Superboy - The Big Leagues - Danial Carroll

In a vast junkyard, Superboy is using his tactile telekinesis to crumple a car down into a sphere.

SUPERBOY:
Let's see how you like--

PANEL 2. Superboy is hurling the crushed car like a baseball.

SUPERBOY:
--this!

PANEL 3. The car-ball has come back on Superboy, hitting him square in the chest and knocking him back.

SUPERBOY:
Ugh!

PANEL 4. Superboy is getting up from the ground and dusting himself off. He has a look of determination on his face.

SUPERBOY:
So you wanna play hardball?

PANEL 5. Superboy has his hands on a junked bus next to him. It too is starting to crumple down.

SUPERBOY:
It's time for the big leagues, old man.

PANEL 6. We see Superman, standing like a baseball player, only with a large metal I-beam over his shoulder in place of a bat. He is smiling confidently.

PANEL 1.

Superboy - Catch - Matt Duarte

Superboy in “Catch” by Matt Duarte

Panel 1

Description: Superboy is peeking his head through an open door, he has smile on his face.

SUPERBOY: Hello? This is Superboy. We talked earlier about you joining the Teen Titans?

(OFF-PANEL VOICE): Yes, come in, I’ll be down there in a second.

Panel 2

Description: Superboy is now inside a typical living room. There’s portraits on the walls, a rug on the floor, and a couch. He is turning around, looking surprised, because there is a large shadowy figure behind him, though we can’t see who it is yet.

(CHARACTER): Superboy?

SUPERBOY: Huh? You are not who I was expecting... What’s going on here?!

(CHARACTER): Why don’t you have a seat...

Panel 3

Description: We can now see who the person that was talking to Superboy: it’s Chris Hansen. He is standing, while Superboy sits on the couch, with a worried face.

CHRIS HANSEN: Let me ask you something, Superboy, how old are you exactly?

SUPERBOY: Umm... it’s complicated. I was in a regeneration chamber for thousands of years...

CHRIS HANSEN: And yet you go to high school? And you are a part of the “Teen Titans”? Why do you contact teenagers promising them that they can join your team?

SUPERBOY: Look man, I can explain it, we were talking online and she said she had powers.

Panel 4

Description: Superboy is getting exasperated now, standing in front of Chris Hansen, who maintains a straight face throughout the whole thing.

CHRIS HANSEN: And on top of all that you are the leader of a dangerous religious cult.

SUPERBOY: No, I am not the leader! The cult is just based around me...

CHRIS HANSEN: Whatever you say, Superboy. Boys, cuff him.

Panel 5

Description: Outside of the house. A couple of police officers are carrying Superboy who is handcuffed (with Kryptonite cuffs!) and into a police car. He is shouting as he walks. In the front, Chris Hansen is looking at the reader/camera.

SUPERBOY (shouting): Please, just call my cousin, he’ll vouch for me!

CHRIS HANSEN: And so, another dangerous predator is put away, one that preyed on the hopes and dreams of children everywhere by offering them a place in his team of superheroes.

Panel 6

Description: Just a title credit that says in big font “TO CATCH A SUPER-POWERED PREDATOR” with a smaller caption in the bottom that says “Executive Producers: Chris Hansen and Lex Luthor”.

CHRIS HANSEN (off-panel): Join us next week as we go after an infamous group known for their freak sex orgies and violent ways: you may know them as The Secret Six.

The End

Superboy - What Lies Beneath - Sime McDonald

1. An overhead shot, looking down at the Kent farm in Smallville. Superboy (in costume) and Simon Valentine are standing in the middle of a field. The crops are dead. Cattle on nearby fields are dead, corpses decomposing. The ground is spewing green-glowing roots. It’s quite obvious: this is kryptonite-related. And although Superboy is less affected by kryptonite than Superman, he doesn’t look comfortable being surrounded by the substance.

SIMON VALENTINE

Oh my God...

2. Closer on the two, standing in the field. Their faces are pale. They are in shock. Realisation has dawned on what this means for the people of Smallville. Their farms are their livelihood. Without the, what do they do? Where do they go?

SIMON VALENTINE (1)

It’s all - -

It’s all dead, it’s - -

SIMON VALENTINE (2)

How?!

3. Tighter on Superboy. His mouth is a hard line and his eyes are glistening, threatening tears.

SUPERBOY

He warned me.

He told me something was coming, but I thought - -

I thought Parasite was the threat... or Poison Ivy - -

4. A flashback to the opening sequence from Superboy #1 (cover dated January 2011, by Jeff Lemire & Pier Gallo). Superboy sits atop a silo, the Phantom Stranger hovering beside him.

*The following dialogue comes straight from Superboy #1.

PHANTOM STRANGER

There is a darkness blowing in on these gentle Kansas winds...

5. Cut back to the present. We have pulled back from Superboy and Simon so we’re half focused on them, in the distance, and the sickly-glowing terrain, whereupon a crack has formed...

CAPTION

(PHANTOM STRANGER)

“Something sinister incubates within these rich old fields...”

6. Kenny Braverman – aka Conduit – thought to be dead after the events of Action Comics #711 (July 1995) is pulling his clawing his way out of the ground. His skeletal frame is quite obviously unhealthy; but it is his charred skin and the green glow of the veins beneath that is far more ominous.

CONDUIT

Kennnnt...

To be Continued...

Superboy – This Will Work – Ryan K Lindsay

1. Superboy sits in a chair, his arm slung over the back, a cocky look on his face.

Superboy: So you think this can work?

2. We have panned back to see Superboy at a table. He’s slightly facing to the right of the panel, Damien Wayne is completely facing to the left, he’s in profile.

Voice (op): It’s perfect. You’re a mixture of Superman and Lex Luthor. Brains and brawns.
Voice (op): Damien is descended from the Bat and Ra’s Al Ghul. A blending of diligence, perseverance, and true grit.

3. Damien looks up from his place, a juvenile sneer on his lips.

Damien: What do you bring to the table?

4. We see Kate Kane, the Batwoman, leaning against the table, and she looks sexy as hell, just like usual.

Batwoman: Me? Well, I’m just awesome, little boy.
Batwoman: And I have the resources to bring you two together and a mission you’ll both want to be included in.

5. Batwoman has stood back in dramatic fashion to pull down on a rope, there is a curtain behind her just beginning to part, a blue light starts to come through the gap in the bottom.

Batwoman: Boys, we’re going to solve this riddle.

6. Superboy’s jaw has slipped slightly, Damien Wayne still isn’t facing Batwoman or the mystery. Both are bathed in blue light.

Superboy: …
Superboy: I’m in.

7. The panel is the same, though now Superboy just looks intrigued, Damien hasn’t moved.

8. The same again.

Damien: You must have known I was already working on this.
Damien: I’ll let you help me, yes.

Superboy - Domestic Violence - Rol Hirst

Panel One.

Headshot. Superboy is talking to Wonder Girl on his cell phone. They’re discussing their relationship. He wears a serious expression for a serious subject. In the background we hear lots of crashing and exploding.

CASSIE (from cell-phone) So I guess what I’m asking you is, Conner… do you want us to get back together?

SFX: CRASH-BAKOOM!

Panel Two.

Pull out to show the scene behind Superboy… a thrown car is hurtling towards the back of his head. Behind the car, something else is exploding.

CONNER: Well, Cassie, that’s what I wanted to… I mean…

SFX: KRAKA-BROOM!

Panel Three.

Without turning his head, Conner deflects the hurtling car with his tactile telekinetic forcefield thang. He lifts his hand and the car bounces away in the opposite direction. In the background, another building explodes.

SFX: B-TANG!

CONNER: Look, Cassie, I’m really sorry…

CONNER: Can I get back to you…?

Panel Four.

Pull out to show the cause of the devastation behind Superboy. An enormous, city-wrecking clash between Superman and Lex Luthor (in his green battle armour). They’re knocking the crap out of each other. Conner turns and watches them, heaving a huge sigh like a bored teenager who’s seen it all before.

SFX: KA-BAZOOM!

CONNER: …Mom and Dad are fighting again.

Superboy - What's In A Costume? - Max Barnard

The Premise: It's all kinda in the title this time, isn't it. Moving on.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Few Pages In Or Something - 6 Panels

1-- All the current Teen Titans are sitting around a dinner table in Titans Tower eating a chinese takeaway. We've got (clockwise, in order) Superboy, Kid Flash, Beast Boy, Raven, Ravager and Wonder Girl.

SPEECH BUBBLE/WONDER GIRL - So... I guess we should talk about the elephant in the room while we're all in one place.


2-- Two-shot of Kid Flash and Beast Boy, who has transmuted his face into that of an elephant's. Kid Flash is choking on some noodles.

SPEECH BUBBLE/BEAST BOY - What about me, now?

SPEECH BUBBLE/KID FLASH - HORK! HURCH!


3-- Superboy is patting Kid Flash on the back hard to get him to cough up the food. Beast Boy is laughing.

SPEECH BUBBLE/SUPERBOY - C'mon Gar, be serious. What's the problem, Cass?

SPEECH BUBBLE/WONDER GIRL - Er, you. And your lack of costume.


4-- Superboy is reacting in shock to Wonder Girl as Kid Flash pants heavily, out of breath.

SPEECH BUBBLE/SUPERBOY - WHAT?! It's totally a costume! I've got a logo and everything. I mean if I don't have a costume, YOU certainly don't have a costume.

SPEECH BUBBLE[off-panel]/RAVEN - He's right, you know.


5-- We now look at Raven, Ravager and Wonder Girl at the other side of the table. Ravager is eating a large plate of food quite voraciously. Clearly she's a girl of some appetite. Wonder Girl is... Inspecting her outfit. Wait, that sounds wrong.

SPEECH BUBBLE/RAVEN - Maybe you should both get costumes, then there's no issue at all.

SPEECH BUBBLE/RAVAGER - Mmf! Mm Mrrburr!

SPEECH BUBBLE/WONDER GIRL - Well, I guess. If it gets Conner out of his "rough trade" look then I'll switch up to something proper.


6-- Motion blur abound as Kid Flash has moved Superboy and Wonder Girl at super-speed to the doorway of the room. He has his arms over both their shoulders, grinning from ear to ear.

SPEECH BUBBLE/KID FLASH - Then it's decided. You kids head off to... I don't know, a costume shop, and leave us to eat our food in peace. Ta-ta!

SPEECH BUBBLE/SUPERBOY - Suddenly I feel like they're just using this as an excuse to get us out of the tower...


[And from here we'd have two plots, one where Superboy and Wonder Girl talk out their issues and obtain real costumes, whilst the other Teen Titans get up to god knows what mischief around the tower.]

Superboy - The Discourse of Duality - Ben Rosenthal

The following trakes place in Metropolis.


1. Side on view of a relatively tight panel of Superman. He is holding up the giant daily globe statue out the front of the Daily Globe. His face is racked with a combination of strain and pain as he holds the globe. Lois Lane is under it, and would have been crushed if not for Superman. In the background, Metropolis is under attack from many giant robots.

CAPTION
I am not the man.

2. The panel from above is widened. We can see that Superman is in pain as Lex Luthor, in some kind of new Superman-killing armour, lashes into the Man of Steel (feel free to make it look however you like, just painful).

CAPTION
I am not the monster.

3. Conner Kent is looking at the scene. He is in civilian clothes, glasses and all.

CAPTION
I am my own being.

4. A close up of Conner looking angry, visible from the waist up. Conner has begun to rip his shirt open, his black shirt with red outlined “S” logo is slightly visible beneath.

CAPTION
And my being is angry.

Why Superboy?

What the heck is tactile telekinesis?

I'd just read Superboy #30. Part 6 of 6 of a story arc called Losing It. I had no idea what was going on. This was August 1996. I was nine years old, and I'd only selected the comic because I'd seen the 'S' symbol on the cover, and Dad had promised me some reading material during a car trip. Honestly, I can't remember how much of the plot I absorbed at that age. I just loved the pictures. But I recall Superboy referencing his tactile telekinesis, and I had no idea what that was. I asked my father; he couldn't answer. To be fair to him,   I believe I was miss-enunciating the term. And so, because I wanted to know more, I began to pick up Superboy on a semi-regular basis and I've been a fan ever since.

There are so many facets to the character of Superboy, aka Conner Kent. He's a clone of Lex Luthor and Superman. He's a kid, a teenager, still trying to find his place in the world. He's a member of the Teen Titans. He's best  friends with Red Robin. And finally - finally - he's ditched the leather jacket and sunglasses in exchange for jeans and a t-shirt. The kid has style - unlike his 'cousin,' who continues to wear his undies on the outside of his pants.

And he has tactile telekinesis!

Superboy #1 launched last week from DC comics, scribed by superstar Jeff Lemire and illustrated by the supremely talented Pier Gallo. I can't think of a better time for the Thoughtballooners to have a go at him.