Chris Kent (DC)

Latest revision as of 07:54, 11 July 2022

Chris Kent as Nightwing in World's Finest v4 #1.

Chris Kent is a male comic superhero who features in DC Comics.

Biography

Origin

Lor-Zod and Thara Ak-Var in Action Comics v1 #879.

Lor-Zod was a male Kryptonian offspring of General Zod and his Lieutenant Ursa. (Action Comics v1 #846) He was born within the Phantom Zone that was a prison dimension used to house the various criminals of Krypton. His mother gave birth to him at Fort Rozz that served as the only structure that retained physical form in the Zone and was where occupants could retain their corporeal nature. The unique nature of his birth meant that he was the only occupant of the Phantom Zone that retained physical form throughout the dimension. It was said that for years he was abused by his parents who intended to use him as their means to escape their imprisonment. This led to them fashioning a vessel from the remains of Fort Rozz where they sent Lor-Zod to Earth to serve as an anchor from which they could escape the Phantom Zone. (Action Comics v1 #851)

Afterwards, Superman took him to the Fortress of Solitude to consult the records of the simulation of his father Jor-El but they were incomplete. He then took him to the Kent Farm in Smallville to see if he could be cared for by his parents Jonathan Kent and Martha Kent. The pair at first disapproved of Superman taking the boy and even said that they were too old to raise another child. However, they suggested that Clark and Lois Lane could be the boy's adoptive parents. At first, Lois did not approve leading to the child believing that she did not like him. During this time, the Department of Metahuman Affairs made a statement to the media how the boy had gone missing with Superman contacting Sarge Steel claiming responsibility as he did not trust the U.S. government for looking after the best interests of the boy. He stated that he would only give up custody if he could examine the facilities with the Kryptonian child being reluctant. During the public press release, they were attacked by Bizarro who was sent to kidnap the child with Lois nearly killed until she was saved by the boy due to his super-strength. After Bizarro's defeat, Clark and Lois decided to adopt the child as a foster-son to protect him with them giving him the name Christopher Kent. (Action Comics v1 #846) Whilst at school, he was asked to not use his abilities but struggled to engage in human activities leading to the other children laughing at him. As a result, the six year old Christopher during school time would sneak away and fly in the clouds where he indulged in the use of his abilities. He was caught by his adoptive father Superman who wanted Chris to live a life more akin to a normal human. Thus, he had Chris follow him to Gotham City where they went to the Batcave. Superman asked Batman to develop a watch-scale Red Sun radiation projector that could be used to suppress Chris Kent's powers in order to allow him to live like a human being. Whilst waiting, Chris met with Robin Tim Drake where he forged a close friendship with the Boy Wonder after being amazed at his acrobatic and physical skills. Chris later helped his foster father during an incident at a bridge. (Superman v1 #668)

The arrival of Lor-Zod on Earth allowed for a tear in reality through which Zod, Ursa and Non arrived on Earth. (Action Comics v1 #845) In the mean time, Clark and Lois set up their backstory for Christopher namely that he was their cousin's son that was 12 years old who was from New York City that they had adopted. Whilst going to the Daily Planet, Clark came under attack from Zod and his comrades. With Chris alongside Lois, they pair came under attack from Ursa who wanted to take back her son. (Action Comics v1 #846)

He was taken by the Phantom Zone prisoners where he was brought before his biological parents. During this time, General Zod had taken Lois Lane captive and wanted to examine her to see why Kal-El had chosen her to be his mate. Before he could touch her, Lor-Zod used his heat vision on his fathers hands as he intended to be like Superman to protect his adoptive mother. However, General Zod decided to take his son to the side and discipline him for daring to strike back at his father. (Action Comics v1 #851)

Lor had returned to the Phantom Zone in order to prevent the Kryptonian prisoners there from ever escaping again. Whilst there, his body experienced an unusual change as he began to age to young adulthood. Looking for a means of escape, he went to Fort Roz where he was found by Non who gave him shelter from the Phantom Zone prisoners. Whilst there, he found his father's laboratory containing Brainiac Probes from Brainiac's attack on the city of Kandor long ago. Using the equipment, he came to accidentally mentally make contact with Thara Ak-Var who was located in Kandor after it was restored to its original size. This brief moment though left him in incredible pain causing his position to be discovered by the other in-mates. Lor-Zod was then captured where he was interrogated by his father and tormented by his mother as he gave in to despair. Only faith kept him alive along with the memory of the girl he had made mental contact with where he was shocked to find that she had made her way into the Phantom Zone to save him. Using a Phantom Zone Projector, Thara Ak-Var used a suit that helped her fight off the Kryptonian prisoners. After freeing Lor-Zod, she was attacked by Non who looked to take her captive but Chris pleaded with his friend who allowed the two to escape from the Phantom Zone by using the projector. (Action Comics Annual v1 #12)

Thara knew that the emergence of thousands of Kandorians in the physical world posed a great threat to the planet Earth, and she enlisted Chris' aid to become a costumed, Kryptonian crime-fighter on Earth. Thara and Chris adopted the code names of two legendary Kryptonian heroes, Flamebird and Nightwing. As Nightwing, Chris began actively patrolling several American cities. Meanwhile, his mother Ursa began stalking the two crime fighters in order to get her revenge. Chris had been shown refusing his heritage, and insisting that Thara address him by his 'human' name, despising her attempts to transliterate it as a Kryptonian name, and never going by his birth name of Lor-Zod. (Action Comics v1 #875) After a brutal attack by Ursa, Thara was left gravely wounded by a frangible Kryptonite knife, and Chris was forced to bring her to Lois Lane for medical assistance. (Action Comics v1 #876) Once he brought Thara to Lois, the two had a tearful reunion; although Lois was happy to see him again, she was concerned about his advanced aging. Lois called Doctor Light for medical assistance while Chris went back to the fortress and was again confronted by his biological mother. Their conflict was cut short as UAVs sent by Sam Lane arrived at the scene, forcing both to flee. (Action Comics v1 #877)

Post-Flashpoint

Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Lor-Zod was the son of Zod and Ursa with all three having been trapped in the Phantom Zone. (Action Comics v1 #984)

Ultimately, he and his mother were able to escape the Phantom Zone where they joined Zod alongside the Eradicator as they decided to settle themselves on a distant world. From there, General Zod intended for Krypton to live again with Ursa being his Queen whilst Lor-Zod would rule as a Prince. (Action Comics v1 #984) This planet was Jekuul which was located in Space Sector 2811 where the humanoid inhabitants were at the Stone Age level of development. (Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps v1 #37)

Overview

Personality and attributes

Lois was responsible for giving him the name Christopher Kent when she and Clark decided to adopt the child. (Action Comics v1 #845) After maturing to adulthood, he came to operate as the Kryptonian vigilante known as the Nightwing. (Action Comics v1 #875)

He was said to had never known Krypton and had been raised in the prison dimension of the Phantom Zone. Lor-Zod had spent the first six years of his life surrounded by the criminally insane and irredeemably evil. (Action Comics Annual v1 #12)

This meant that he was a member of the House of Zod. (Action Comics v1 #984) His mother was said to had punished Lor-Zod by locking him outside often for days on end where she claimed that this was to teach him self-reliance, discipline and courage. (Action Comics Annual v1 #12)

Non was to had been the only person in the Phantom Zone to had treated him with consistent kindness. It was said that this was possibly because they felt that they were kindred spirits. (Action Comics Annual v1 #12)

Powers and abilities

As a result of his birth, it was said that Lor-Zod was not a pure Kryptonian but a mutant due to being born in the Phantom Zone and exposed to the effects of that dimension. (Action Comics v1 #876) At the age of six, his powers were notable for being far more developed than Kal-El's when he was at the same age. (Superman v1 #668) It was noted that he had quickly managed to learn English only after a few days on Earth. (Action Comics v1 #845)

He was shown to share the standard Kryptonian trait of invulnerability and came to develop the power of flight whilst on Earth. (Action Comics v1 #845) In addition, he showed superhuman strength where he was able to lift objects many time his own weight. (Action Comics v1 #844) Chris also demonstrated heat vision as an instinctual act when he tried to save his adoptive mother Lois Lane. (Action Comics v1 #851) He also showed both telescopic and x-ray vision allowing him to see objects from a great distance. Furthermore, he was able to generate a vortex through inhaling and exhaling which he could use to slow an objects fall. (Superman v1 #668) It was said that he was not as strong a a pure Kryptonian and lacked their strengths. (Action Comics v1 #876)

Lor-Zod gained new abilities as a result of his time in the Phantom Zone. (Action Comics v1 #876) Among these included tactile telekinesis with him not losing this power when under the effects of red sunlight. (Supergirl v5 #46)

Due to the nature of his birth, he was classed as being an extradimensional being with his genetic structure possibly having been mutated from a combination of exposure to the Phantom Zone and Earth's yellow sun. Regardless of the reasons, it had impacted his physiology causing his body to had aged years in the span of seconds. Another aspect of his body was that his body had remained corporeal within the Phantom Zone unlike its other denizens. (Action Comics Annual v1 #12) He was also not as susceptible to the effects of Kryptonite when compared to an ordinary Kryptonian. (Action Comics v1 #876)

For a time, he came to be raised on the planet Jekuul that was taken over by the House of Zod. (Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps v1 #37)

Notes

• Chris Kent was created by Richard Donner, Geoff Johns and Adam Kubert where he made his first appearance in Action Comics v1 #844 (December, 2006).
• Superman's adopted Kryptonian son Chris Kent from the 2006 Last Son Of Krypton story arc was named after Superman actor Christopher Reeve.

Alternate Versions

Lor-Zod in Action Comics v1 #996.

• In Countdown: Arena v1 #1 (2008), an alternate version of Chris Kent was shown to had existed in the Multiverse with this one being native to Earth-16. This one had Buddhist teachings which he claimed had unlocked his chakra's thus giving him enlightenment to the point that it unlocked further abilities with him perceiving himself as more evolved than other Kryptonians. He was noted to possess a spectrum-vision and could deflect heat vision blasts at him with apparent ease or turn his form into a giant being of energy.
• In The Multiversity: The Just v1 #1 (2014), an alternate version of Chris Kent was shown to reside in the new reality of Earh-16 in the Multiverse. It was shown that this version of Chris Kent came to assume the mantle of Superman.
• In Action Comics v1 #996 (2018), a possible future was shown where General Zod rescued his wife Ursa and Lor-Zod from the Phantom Zone and settled on the planet Jekuul which they transformed into New Krypton. A decade into the future, Lor-Zod had grown into a young adult and he along with his family of the House of Zod ruled the planet's native population who were treated as slaves that were policed by Eradicator androids.
• In Future State: Suicide Squad v1 #1 (2021), an alternate version of Lor-Zod appeared in the possible timeline of Future State. This version was an adult by the mid-21st century where he was recruited into the ranks of Task Force X's Suicide Squad. Under the leadership of Peacemaker, the team journeyed to Earth-3 in search of Amanda Waller who was wanted for crimes against the Prime Earth. This saw the Suicide Squad come into conflict with Waller's Justice Squad who were a team of Metahuman criminals led by Kon-El where they patterned themselves on the Justice League. To enforce their compliance, bombs were planted on them and ensured their loyalty to Waller leading to a fight with the Squad. During the battle, Lor-Zod overpowered Kon-El and was about to kill him when he was shot with a gun that fired Kryptonite which was used by the Squad's speedster.

In other media

Television

• In Legion of Super-Heroes, a son of Phantom Zone criminals named Drax appeared in the animated television in the episode "Phantoms" where he was voiced by actor Greg Ellis.
• In Young Justice, Lor-Zod appeared in the setting of the animated television series in its fourth season Phantoms where he was voiced by actor Phil Morris.

Films

• In Justice League: Gods and Monsters, a character featured that was the son of Zod in a parallel alternate world. On this Earth, General Zod took over his homeworld of Krypton and began mining the core to power his military with this act destabilizing his world causing imminent destruction. He later discovered that the scientist Jor-El had constructed a rocket ship that contained an incubation chamber with his wife Lara's egg that only needed a male donor. Jor-El intended to imprint his genetic material on the egg but Zod's forces apprehended him. Though Krypton was doomed, General Zod decided to imprint his own DNA onto Lara's egg creating a child that was the son of Zod and Lara. The ship was later launched into space where the newborn emerged on Earth where a couple of Mexican immigrants found the boy before he could be taken by the United States military. This child grew up as Hernan Guerra who learnt harsh lessons from the way immigrants were treated in America and as an adult he became the harsh hero known as Superman who went about defending the world regardless of the cost. It was said that Hernan encountered the vampiric Batman Kirk Langstrom by the harbor where he was feeding on a rat with Superman helping him leading to a friendship between the two. Afterwards, the pair were joined by the New God Bekka who became this world's Wonder Woman.

Video Games

• In Injustice: Gods Among Us, Lor-Zod in his Nightwing guise appeared as a support card in the setting of the mobile version of the fighting video game.

Appearances

• Action Comics v1: (2006)
• Superman v2:
• Action Comics Annual v1:
• Action Comics v1:
• Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps v1:
• Future State: Suicide Squad v1: (2021)
• Suicide Squad:

External Links

• DC Database Entry
• Comicvine Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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