Superboy

Superboy is the name of several fictional characters that have been published by DC Comics, most of them youthful incarnations of Superman. These characters have also been the main characters of four ongoing Superboy comic book series published by DC.

The first, and arguably best-known, Superboy was simply Superman as a boy, acting as a superhero in Smallville, where Kal-El (Superboy's Kryptonian name) lives under his secret identity, Clark Kent. The character was featured in several series from the 1940s until the 1980s, with long runs appearing in Adventure Comics and two eponymous series, Superboy and The New Adventures of Superboy. He developed a mythos and supporting cast of his own, including foster parents Ma and Pa Kent, love interest Lana Lang, and time traveling allies the Legion of Super-Heroes.

When DC Comics rewrote much of its continuity in 1986, Superman's history was changed so that he never took a costumed identity until adulthood, erasing Superboy from the canonical history of Superman, although many aspects of the backstory created in Superboy comics, such as Clark's friendship with Lana Lang, remained. In the last few years, some additional features of Superboy's history, such as his tenure in the Legion, have also been reintroduced into the story of Superman's youth.

The character was adapted into a Superboy television series (1988â€"1992), which also spawned another, short-lived Superboy comic book series; and a teenage Clark Kent, secretly using his powers in heroic acts, appeared in the highly successful Smallville TV series (2001â€"2011), drawing to a great extent on the comic book continuity in its depiction of young Clark's life.

In 1993, DC introduced a new, modernized Superboy, a teenage clone of both Superman and Lex Luthor, also known by his Kryptonian name Kon-El and his secret identity as Clark's cousin Conner Kent. The new Superboy was featured in his own series, Superboy (volume 3), from 1994 until 2002, and in several series devoted to teenage superhero groups. He was featured in DC's relaunch of Adventure Comics and got his own series again in November 2010, which ran until August 2011. A revised version of Kon-El, complete with a new origin, debuted in a new Superboy series as part of DC's New 52 launch in September 2011. This Superboy made his Smallville debut on Friday, March 4, 2011 in the episode "Scion." In this episode (as in the comics), Conner is a clone made up of both Lex Luthor and Clark Kent's DNA, and has several of Superman's powers. Superboy is also featured in the animated series Young Justice that ran from 2011 to 2013.

Due to DC Comics’ complex Multiverse, several other Superboys have appeared over time, with the most notable being the mentally unstable Superboy-Prime, a parallel world version of Kal-El.

Fictional character biographies

Kal-El

The original pitch for a "Superboy" character was made by Jerry Siegel (without Joe Shuster) in November 1938. The idea was turned down by Detective Comics, Inc., and the publisher again rejected a second, more detailed pitch by Siegel two years later. After the appeal of kid superheroes had been demonstrated by the success of Robin, the Boy Wonder and similar characters, Detective Comics reversed itself in late 1944 and started publishing a Superboy feature, in an effort to expand the Superman franchise by presenting a version of the character to whom younger readers could easily relate. Superboy first appeared in More Fun Comics No. 101 (1944, with a 1945 cover date). Though Joe Shuster supplied the art, the Superboy feature was published without the input or approval of Jerry Siegel, who was serving in World War II. This fact increased an already-growing rift between the publisher and Siegel and Shuster.

Superboy in Adventure Comics

In early 1946, Superboy moved to Adventure Comics, where he debuted in issue No. 103 (Apr 1946) as the lead feature for the anthology comic, and he remained the headlining feature for over 200 issues. Stories in Adventure Comics treat Superboy as essentially a junior version of Superman. To that end, he wears the Superman costume and his alter ego Clark Kent wears glasses as a disguise for his civilian identity. Superboy is the superhero of Clark's hometown of Smallville and grows up under the guidance of his foster parents, Ma and Pa Kent. Superboy's adventures in Adventure Comics include the story of how he was reunited with his pet superdog, Krypto; the story of how his friend, the teenage scientist Lex Luthor, becomes his most bitter foe; and how Superboy joins the 30th-century Legion of Super-Heroes.

The popular Legion spun off from Superboy into its own feature, which debuted in Adventure Comics No. 300 (Sep 1962). The feature soon dominated the comic and forced out original Superboy features, with the last new Superboy story appearing in No. 315 (Dec 1963). Superboy continued to appear in the comic in reprinted stories and as a member of the Legion until the Legion's final issue, Adventure Comics No. 380 (May 1969).

Superboy (volume 1) (1949â€"1977)

Four years after his debut, Superboy became only the sixth DC superhero to receive his own comic book when Superboy No. 1 (Marâ€"Apr 1949) was published. The series became the first new DC superhero title to succeed since World War II. Superboy saw the debuts of the first Superbaby story, (about Clark's adventures as a super-powered toddler), and of Clark's two closest friends: Lana Lang, who also serves as a romantic interest for Superboy; and Pete Ross, who later discovers and helps protect Clark's secret identity. Other notable stories to appear in Superboy include the story of the first Bizarro and the first appearances of Legion of Super-Heroes members Mon-El and Ultra Boy.

After the Legion pushed new Superboy stories out of Adventure Comics in 1963, Superboy became the only comic book to feature original Superboy stories. Less than two years after the Legion itself left Adventure Comics, Superboy became the Legion's new home. Starting with Superboy No. 172 (Mar 1971), the Legion appeared as an occasional backup feature. Once again, the Legion feature proved so popular that by Superboy No. 197 (Sep 1973), the Legion had become the lead feature, and with the next issue, the title's only feature. Although from issue No. 197, the cover logo read "Superboy starring the Legion of Super-Heroes" ("and" replaced "starring" with #222), the official title (shown in the indicia) of the comic remained Superboy until No. 231 (Sep 1977), when the comic became Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes. In issue No. 259 (Jan 1980), Superboy left the Legion and his name was dropped from the title altogether, which now became simply The Legion of Super-Heroes. Though Superboy still periodically appeared in the series that once bore his name, the series remained a Legion title until its final issue, No. 354, in 1987.

The New Adventures of Superboy (1980â€"1984)

After the Legion took over Superboy, the Superboy feature was nearly moribund until the late 1970s, when it appeared in two short runs, first in Adventure Comics (again) and then in Superman Family. Then, in the same month Superboy left the Legion in Legion of Super-Heroes No. 259 (Jan 1980), a new series entitled The New Adventures of Superboy debuted, with the first issue depicting Clark Kent celebrating his sixteenth birthday. Published monthly, this title lasted for 54 issues until 1984. Between issues No. 28 (Apr 1982) and No. 49 (Jan 1984), the series also featured "Dial H for Hero" as a backup.

Several months after the last issue of The New Adventures of Superboy, a four-issue miniseries was published called Superman: The Secret Years (1985), which tells the story of how Superboy becomes Superman during his junior year of college.

Continuity changes

Shortly after the miniseries was published, Superboy's career was discarded from Superman's continuity after the 1985â€"1986 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths and writer John Byrne's 1986 revamp of Superman's origin, The Man of Steel. Twenty years later, following the Infinite Crisis limited series, some elements of Superboy's history were restored to the story of Superman's youth (see the Infinite Crisis subsection).

Post-Crisis appearances of Superboy (Kal-El)

The Legion's Superboy

Following John Byrne's revamp of Superman, a new version of Superboy was introduced as a means of patching the Legion of Super-Heroes' continuity, which was undermined by the removal of Kal-El's Superboy career. This Superboy is said to have been created by the Time Trapper, one of the Legion's greatest enemies, when he notices that the great youthful hero they take inspiration from does not start his career until he is an adult. Wishing to preserve this history due to his own history's connection to the Legion's past, the Trapper takes a sliver of time from the ancient universe and uses it to craft a "pocket universe" in which Earth and Krypton are the only inhabited planets. Whenever the Legionnaires travel back in time, they travel to the 20th century of the Pocket Universe, not the main DC Universe. From birth until the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Superboy's life is similar to the life of the original Superboy. When the universe-destroying Crisis strikes, Superboy lacks the power to save his Earth, but the Time Trapper can do so, provided Kal-El helps him capture the Legion. Superboy reluctantly agrees. After a battle with the post-Crisis Superman- during which Superman is drastically overpowered by Superboy's pre-Crisis strength while managing to keep Superboy on his toes due to his superior experience-, Superboy realizes he can't turn on his friends and instead helps the Legionnaires defeat the Trapper. Using a device the Trapper employed to stave off Earth's destruction, Superboy saves his Earth, but only at the cost of his own life. His dying act is to return the Legion to their century (and Earth), where he is later buried. Later editorial mandates that removed Superboy from the history of the Legion led to a story where the Time Trapper is apparently erased from history, wiping the Pocket Universe and that universe's Superboy from existence.

However by that time Pocket Universe itself was required for such things as the entire Superman in Exile storyline (which introduced the Eradicator) as well as the Matrix Supergirl. In fact it was later revealed that very same year that both the Time Trapper and his Pocket Universe survived Mon-El's attack and that he had been trying to use Glorith as a way to return to power only to be literally consumed by her resulting in her stepping into his role. In the Time and Time Again saga (1991) it is shown that both Superman and the Legion still remember the Pocket Universe Superboy so the editorial mandate was basically being ignored within a year.

This version of Superboy was later seen again during the events of Zero Hour. He was time-displaced in the 30th century where he saw various incarnations of The Legion of Super Heroes before being displaced again in present day Smallville where he encountered a still young and inexperienced modern day clone Superboy(Kon-El). Thinking he was somehow in his own future he was confused to see another Superboy and fought him until coming to realize that something bigger was going on. After talking it out with the modern Superboy the Pocket Universe Superboy vanished back to his proper time and reality. This Superboy was later retconned to have been the Earth-One Superboy.

This Superboy was always the Earth - One Superboy, as shown in Legion of Superheroes #38. The retcon was actually the fact that the Time Trapper created a Universe that he could manipulate the Legion with having them time travel to a 20th-century of his design. On that universe it was shown that the Time Trapper, with the help of Superboy, was holding back the effects of the Crisis.

This retcon allowed for all passed Legion stories to exist and keep in line with the connection Superboy had for so many years before Crisis.

Superboy (volume 2) (1989â€"1991)

From 1989 to 1991, DC Comics published a comic series based on the TV series Superboy (1988â€"1992) about a college-age Superboy. Originally entitled Superboy (volume 2) (as shown in the indicia), the cover logo read Superboy: The Comic Book from #1â€"10. From issue No. 11, the series changed its cover title (as the TV show had done) to The Adventures of Superboy (although the comic book was not officially renamed under that title until issue #18). as well as displaying a short-white box next to the title (logo) which read "As Seen on TV." After 22 regular issues, the series concluded in a one-shot special published in 1992 that wrapped up adventures and stories from previous issues and depicted them as having been the daydreams of the young post-Crisis Clark Kent.

Zero Hour and Hypertime

During the 1994 storyline known as Zero Hour, Kon-El, the modern Superboy, encounters a version of the original Superboy, who resurfaces due to temporal disruptions involving Hypertime. This Superboy soon seemingly vanishes, returning to his own alternate timeline.

During a later trip through Hypertime, Kon-El accidentally discovers this Superboy while finding himself in that version's reality. During this visit, Kon-El discovers that this Superboy is a young Clark Kent, and by this means realizes the Superman of his reality must therefore be an adult Clark Kent. Sometime after returning to the main DC Universe, Kon-El reveals to Superman that he now knows his secret identity.

Infinite Crisis

In the aftermath of the events of Infinite Crisis, Alexander Luthor finds that Earth's history has changed once again and in particular, he notes that there are several reports of Superman's activities prior to his first appearance in Metropolis. Later comics have made some of the changes in the history of Kal-El's youth explicit. A year after Infinite Crisis, a cinematic Superman retrospective states that young Kal-El gave rise to "a rarely-glimpsed American mythâ€"the mysterious Super-Boy." Fourteen-year-old Clark Kent is depicted using his superpowers to save lives in secret, wearing no costume, only his everyday clothes, much like the Clark Kent of the Smallville TV series.

Several concepts and plot points associated with the original Superboy and Smallville have been reintroduced into post-Infinite Crisis continuity as part of Superman's earlier years. As a teenager, Clark assists stranded space traveler Mon-El, whom he first believes to be his older brother from Krypton, in a story that is similar to Mon-El's first appearance in Superboy No. 89 (1961). Krypto has been revealed as a companion to Clark in his youth. Clark also joins the Legion of Super-Heroes; Superman later recalls that "the Legion used to visit between school days. We had adventures in the future between classes." As an adult, Superman still keeps a Legion flight ring and has statues of the Legion on display in the Fortress of Solitude.

Lex Luthor's adolescence in Smallville, first as Superboy's friend and then his foe, was one of the elements of Superman's history removed by the The Man of Steel. Post-Infinite Crisis, a short biography has established that once again "Lex Luthor spent much of his teenage years in Smallville", where he meets Lana Lang, Pete Ross, and Clark Kent, who befriends him. Unlike the Superboy story, Lex does not lose his hair in a disfiguring lab accident that he blames on Clark. Rather, when he leaves Smallville "under a cloud of rumor and suspicion", he still has a full head of hair.

These aspects of Superman's pre-1986 history have been restored, while many of the changes brought about by The Man of Steel, such as the survival of Clark's foster parents into his adulthood and his revelation to Lana about his powers, remain part of his story. Since Infinite Crisis, while Clark has been depicted as having a youthful (if somewhat secretive) career as a superhero, he has not been depicted in costumeâ€"at least in his own time. As a member of the futuristic Legion, the teenage Clark does sport a "Superman" costume, which he apparently begins wearing during his first adventure with the Legion. The Legion co-feature in the first issue of the revived Adventure Comics reveals that when Clark does join the Legion, he is known as Superboy.

The six-issue miniseries Superman: Secret Origin (2009â€"2010) outlines Superman's origin as it stands post-Infinite Crisis. The first two issues of this miniseries address Clark Kent's adolescence in Smallville. In these two issues, Clark is depicted as donning his costume for the first time, working in secret (and in costume) as a superhero in and around Smallville, joining the Legion of Super-Heroes as Superboy, and finding Krypto when the superdog lands on Earth. Superboy's further adventures with the Legion are featured in Adventure Comics #515â€"520.

Superboy-Prime

In 1985, during the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event, another Superboy was created. This Superboy hails from the parallel Earth known as Earth-Prime, where Superman and the other DC superheroes only exist as fictional comic book characters. Brought over from his dimension by Superman to aid in the universe-spanning battle at the heart of the Crisis, Superboy helps the Earth-Two Superman (Kal-L) defeat the Anti-Monitor, the villain who spawned the Crisis. With their home dimensions destroyed, Superboy, Superman of Earth-Two, his wife Lois Lane, and Alexander Luthor, Jr. of Earth-Three journey to a "paradise dimension".

Published two decades later in DC's 2006 Infinite Crisis miniseries, Superboy, Alex, Kal-L and Lois are retroactively revealed to have been watching the DC Universe since they entered this "paradise". Unhappy with what they have been seeing, they decide to take action, and return to the post-Crisis DC Universe. Feeling that this world's heroes were inferior, he feels no qualms about committing wanton acts of destruction, kidnapping, and murder. In the end, Superboy-Prime is pulled into the core of a red sun by both Superman of Earth-Two and Superman (Kal-El) of the main DC Universe. They crash land on Mogo, the Green Lantern that is a living planet. Under a red sun, their powers rapidly vanish. On Mogo, Superboy-Prime beats the Earth-Two Superman to death before he is defeated by Kal-El. The Green Lantern Corps put Superboy-Prime in a maximum-security prison on their home world of Oa and guard him round-the-clock. While incarcerated, he carves the "S"-symbol into his chest and vows to escape.

One year later, Superboy is released from his prison by the newly formed Sinestro Corps and joins them, becoming one of their heralds and wearing a Sinestro Corps uniform beneath his Anti-Monitor inspired armor. Now calling himself Superman Prime, he becomes involved in the war between the Sinestro Corps and the Green Lantern Corps and later in the events of Countdown to Final Crisis. In the Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds miniseries, Prime leads an expanded Legion of Super-Villains into battle against Superman and versions of the Legion of Super-Heroes from three parallel Earths in the 31st century.

Superman: Secret Identity

The Superboy-Prime character was the inspiration for Kurt Busiek's miniseries Superman: Secret Identity, which begins as a story about a teenage boy, named Clark Kent after the comic book character, who exists in the "real world" where there are no superheroes and discovers that he possesses powers similar to Superman's. In the first press reports about Clark's life-saving super-deeds, the press refers to Clark (whose identity is unknown) as "Superboy."

Kon-El

In 1993, during DC Comics's Death of Superman story, a new Superboy was introduced. Unlike previous characters bearing the name, this Superboy is a clone created to replace the seemingly dead Superman, rather than simply being an adolescent Clark Kent. His initial abilities are based on a form of telekinesis (known as "tactile telekinesis") by which he could fly and simulate Superman's strength and invulnerability. Nicknamed "the Kid," Superboy is distinguished from other "Supermen" who appear after the death of Superman by his youth and brash character. Though he prefers to be called Superman during the Reign of the Supermen, after Superman returns from the dead the Kid accepts the name Superboy for himself and begins his own superhero career. He also learns that he is not a clone of Superman, but rather genetically engineered from the human DNA of Paul Westfield, director of the government sector known as Project Cadmus that had created the Kid.

Superboy (volume 3) (1994â€"2002)

Superboy then received his own series, the third series from DC Comics simply entitled Superboy. In Superboy No. 1 (Feb 1994), Superboy settles in Hawaii with his supporting cast, becoming Hawaii's resident superhero for the next four years, until Superboy No. 48 (Feb 1998). Starting in Superboy No. 56 (Nov 1998), Superboy returns "home" when he begins working for Project Cadmus, the same project that created him. In Superboy No. 59 (Feb 1999), Superman gives him the Kryptonian name Kon-El and his secret identity is Josh Leslie Kent in effect making him part of the El family. After leaving Project Cadmus and living on his own for a brief time in Metropolis, in Superboy No. 100 (Jul 2002), the final issue of the series, at Superman's suggestion Kon-El goes to live with Martha and Jonathan Kent in Smallville, where he adopts a secret identity as their nephew (and Clark's cousin) Conner Kent.

Teen Titans

In the course of his career, Kon-El becomes involved with several teen superhero groups, notably the Ravers, Young Justice, the Teen Titans, and the Legion of Super-Heroes, and he was featured in comic series devoted to these groups. Through his association with them in both Young Justice and the Teen Titans, Kon-El becomes the best friend of Robin, the Boy Wonder, a close friend of Impulse (later Kid Flash), and becomes romantically involved with Wonder Girl.

Sometime before he joins the Teen Titans, Superboy learns that he had been actually created from the DNA of both Superman and a human. Though he had believed that human to be Paul Westfield, after he joins the Teen Titans he learns that the human is actually Superman's archnemesis Lex Luthor. Moreover, as the clone Superboy was developing, he was brainwashed so that Luthor could have a sleeper agent among the superhero community. When Luthor unleashes Kon-El, Superboy comes close to destroying the Teen Titans, but he manages to free himself from Luthor's control before any tragedy occurs. Shortly thereafter, Kon-El sacrifices his life to save Earth in a battle with Superboy-Prime during the Infinite Crisis. After his death, statues are erected in his honor in Metropolis and Titans Tower. Though he coerced Superboy into serving his own purposes, Luthor continues to claim that he views Kon-El as his son.

In a story published after Kon-El's death, the alternate future Titans known as the Titans Tomorrow, including an older Conner who was cloned from the original, come back in time to the present day.

Adventure Comics (volume 2) & Superboy (vol. 4)

During the "Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds" storyline, Brainiac 5 resurrects Conner in the 31st century after arranging for him to spend 1000 years in the Kryptonian regeneration chamber that revived Superman after his battle with Doomsday and introducing into it a hair from Lex Luthor. In the aftermath of Legion of 3 Worlds, Conner is back in the present, living with Martha Kent and Krypto in Smallville. Superboy starred in his own feature in the revival of Adventure Comics, which began publication in August 2009 (see Superboy of Steel/Adventure Comics #1â€"4,& 6â€"8). He then moved to his own comic again, with the new series starting up in late 2010 before being cancelled in August 2011 at issue 11 and relaunched from issue 1 in September as part of DC Comics' relaunch of it main DC Universe properties.

Superboy (vol. 5)

DC Comics relaunched Superboy with issue No. 1 in September 2011 as part of The New 52. The series involved major changes to the character, which includes a new origin in which he is cloned from Superman, Lois Lane, and their son from an alternate future (Jon Lane Kent). After Kon-El is killed off, from issue #26 the series follows Jon Lane Kent, posing as Kon-El in the present day.

Other versions

Several other versions of Superboy originating from different parts of the Multiverse have also appeared in DC Comics.

• Alternate versions of Kal-El:
  • Karkan: In a 1972 imaginary story, infant Kal-El lands in Africa and, like Tarzan, is found and raised by gorillas. As a teen, Karkan is found by an expedition to Africa and brought to Metropolis. When he finds that he can't adjust to "civilized" life, Karkan returns to the jungle. Karkan also appears in the "Hypertension" story arc (1999).
  • Superboy of Superboy's Legion: In this Elseworlds tale, the infant Kal-El is stranded in the Asteroid Belt, and he remains there, in stasis, until found in 2987 by R. J. Brande, a thousand years after Krypton's destruction. At the age of 14, "Kal Brande", also known as Superboy, joins Cosmic Boy and Saturn Girl in forming "Superboy's Legion", later known as the Legion of Super-Heroes.
  • In the Superman & Batman: Generations series of stories by John Byrne, Superman gets his start as Superboy during the 1920s.
• Alternate versions of Kon-El:
  • Superboy of the Super Seven: This Elseworlds version of Kon-El is one of the "Super Seven", a group of heroes which include Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, and a Lex Luthor/Metallo hybrid, who help humans fight off "The Horde", an alien race that occupies Earth.
  • Black Zero: a version of Kon-El who was grown to adulthood and lived on a world where Superman didn't return from the dead. He was the main villain in "Hypertension" and the foe of the "Legion of Superboys" (below).
• Other versions:
  • Kingdom Come: Superboy appears alongside Supergirl with the Legion of Super-Heroes in one panel. It's unclear whether this version is Kon-El, simply young Kal-El (via time travel) or possibly his son through Lois Lane.
  • Legion of Superboys: Different versions of Superboy from throughout Hypertime, including both Kon-El and Kal-El, team up in the unofficial "Legion of Superboys" to fight Black Zero in the "Hypertension" story arc. Among these Superboys are a version of Kon-El that has taken Robin's place as Batman's partner, a Kon-El cowboy, a Kon-El knight, Karkan, Superboy One Million, and a teenage clone of Supergirl from the Elseworld's Finest: Supergirl & Batgirl reality.
  • Superboy One Million: The one millionth clone of Kon-El, he lives in the 853rd century and is a member of Justice Legions S, which consists exclusively of Superboy clones, and T, a future version of Young Justice. Also known as Superboy OMAC, an acronym for "One Millionth Actual Clone" of Kon-El, this Superboy resembles the original OMAC (One-Man Army Corps) in appearance. He was part of 1998's DC One Million crossover event and reappeared the following year in "Hypertension".
  • Quetzal: In a distant future on the colony world of Aztlan, Quetzal becomes the designated heir to Superman, who occupies a semi-divine position in this Aztec-like society. Realizing that "Superman" is corrupt, Superboy leads a rebellion against him.
  • Superboy (presumably the original) is one of the "ghosts" in the empty "Planet Krypton" restaurant in The Kingdom: Planet Krypton #1.

In addition, Marvel Comics' Gladiator of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard is based partly on Superboy. The Shi'ar Imperial Guard, as a whole, was created as an homage/parody of the Legion of Super-Heroes.

All-Star Superman

During an adventure in Smallville while he is still a youth, Clark Kent of All-Star Superman is aided by the time-spanning Superman Squad featuring the present Superman in disguise as the Unknown Superman, Kal Kent, and the 5th-dimension Superman. While aiding the Squad, Clark misses a chance to save the life of Jonathan Kent.

In writing about the version of Superman in his series, writer Grant Morrison said, "Ma & Pa Kentâ€"one dead. We're going with the version where Pa Kent has died. That's the day Superboy becomes a man." Dialogue between several characters implies that young Clark is a costumed adventurer, but he is never referred to as "Superboy".

Legal status

The Superboy character has been the subject of a legal battle between Time Warner, the owner of DC Comics, and the estates of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

On November 30, 1938, Siegel pitched the idea for the character of Superboy to Detective Comics (the corporate forerunner to DC Comics), but the company declined the offer. Siegel pitched the idea again in December 1940, but again the company declined to use the material. Siegel enlisted in the U.S. Army in July 1943. While he was stationed overseas, Detective Comics directed Joe Shuster to draw a Superboy comic strip for publication in More Fun Comics. No notice was given to Siegel, and no consent from him was granted. Siegel sued for copyright infringement, and won. A court-appointed special referee declared the character of Superboy unique, and not derivative from the character of Superman. But appeals by both Siegel and National Comics Publication (the new name of Detective Comics) led to a consent decree in which the parties agreed that Superboy was the sole property of National Comics.

In 1969, Siegel and Shuster sought to recover their copyright to Superman, as the original 28-year copyright for the character had expired. In Siegel v. National Periodical Publications, Inc., 364 F. Supp. 1032 (S.D.N.Y. 1973), aff'd, 508 F.2d 909 (2nd Cir. 1974), the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York held that the 1948 agreement assigned not only the original 28-year copyright term but also the 28-year copyright renewal term as well to National Periodical Publications (Detective Comics' successor).

In 1976, Congress enacted a new Copyright Act. This law extended existing copyrights for 19 years, but it also gave creators of works the right to seek to recover their copyright when the extension was up.

The Siegel claims

In 1997, Joanne Siegel (Siegel's surviving wife) and Laura Siegel Larson (Siegel's daughter) filed a notice exercising their rights to terminate DC Comics' copyright on the Superman character. The date of termination was 1999, but DC Comics provided Joanne Siegel with certain benefits that induced the parties to keep negotiating. A tolling agreement was signed to allow negotiations to keep moving. The Siegels, Shusters, and DC Comics began drafting an agreement, and this agreement now referenced the Superboy character and some indicia as well. The negotiations broke down in 2002, and the Siegel heirs filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California claiming their half of the Superboy copyright.

On March 23, 2006, Judge Ronald S.W. Lew of the District Court for the Central District of California issued a summary judgment ruling that Siegel's heirs had successfully reclaimed the copyright to the Superboy character and related indicia as of November 17, 2004. Judge Lew's decision left the parties in the unenviable situation of the Siegels owning the copyright to Superboy, but Time Warner owning the trademarkâ€"leaving neither party fully able to take advantage of their respective properties alone.

At a subsequent trial in October 2006, Time Warner (now the parent company of DC Comics) defended itself against a copyright infringement suit by the Siegels by arguing that Judge Lew's summary judgment was incorrect. In Siegel v. Time Warner, 496 F. Supp. 2d 1111 (C.D.Cal. 2007), Judge Stephen G. Larson vacated Judge Lew's summary judgment and ordered a new trial on the issues. Larson's ruling did not determine whether Superboy was such a unique character that the character enjoyed its own copyright protection. He said it was up to future litigation to determine whether the differences between Superman and Superboy were trivial and did not create a copyrightable character. Attorney Jesse J. Kruger, however, noted that character reboots and retcons could create enough differences so that any future version of Superboy might avoid a claim by the Siegels.

The legal dispute affected DC Comics' treatment of the various incarnations of Superboy. In the Secret Origin of the Teen Titans back-up story (March 28, 2007) in the weekly 52 limited series, an illustration of Superboy was changed into Wonder Girl. In the Sinestro Corps War storyline in the Green Lantern titles and in the Countdown to Final Crisis limited series, the Superboy-Prime character was referred to as Superman-Prime, a development that came about in part because of the legal dispute. Subsequently, other stories, such as those in Teen Titans titles, then referred to Superboy as "Conner" or "Kon-El."

On March 26, 2008, in Siegel v. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., 542 F. Supp. 2d 1098, 1145 (C.D. Cal. 2008), Judge Larson ruled again that the Superboy character was not a work for hire. Larson also held that the 2001 settlement documents did not constitute a contract terminating the Siegel heirs' claim to the Superman and Superboy works. The Siegels regained the copyright to the Superman character, story, and indicia as they appeared in Action Comics #1 (but not prior to or after that). Judge Larson later expanded his ruling to allow the Siegel heirs to claim additional plots, Superman characters, costuming, and indicia. This included the story of Superman's origin as a Kryptonian rocketed to Earth from a dying planet in a spaceship created by his father. DC Comics celebrated the decisions, as they restored certain retconned versions of the Superboy character to the company's use. On June 28, 2008, DC Comics Vice President and Executive Editor Dan DiDio said in reference to the Legion of Three Worlds comic at the Wizard World Chicago convention, "We've got Geoff (Johns), writer), we've got George (Pérez), artist), we've got SuperBOY Prime (yes, we can say that again)."

In January of 2013, the Ninth Circuit Court of appeals returned all rights over the Superboy character and other indicia to DC Comics. The appellate court held in Larson v. Warner Bros. Entertainment, No. 11-56034, D.C. No. 2:04-cv-08400-ODW-RZ (9 Cir. January 10, 2013), that the District Court for the Central District of California erred when it said in 2008 that DC and the Siegel heirs had not reached an agreement in 2001 resolving the dispute over the copyright. The court of appeals remanded the case back to the district court with an order to find that a contract existed. Copyright attorney Dallas Kratzer said that the Ninth Circuit's ruling "rendered moot all of the other questions in this lawsuit." The Hollywood Reporter said the ruling likely precludes any further attempt by the Siegel heirs to terminate DC Comics' copyright ownership of the character, although an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is not precluded. The Ninth Circuit also ruled that DC Comics could move ahead with a tortious interference lawsuit against Siegel attorney Marc Toberoff, whom DC accuses of interfering with the 2001 settlement.

The Siegel heirs appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2014. The court will decide in late September 2014 whether it will hear the case or not.

The Shuster claims

Joe Shuster died in 1992. After his death, DC Comics and his sister, Jean Shuster Peavy, entered into an agreement in which the company paid Shuster's debts, made "survivor payments" to Shuster's brother (Frank), and paid Jean $25,000 a year for the rest of her life. Jean Shuster Peavy and Frank Shuster agreed to turn over all copyright interest in Shuster's Detective Comics characters to DC Comics. The agreement also barred the Shuster family from asserting these rights in the future. The agreement did not, however, specifically mention Superman or Superboy.

In 2003, the esate of Joe Shuster estate filed suit to recover Shuster's copyright interest in Superman, Superboy, and other characters. DC Comics counter-sued, arguing the 1992 agreement barred any such claim. In 2012, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California held in DC Comics v. Pacific Pictures Corp., No. CV 10-3633 ODW (RZx), 2012 WL 4936588 (C.D. Cal. Oct. 17, 2012), that the 1992 agreement's broad, all-inclusive language was more than adequate to cover the Superman and Superboy copyrights in which Shuster had an interest. Thus, the estate was barred from seeking their termination under the Copyright Act. Whatever interest Shuster had in Superboy stayed with DC Comics. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the Shuster family's appeal in October 2014, leaving the district court's ruling intact.

In other media

The Superboy character has made the transition to television on multiple occasions, both in live action and animated series.

• The Adventures of Superboy (1961): television series (though only a pilot was produced).
• The Adventures of Superboy (1966â€"1969): series of 34 six-minute Superboy adventures (his first animated appearances) that appeared as part of three different programs during that time, packaged with similar shorts featuring other DC Comics superheroes. He was voiced by Bob Hastings.
• Super Friends: Superboy makes two appearances in the show's run. The first one was in "History of Doom" when the Hall of Justice computer runs a tape showing Lex Luthor's origin. He was voiced by Danny Dark. His next appearance was in the short episode "Return of the Phantoms" where three Phantom Zone criminals go back in time to fight Superboy. He is saved by the arrival of Superman and Green Lantern. He was voiced by Jerry Dexter.
• Superboy (1988â€"1992): television series about Superboy (Clark Kent) during his college years. The series starred John Haymes Newton (1988â€"1989) and Gerard Christopher (1989â€"1992), and Stacy Haiduk as Lana Lang. The theme music and underscore were composed by Kevin Kiner. 100 episodes were produced.
• The cloned Superboy appears in the video game The Death and Return of Superman as a playable character.
• Smallville (2001â€"2011): television series starring Tom Welling; though not a "Superboy" series by name, this series started with a teenage Clark Kent (a freshman in High School) and features many elements originally present in the Silver Age Superboy comics. Additionally, in a first season episode, Clark accidentally transfers his powers to a classmate named Eric Summers, who, before running amok with his newfound powers, is called "Superboy" by the local newspaper. And in a season 5 episode, Arthur Curry sarcastically refers to Clark as "Superboy". In the final season, Lucas Grabeel plays Lex Luthor's young clone turns out to have Clark's Kryptonian DNA; his hair changes from red to Clark's hair color and he ends up being given the name "Conner Kent". At one point, he wears the same black T-shirt with red Superman emblem Kon-El wears in the comics.
• A "young Superman" appears in the Legion of Super Heroes animated series. The original press releases stated Superboy would be featured. Due to the aforementioned legal issues, the "Superboy" character was instead referred to on the series as "Superman". This version of the character comes from the time shortly before Clark leaves Smallville for Metropolis. The second season takes place about two years after the first and features both an older Clark and a Superman clone from the 41st century named Superman X (usually addressed as Kal-el), who has alien DNA and enhanced superpowers, as Legion members.
• Kon-El appears in the Young Justice television series. Conner Kent was a clone made by Cadmus in case Superman turned or was ever defeated; it was later learned that his DNA is half-human (with Lex Luthor as his human father). At the beginning of the series, Conner seeks Superman's approval, viewing him as his father. Upon learning the identity of his human DNA donor, Luthor gives Conner a tool (named Shields) that unleashes his full Kryptonian powers but also causes him to go into a nearly blind rage. Superboy, Artemis and Miss Martian reveal to the team their connections to various villains, who had been using them to set up a trap; in Superboy's case, his connection to Lex Luthor. Revealing these secrets allowed the Team to foil the basis for the villains' blackmail, however the Team subsequently learned from Red Tornado that Vandal Savage had managed to take over the Justice League, using Starro tech. As the sidekicks fight their mentors and teachers, they subdue them long enough to put Robin's anti-virus tech in place, freeing the League from Savage's control. Superboy and Superman finally speak, and Superboy tells Superman that he chose Conner Kent as his name, which Superman (Clark Kent) approves of (even if Conner mistakenly believes that he's taken the name of Kent Nelson, the now-deceased Doctor Fate). The second season reveals that Superman has come to view him as a brother and he has broke up with his girlfriend, Miss Martian, as he disapproved of her reckless use of telepathy and her attempt to make him forget about a fight they had. Additionally, in the episode "Secrets", homage is paid to Kon-El's original appearance in the comics, when Mal Duncan wears a Halloween costume which is an exact replica of Superboy's costume.
• Superboy, credited as "Superbaby" is voiced by Grey DeLisle in the 2013 direct-to-dvd animated film, JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time.

Notes

References

Bibliography

• Daniels, Les (1998). Superman: The Complete History: The Life and Times of the Man of Steel. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN 978-0-8118-2162-9. 
• Kratzer, Dallas F. (Spring 2013). "Student Work: Up, Up and Away: How Siegel and Shuster's Superman Was Contracted Away and DC Comcis Won the Day". West Virginia Law Review 115 (2): 1143â€"1184. 
• Kruger, Jesse J. (Summer 2012). "Copyright and Kryptonite: The Failings of Intellectual Property Law Through the Eyes of Superman". Duquesne Business Law Journal 14 (3): 229â€"249. 

External links

• Toonopedia entry on Superboy
• Supermanica:Superboy Supermanica entry on the pre-Crisis Superboy.
• Index of the Earth-One Superboy's adventures
• Superboy Copyright FAQ
• Superboy at the Internet Movie Database.