The Adventures of Superboy

In a letter to Jack Liebowitz at Detective Comics dated November 30, 1938, Jerry Siegel proposed a series based on "the adventures of Superman as a youth." Liebowitz responded on December 2, 1938, declining the pitch. Around December 1940, Jerry submitted a 13-page Superboy script that still remains unpublished. In the June 21, 1941, issue of The Saturday Evening Post, Jerry promoted Superboy as "Superman before he developed a social conscience."

A copyright ashcan for a Superboy comic book was produced by Detective Comics in late 1941 with a cover date of January 1942. The Steranko History of Comics, Vol. 2 incorrectly claims that Superboy was modeled after Captain Marvel, Jr., who first appeared in Whiz Comics #25 (December 1941).

The Superboy series was put on hold once the United States entered World War II. Jerry Siegel was drafted into the Army on June 28, 1943, and later stationed at Hickam Field on Oahu, Hawaii. In a letter dated October 1, 1944, Joe Shuster informed Jerry Siegel that a five-page Superboy feature had been completed. The origin story was copyrighted on November 18, 1944.

Kal-El as Superboy first appeared in More Fun Comics #101 (January–February 1945). The issue also features the first appearance of the name Smallville. The universe is designated as Earth-One in DC Comics continuity. Kal-L, the Golden Age Superman of Earth-Two, did not begin his career until reaching adulthood.



Don Cameron provided the scripts for the next six Superboy features in More Fun Comics #102–107. The artwork was produced by the Joe Shuster Shop. The first cover appearance of Superboy is More Fun Comics #104 (July 1945), by Henry Boltinoff and Stan Kaye. Superboy stories were moved to Adventure Comics beginning with issue #103 (April 1946).

While in the Army, publicist Albert Zugsmith encouraged Jerry Siegel to pursue legal action. Siegel was discharged on January 21, 1946, and would spend the next year negotiating with Jack Liebowitz over fair compensation and creator rights. In April 1947, Siegel and Shuster sued National Comic Publications for the rights to Superman and Superboy plus a share of past profits. On April 12, 1948, the New York Supreme Court decided that Superman belonged to National and Superboy belonged to Siegel. Superboy was sold to National for $94,013.16 and most of the payment was spent on legal costs.

Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were immediately released from National and all Superman properties. Their names were removed from story bylines after Action Comics #118, Adventure Comics #126, Superman #51, and World's Finest Comics #33. Legal battles for Superman and Superboy would continue over the next 70 years.

Superboy is the sixth DC Comics character to receive a solo title. Superboy #1 (March–April 1949) appeared on newsstands in January 1949. The Superboy logo was designed by Ira Schnapp.

Lana Lang first appeared in Superboy #10 (October 1950). "The Girl in Superboy's Life!" was created by Bill Finger and John Sikela. Lana is the love interest of young Clark in Smallville. She would later compete with Lois Lane over the affection of Superman.

Krypto "The Superdog from Krypton!" first appeared in Adventure Comics #210 (March 1955). Krypto was created by writer Otto Binder and artist Curt Swan. As a puppy, Krypto lived with baby Kal-El on Krypton. Jor-El placed Krypto in an experimental rocket that veered off course before arriving on Earth. The super-powered dog causes mischief and Superboy is almost exposed by Lana Lang. Before Superboy decides what to do with the new pet, Krypto leaves Earth to roam the universe.

The Legion of Super-Heroes first appeared in Adventure Comics #247 (April 1958). The team was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino for a one-time Superboy adventure in the 30th century. The original members are Cosmic Boy, Lightning Boy, and Saturn Girl.

"Bizarro – The Super-Creature of Steel!" debuted in Superboy #68 (October 1958), on sale August 21, 1958. Inspired by Frankenstein's monster, the imperfect Superboy clone was created by writer Otto Binder and artist George Papp.

In Smallville, Professor Dalton demonstrates a duplicator ray that can reproduce non-living matter. Each test produces in an imperfect result. Superboy is accidentally struck by the ray before the duplicator explodes. The clone is a grotesque version of Superboy with blocky, pale white skin and short hair. Professor Dalton explains that the "lifeless machine" uses an electronic brain to think. Superboy describes the double as "bizarre," which the creature interprets as the name Bizarro.

Kal-El became Superbaby before the destruction of Krypton in Superboy #106 (July 1963). As a toddler on Krypton, Kal-El was kidnapped by Brainiac and taken to the planet Bryak. The effects of a yellow star cause the child to develop superpowers. Unable to control his strength, Superbaby destroys valuable loot and a weapons arsenal. An annoyed Brainiac returns the child to Krypton and vows to avenge the humiliation.

Beginning with Superboy #197 (September 1973), the series was billed as Superboy starring the Legion of Super-Heroes. The series was officially retitled Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes for issues #222–258 (December 1976–December 1979). The series continued as Legion of Super-Heroes #259–354 (January 1980–December 1987).

A solo Superboy title relaunched as The New Adventures of Superboy. The series was published for 54 issues (January 1980–June 1984). Cary Bates, Paul Kupperberg, and E. Nelson Bridwell provided the majority of scripts. All 54 issues feature stories penciled by Kurt Schaffenberger.

The Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event introduced Superboy-Prime in DC Comics Presents #87 (November 1985). Superboy-Prime was created by Elliot S. Maggin and Curt Swan. An alternate Kal-El was teleported from Krypton to the "real world" of Earth-Prime where the DC Universe exists in fiction.

Superboy-Prime is immune to magic and does not have the power limitations of Superman. Red sunlight and green kryptonite from the Prime universe can harm Superboy-Prime. After the Anti-Monitor is defeated in Crisis on Infinite Earths #12 (March 1986), New Earth is created and Superboy-Prime is transported to a "paradise dimension."

Crisis on Infinite Earths led to continuity problems for Legion of Super-Heroes stories in the 30th century. DC Comics established that Kal-El was the last survivor of Krypton. On New Earth, Superman never became Superboy and Supergirl never existed.

The Pocket Universe Superboy first appeared in Legion of Super-Heroes #37 (August 1987). The Time Trapper created a Pocket Universe containing a copy of Krypton and Earth-One. The Pocket Universe Superboy is manipulated to capture the Legionnaires. After an encounter with Superman, the Pocket Universe Superboy joins the Legion to stop the Time Trapper. The alternate Superboy sacrifices himself to save the multiverse in Legion of Super-Heroes #38, "The Greatest Hero of Them All" (September 1987).

Superboy vol. 3 was published for 22 issues (February 1990–June 1991). The series is based on the Superboy television series produced by Ilya Salkind. The universe is designated as Earth-988. The show and the comic adaptation were renamed The Adventures of Superboy in 1990.

The Superboy of New Earth first appeared in The Adventures of Superman #500 (Early June 1993). The character was created by Karl Kesel and Tom Grummett for the "Reign of the Supermen!" storyline. The Cadmus Project cloned a "DNAlien" using genetic templates of Superman and Cadmus director Paul Westfield. "Experiment 13" escapes the facility before fully maturing and markets himself as Superman. The 16-year-old clone takes the name of Superboy in The Adventures of Superman #506 (November 1993).

Superboy vol. 4 was published for 102 issues (February 1994–July 2002). A clone of Superboy known as Match debuted in Superboy vol. 4 #35 (January 1997). Match has the same powers and weaknesses as Connor.

Superman gives Superboy the Kryptonian name Kon-El in Superboy vol. 4, #59 (February 1999). The name honors a cousin adopted by the House of El. Superboy briefly used the identity of Carl Krummet, an anagram of the creators' names.

Superboy-Prime returned as the main protagonist of the "Infinite Crisis" crossover event. Superboy-Prime and Alexander Luthor, Jr. of Earth-Three escape the "paradise dimension," altering the multiverse. After being imprisoned under red sunlight for years, Superboy-Prime creates a yellow-sun containment suit based on the Anti-Monitor armor. Kon-El is killed battling Superboy-Prime in Infinite Crisis #6 (May 2006).

After being defeated by Superman, Superboy-Prime is arrested by the Green Lantern Corps in Infinite Crisis #7 (June 2006). The Guardians of the Universe imprison Superboy-Prime inside of a red Sun-Eater on Oa, where he carves the Superman emblem into his chest.

Superboy-Prime is freed from Oa during "The Sinestro Corps War" in Green Lantern Sinestro Corps Special #1 (August 2007). In Green Lantern #25 (January 2008), a Guardian explodes and sends Superboy-Prime into the multiverse timestream.

In Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #1 (October 2008), Time Trapper locates Superboy-Prime and sends him to 31st century Smallville. Outraged to be forgotten by society, Superboy-Prime travels to the prison planet of Takron-Galtos and frees the Legion of Super-Villains.

Kon-El was reanimated in the 30th century using Kryptonian technology and DNA from Lex Luthor. Kon-El returns to face Superboy-Prime in Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #5 (September 2009). The Time Trapper is ultimately revealed to be an older Superboy-Prime. The resulting paradox transports Superboy-Prime back to his home in the "real world" of Earth-Prime.

A fifth Superboy series featuring Kon-El was published for eleven issues (January 2011–October 2011). Conner and Krypto live in Smallville with Martha Kent. The series was rebooted again following the "Flashpoint" crossover and "The New 52" relaunch.

The sixth volume of Superboy was published for 34 issues (November 2011– October 2014). On Prime Earth, Jonathan Lane Kent is the son of Superman and Lois Lane of an alternate future. A Superboy clone is created using DNA from Jonathan. Supergirl names the clone Kon-El, which means "abomination in the House of El." Jon sacrifices himself to send Kon-El to the present time as the only Superboy.

Jonathan Samuel Kent, the son of Clark Kent and Lois Lane, first appeared in Convergence: Superman #2 (July 2015). The name is derived from his grandfathers Jonathan Kent and Samuel Lane. Jon Kent was created by writer and artist Dan Jurgens. Lois originally gave birth to Jon in the Batcave of Thomas Wayne, the Batman of the "Flashpoint" timeline. Jon is formally introduced as Superboy in Superman vol. 4, #6 (November 2016).

The origin of Jon Kent was retconned following the four-part "Superman: Reborn" storyline of the "DC Universe Rebirth". In Action Comics #977 (Early June 2017), Kelex displays archive imagery of Jon being born inside of the Fortress of Solitude on Prime Earth.

Jon Kent teamed up with Damien Wayne as Robin in the 16-issue series Super Sons (April 2017–⁠July 2018). A previous "Super Sons" team of Superman Jr. and Batman Jr. on Earth-154 appeared in World's Finest Comics #215 (January 1973).

After spending years imprisoned by Ultraman on Earth-3, Jon returned to Prime Earth as a 17-year-old in Superman vol. 5, #6 (February 2019). The Future State version of Jon Kent as Superman first appeared as a vision in Dark Nights: Death Metal #7 (March 2021). Jon received a solo title in the fall of 2021 with Superman: Son of Kal-El. The series attracted extensive media coverage once it was revealed that Jon is bisexual in issue #5 (January 2022).

Superboy: A Celebration of 75 Years was released by DC Comics in 2020. The 448-page hardcover collection features Superboy stories published from 1949–2019.

During the "Dawn of DC" initiative, Kon-El wore a new jacket similar to Kara Zor-El in the new Superman Family. The uniforms debuted in Superman vol. 6, #1 (April 2023).

Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow (June 2023–December 2023) is a limited six-issue series featuring Kon-El. Following the events of "Infinite Frontier," Connor is searching for his purpose in the new Superman Family. After receiving a galactic distress signal, Superboy teleports to an uncharted planet.

Kal-El appears as a sixteen-year-old Superboy in Summer of Superman Special #1 (June 2025). After passing through the timestream, young Kal-El sees a glimpse of the future with Lois Lane and Jon Kent.

The first Superboy (Stålpojken) trading cards were distributed in 1968 with the Pop-nytt TV Pussel and TV68 Popbilder collections from Sweden.

The clone Superboy Kon-El first appeared on a promo card for the 1993 DC Bloodlines Trading Cards series. The card is included with poly-bagged editions of The Adventures of Superman #500 (Early June 1993).

Jonathan Lane Kent first appeared in DC Comics: The New 52 Trading Cards, released in 2012 by Cryptozoic Entertainment.

Superboy-Prime first appeared in the 2016 War of Light expansion from Dice Masters.

Jonathan Samuel Kent first appeared in 2022 with the Superman Jon Kent: Future State action figure from McFarlane Toys.