The first season of Titans on the DC Universe streaming service introduced viewers to the first live-action rendition of the popular superhero group the Teen Titans. While it initially only focused on heroes like Robin (Dick Grayson), Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, Hawk, and Dove, it opened the doors for a number of other DC characters to make their appearance.
Not content with launching the Doom Patrol into its own series, the finale of the first season of Titans also introduced another new character into the series - Superboy. We recently got our first look at Joshua Orpin in costume as Superboy, which has led fans to speculate on which version of the character we might see on the small screen.
Today we are going to take a close look at 10 Superboy storylines that we may see adapted for the second season of Titans.
10 DEATH AND RETURN OF SUPERMAN
Conner Kent first appeared as Experiment 13/The Metropolis Kid during the iconic Death and Return of Superman storyline. Superboy was a clone created by Cadmus in the event that Superman was lost so the world would still have a protector. The actual storyline seems too large to cover in Titans, but not impossible to mention.
Considering that we'll be seeing Iain Glen as Bruce Wayne in the second season of Titans and saw a few shadowed looks at Batman in the first season, the possibility of seeing Superman in some form exists. Unfortunately, it might be unlikely to properly convey the origins of Superboy in Titans this way, though his Cadmus beginnings look to remain intact.
9 "TROUBLE IN PARADISE"
That doesn't mean the early years of Superboy should be overlooked, even if they were connected to a huge event like Reign of the Supermen. Following the return of Superman, Superboy decided to get out on his own and settled on the island of Hawaii, where he became a national celebrity and the Hero of Honolulu.
Since the Titans still have a lot to deal with in the second season with Trigon, it's possible Superboy might be built up throughout small scenes over the season while the Titans deal with the larger threat of Trigon. Superboy's early days in Hawaii as he learned how to develop his powers might help build the character up for a stronger role in future seasons or a climactic season two finale.
8 "LOSIN' IT"
During Superboy's time on Hawaii, he became close with a powerful woman known as Knockout, who was really a member of the Female Furies, from Apokolips. Knockout and Superboy begin a relationship that begins to lead Superboy down a dark path, which culminated in the "Losin' It" storyline.
While it's easy to see Superboy working alongside the team, Titans could use Knockout to play around with another long-standing tradition when it comes to Superman-related characters - the dark corruption of a Kryptonian by someone from Apokolips. Knockout could be the temptation that turns Superboy against the Titans instead of working with them.
7 YOUNG JUSTICE (ANIMATED)
Arguably the most popular version of Conner Kent is the animated Superboy seen on Young Justice, which is getting ready to air the second half of its third season revival on DC Universe. The animated series took aspects of the Young Justice and Teen Titan comic franchises and worked them together for the fan-favorite animated series.
Superboy's YJ origin story is tied into the creation of the Team, as Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad discovered the secret Cadmus Labs and freed the young clone of Superman. As the Titans have already somewhat formed, it's unlikely we'll see this adapted the same way, but the Cadmus breakout at the end of season one already felt like it was referencing the similar scene in YJ.
6 NEW 52
Let's be real, the New 52 Superboy is one of the worst versions of the character we've ever seen. After Flashpoint rebooted the DC Universe, Conner Kent was replaced by Kon-El, a clone created by N.O.W.H.E.R.E. as a weapon to use against metahumans. Kon-El wasn't even a clone of Superman but rather Superman's evil son from the future, Jonathan Lane Kent.
While this version of Superboy seems at odds with the Conner Kent-version seen in the BTS photo from Titans second season, the live-action Superboy was introduced with a uniquely New 52 invention - the barcoded "S" shield tattoo that first revealed the character in the season one finale was created for the New 52 version of Superboy.
5 YOUNG JUSTICE (COMIC)
Superboy is an interesting addition to the cast of Titans, as he wasn't a member of the Teen Titans until many iterations after the first team assembled. So introducing the character of Conner Kent during this specific time period of the DC Universe (Grayson is evolving into Nightwing while Jason Todd is Robin) leaves a few of his best friends behind.
The original Young Justice comic saw Conner become best friends and teammates with Robin II (Tim Drake), Impulse (Bart Allen), Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark) and others who just wouldn't be around at this stage in the DC timeline. Regardless, Young Justice and its friendship building between Robin and Superboy may be key to properly establishing their relationship on Titans.
4 TEEN TITANS
While Conner's time with Young Justice taught him the value of friendship, it was his time with the Teen Titans that helped teach him how to be a hero. We don't know much about how Superboy will fit into the larger storyline of Titans, but it's likely Dick and his new team will take it upon themselves to teach Superboy the finer points of superheroics.
Superboy spent his time on the team with Titans members Robin (Drake, though), Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven. As the team on the streaming series is only in its infancy, that aspect of mentorship might not be able to be adapted, but there are many moments of great teamwork from the series that could be adapted for Titans.
3 INFINITE CRISIS
While it might be a little early for Titans to begin exploring any of DC's various Crises that have altered the comic universe a few times over the years, there is something about Infinite Crisis that might make its way into the second season of Titans.
Infinite Crisis was a huge event that featured a number of big moments, but one of the biggest was the death of Conner Kent, who sacrificed his life to save Earth. Prior to the huge battle and his subsequent death, Superboy and Dick Grayson (as Nightwing) worked together throughout the Crisis, which could prove as useful source material for any live action Dick/Conner team-up.
2 "BOY OF STEEL"
Superboy had his own "Death and Return" after Infinite Crisis, and following the experience, he decided to settle back in Smallville with Ma Kent and try to live life like his mentor had on his road to becoming Superman. To do this he explored the path Superman took and tried to follow in his same footsteps by going to school and leading a civilian life.
However, as Conner learned previously in Teen Titans, his genetic heritage came both from Superman and Lex Luthor, so he also explored the footsteps of his less than heroic progenitor. Conner's time spent in Smallville learning about himself and the fateful encounter with Lex Luthor is something we definitely would like to see in the second season of Titans.
1 BLACK ZERO
While Superboy was still only a few years into finding his own way as a hero living with Superman's legacy, he encountered a dying alternate reality Superboy who warned him of a threat in Hypertime. Superboy would eventually learn that the threat was a powerful character known as Black Zero.
Black Zero would be revealed as an alternate reality Superboy who had never escaped Cadmus and grown to maturity in a world where Superman never returned from the dead. He took over his world before seeking out other realities to conquer. Black Zero would provide a fantastically powerful villain for the Titans to face, and even open the door for a ton of alternate Superboys to make an appearance.