The Other Silver Age “Super-Boys”

Be they Super-, Hyper-, Power- or Mighty, there are a bevy of Silver Age boy heroes whose origins and powers mirrored those of Superboy. Most of these characters appeared only once, and the plots of their stories were recycled by Mort Weisinger (who was known for this) years later to make 'new' characters.

Beginning with Regor all the way back in 1949, a steady stream of heroes continued through the early 1960s. Of course, the use of Superman as an analog for other heroes is not restricted to the Silver Age, or to DC Comics. Many creators throughout comics history have had fun toying with the template of Superman for the storytelling potential.

Speaking just about Silver Age DC characters, we find common themes:

• The costume colors of these characters were usually complimentary (opposite) to Superman's, almost never red-and-blue. Most heroes wore costumes whose key colors were green, orange, yellow and purple.
• Many of these heroes gained their super-powers in a way similar to Superman: (1) they were born under a different colored sun, and (2) their adoptive world was smaller, thus had lighter gravity. (Some were also rocketed away by their fathers, and were the sole survivors of doomed civilizations.)
• Their alter egos frequently had the initials "C.K." (à la Clark Kent), with a number of obligatory "L.L."s as well. A few heroes had alter egos that were a variation of the name "Alan."

Superman (or Superboy) making a super-friend elicited two compelling plot points. First, it's always exciting to contrast Superman with a hero of comparable abilities (though most were proven to be inferior in some way). Second, we get to experience his emotional journey, from loneliness to camaraderie … and then to heartbreak.

After the invention of the Legion of Super-Heroes, some boy heroes became associated with that group as well. Mon-El, Star Boy and Ultra Boy all had powers similar to the Boy of Steel. (And two of them were even copies of other analogs!)

This page concerns versions of Superboy. Discover even more heroes that are analogs to Superman and Supergirl.

Superman supporting characters Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane and Lana Lang also had many adventures with super-powers and alter egos. Lois was the original Superwoman, and appeared as such several times.

This type of story, about Superman pretenders, ceased somewhat in the early 1960s. That creative energy was diverted to stories for the new and popular "Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes." The Legion's tales in Adventure Comics could (and did) contain loads of fantastic beings.

Writer Grant Morrison loves to riff on the Silver Age Superman mythos, the first example being All-Star Superman (2005). In 2019, Morrison and Liam Sharp took over the Green Lantern title and used many of the heroes listed on this page. These forgotten heroes from across the galaxy were put together as a novel team called the United Planets Superwatch (The Green Lantern #9, Sept. 2019).

The profiles below present heroes chronologically by their first appearance.

Marsboy

Created by Curt Swan

Almost none of the Silver Age super-boys made more than one appearance. Marsboy was the first, a friendly rival — and he made three.

Long ago, survivors of the continent of Mu — part of the greater civilization of Atlantis — predicted their doom. The people of Mu built a space craft and settled on Mars, where they built a new, advanced society. Both worlds lost touch with one another.

One day a young boy was exposed to the radiation from a falling asteroid and was bestowed with great powers. He decided to become a protector of Mars, and adopted the alter ego Marsboy. His elders asked Marsboy to undertake a mission to Earth. He was tasked with returning with the ancient Sphinx from Egypt, which held a secret that was crucial to his people's continued survival. One problem: Superboy would surely stop him from taking the priceless treasure.

Marsboy had a plan and stayed one step ahead of Superboy. He went undercover in Smallville and kept the Boy of Steel occupied while he readied to take the Sphinx. In the end, Superboy found his way around Marsboy's tricks, and figured out a way to satisfy his mission while preserving the Sphinx. (Superboy #14)

They met again very soon. Sutri (Marsboy's real name) returned to Earth proposing that they swap places for a while — as a vacation! Marsboy assumed that Superboy's life must be a breeze, but both of them faced unexpected challenges. While Superboy's x-ray vision could not penetrate lead, Marsboy's was useless against copper, and he was weak to "Ditanite." Also on Mars, some animals could talk (and reveal secret identities!). (Superboy #16)

Clark's super-friend from Mars came to Earth one last time (in a differently-colored costume) in pursuit of Martian criminals. Lana Lang overheard Marsboy talking and blackmailed him into helping her make Superboy jealous. (Adventure Comics #195)

Note: This last story was copied for Adventure Comics #282 (Mar. 1961), where Marsboy was reinterpreted as Star Boy. He had a similar story and Lana manipulated him in the same way. Both stories even include a scene where the heroes use a futuristic loom to make a dress for Lana!

Two more "reverse-Superboys" also share an origin story. Like Regor before them, Power-Boy and Mighty Boy were from Earth. Their fathers placed infant sons into rocket ships to alien worlds, where they grew to possess super-powers. Both stories were written by Otto Binder.

Power-Boy

Created by Otto Binder and John Sikela

Like Marsboy, another boy escaped the destruction of ancient Atlantis. When it sank into the sea 15,000 years ago, a scientist pulled his wife close as they watched their only son rocket away to another world.

The spacecraft was aimed toward an asteroid called Juno, and the baby was placed in a suspended animation chamber for the long journey. On Juno, the rocket was discovered by Pa Vorne. He and his wife raised the baby as their own and named him Zarl Vorne.

Ma and Pa Vorne soon realized that little Zarl was an unusual child, given to balancing heavy furniture in the palm of his hand! Because Juno was smaller than Earth, the gravitational difference gave Zarl super-powers like flight, super-strength and invulnerability.

At the encouragement of his parents, Zarl used his powers in public as Power-Boy. He dedicated his life to fighting evil and injustice from his home town of Midville.

When Superboy was returning from a mission in space, he stopped on Juno and learned about their local hero from the library. He struck out to meet Power-Boy, whose powers were unexpectedly failing him — this, as the Juno's Creeping Jungle encroached on the populace. This ecological nightmare had already consumed half the planet. Power-Boy was too weak so Superboy devised a solution to saw the planet in half, preventing the advance of the Jungle. He then grafted half of a different planet onto Juno.

Power-Boy and Superboy were excited to finally meet in person, but Superboy realized that Juno's magnetic field had reacted to his Kryptonian body in a strange way. It produced invisible rays that were weakening Power-Boy.

Superboy was forced to say goodbye in a letter and never saw his new friend again. (Superboy #52)

In 2019, the character was reinvented by Grant Morrison, as Powerlord, a member of a new group called the United Planets Superwatch in The Green Lantern #9 (Sept. 2019).

Notes

When the Power-Boy story was reprinted in Superboy Annual #1 (1964), Mort Weisinger dumbed things down for the readers. The story was not presented as a reprint. Rather it was passed off as new, and as a successor to the story of Mighty Boy (which was published four years after it; see below)!

"Zarl" was also used as the first name of MIghty Boy (Superboy #85, Dec. 1960), and for a character in the story of Hercules and Samson (Adventure Comics #257, Feb. 1959).

The last panel of this reprint story was changed to show Superboy lamenting the loss of a second "super-pal," and a note was added to the end: "The first super-pal Superboy lost was Mighty Boy, whom he met on the planet Zumoor. Editor."

"Juno" was also the name of Mighty Boy's home planet.

Powerlord

This character was revived in The Green Lantern #9 (Sept. 2019), as a member of the United Plantets Superwatch, and he was known as "Powerlord."

Krypton Kid

Created by Otto Binder and Curt Swan

On doomed Krypton, Zol-Zu had spoken to his fellow scientist, Jor-El, and verified his predictions that their world would explode. Zol-Zu wanted to save his grown son, Zar-Al, so he built a ship to carry him to Earth (like Jor-El had for his son, Kal-El).

But Zar-Al was brave and wanted to die by his family’s side. Zol-Zu instead gave his son a mission: take their ship to Earth to search for a rare element called Zeelium, which would prevent the uranium core of Krypton from exploding. The ship was also a time machine, so Zar-Al could arrive in the future and enlist Kal-El's help.

Zar-Al quickly located Kal-El as Clark Kent in the town of Smallville. He boldly approached the high school faculty to register for class, and he wasn't shy about his origins, or demonstrating his super-powers. Outside, he drew out Superboy and explained his situation. They agreed to call him the Krypton Kid and they began to search for Zeelium.

The boys enjoyed other adventures as well, but the Krypton Kid soon realized that he would not find Zeelium on Earth. What's more, he'd encountered some Kryptonite and realized that he was more vulnerable to it than Superboy, who had built up partial immunity to it.

Zar-Al knew that Superboy would try to sacrifice himself by taking his place and returning to Krypton. Left on Earth, Zar feared that the merest exposure to Kryptonite would kill him, and the world would be undefended. So he outmaneuvered the Boy of Steel by reporting that he had found the Zeelium and was ready to return to the past. As predicted, Superboy prepared to leave Earth, even saying goodbye to Lana and the Kents. But the Krypton Kid had already gone, and left a decoy for Superboy.

Superboy was heart broken to realize that his new friend had returned home to die at his father’s side. (Adventure Comics #242)

Notes

The story was reprinted in Superboy #129 (May 1966), an issue that featured "Superboy and his Super-Friends!"

Skyboy

Created by Edmond Hamilton and Dick Sprang

During a demonstration of aerial feats with Batman and Robin, Superman noticed some falling debris from space. On closer inspection, he discovered the wreckage of a spacecraft. It carried a boy who had amnesia. Superman never had a sidekick of his own, so he took the lad under wing. He dubbed him Skyboy while Batman began investigating his spaceship. Skyboy demonstrated the same powers as Superman: super-strength, x-ray vision, limited invulnerability, super-speed and flight.

After the lights went out in the city, the heroes discovered that someone with super-strength was stealing copper, from the power generator and other places. Batman found that the fingerprints matched Skyboy's, but the boy insisted that he amnesia.

Superman managed to knock his memories loose with the same meteor that had struck his ship. His name was Tharn of the planet Kormo; his father was a lawman who failed to stop a group of copper thieves from leaving the planet. Injured, the man asked Tharn to pursue them.

On Earth, Superman used a special ray to disable the thieves from Kormo and Skyboy took them back home as his prisoners. (World's Finest Comics #92)

Skyboy II

What if Baby Kal-El landed on Earth in 1976? In 25 years, what kind of Superman would he become? In an "Imaginary Story," Kal-El's ship crashed down in the ocean and both the United States and the Soviet Union rushed to recover it. America's Lt. Thomas Clark came out on top, returning with the craft's cargo: a baby!

The baby was raised by the U.S. military and exhibited many amazing abilities. They kept him a secret and dubbed him "Skyboy."

In 1990, Cold War tensions came to a head and nuclear war was initiated. Skyboy ended the conflict by throwing all the weapons into space. He was traumatized by the violence and abandoned that identity. Instead, he lived as Clark Kent and became a newscaster.

But in 2001, the Soviets created a super-powered android called Moka to menace Times Square and Clark came out of retirement: as Superman. (Superman vol. 1 #300)

Dworn

Created by Jerry Coleman and George Papp

When a golden spaceship landed in Smallville, it opened to reveal an alien boy named Dworn. He had come from a “distant planet” that was destroyed, and he was the last of his people, sent into space moments before the end, now an orphan like Clark. He was very weak because Earth was larger than Dworn's home planet, so his super-powers were diminished on Superboy's world.

Clark was immediately protective of Dworn, especially when everyone learned that his advanced science could turn anything into gold! He swept Dworn away to live with the Kents, as Clark’s pen pal, "Alan." Dworn surprised Clark by asking where he might find some Kryptonite, but he wouldn’t say why.

Superboy's fears were justified: some crooks kidnapped Dworn for his gold powers. These crooks also possessed a piece of Kryptonite that disabled Superboy. But Dworn was actually empowered by its radiation; it was the source of his super-powers back home. There, scientists crafted a way for anyone to manifest super-powers with exposure to Kryptonite.

Reinvigorated, Dworn chose to find a different planet to settle. He felt that Earth didn’t have room for two Superboys. (Superboy #65)

Notes

Like Supremo and Vidal, Dworn's alter ego was a variation of the name "Alan."

The story was reprinted in Superboy #129 (May 1966), an issue that collected the adventures of "Superboy and his Super-Friends!"

Vidal

Created by Jerry Coleman and John Sikela

Vidal was a copy of Power-Boy. Their origins were akin to Superboy's, but in reverse. Vidal was created between the first two appearances of the Legion. If he'd been introduced a bit later, he could have become a Legionnaire, as would happen with Star Boy and Ultra Boy, two other alien super-boys.

When Superboy went away on a mission in space, the Kents took a detour one day to visit the Smallville County Orphanage. Unexpectedly, they found themselves sympathetic toward a lonely-looking boy named Alan Greene, whom they agreed to foster for a month.

Back at the house, they were shocked to learn that Alan was actually Vidal, a super-powered boy from outer space! His mission was a secret and he wasted no time filling Superboy's shoes and rushing to help others. When he did so, he donned a Superboy costume. Vidal possessed flight, super-speed, super-strength and super-breath, but to a lesser degree than Superboy’s, and he had no super-senses.

The Kents couldn’t help being suspicious of Vidal, and worried that if his motives were nefarious, Superboy wasn’t around to stop him. Pa Kent noticed him sending a message into space to alert his comrades, who created a diversion to keep Superboy busy off-planet. Regardless, the Kents protected Vidal's identity from the likes of Lana Lang while he prevented several tragedies.

When Superboy finally resumed his trip home, he took a detour to a planet with an advanced civilization. Their super-television showed Vidal in his place on Earth.

Vidal finally revealed that he belonged to the Intergalactic Patrol, whose members had super-powers. When the Patrol discovered that a survivor from Krypton had landed on Earth, they sent Vidal to make sure the orphan would find a suitable home. Vidal’s mission was to vet a pair of new parents. He approved of the Kents, but his diligence fell short of uncovering the fact that the Kents were already Superboy’s parents. The Kents humored him, as did Superboy, when he met Vidal in passing upon returning home. (Adventure Comics #260)

Notes

Like Supremo and Dworn, Vidal's alter ego was a variation of the name "Alan." His uniform was colored complementary to that of Superboy's (orange and green).

The story was reprinted in Superboy #129 (May 1966), an issue that featured reprints of "Superboy and his Super-Friends!"

VILLAIN

Space-Boy

Created by Otto Binder and George Papp

Zall-Dix came from a far-away world. He was tasked by his father to study meteors and with his super-powered telescope — he spotted Superboy smashing them! Dix envied that life and followed Superboy to Earth, intent on changing places with the Boy of Steel.

He began accosting Superboy by using his "Mento-Ray" to mess with his x-ray vision. Dix boldly declared that he was going to swap minds with Superboy and take his place as Earth's boy hero. Superboy could not smash Zall-Dix's equipment because it was protected by an "ultra-force barrier."

They were at a stalemate, so Dix continued to followSuperboy and sabotage his heroic deeds, even changing his microscopic vision to enlarging vision. The Mento-Ray made his life so impossible that Superboy relented. But just before the mind-exchange, Pa Kent intervened and Zall's mind changed with his instead! Zall-Dix was so moved by the father's sacrifice that it made him homesick. They returned to their respective bodies and the boy left for home.

Note: This character received a mention from the editor in the previous issue's letter column, in Adventure #263 (Aug. 1959).

Powers

Zall-Dix had no super-powers but used an array of advanced technology, including the Mento-Ray to move objects and alter energies; an Invisibility Belt; and an ultra-force barrier to protect him and his spaceship.

Prince Valzorr

Created by Otto Binder and Jim Mooney

Supergirl rescused a boy from the ocean who spoke no English, but he wore an unusual necklace. He was remanded to the care of the same orphanage where Supergirl lived. They assumed he was amnesiac and he was dubbed "Johnny Blank."

He could see in the dark, which allowed him to witness Supergirl changing into her secret identity. At the same time, she examined his medallion closely and concluded he was from outer space. He confirmed it: his real name was Valzorr, the Prince of the planet Korvia. When he came to Earth for pleasure, his spaceship had been wrecked. Supergirl repaired it and accompanied him back to his home planet.

But on Korvia, he was arrested for the murder of his aunt and uncle, the King and Queen. They claimed he'd sabotaged a transporter machine while they were in transit, but Supergirl was able to correct the error in its transmission and retrieve the royals from the ether. (Action Comics #263)

Note

This encounter was referenced by Star Boy in Adventure Comics #282 (Mar. 1961).

Mighty Boy

Created by Otto Binder and George Papp

Like Marsboy and Power-Boy, Superboy met yet another boy who was sent from Earth to another world … so strange!

Rocket scientist Charles Keith had moved his family to a tiny tropical island to protect his scientific research. But when an unexpected tidal wave destroyed their motorboat and threatened to engulf the island, Mr. and Mrs. Keith desperately placed their son, Tom, into Keith's experimental rocket and launched it toward America.

Tom's puppy had also leapt into the craft, and during flight it knocked the navigation off kilter. The rocket was sent soaring into outer space instead, and arrived on the small world of Zumoor. Tom was rescued and adopted by Chad and Vela Kazzan, who rechristened him Zarl Kazzan.

Zumoor's lower gravity and golden moon rays bestowed super-powers on the boy.

Superboy learned about Zumoor when he unearthed a seemingly innocuous capsule of artifacts sent by that world's Boy Radio Club. Superboy feared that Zumoor may be a warlike planet, spying on Earth, and decided to pay them a cautionary visit.

As he'd done on Juno, Superboy studied the planet's culture at a Zumoor library. There he was assisted by a blonde, bespectacled teenager named Zarl Kazzan. Clark learned that Zumoor's low gravity would be unable to keep its air from evaporating into space. Fortunately, "pressure rays" from its golden moon kept the atmosphere in place. Fashions on Zumoor were fleeting; its prevailing Elizabethan-like dress was preceded by designs evocative of Earth's Arabic and ancient Greek cultures.

When a monorail was about to crash, Superboy was beat to the scene by a flying blonde teenager with an orange dog — Mighty Boy and Rovo! He appeared to be Superboy's equal, demonstrating the powers of flight, super-strength, heat vision and super-breath to resolve the crisis.

Afterwards, Superboy briefly toyed with Zarl Kazzan by teasing that he knew his secret identity. When he revealed himself fully, the two became fast friends. Together they bolted off to a new crisis, where Mighty Boy became inexplicably paralyzed.

Zarl's everyday life also mirrored Clark's. He kept a trophy room and workshop equipped with robotic duplicates. And Zarl had a snoopy, red-haired girl friend named Charise Kaan. The Boy of Steel observed that the people in Mighty Boy's life tended to have the initials 'C.K' … which now included Clark Kent.

In their next adventure a "living jewel" from the desert temporarily evolved Zarl into a sort of future-boy with an enlarged cranium. Then Mighty Boy and Zarl Kazzan spontaneously split into two separate — and powerless — entities. Superboy diagnosed the problem — it was himself! You see, on his way to Zumoor, Superboy had passed a field of Red Kryptonite, and its radiation made him contagious with it. Each time he had touched Zarl, he triggered an unexpected effect.

He theorized that Zumoor's moon's golden rays had reacted with his Kryptonian skin in a way that charged him with an invisible force that conveyed the same effect on Mighty Boy.

Superboy had found a super-friend he could really relate to, but was forced to leave Zumoor and never visit Mighty Boy again.

Notes

As mentioned above, this story is a copy of the Power-Boy story from Superboy #52 (Oct. 1956). They even had the same first name, "Zarl," which was also used for a character in the story of Hercules and Samson (Adventure Comics #257, Feb. 1959).

Both Power-Boy and Mighty Boy were written by Otto Binder, who penned the origin story of the Legion of Super-Heroes (Adventure Comics #247, Apr. 1958). He and George Papp also created the Legionnaire Star Boy soon after that (Adventure Comics #282, Mar. 1961).

Like the Power-Boy story, this one was reprinted once (before Power-Boy's), in Superman Annual #6 (1962).

VILLAIN

Solar Boy

Created by Jerry Siegel and George Papp

The mischievous Solar Boy visited Earth one day. He was not a villain per se, but he got into a confrontation with Superboy and Krypto that left the boy itching for some revenge.

As fate would have it, Krypto later visited Solar Boy's world. That day Superboy had punished Krypto and sent him to his doghouse on the moon. Krypto was feeling rebellious; he betrayed his master and went gallivanting into space, entering onto planet with a super-powered boy that reminded him of his master. It was Solar Boy! Being a dog, Krypto had forgotten their prior meeting.

Krypto thought life Solar Boy was great! He gave him all kinds of treats and let him do as he pleased. But once Krypto felt secure, Solar Boy tricked him into a ray machine (invented by his late father) that he used daily to replenish his own powers. The machine removed Krypto's powers.

Solar Boy tortured Krypto by playing back his happiest moments with Superboy. Krypto eventually managed to reverse the ray machine to restore his super-powers, then destroyed the machine so that Solar Boy could never have powers again. The canine returned to Earth with a new appreciation for life with Superboy. (Adventure Comics #269)

Power Lad

Created by Otto Binder and Curt Swan

Kandor was a city from Krypton that was shrunken, placed in a bottle, and stolen by the space villain called Brainiac. All of this happened before Krypton's destruction. Superman eventually discovered the injustice and kept Kandor safely inside his Fortress of Solitude on Earth. The city had an artificial, miniature red sun so the inhabitants of Kandor did not have super-powers — unless they ventured outside the bottle. (Action Comics #242)

One day Superman invented a "switching ray" so that his cousin Supergirl could easily visit Kandor while one of its inhabitants could visit Earth. A young Kandorian named Dik-Rey was chosen for the switch, and in order to disguise the fact that he would have super-powers, he adopted the identity of boy inventor, Tom Baker. Tom was being interviewed by Jimmy Olsen for the Daily Planet when he faked an accident to gain super-powers.

Dik became Power Lad and the pubic (and Superman) seemed to fawn over him — which made Jimmy quite sad. Power Lad wore three different costumes while he was out in Metropolis (ostensibly to give equal publicity to each of their designers). When the time came to return to Kandor, Power Lad faked another incident to make it seem he has lost his powers. He and Supergirl returned to their proper places. (Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #45)

Note: There was also a "Dik-Zee" of Kandor, who appeared later this same year. This was the twin brother of Van-Zee, aka Nightwing.

Mighto

Created by Jerry Siegel and Al Plastino

On the planet Ulgar, native people have telepathic abilities. In addition, they take a super-serum that gives them superhuman abilities. There, a family of criminals — Yorth, Reena and their son, Mighto — were exiled and took refuge on Earth. Their serum would wear off within five years, so they set about their plot for revenge. It would require a rare element called Oxium to power their ominous "Experiment X."

While working toward this end on Earth, they lived in Smallville as the Tate family, and did work for Jon Kent. When Yorth noticed an approaching space police ship, he and Reena left Earth to draw its attention away and commanded young Mighto to continue working on the experiment.

Mighto (aka Tim Tate) was adopted by the Kents, who believed that his parents had died. They quickly learned that the boy was trouble. He kept a secret cave hideout where he worked on his machine. When the Kents discovered this machine, Mighto used his mental powers to wipe their memories of him and left in search of the Oxium.

Mighto returned years later when Superboy was active, and successfully activated Experiment X, which created a purple cloud that brought monsters from the past. He had stolen his Oxium from the planet Nyza, and its leaders telepathically contacted Superboy for help.

Superboy and the Kents defeated him by playing music; in Earth's atmosphere, music drove people from Ulgar mad. Mighto was returned to Ulgar and imprisoned along with his parents.

Mighto II

In Superman: Up in the Sky #2 (Oct. 2019), Superman went toe-to-toe in a boxing match against a mercenary named Mighto. This character wore the original boy's colors.

Powers

On Earth, Mighto apparently had innate super-strength, flight, super-vision and mental telepathy.

Supremo

Created by Leo Dorfman and Curt Swan

Allan Vale was one of Clark Kent's classmates at Smallville High School, a fellow "weakling." Allan was a big Superboy fan and collected memorabilia related to the Boy of Steel. His uncle Jason was a scientist, his caretaker, who knew that Allan's weakness was the result of a rare disease he caught in Hong Kong.

Jason tried to cure his nephew but he knew that the disease would be fatal. He secretly planned with Superboy to make Allan's last days meaningful.

Jason succeeded in producing a super-formula that turned a rabbit into a speeding bullet; Allan swigged it down and the next morning he awoke with super-strength, flight, invulnerability and torch vision. Jason made him a costume and the boy set out as Supremo. Ironically, Supremo 'saved' Clark from a bunch of bullies and on the way home, Allan revealed his identity. Superboy noticed that Supremo's powers were faltering.

Superboy and uncle Jason manufactured a mission that gave Allan the chance to demonstrate his bravery. The boy heroes were called upon to tackle a deep-sea earthquake that had supposedly opened an ancient cavern and released a prehistoric beast! Superboy feigned defeat and Supremo lunged in after the dragon. In the battle, Supremo was cut by its "poisoned talon."

In truth, Superboy was masquerading as the monster and the whole situation was a ruse to make Allan the hero, yet thinking that the wound from the creature's scratch was fatal. Superboy returned Allan to his home, where he grew weak again, and soon died. (Superboy #132)

Notes

Like Vidal and Dworn, Supremo's alter ego was a variation of the name "Alan."

Hyperboy and the Hyper-Family

Created by Otto Binder and George Papp

It took an entire issue to untangle the bewildering plot that surrounded Hyperboy.

When Superboy dashed to stop some high-tech bank robbers, he doffed his day clothes and discovered he was wearing an unfamiliar violet uniform! On his way home, he was somehow compelled to take a different route, to a home where he was greeted by unfamiliar parents.

These otherwise nice people addressed him as Kirk Quentin; he played along and tried to make sense of things. When he finally sneaked away to check on Ma and Pa Kent, he found a doppelganger in their midst. He burst in to confront him but nobody recognized Superboy … everyone there seemed to be "in on the gag."

The surprises continued inside the Kents' attic, where Superboy encountered his Kryptonian parents, Jor-El and Lara! They turned on him and Superboy was faced with the decision of using a Kryptonite gun to kill his father. He couldn't do it; instead he was struck by a blast from Jor-El that only managed to disintegrate his plain clothes.

Krypto was also vexed by this situation. The super-dog was so crazed to escape his captors that he set off an atomic bomb. This bomb managed to tear through Superboy’s new costume.

After this, Clark's new 'parents' mercifully revealed the truth. They were aliens from Trombus and their house was a spaceship in disguise. He accompanied them back to their planet, whose solar system had a red sun. Their son (the real Kirk Quentin) was much like Superboy. He was called Hyperboy and they were the Hyper Family with a dog, Klypso. They possessed the same super-powers as Superboy: flight, super-strength, invulnerability, super-senses and visions.

Their frivolous scheme was designed to suss out two things. First, were they vulnerable to super-hypnosis? To find out, they hypnotized Superboy and his family and used robots to orchestrate his confrontation with Jor-El. When Clark failed to shoot his robot father in self defense, the Quentins knew that no amount of hypnosis could force them to harm each other.

Second, they wanted to know if could their uniforms survive any threat. After the atomic bomb, they had learned their suits needed work, and began improving them.

Before he left Trombus, Superboy watched Hyperboy lead the Hyper-Family to save a hovering city — he was their leader because his “super brain became more super under the red sun than [his parents’]!” (Superboy #144)

Notes

Hyperboy's parents are never referred to by any hero names except the "Hyper-Family."

"Juno" was also the name of Power-Boy's home planet.

There is no connection between this character and the Hyper-Man of Oceania. However, see below...

The Green Lantern

In the "Rebirth" era of DC publishing, the Hyper-Family became members of the United Planets Superwatch. The family had slowly been corrupted by the radiation that gave them powers, which caused them — especially Hyperman — to commit heinous atrocities. The Green Lantern Corps was alerted to this, and they called on the Superwatch to help them investigate a stolen artifact from the UPS headquarters on Throneworld. The trail led through Powerlord (who also lived on Juno), then back to Hyperman on Earth.

There, he was romancing a reporter named Allie Astra. He was about to kill Astra when his wife, Hyperwoman, intervened. She warned him that the Green Lanterns were on his trail, and protected him despite the fact that this wasn't his first dalliance. In fact, she implied that he had taken the guise of "Hyper-Man" — whom Superman met — on Oceania (Action Comics #265), and she also mentioned Charise Kaan, who was the girlfriend of Mighty Boy on Zumoor. (Superboy #85) Note: In this continuity, the other (first) Hyper-Man was also depicted as a member of the Superwatch.

Hal Jordan arrived just in time. On Earth, the Hyper-Family were as powerful as Superman, but they needed special technology to maintain their powers (because their sun was orange, while Earth's was yellow). When Hal figured this out, he was able to capture Hyperman by shredding his uniform, saving Allie Astra. (The Green Lantern: Season Two #4)