In “Superboy’s Lost Suit!”, Adventure Comics #193 (August 1953), Clark goes swimming … with his glasses on… and places his Superboy suit under a rock. He notices Bob, a meek classmate, walking by: Wouldn’t you know it? Bob finds the super-suit and pretends he is Superboy to impress a girl. Superboy helps Bob gain some […]
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Only a couple months after visiting the 25th century, Superboy visits the 30th century in Superboy #27 (June 1953) in a story called “The Movie Star of Tomorrow!”. This time it is thanks to an inventor working on a device that captures artifacts from the past for his museum, who snags Superboy into the 30th […]
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Remember that time Lois Lane had super powers and became a super-powered heroine until Superman put her in her place? Or that time when Lana Lang thought she had developed super powers until Superboy per her in her place? Well yet another plot permutation around this concept happens in Adventure Comics #189 (April 1953). This […]
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Although it has been well-established that Superboy can willingly travel through time, in Adventure Comics #187 (February 1953), Superboy is accidentally snatched into the 25th century and must spend some time there until the next “fortuitous planetary conjunction”. While in the 25th century, he learns that records of the 20th century have been wiped out […]
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The beginnings of putting Superman / Superboy in increasingly crazier situations starts in Superboy #24 (December 1952). In “The Super-Fat Boy of Steel!”, experimental rays from the college of agricultural has made all the teens of Smallville fat over night, including Superboy/Clark. Naturally it is undone as fast as it happened, and spoiler alert: Lana […]
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Although it was made pretty clear in continuity that Superman only learns of Krypton in his adult-hood, three years later DC is ret-conning in Superboy #20 (April 1952). In this story, a scientist tries to swindle Smallville residents by having them chat with people from their past. Clark is caught off-guard with a discussion with […]
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In Adventure Comics #167 (June 1951), DC continues to play with the idea of a female super-powered adventurer in “Lana Lang, Super-Girl!”. Lana’s archaeologist father gives her a helmet that purportedly grants power to its wearer. When Superboy saves Lana from lightning using his super-speed, Lana makes the logical conclusion that he has super powers. […]
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Superboy #10 (July 1950) introduces a new supporting cast to the Superboy mythos: Lana Lang. Lana Lang is pretty much just the teen version of Lois, an inquisitive girl who moves to Smallville next door to the Kents and whose job is to keep Superboy on his toes, protecting his secret identity. Although Lois Lane […]
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In Superboy #8 (March 1950), we get a little more world-building in a story that depicts the first appearance of Super-Baby / Super-Toddler and shows where Superboy’s super-suit was inspired from. Ma Kent sews blankets from the Kryptonian rocket into play clothes and gives him a cape. Another story in the issue has Superboy tricked […]
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In Superboy #6 (November 1949) it is established for the first time that Pa Kent owns and runs a general store in Smallville, further fleshing out Superboy’s back-story. Jonathan Kent twists his ankle and Clark has to take a week off school to run the store. Superboy foils a criminal plan at the same time.
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