Conner Kent

n the wake of Superman's death, four very different contenders arose to his mantle. Amongst their ranks were a clone of Superman and Lex Luthor created by Eve Watson on Project Cadmus, Subject 13 aka Superboy.[4][5][1] At the time, Superboy wore a costume inspired by Superman, though his was modified and included a leather jacket and stylish sunglasses. When he initially appeared, Superboy insisted on being called "Superman", and was frequently frustrated when people referred to him as Superboy.

During this early period he became associated with journalist Tana Moon, who notably captured an image of him rescuing a largely unclothed Arlene Sheenan from a burning building that subsequently went viral. While the world debated which of the new 'supermen' were true inheritors of the Man of Steel's mantle, Superboy was the clear favourite on social media, attracting a sizable following among the youth.

Tana Moon Prime Earth 001 Superboy and Tana Moon

During this period he also came into conflict with Bloodsport, who attacked him using a suit of unknown origin (believed by the witness Perry White to be a creation of Lex Luthor) that created self-assembling weapons for the criminal. Luckily, Superboy was able to use his tactile telekinesis to disassemble the suit and weapons, defeating Bloodsport.[6]

When the Cyborg Superman revealed his true intentions and allied with the alien conquerer Mongol to destroy Coast City in the first step in a larger plan to turn Earth into a new Warworld, Superboy confronted him, and was in turn captured, though he was eventually able to escape. Unbeknownst to all, Superman was restored to life and arrived in Metropolis contained within a Kryptonian Warsuit; the young Superboy, alongside Supergirl and Steel, went to confront the warsuit, unaware of its inhabitant or his intentions. When Superman exited the vessel in a black-and-silver suit, Superboy remained sceptical of his intentions, but the trio was eventually convinced by Lois Lane that this Superman was the genuine article. Afterwards, Superboy, Supergirl, Steel, the Eradicator, and the Green Lantern travelled to what remained of Coast City and defeated the villainous alliance.[6]

Early Career William Hayes Prime Earth 001 Young Justice fight together against the villain Harm.

At some point, the young Superboy gained the Kryptonian name Kon-El. Superboy spent some time in Hawaii, where he fought King Shark on multiple occasions.[7]

Superboy would go on to become a founding member of the original Young Justice, alongside his best friends, Tim Drake, Cassie Sandsmark, and Bart Allen. While on the team, he and others fought Harm. Superboy would also encounter the clone Match, a clone of himself designed to be stronger and more powerful; Match would later be presumed dead.[8] During this period, he wore a revised version of his previous costume, one lacking the leather jacket of the original outfit. Eventually, Superboy would gain the human name Conner Kent, from his genetic donor, Clark Kent. During his time as a hero, Conner would come to realize that sticking around to help clean up in the aftermath of a fight helped clear his head.[9] One day, after many adventures, Young Justice would sadly disband.

Teen Titans Prime Earth 001 Conner Kent and the Teen Titans.

However, its core membership would go on to become part of a new iteration of the Teen Titans, one that also included Beast Boy and Raven. During this period, Conner wore a new costume; instead of his previous spandex ensemble, he wore a simple El family crest on a T-Shirt and jeans. More than once, Conner came into conflict with Superboy-Prime[10], a corrupted multiversal counterpart of his sometimes-mentor, Superman. During a Crisis, Conner died, resulting in much grief for those who cared for him. In turn, his friends Cassie and Tim would find romantic solace in each other, something they became ashamed of following Conner's eventual return.[11]

Conner would come to live in Smallville as the youngest adopted son of Martha and Jonathan Kent, the adoptive parents of Superman, on their farm, after being sent there by Superman[12]. He attended Smallville High School, though he struggled to pay attention on occasion. He also flirted with a classmate named Stacy.[13] During this period, he 'lost' Jonathan Kent's tractor in a nearby lake.[12]

Lost in Gemworld At some point, Conner fought a large monster outside of a secret facility in New Mexico. Afterwards, he spoke to Dr. Glory, who briefly misidentified him as Superman before offering to debrief him on the situation, ostensibly a classified national security matter, inside the base. However, he soon left, returning to Smallville.

Later, Conner would attend a class at his school before coming to the realization mid-lession that he felt no particular need to actually attend High School and that his time would be better spent using his powers to help people. He walked out, complimenting his teacher and promising to text Stacy if he could. Unable to find any record of his encounter outside the secret facility earlier, Conner returned to New Mexico.

Conner fought his way through the secret S.T.A.R. Labs facility codenamed 'The Constellation' and confronted Dr. Glory after becoming suspicious of their activities. After encountering a room of strange gems refracting light, he instantly found himself transported outside of his home dimension and into Gemworld.[14] Landing in a marketplace, he came to the defense of a pregnant widow named Lophi, who was frequently interrogated by the oppressive local soldiers. The two befriended one another, and Lophi gave him a safe haven on her farm; in order to defend Lophi from harassment and provide Conner with a fake identity while he waited for help from his dimension, Conner pretended to be her husband. When Lophi's daughter was born, she named the child Martha, in honor of Conner's adoptive mother.[15]

While Conner was stranded, tragedy struck; his home Earth was struck with Flashpoint, and its timeline altered, resulting in it being rebooted;[12] however, since he was in a separate dimension at the time, reality shifted without him.[note] As a result, he became displaced and forgotten by the majority of residents of the altered world.