Superboy (Kal-El)

Superboy
Cover of The New Adventures of Superboy #1 (Jan. 1980). Superboy and his supporting cast: Chief Parker, Lana Lang, Pete Ross, and Ma and Pa Kent. Art by Kurt Schaffenberger and Dick Giordano.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	More Fun Comics #101 (January/February 1945)
Created by	Jerry Siegel Joe Shuster Don Cameron
In-story information
Alter ego	Kal-El ("Starchild"), adopted as Clark Kent
Species	Kryptonian
Place of origin	Krypton
Team affiliations	Legion of Super-Heroes
Notable aliases	The Boy of Steel, The Last Son of Krypton, Reflecto
Abilities	Vast super strength, speed, stamina, multiple enhanced sensory powers, heat vision, invulnerability, longevity, super breath, ice breath, flight

Superboy is a fictional superhero that appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Don Cameron and is based on the character of Superman that Siegel co-created with Joe Shuster. Superboy first appeared in the comic book More Fun Comics #101 in 1945.

Superboy is Superman in his preteen and teenage years. Most of his adventures take place in the fictional American town of Smallville.

The first pitch for a "Superboy" character was originally made by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel (without fellow Superman co-creator Joe Shuster) in November 1938. The idea was turned down by Detective Comics, Inc., and the publisher again rejected a second 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 #101 (January/February 1945, published in late 1944). 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.

After just seven issues of More Fun Comics, the Superboy feature moved to Adventure Comics, where he debuted in issue #103 (1946) as the cover and lead feature for the anthology comic. In a period when the popularity of superheroes was generally in decline, the adventures of Superboy became increasingly popular.

Three years after the move to Adventure Comics, Superboy became only the sixth DC superhero to receive his own comic book when Superboy #1 debuted in 1949. Superboy became the first new superhero title to succeed since World War II.