Show pageOld revisionsBacklinksBack to top This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong. ====== Superboy ====== ===== Part 1: The Dossier: An At-a-Glance Summary ===== * **Core Identity: Superboy is a foundational, trademarked character belonging exclusively to DC Comics and has never existed within the primary Marvel Universe, either in the Prime Comic Universe (Earth-616) or the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).** * **Key Takeaways:** * **Role in the Universe:** As a DC Comics property, Superboy's role is intrinsically tied to the [[superman]] legacy. He has been depicted as a younger version of Clark Kent, a clone merging Kryptonian and human DNA (Kon-El), and the biological son of Superman and Lois Lane (Jon Kent). He does not have a role in the Marvel Universe. * **Primary Impact:** The concept of Superboy has had a profound impact on the superhero sidekick and legacy hero archetypes within the comic book medium. While he has no direct impact on Marvel characters, Marvel has its own rich tapestry of characters who explore similar themes of legacy, cloning, and teenage heroism, such as [[miles_morales]], [[x-23]], and [[nova]]. * **Key Incarnations:** The fundamental distinction is that Superboy has multiple, distinct incarnations within the DC Universe canon. In contrast, there are **zero** official incarnations of a character named "Superboy" within the Marvel Earth-616 or MCU continuities. The closest official connection is a temporary, merged character in a non-canon intercompany crossover event from the 1990s. ===== Part 2: Origin and Evolution: A Universe-Defining Clarification ===== ==== Publication History and Creation (DC Comics) ==== To understand why Superboy is not a Marvel character, one must first understand his long and complex history at their chief competitor, DC Comics. The concept of Superboy was first conceived by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel, who envisioned stories of Superman's adventures as a boy. The character first appeared in **//More Fun Comics// #101** in 1945, created by Siegel and artist Joe Shuster. Initially, "Superboy" was simply Clark Kent as a teenager, operating as a superhero in his hometown of Smallville. This premise was immensely popular, launching a long-running solo title, //Superboy//, and establishing much of the core Superman mythology, including characters like Lana Lang and the introduction of Krypto the Superdog. This version of the character was retroactively removed from canon following the 1985-86 crossover event //Crisis on Infinite Earths//, which rebooted the DC Universe. The new continuity established that Clark Kent's powers did not fully manifest until he was an adult, and he never operated as Superboy. However, the name was too valuable to abandon. In 1993, during the //Reign of the Supermen!// storyline that followed the historic //Death of Superman//, a new Superboy was introduced. This version, later known as Kon-El or Conner Kent, was a genetically engineered clone created by Project Cadmus from the DNA of Superman and Lex Luthor. This modern Superboy became a fan-favorite, known for his brash, 1990s attitude and leather jacket, and went on to become a founding member of the teen super-team //Young Justice//. A third major version, Jonathan "Jon" Kent, was introduced in 2015 as the biological son of the post-Crisis Superman and Lois Lane. He initially operated as Superboy alongside Damian Wayne's Robin before being magically aged up to a young adult and eventually inheriting the mantle of Superman itself. This constant evolution and reinterpretation is a hallmark of the character's history **at DC Comics**. ==== In-Universe Origin Story ==== As Superboy is not a native character to the Marvel multiverse, he possesses no in-universe origin within any of its timelines or realities. Any query about his origins must be directed toward the DC Comics canon. However, for the sake of clarity and to assist users who may have arrived here by mistake, we can examine the conceptual space he would occupy and why it is already filled within the Marvel frameworks. === Earth-616 (Prime Comic Universe) === There is no Superboy in the Earth-616 continuity. The trademark for the name and character is firmly held by DC Comics, making its use by Marvel legally prohibitive. Furthermore, the narrative archetype Superboy represents—the junior version or successor to a universe's most powerful hero—is explored in Marvel through different characters and concepts. Marvel's flagship hero is arguably [[spider-man]], not a god-like powerhouse like Superman. Therefore, the concept of a "sidekick" or "junior version" manifested differently. Instead of a Superboy, we saw the emergence of other young heroes who looked up to the likes of [[captain_america]] and [[iron_man]]. Characters like Bucky Barnes ([[winter_soldier]]) and Rick Jones served as early sidekicks, while later generations saw the rise of legacy heroes like Miles Morales ([[spider-man]]), Kamala Khan ([[ms_marvel]]), and Sam Alexander ([[nova]]). The specific "clone of a powerhouse" angle of Kon-El is most directly paralleled in Earth-616 by characters like Laura Kinney ([[x-23]]), a clone of [[wolverine]], and Kaine Parker, a clone of Spider-Man. Both characters, like Kon-El, struggled with their nature as living weapons and fought to establish their own identities separate from their genetic templates. === Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) === The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has absolutely no connection to the Superboy character. The film and television rights to Superboy are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of DC Entertainment. The MCU, produced by Marvel Studios, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, exists in a completely separate corporate and creative ecosystem. The MCU has deliberately shied away from the concept of teenage sidekicks for its primary heroes in the classic sense. Bucky Barnes was introduced as a peer and contemporary of Steve Rogers in World War II, not a junior partner. The role of a young protégé has been explored more through mentorship dynamics, such as: * Tony Stark's relationship with Peter Parker. * Clint Barton's training of Kate Bishop. * Scott Lang's dynamic with his daughter, Cassie Lang. These relationships capture the spirit of legacy and passing the torch without using the traditional "sidekick" model that Superboy helped popularize. The MCU's approach focuses on generational shifts and ideological inheritance rather than a direct "junior version" of an existing hero. The question "Who is Superboy in the MCU?" has a simple, definitive answer: he is not in it, and will not be. ===== Part 3: Marvel Characters with Superboy Archetypes ===== While Superboy himself is absent from Marvel, his core narrative functions are present in a multitude of Marvel characters. Analyzing these analogues is the most effective way to answer the user intent behind searching for a "Marvel Superboy." ==== The Teen Powerhouse Archetype: Nova ==== The Kon-El version of Superboy is defined by his status as a teenager suddenly gifted with immense, near-Kryptonian level powers. The closest and most direct Marvel equivalent to this archetype is the character of [[nova]]. * **Richard Rider:** The original Nova was a regular Earth teenager, Richard Rider, who was randomly selected by the dying Centurion Rhomann Dey to inherit the power of the Nova Force. He was instantly transformed from a high school student into a cosmic powerhouse, the "Human Rocket." His early stories revolved around the classic teen hero tropes: balancing school, relationships, and family life with the immense responsibility of his powers, a theme central to both Spider-Man and the classic Superboy. * **Sam Alexander:** The more recent incarnation of Nova, Sam Alexander, follows this archetype even more closely. Sam is a young boy who discovers his long-lost father was a member of the black-ops Nova Corps. He dons his father's helmet and gains access to the Nova Force, struggling to control a power he barely understands while searching for his family. Like Superboy, Sam is a kid dealing with an extraordinary legacy and god-like abilities. ==== The "Son" of a Superman-Figure Archetype: Sentry, Scout, and Hyperion ==== Marvel has several direct pastiches of Superman, and their stories often include characters who fill the Superboy role. * **[[sentry]] and Scout:** The Sentry (Robert Reynolds) is Marvel's most prominent, albeit psychologically unstable, Superman analogue. He possesses the "power of a million exploding suns" and a nearly identical power set. In a retconned history, it was revealed that Sentry had a teenage sidekick named **Scout** (Billy Turner). Scout was a direct parallel to the classic Bucky/Robin/Superboy sidekick. Tragically, Sentry's dark alter-ego, the Void, horrifically murdered Scout, a trauma that contributed to Reynolds erasing the Sentry's existence from the world's memory. The story of Scout is a dark, deconstructive take on the Superboy archetype. * **[[hyperion]]:** As Marvel's other major Superman analogue and a key member of the Squadron Supreme, Hyperion has also explored this theme. In various Squadron Supreme storylines, the team's actions and immense power have had massive consequences, often affecting younger generations who look up to them. While he has not had a consistent "Superboy" sidekick, his narrative role as a god-like alien trying to protect a world that is not his own provides the foundation upon which a Superboy-like character would be built. ==== The Cloned Successor Archetype: X-23 and Kaine ==== The most popular version of Superboy, Kon-El, is a clone grappling with his identity and the legacy of his DNA donors (Superman and Lex Luthor). This is one of the most compelling character arcs in modern comics, and Marvel has explored it with profound depth. * **Laura Kinney ([[x-23]]):** Laura Kinney is arguably the most successful and well-developed character in this archetype. Created by a clandestine project to replicate the Weapon X program, she is a clone derived from [[wolverine]]'s damaged genetic material. Raised in captivity and trained as a remorseless assassin, her story is one of overcoming her programming and violent origins to find her humanity. She struggled with being seen as merely a shadow or a weapon, much like Kon-El, and eventually forged her own identity, even taking on the mantle of Wolverine herself in a journey of self-acceptance. * **Kaine Parker:** Kaine was the first of Peter Parker's clones created by the Jackal who didn't suffer from immediate clone degeneration. Initially a villain, Kaine was a twisted, scarred mirror image of Peter, embodying his pain and anger. His long, complex journey from a monstrous foe to a reluctant anti-hero and eventually a genuine hero as the **Scarlet Spider** is a masterclass in the "clone successor" narrative. He fought to prove he was more than a failed copy, a motivation that directly mirrors Kon-El's core conflict. ===== Part 4: The Amalgam Universe: The One Time Superboy Was a Marvel Character ===== In the mid-1990s, an unprecedented collaboration between Marvel and DC Comics produced the crossover event **//DC vs. Marvel//** (or **//Marvel vs. DC//**). The storyline saw heroes from both universes pitted against each other by cosmic entities. The climax of this event saw the two universes temporarily merged into a new, composite reality: the **Amalgam Universe**. In this universe, characters were fused into new, composite beings. It was here that Superboy was briefly, and unofficially, a Marvel character. ==== The Creation of Spider-Boy ==== The Amalgam character **Spider-Boy** was a direct fusion of the then-current Superboy (Kon-El) and the then-current Spider-Man (the clone Ben Reilly, also known as the Scarlet Spider). The character starred in a one-shot issue, //Spider-Boy// #1, published in 1996. * **Origin:** Spider-Boy was a clone created by Project Cadmus (a DC location) in an attempt to recreate a legendary hero. When an attempt on his life went wrong, the scientist who created him, Peter Parker, was killed. The clone, named Spider-Boy, escaped and became a hero, funded by a government agency headed by Director Thunderbolt Ross (a Marvel character). * **Powers and Abilities:** His powers were a clever fusion of his two components. He did not have Spider-Man's organic webbing or wall-crawling. Instead, he possessed Superboy's signature **tactile telekinesis**, which allowed him to simulate superhuman strength, fly, and disassemble objects with a thought. He channeled this power through his "web-pistol," allowing him to manipulate surfaces and create telekinetic "webs" to swing from, perfectly blending the power sets. * **Significance:** Spider-Boy is a fascinating piece of comic book history. He represents the only time the core concept and character elements of Superboy were officially blended with a Marvel character. While not canon to either Earth-616 or the main DC Universe, he remains the definitive answer to the trivia question, "When did Superboy and Spider-Man merge?" ===== Part 5: Iconic Events & Common Misconceptions ===== Because Superboy is not a Marvel character, he has not been involved in any of its iconic storylines like `[[civil_war]]`, `[[secret_wars]]`, or `[[infinity_gauntlet]]`. However, users often have specific questions based on this misconception. ==== Is Superboy in any Avengers movie? ==== No. As a character owned by Warner Bros. Discovery/DC Comics, Superboy is legally prohibited from appearing in any film or television series produced by Marvel Studios. He has appeared in his own live-action television shows, such as //Superboy//, //Smallville//, and most recently //Titans//, but these are all DC properties and are not connected to the MCU. There is a 0% chance of him appearing alongside [[the_avengers]]. ==== Who is Marvel's strongest teenager? ==== This is a frequent question from fans looking for a Superboy-level powerhouse in the Marvel Universe. The answer is complex, as power levels fluctuate, but several candidates are consistently at the top. * **Franklin Richards:** The son of Reed Richards and Sue Storm of the [[fantastic_four]], Franklin is an Omega-level mutant with vast reality-warping powers. At his peak, he is capable of creating entire universes. He is, without question, the most powerful teenager (when depicted as such) in the Marvel Universe. * **Hope Summers:** The adopted daughter of [[cable]], Hope is an Omega-level mutant with the ability to mimic and manipulate the powers of any other mutant in her vicinity. As the "Mutant Messiah," her power potential is virtually unlimited. * **Kid Gladiator:** Kubark, the son of the Shi'ar Emperor Gladiator (himself a Superman pastiche), possesses all the powers of a Strontian. This includes immense strength, speed, flight, and heat vision, making him a very direct power-level parallel to Superboy. ==== Did Marvel ever have a character named "Superboy"? ==== No. Marvel has never created or published a character with the name "Superboy." The name has been a registered trademark of DC Comics for decades. Any character with that name is part of the DC multiverse. The closest Marvel came was co-publishing the Amalgam one-shot //Spider-Boy// #1, which was a joint venture where the name was clearly a portmanteau. ===== See Also ===== * [[sentry]] * [[nova]] * [[x-23]] * [[spider-man]] * [[hyperion]] * [[wolverine]] * [[superman]] ((This encyclopedia entry would cross-reference the DC character for maximum user clarity, explaining his role as a DC flagship and the inspiration for Marvel characters like Sentry and Hyperion.)) ===== Notes and Trivia ===== ((The original "Superboy" character was the subject of a major lawsuit between DC Comics and Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel. Siegel had developed the idea but DC published it without his involvement, leading to a long legal battle over the rights and royalties for the character.)) ((The Kon-El Superboy's famous 1990s look—the leather jacket, fade haircut, and earring—was designed by artist Tom Grummett and was a deliberate attempt to capture the youth culture of the era and distinguish him from the classic, clean-cut Superman image.)) ((The Amalgam Comics character Spider-Boy was created by a top-tier creative team: writer Karl Kesel and artist Mike Wieringo, both of whom had acclaimed runs on major Marvel and DC titles.)) ((In the TV series //Smallville//, which chronicled the adventures of a young Clark Kent before he became Superman, the producers were famously forbidden by the movie division from calling Clark "Superboy" or showing him in the classic costume, leading to his superhero identity being known as "The Blur." This illustrates how tightly controlled the Superboy trademark is even within Warner Bros.)) ((The character of Jon Kent, the current Superboy and son of Superman, is canonically bisexual, a landmark development for a character so closely tied to the primary Superman legacy.))