Within the continuity of the “Young Justice” animated series Superboy is a clone, created within the labs at Cadmus, made up of DNA taken from both Superman and Lex Luthor.
Superman, upon finding out about this, was quite uncomfortable around Superboy (aka Conner), making their relationship quite strained and disconnected. Obviously Superman never approved of having a clone created from his DNA… and to find out that it was combined with Lex Luthor’s DNA to create that clone made things even more uncomfortable for the Man of Steel.
Was Superman supposed to be a father-figure towards Conner? A mentor? The pair struggled to find common ground in the first two seasons of “Young Justice”.
Now, in “Young Justice: Outsiders,” the third season of the popular animated series, the original teen heroes have aged by a few years, making them young adults. Conner has spent time on the farm in Smallville, getting to know Jonathan and Martha Kent, and Superman, with the help of Wonder Woman, came to the realization that he could be a positive influence on Superboy’s life, helping him to choose a much different path than the one Lex Luthor had planned for the super-powered clone.
Rather than be a father-figure, Superman and Superboy have formed a brotherly relationship. In the most recent episode of “Young Justice: Outsiders”, titled “Quiet Conversations”, Superboy and Superman have a conversation in which Clark acknowledges Conner as his little brother.
Their relationship status solidified, Superboy actually asks Superman if he’ll be his best man at his wedding (where he’ll be marrying Miss Martian). While Superman, with a shake of his head, knows having a “kid” brother can be a headache, it’s good to see that their relationship has developed in to something more fitting of the super family.
New episodes of “Young Justice: Outsiders” are released on the DC Universe digital streaming service in the USA on Tuesdays.
I really want to see this episode.
I loved the first two seasons of Young Justice but season 3 has really blown me away. So glad this show has been revived and the wait was worth it! It’s not an exaggeration to say it’s some of the best storytelling currently on television period.
I’m glad that their relationship has become what it is now. Before, I truly couldn’t stand how distant Clark was towards Conner. It just seemed a little out of character on his part.
Yeah that actually turned me off to the whole series initially. I can understand Clark perhaps being weirded out by the very existence of a clone of himself (which would be weird for anyone) but I just do not think Superman would ever turn his back on someone who so clearly needed his help.
The pair struggled to find common ground in the first two seasons of “Young Justice”. This is wrong. Superman and Superboy gained some common ground in the last episode of season 1, Superman even revealed that his real name was Clark Kent, and that Superboy taking the name Conner Kent seemed “right” First episode of season 2, when the 6 JL members leave for the planet Rimbor to stand trial (the missing 16 hours) Clark addresses Conner as “little brother”. There is even an episode later in season 2 that features Pa Kent, and calls Conner “one of his boys”… Read more »
Aside from the fact that I still ship Conner and Cassie/Wonder Girl (I stopped reading Young Justice after a certain revelation… There’s something wrong with me), I see this as a serious step forward from what I didn’t like about the start of the show.