Pete Ross
Pete Ross is a male comic character who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Pre-Crisis
Pete Ross
Pete Ross newly moved to the rural town of Smallville alongside his family, where he quickly initiated a close friendship with Clark Kent after directly intervening to save him from being harassed by a group of local school bullies. He spent his subsequent free time actively hanging out with Clark and was invited to the Kent family household for dinner by Jonathan and Martha Kent. Unbeknownst to Pete Ross, his constant close scrutiny, continuous measuring of Clark's physical stature, and persistent habit of taking detailed notes regarding Clark's behaviors caused the young superhero intense paranoia and severe anxiety over the potential exposure of his secret identity as Superboy. Pete Ross tracked Clark's movements across the school campus and meticulously compared his physical traits to public sightings of the Boy of Steel, leading Clark to believe his new companion was actively orchestrating a betrayal to uncover his dual life. The localized mystery was completely resolved at the conclusion of the week when Pete Ross revealed the true purpose of his investigative notes, informing a relieved Clark that he was actually managing the casting operations for the Smallville High School Drama Club and had merely been evaluating Clark's distinct physical proportions to offer him the leading theatrical role of Superboy in their upcoming student play. (Superboy v1 #86)
Ross joined his best friend Clark Kent for a routine overnight camping trip in the woods surrounding Smallville. During a sudden, violent midnight thunderstorm, a loud flash of lightning prematurely woke the teenager, causing him to inadvertently look over and witness Clark rapidly changing directly into his Superboy uniform to fly off and answer an emergency. Rather than confronting his friend or accidentally causing him severe distress, Pete Ross made a mature, lifelong vow to keep the historic discovery entirely to himself. He quietly dedicated his free time to manufacturing excuses, staging tactical public distractions, and managing a spare superhero costume mask. This ensured the vulnerable Boy of Steel could slip away unnoticed without exposing his hidden identity to suspicious classmates like Lana Lang. Even when one of Superboy's advanced mechanical duplicates suffered a catastrophic malfunction, a proactive Pete Ross covertly stepped into the field to masquerade as the hero's civilian identity, cementing his permanent role as Clark's most trusted, silent guardian angel. (Superboy v1 #90)
Pete found himself thrust into a high-stakes scenario when a malicious alien threat known as the Superboy Revenge Squad targeted Earth to destroy the Boy of Steel. To keep his home planet safe from their thought-tracking scanners, Superboy purposefully hypnotised himself to erase his own memories, temporarily reducing his consciousness to that of an ordinary, powerless teenager. Armed with his secret knowledge of his best friend's double life, a proactive Pete Ross stepped up to heroically shield the vulnerable hero by donning a copy of the iconic costume to masquerade as the Boy of Steel. While pretending to wield incredible superpowers to fool the alien observers, Pete Ross carefully orchestrated events so that an oblivious Clark Kent would unknowingly use his raw, instinctual super-feats in public, creating the seamless illusion that the real hero was still fully operational. Through his brilliant tactical coordination and deep loyalty, Pete Ross successfully kept the alien executioners at bay until the 24-hour window elapsed, keeping the town of Smallville safe and preserving Clark's hidden identity without ever letting on that he knew the truth. (Superboy v1 #94)
Post-Crisis
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.
Dr. Whitney delivered Pete Ross. Whitney was an undercover Manhunter and implanted Pete with a microscopic inducer so he could one day be activated as Manhunter sleeper agent. (Adventures of Superman v1 #436)
Pete found Lana an apartment in her building, and when a rainstorm damaged her ceiling he let her stay with him. He hoped she'd fall for him, but gave up when he saw the one thing she saved from her apartment was a photo of Clark. Lana eventually realized that although she'd never be with Clark she was lucky to have a man like Pete in her life, and they had a romantic night. (Superman: The Man of Steel v1 #7)
Judge Kramer told Senator Ross that the Sons of Liberty had kidnapped Lana, and if he wanted to see her again he'd sneak a gun into the intelligence committee and kill their enemy Major Holcraft. (Superman: The Man of Steel v1 #13)
Pete Ross and the other Manhunter sleepers were activated to foil the Guardians Millennium project. Superman came to Smallville and Pete and the others captured him, but Superman broke his bonds and destroyed the Manhunter android Dr. Whitney. (Adventures of Superman v1 #436)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Pete Ross was a human male child who possessed a slender, average, and un-athletic physical build typical of a mid-twentieth-century American schoolboy. He had a light complexion, clear facial features, alert eyes, and a neat head of cleanly cropped, short dark hair that framed an earnest, highly inquisitive, and friendly countenance. His everyday civilian wardrobe reflected standard, practical 1961 rural American youth fashion tailored for academic attendance and outdoor play. He wore a crisp, structured button-down casual shirt with a neat collar, paired with durable, loose-fitting civilian trousers held up by a simple belt and flat-soled leather walking shoes specifically designed to facilitate walking to school, playing in local neighborhoods, and traversing the high school theatre department. (Superboy v1 #86)
Powers and abilities
Pete Ross was born a member of the human race, which meant that on a basic level, he possessed completely standard human physiological attributes, lacked any intrinsic metahuman superpowers or alien genetics, and was entirely bound by ordinary human biological limitations. He possessed no formal military combat, martial arts, or tactical tactical training at this stage, relying entirely on his baseline childhood reflexes and raw instincts to navigate his daily environment. His primary exceptional capabilities were rooted entirely in his advanced baseline intelligence, exceptional organizational skills, and a strong analytical focus, which he demonstrated through his masterful ability to closely study physical movements and systematically record complex physiological data sets. Furthermore, he possessed strong social capabilities, high emotional empathy, and a clear foundational talent for amateur dramatics and stage coordination, enabling him to successfully manage local student club castings, identify hidden performance potential in his peers, and easily stand up to neighborhood threats to safeguard his close friends. (Superboy v1 #86)
Notes
- Pete Ross was created by Leo Dorfman and George Papp where he made his first appearance in Superboy v1 #86 (January, 1961).
Alternate Versions
- In Spider-Boy v1 #1 (1996), an alternate version the character named Peter Ross appeared in the Amalgam Comics reality that was designated as Earth-9602 in the Multiverse.
- In Superman: Red Son v1 #1 (2003), an alternate version of the character named Pyotr Roslov appeared in the Superman: Red Son reality that was designated as Earth-30 in the Multiverse.
In other media
Television
- In Superman: The Animated Series, Pete Ross appeared in the setting of the animated television series set in the DC Animated Universe in the episode "The Last Son of Krypton, Part II".
- In Smallville, Pete Ross appeared in the setting of the live-action television series where he was portrayed by actor Sam Jones III.
Films
- In the DC Extended Universe, Pete Ross made multiple appearances in the shared continuity setting:
- In Man of Steel, Pete Ross appeared in the setting of the live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Jack Foley as a child and actor Joseph Cranford as an adult.
- In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Pete Ross made a cameo appearance in the setting of the live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Joseph Cranford.
- In Justice League: Gods and Monsters, an alternate version of Pete Ross appeared in the setting of the animated film where he was voiced by actor Larry Cedar.
Video games
- In DC Universe Online, Pete Ross appeared in the setting of the MMORPG video game where he was voiced by actor Mike Smith.
Appearances
- Superboy v1: (1961)
External Links
This article is a stub. You can help Multiversal Omnipedia by expanding it.
