In the pages of Fawcett Comics, a superhero named Captain Marvel made his debut in 1940. He quickly became the best-selling superhero across all comic publishers at the time. Riding on that success, Fawcett introduced a younger hero in 1942... Captain Marvel Jr. The new character became a hit in his own right, and within just a few months, he was regularly featured in three ongoing Fawcett titles. One of those, Captain Marvel Jr., ran for an impressive 118 issues.
Seeing how popular these younger heroes were, DC Comics decided to create a teenage version of their own biggest star, Superman. But there was a challenge. Superman’s origin story said he was the only survivor of a destroyed planet, which didn’t leave room for another younger Kryptonian growing up on Earth. The solution? They rewrote Superman's backstory and introduced the idea that he had actually started his heroic career as a young lad, going by the name Superboy. His first appearance as Superboy came in 1945, in More Fun Comics #101.
Over the years, writers began creating stories that showed young Superboy crossing paths with all sorts of characters who would later become part of Superman’s regular supporting cast. In this tour, we’ll take a look at some of those early, imaginative encounters!
