WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Adventure of the Super Sons #2 by Peter J. Tomasi, Carlo Barberi, Art Thibert, Protobunker and Rob Leigh, in stores now.
Jonathan Kent is quite similar to Superman in several ways, but also different. As a half-Kryptonian with the same powers and super-heroic drive as his father, Superboy is retreading a flight path that might feel familiar. Since he also has the valuable insight of his parents, one an intrepid reporter and the other the world's greatest superhero, to guide him, Superboy has role models that are grooming him to not only follow in Superman's footsteps, but to become even greater than him (if such a thing is even possible).
While Superboy's path is very much his own, he is still going through some beats that his father went through, too. From dealing with the emergence of powers he can't control to putting on the S-shield and teaming-up with a serious, brooding vigilante from Gotham City, Jonathan Kent has revisited some classic beats from his father's past -- all of them with a modern twist that makes the character stand out in the Rebirth era. In the pages of Adventures of the Super Sons #2, Superboy goes through another classic beat from Superman's past. He gets split into two versions of himself: Superboy Red and Superboy Blue.
RELATED: Adventures of the Super Sons Introduces the Li’l Legion of Doom
Superman was first split into a red and blue version of himself in the Silver Age story "The Amazing Story of Superman-Red and Superman-Blue," which featured in 1963's Superman #162 by Leo Dorfman and Curt Swan. In that issue, Superman sought to achieve all of his superhero goals by building a machine that was powered by multiple versions of kryptonite. The machine's purpose was a success, with the only caveat being that it split Kal-El into two versions of himself: Superman Red and Superman Blue.
The storyline was such a classic that it would inspire later comics. In 1998, when Superman had lost his usual abilities and instead gained blue energy powers, the character was again split in two, one red and one blue, thanks to Cyborg Superman and Toy Man's machinations. In 2017's "Superman Reborn" storyline, the New 52 Superman and the pre-52 Superman were each revealed as a red and blue persona, respectively, before merging to create a complete whole of Superman.
Now, it's Superboy's turn to go through the same crucible. In Adventures of the Super Sons #2, Damian Wayne and Jonathan Kent come under attack by young aliens who have modeled themselves after the Legion of Doom. Calling themselves the Gang, these young villains use a synthetic form of gold kryptonite to render Superboy powerless. Robin finds himself in possession of this synthetic kryptonite near the end of the issue and attempts to cancel its effects. However, Damian's tampering with the technology has an unforeseen consequence: Instead of deactivating it, he turns the kryptonite red, something that proceeds to split Jon into two: Superboy Red and Superboy Blue. "Who are you?!" Both Superboys exclaim to one another, indicating that they are very much two separate beings.
Red kryptonite made its first appearance in 1958's Adventure Comics #255 by Otto Binder and George Papp. When the young Clark Kent, who then went by Superboy, first falls victim to the effects of the red radioactive rock he is split into two versions of himself -- one good and one evil. Over the years, red kryptonite has been known to have many different effects on Kryptonians, from power loss to turning them fully evil. At the core of the mythology, the red kryptonite's effects are unpredictable, and now it appears that, like his father before him, Jonathan Kent's exposure to red kryptonite has split him down the middle.
For now, we can't tell how these two versions of Jonathan Kent will differ. In Superman #162, the two Supermen were twins who went on to have separate lives, their heroic endeavors enough to save the entire planet. In the 1998 Electric Blue Superman storyline, one half of Superman was more cerebral, while the other was more reactionary.
There's no telling if these two versions of Superboy will be different, if one of them will be evil and one good, if one will be super-smart while the other super-strong, or something else entirely. The only thing we do know is that, while fighting the li'l Legion of Doom, two Superboys will certainly be better than one.
KEEP READING: Robin’s New Teen Titans May Have Already Watched A Teammate Die