More Fun Comics #101

Issue Details

Synopsis

First appearance of the original Superboy. The first story that featured Superman when he was the Boy of Steel. In 1945, Superman reigned as DC's most popular character while child sidekicks such as Robin and Sandy the golden boy had made an impact with readers. In More Fun #101, DC combined both winning factors with a novel twist as they introduced Superboy in a new feature. The idea of telling the adventures of Superman before he reached adulthood had occurred to writer Jerry Siegel back in 1941, but his proposed series starring Superman "before he developed a social conscience" didn't go anywhere. This short, 5 page strip in More Fun 101 was written by Siegel but published while he was away during the war, and it was illustrated by Joe Shuster. It introduced Superboy at the approximate age of 8 after first re-telling the story of his father Jor-El's rocket, the explosion of Krypton, and young Kal-El's adoption by the Kents.The Kents, whose first names went unknown in this story, adopted the boy after finding him in an orphanage and did not appear to be related to the "passing motorist" who rescued him from his Kryptonian rocket. As he grew, young Clark Kent's muscles cam ein handy for carrying firewood, but it was only after he rescued a young man pinned beneath a truck that Clark realized his extraordinary powers might bring unwanted attention to his adoptive family. The last panel of the feature depicts Clark in his alternate identity as Superboy, sporting a mini version of the familiar red, blue and yellow costume. Superboy proved a hit character and returned the next issue of More Fun before moving to take lead place in Adventure Comics from issue #103 the following April.