeat the Cyborg for him. (Action Comics v1 #690) The teenage Superman was able to flee back to Metropolis, arriving to find Steel, Luthor, Lois Lane and Supergirl gathered near the harbor. He warned everyone that the Cyborg Superman was responsible and Metropolis was in danger, when a humongous Kryptonian War Suit emerged from the water. (Superman: The Man of Steel v1 #25) The warsuit miraculously housed the real Superman who was still very weakened from his resurrection. While the young clone and Steel were sceptical about his claim, they joined him to attack Engine City, discovering a huge missile capable of wiping out a city inside. The teen clung to the missile as it was launched and managed to alter its course before it reached Metropolis. (Adventures of Superman v1 #504) Despite minor injuries, Superboy returned to the fight in Engine City, saving the life of Steel. With the defeat of the Cyborg, the clone acknowledged that the 'man in black' was indeed the one, true Superman. (Superman v2 #82) He returned to Metropolis with Supergirl and Steel, where Tana visited him, informing him that she quit her job and was leaving town for good. (Adventures of Superman v1 #505)
Superboy
With the real Superman back in action, his younger clone relinquished the rights to the name and symbol much to the annoyance of Rex Leech. He decided to leave Metropolis; formally accepting the name Superboy. He decided to go on a world tour in order to establish himself as an individual, returning first to Cadmus where he learned he was not in fact a direct clone of Superman, but rather a human clone genetically engineered to look like Superman and mimic his major powers by way of tactile telekinesis. Despite Director Westfield's initial protests, Cadmus agreed to stop trying to bring him back to the Project. Dubbilex was chosen to act as a chaperone. Superboy was in Metropols when he was ambushed by Cadmus 'Payback' D.N.Aliens where in their ambush he was nearly captured but was saved by Superman. In response, Superboy publicly revealed the existence of Project Cadmus to the media in part because Westfield tried to hide the fact he had sent Payback of the DNAliens against Superboy earlier that day. Superboy packed up his things and returned his apartment to Clark Kent, officially leaving Metropolis behind. (Adventures of Superman v1 #506) After a few weeks of travelling, Superboy and Dubbilex arrived in Hawaii, joined by Rex and Roxy Leech. After a running battle with Sidearm on the beach, Superboy learned that Tana Moon had moved to Hawaii. Superboy decided to stay on the islands, stylizing himself as the 'Hero of Hawaii'. (Superboy v4 #1) Life on the island was not entirely peaceful with one of his first encounters being with a former member of the Female Furies named Knockout. (Superboy v4 #2) He later fought against the insane Scavenger over the mystical Spear of Lona. (Superboy v4 #3) Superboy later fell ill, and after a brief fight with Silver Sword, he collapsed after the battle and was rushed to Metropolis while the Navy took custody of Silver Sword. (Superboy v4 #5)
Superboy was diagnosed as suffering from the Clone Plague that was ravaging most of the Underworlders and other Cadmus clones. The first of the few survivors, Superboy was successfully cured thanks to Cadmus' efforts and had to help fight off members of Team Luthor when they tried to steal the cure. (Adventures of Superman v1 #513) He then joined Superman and Supergirl, trying to minimise the damage as much as possible while apprehending Lex Luthor, although most of downtown Metropolis was destroyed. (Action Comics v1 #700) Cadmus suffered major damage and Westfield was murdered by Dabney Donovan, but most of the staff and clones survived. (Superman: The Man of Steel v1 #35) Superboy stayed in Metropolis for a while, battling Parasite and getting caught up in a skirmish with an alternate earth. (Superboy v4 #7)
Superboy was diagnosed as suffering from the Clone Plague that was ravaging most of the Underworlders and other Cadmus clones. The first of the few survivors, Superboy was successfully cured thanks to Cadmus' efforts and had to help fight off members of Team Luthor when they tried to steal the cure. (Adventures of Superman v1 #513) He then joined Superman and Supergirl, trying to minimise the damage as much as possible while apprehending Lex Luthor, although most of downtown Metropolis was destroyed. (Action Comics v1 #700) Cadmus suffered major damage and Westfield was murdered by Dabney Donovan, but most of the staff and clones survived. (Superman: The Man of Steel v1 #35)
To his reluctance, Dubbilex was asked to take in Krypto by Bibbo. On his way back to Hawaii, Superboy was forced to make a pit stop in Smallville, where he met Ma and Pa Kent and the Superboy of yet another reality, who was there because of the effects of the time disruption. The two worked together on another threat to their respective worlds. (Superboy v4 #8) Superboy also learned that the DNA donor was in fact the late Cadmus director, Paul Westfield, as well as a revelation from Carl Packard that Superboy had been the thirteenth attempt by Cadmus to clone Superman. The first had used Dr. Teng's "Bizarro" technique, resulting in a Bizarro Superboy that was still being held by the lab. The Bizarro escaped, but died shortly thereafter. When Superboy returned to Hawaii, Tana threw him a birthday party, making Superboy officially one year old. (Superboy Annual v4 #2)
With help from Dr. Emil Hamilton, Superboy acquired a visor that simulated Superman's x-ray, heat and infra-vision powers while the scientist was on vacation in Hawaii, inadvertently assisting Superboy in defeating Sidearm who had returned. (Superboy v4 #0) Superboy settled in a new residence with Dubbilex and the Leeches called the Compound, located in a secluded spot near the beach. He stopped the assassin Copperhead who had been hired to collect a debt from Rex. (Superboy v4 #12)
Superboy was informed by state official, Mack Harlin, that he would be required by law to attend school. He enrolled at a local high school where me met some new friends, including Hillary Chang, and discovered that he was reaching the end of the implanted knowledge Cadmus had given him. Superboy managed to balance school and friends with his romance with Tana while still fighting criminals like Loose Cannon and Loophole. (Superboy v4 #16) When Roxy unexpectedly left for Las Vegas, Superboy followed her, sensing there was trouble. Roxy was trying to put some things in her past to rest, since she had decided to enrol as a police office in Hawaii. This meant a confrontation with an old boyfriend who had since become Neon. After a brief battle, Neon blew himself up by detonating a gas station, and Superboy and Roxy returned home. (Superboy v4 #17)
Teen Titans
During the fight with the League, he attempted to hold off Superman where he briefly manifested heat-vision much to his Connor's surprise. (Teen Titans v3 #6)
After believing that Connor had matured, Superman decided to give him a new responsibility when he came to reside in Smallville by asking him to care for Krypto. This was because he also wanted his dog to be in a better environment as neither Metropolis nor the Fortress of Solitude were suitable for him. (Teen Titans v3 #7)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.
The New 52
He was a creation of a secret organization known as N.O.W.H.E.R.E. that was a pan-national organization made of different cells. (Superboy v6 #1)
In the aftermath, he was placed in a virtual reality program school in Kansas to better educate him and to go through the genetic memories of his donor where one of his class fellows was Rose Wilson. (Superboy v6 #1)
Rebirth
At Smallville, he responded to a monster sighting at S.T.A.R. Labs where he fought and defeated a beast but was told to leave by the staff as they were engaged in classified research. Connor then returned where he attempted to find the nature of their work which led to him accidentally being transported to Gemworld. (Young Justice v3 #3)
Overview
Personality and attributes
Originally, he was referred to as Experiment 13 by the Cadmus project with him also being referred to as Superboy though the clone hated being called that initially. (Adventures of Superman v1 #500) Instead, he claimed that he was actually Superman even though he knew he was a clone. (Adventures of Superman v1 #501)
He knew Star Wars but had never actually seen the movies. (Adventures of Superman v1 #506)
Powers and abilities
The Cadmus D.N.A. Project created a clone that was essentially human but as Kryptonian-like as possible making Superboy a solar battery similar to Superman. (Superboy v4 #0) He was described trans-terrestrial clone that was the first fusion of Kryptonian and human DNA. (Superboy v6 #1) From Superman, he inherited the ability to fly, greater durability with bullets bouncing off his chest and super-strength where he could bend steel with his bare hands. However, he lacked the Man of Steel's other powers like super-hearing or the various kinds of vision powers. Initially, Superboy though that he could not use them because he did not know how to activate them. In reality, this was because he was not a direct clone of Superman. This was because the usual cloning techniques could not work on Kryptonian physiology. (Adventures of Superman v1 #506)
In reality, his DNA was split with 50% being Kryptonian based on Superman and the other 50% being human that was based on Lex Luthor. This led to him having the potential to develop heat vision from his eyes. (Teen Titans v3 #6)
During the study of Superman's man, scientists had discovered a strange aura that surrounded his body that was translated into a telekinetic field that was the source of his superhuman powers. With it, he could deflect any solid object the instant it touched him but he could not deflect energy. Superboy could extend the field and lift heavy objects, take them apart or bend them into any shape he could picture mentally. (Adventures of Superman v1 #506)
He had superhuman strength allowing him to stop a car in its tracks and strike the ground so hard that the shockwave knocked people aside. (Adventures of Superman v1 #501)
Superman also possessed invulnerability that made him immune to strong physical impacts and even weapon fire. (Adventures of Superman v1 #501)
Initially, he was provided goggles that provided him X-Ray capabilities allowing him to see through objects depending on the focus. (Superboy v4 #0)
When working for N.O.W.H.E.R.E., he was provided a containment suit that was designed to monitor his abilities. (Superboy v6 #1)
Notes
- Kon-El was created by Karl Kesel and Tom Grummett where he made his first appearance in Adventures of Superman v1 #500 (June, 1993).
Alternate Versions
- In Teen Titans/Legion Special v1 #1 (2004), Kon-El was shown to exist in an alternate future timeline known as Titans Tomorrow. This version by adulthood had taken the name of Superman with his telekinetic powers having grown to the point of mimicking the Man of Steel's powers.
- In Young Justice v3 #8 (2019), an alternate version of Superboy was shown to exist in the Multiverse on Earth-3. On that world, he was a dark haired superhuman known as Luthor-El who was the son of Ultraman and Dana Luthor. He later fell under the control of Amaxon Thunder and became one of the young warriors in her gang that ruled a part of Earth-3 during a time when the Crime Syndicate of America was missing.
In other media
Television
- In Smallville, Superboy appeared in the setting of the live-action television series where he was portrayed by actor Lucas Grabeel. This version was also known as Alexander Luthor, LX-15, and a Cognitional Neuroplastic Replicant (CNR). After Tess Mercer discovered the 6-year-old Alexander in Cadmus Labs, she formed a mother/son bond with him. However, he began to take on Lex Luthor's memories, becomes mentally unstable upon becoming a teenager, and was discovered by Clark Kent. Eventually, he came to be known as Conner where the clone lost Lex's memories as his powers manifested. Lionel Luthor of Earth-2 tried to force him to reject the Clark side of his DNA and embrace his powers via Red Kryptonite, but Conner refused before vowing to join Clark as a hero when he was ready, enrolling at Smallville High with his help and receiving the Kent surname.
- In Young Justice, Superboy appeared in the setting of the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Nolan North.
- In Titans, a character referred to initially as Subject 13 appeared in the live-action television series season climax scene in "Dick Grayson". He was shown freeing himself from containment at a Cadmus facility in Metropolis where he murdered the scientists and freed Krypto. After escaping from Cadmus Labs with a genetically modified golden retriever named Krypto, he takes the name "Conner" and experiences Lex Luthor and Superman's memories. After seeking out the former's father Lionel Luthor for answers, Conner is hunted by Lex's personal assistant Mercy Graves before he is rescued by Dr. Eve Watson, who advises him not to publicly use his powers. Despite this, Conner does so to rescue Jason Todd, whom he befriended, joined the Titans, and entered a sexual relationship with Komand'r. Upon founding out that Lex was dying and wanting Conner to take over LexCorp, Conner agreed to stay with him, only to be arrested for Lex's apparent murder.
Films
- In The Death of Superman, Superboy made a minor appearance in the setting of the 2018 animated film in a non-voiced role. He was shown as being the hidden experiment of Dabney Donovan on behalf of his employer Lex Luthor who had created the in the secret underground laboratory as one of a number of weapons for use against Superman. After Superman's death, the clone was shown to had escaped the cloning pod and wore a jacket as he went to be among society.
- In Reign of the Supermen, Superboy made a major appearance in the setting of the 2019 animated film sequel where he was voiced by actor Cameron Monaghan. He was shown as being a clone created by Dabney Donovan under the direction of Lex Luthor where he was the successful fusion of Superman/Luthors DNA after numerous failed attempts. Upon his release, he was labelled as LexCorp's corporate superhero tasked with replacing Superman.
Video games
- In Young Justice: Legacy, Superboy appeared as a playable character in the video game tie-in to the television series where he was voiced once again by Nolan North.
Appearances
- Adventures of Superman v1: (1993)
- Superboy v4:
- Young Justice v1:
- Superboy Plus The Power of Shazam! v1: (1997)
- Teen Titans v3:
- Superboy v5:
- Superboy v6:
- Teen Titans:
- Young Justice v3:
External Links
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