For a superhero, especially a young one, the secret identity is the most important thing they have. Starting out their superhero career, it's essential that they protect the safety of their loved ones.
Superboy hasn't always had a secret identity to worry about. As a clone, we was basically born at the age of sixteen. When he was accepted into
Superman's private life and family, the identity of Conner Kent was created. Now that he's living in
Smallville with
Martha Kent, he needs to do everything he can to keep his secret identity a...secret.
In the first issue of his
current series, Superboy finds out that fellow Smallville High classmate,
Simon Valentine, knows his secret. Sure Simon seems like an eager kid wanting to be Conner's best friend but we already know he's destined to be his greatest
friend as well as his greatest
enemy. To make the situation worse, in
issue #3, another classmate,
Lori Luthor watched him change into Superboy. Yes, that's
Luthor as in
Lex Luthor. She's his niece. She may not be close to her Uncle Lex but the fact that she's a Luthor is pretty dangerous, not just for Conner, but everyone close to Superman as well.
What Conner needs to remember, it's not just his safety that is at risk. Because he's living with Martha, her life could be in danger. If people figure out her connection, it won't be long until they figure out that Clark Kent is Superman and married to
Lois Lane. It goes on.
There's also the other members of the
Teen Titans. Does every member that knows Superboy's secret automatically know Superman's? His teammates may be trustworthy but in comic books, it doesn't necessarily take much for a hero to turn rogue. Teammates that know his secret could be discovered by someone using telepathy. Look at how close
Batman's secret was almost discovered in
Gotham City Sirens because
Catwoman knows and has some
questionable friends.
In issue#3 of Superboy,
Bart Allen zips right up to Conner during a phone call. Did Bart look around the entire area to make sure no one was around to Conner walking and then suddenly have someone else appear? With more and more people discovering his secret identity, Superboy really needs to start being more careful otherwise things are going to get really bad for everyone around him.
