"Superboy"
We are shown chopped-up scenes of Lex Luthor's underground lab from the perspective of someone inside a tube. We see Luthor and various scientists writing notes and observing the person in the tube, we see Luthor pull Bizarro out of an adjacent tube, we see Cyborg Superman look longingly at the tube before smashing it with his first. At that moment, we open after Supergirl buried Superboy under a rock in "Supergirl: Power Couple". Superboy panics and tosses the rock aside before running through the woods. He runs through some thorn bushes that rip off a piece of his solar-suit. Time is sped forward and we see a group of people taking a piece of the suit and putting it into a device that points them in the direction he ran. One of the men calls on his phone, "Mister President, we found him".
In Smallville, junior news correspondent Tana Moon is on the TV talking about another person saved by "Superboy". Martha Kent, Pete Ross, Lana Lang Ross, and their two children are watching this on TV and Pete goes out to the barn to give Superboy his breakfast. Through their conversation we learn Superboy has been living on The Kent Farm in hiding, but stepping out occasionally to help people. He describes it as "a natural tick to help others". Pete jokes that Tana Moon seems to have a similar natural tick, always talking about Superboy the same way Lois Lane talked about Superman. Pete thinks its time for Superboy to reveal himself to the world, but Superboy knows if he does he'll just be compared to Superman. For some reason, Superboy doesn't have the same powers as Superman and fears he won't measure up. Pete tells him that Superman's power didn't come from what he could do, it came from what he could make other people do. Pete tells Superboy that when he and Superman were kids he was the first person Clark told his secret to. When Clark went to Metropolis and became Superman, he left the farm, his adoptive mother, and even his ex-girlfriend Lana to Pete Ross, who always felt he got the short-end of the stick. The hand-me-downs. But when Pete looks at his home and his family, he's reminded that Superman gave him a good life. Just as Superman gave Superboy to the Earth. Pete tells Superboy to think about it.
That night a group of armored cars arrive at Kent Farm and the leader of the group-Agent Otis-demands Superboy come out. Superboy hides in the barn, but when he sees Pete Ross get tossed to the ground for refusing the orders Superboy bursts out and flips the armored cars. He tells the Ross Family to get inside just as Agent Otis says "Red Sun". "Red Sun" is a trigger word used to shut Superboy down. The troops carry Superboy into the only car that isn't flipped and Pete demands to know who ordered this. "President Lex Luthor".
In his dream, Superboy walks through the ruins of Metropolis and spots a flag waving Superman's cape. Superboy digs into the ground below, but only finds the corpses of Jimmy Olson, Lois Lane, Martha Kent, and so many more Superman allies. Finally, the arm of Doomsday shoots out and grabs Superboy. This shocks Superboy awake in the back of the armored car and he bursts out. Now outside an airport, Superboy demands answers. Agent Otis claims if Superboy doesn't come with them the Ross Family will be killed. Against his will, Superboy gets on the plane. Next we see Superboy sitting in a hallway of The White House across from some CIA agents. Superboy hears with his super-hearing Lex Luthor yelling at Agent Otis in the Oval Office. Lex tells Otis "we don't do that anymore", clearly mad at how Otis handled Superboy's capture. Superboy is invited in by the now-crying Otis. Superboy meets Lex Luthor face-to-face. When Lex asks if Superboy has taken a human name, Superboy claims Martha Kent called him "Connor". Luthor explains to Superboy that he was created in Luthor's lab around six years ago, but was given accelerated aging to the physique of an eighteen year-old. Luthor goes on to say that he created Superboy to be Superman's replacement, but Connor is quick to point out how he lacks many of Superman's powers like heat vision and flight. Luthor reveals that cloning Kryptonian DNA was messy and resulted in Bizarro, so for Superboy Lex used half Kryptonian and half human DNA samples. A piece from Superman, and a piece from himself, meaning Superboy is the son of Superman and Lex Luthor. Superboy is mad at first, but Lex claims after Superman died he began turning over a new leaf. Lex realized the death of Superman meant the world lacked an icon and after what he had done that icon could never be him. But Lex thought-after Superboy was released-this was an opportunity. "With you as America's Superman and me as their president, we would cement a new era for peace and justice". Superboy doesn't know how to feel, but Lex gives Superboy a container of patches called "Shields". By slapping one of these on himself, Connor can nullify his human DNA and gain full Kryptonian powers for a short time. And with that, Lex allows Superboy to leave.
The next day, Connor is back on Kent Farm staring at the Shields. Pondering if he should even try one. Pete Ross' son Jerry and daughter Josephine run into the barn and show Connor a video of The Elite, a new team of heroes who post their activities online. The Elite openly kill a group of mercenaries in London and make it clear that "goody-good" heroes aren't enough to keep the world safe. In the video, their leader Manchester Black introduces his allies Coldcast, Menagerie, and The Hat. Connor remembers Manchester Black and seems to care at first, but knows it has nothing to do with him. However, the kids show him a response video made by Tana Moon where she claims "Superboy" should be the hero people look up to because he doesn't go to The Elite's lengths. When Connor sees that Tana posted this video and images of him she got on camera, he gets mad and runs out of the barn to find her. Connor goes to Tana Moon's home and the two of them talk outside. Tana is obviously flustered as she's meeting him for the first time, but Connor explains he was trying to keep hidden. Tana thinks it's selfish Superboy wanted to keep his existence a secret, she thinks his emergence and the actions of The Elite are a sign that the world needs a Superman again. Tana gets a text alert and opens her laptop, she and Superboy watch as The Elite make their response video to Tana's. The Elite think if this "Superboy" is such hot stuff he'd meet them in Metropolis in a few days. With The Elite calling him out and his existence being out there, Superboy doesn't see much of a choice. That night, Martha Kent helps pack a bag for Connor and Pete gives him the number of Lois Lane so he has somewhere to stay in Metropolis.
The Elite get off a plane and arrive in Metropolis, but Vice President Amanda Waller and soldiers from The Department of Metahuman Affairs show up to arrest them. Superboy arrives that morning in Metropolis and meets up with Lois Lane. Lois tells Superboy that last night The Elite defeated Waller and the DMA soldiers without killing them. She wishes Connor luck as they approach the garbage dump The Elite are using as a base. Superboy talks with Manchester Black who recalls how "fun" Superboy used to be. Manchester tells Superboy that after Brainiac killed his sister Vera, Manchester decided to use his powers for good. The kind of good costumed superheroes couldn't do, he believes superheroes just weren't enough. He gathered as many followers as he could: The Hat was the son of a real-deal magician, Coldcast was a science project gone wrong, and Menagerie has alien heritage. Superboy demands The Elite take their messed-up circus act somewhere else, but Manchester knows Superboy doesn't really care. Superboy isn't from Krypton or Metropolis or anywhere, he was just a tool created by a man in a suit. Manchester offers Superboy a chance to run with The Elite, get a feel for what they do. Superboy hears a voice in his head that tells him to accept, so he does. That night, Superboy and The Elite hop from club to club. Between clubs they are approached by a woman with super strength who attacks Superboy. Superboy's base strength isn't enough and his container of shields is crushed in the fight, but The Elite lend a hand. The Hat uses his ability to summon magical forces, Coldcast creates electrical blasts, Menagerie shape-shifts into a dragon, and Manchester Black uses telekinesis. The woman is defeated and Manchester prepares to strike the last blow, but Superboy stops him. They leave the woman for the DMA and watch from a rooftop above, Manchester claims Superboy may have what the team is looking for, but he needs to loosen up a bit.
The next day Superboy jumps all the way back to Washington and enters the White House against the CIA's will. Superboy recognized Lex's voice and knows Lex used a frequency only Superboy could hear. Luthor has been watching The Elite since their appearance and believes they are an upfront to everything the DMA is trying to do. If superpowered people can play judge, jury and executioner what power does the government have over them? Lex planted a bug on Superboy that recorded his meeting with The Elite and thinks Superboy should join them, gain their trust, and then take them down. When the plan is over Superboy can stand in front a crowd and say "Myself and the President came up with this plan to keep people safe". It's slimy, but Connor agrees that The Elite are going too far. Connor takes the bug off himself and demands more Shields if he's going to do this.
For the next month Superboy and The Elite take on criminals and dodge the DMA. Lex Luthor watches all their adventures with bated breath. Lois Lane writes articles for The Daily Planet expressing how disappointed she is that Superboy would stand by and watch The Elite kill people. The Ross Family and even Tana Moon have begun losing hope in Superboy. One night Superboy stands on the roof of the Daily Planet and is followed by Manchester Black. Connor tells him that he stayed in hiding because he didn't want people to say he wasn't as good as Superman, but upon joining The Elite Connor has to worry about people even more. Connor can hear the voices of every person in the city, their shame and rejection of this "false Superman". Manchester tells Connor-in lives like theirs-they can't afford to care what people think. As long as what they do is for the good of others, it's justified. Connor admits he only joined the team because Luthor ordered him to and he'd feel better with Luthor out of his way. Manchester offers to kill Luthor, but when Connor refuses Manchester remembers Connor was built with a trigger phrase. Using his newly developed telepathic powers, Manchester erases the trigger word from Superboy's brain. The montage of The Elite's actions continue and end with the super strong woman from before attacking Superboy yet again. Superboy uses a Shield to access his full power and pushes the woman to the limit. Manchester tells Superboy to kill her, but Superboy refuses and pushes Manchester away. With his human side numbed and his Kryptonian side fleshed out, Connor starts to perceive the world the way Superman did and has a realization of what he needs to do. Superboy openly quits The Elite and orders them to turn themselves in. Manchester Black uses his powers to brainwash Metropolis citizens into attacking Superboy. While he is distracted The Elite get away.
In The White House, Lex demands an explanation as to why Superboy sabotaged the plan. Connor explains that when he used a Shield he saw things the way Superman did and couldn't continue to lie to the world. Luthor shows Superboy a video The Elite made challenging Superboy to a fight. Luthor thinks they can use this to their advantage and after Superboy defeats The Elite the world can truly see the truth in both Superboy and himself. At the mentioning of truth Superboy brings up how Lex Luthor has been lying since the day he got in office. Luthor tries to use "Red Sun" to shut him down, but it doesn't work. Connor then claims if he's going to do this, he'll do it his way. We see scenes of Connor putting on the classic Superman costume piece-by-piece, scenes of The Elite prepping themselves, a scene of Superboy talking with Christopher Zod and Kara Kent on Planet Clark. Another scene shows Lex Luthor using a machine to tattoo a permanent shield onto Connor's chest. By the end of the scene collage Connor is dressed as Superman and on The Moon. Several devices are set up on The Moon to create pockets of oxygen similar to the devices used on Planet Clark/Mars. High-tech camera's are set up on the moon too so that the fight between Superboy and The Elite can be broadcast across Earth. With a few hours before the fight, Superboy meditates while facing the sun.
The Elite show up as the cameras begin filming. The Elite throw everything they have at Superboy, but it's not enough. Coldcast creates an energy blast incredibly large that sends a shock-wave over the moon. In the wake of the blast Coldcast assures Superboy has to be dead, but suddenly he drops to the ground. Then The Hat drops. Next Menagerie. Only Manchester Black stands as his allies seem dead on the ground. Superboy stands still, eyes red and mouth silent. Manchester panics at the sight of a murderous Superboy and tries to use "Red Sun", but it of course doesn't work. Superboy ominously stands before Manchester and Manchester breaks down crying at his feet. Manchester claims he wasn't supposed to kill anyone, he points at the camera telling the viewers Superboy isn't any different from anyone else. That he kills just as anyone else would. But Superboy says otherwise, he says even the cameras didn't see him put each of The Elite in sleeper holds at super speed. "It was an act, but the anger was real" Superboy says "It must have frightened you and everyone watching, it scared me too. I thought crossing that line would be scary, thought it would be tough. But you know what? It was easy" he turns towards the cameras "Anger is easy, killing is easy". Manchester claims he'll never stop doing what he does, no matter what Superboy does, and Connor smiles, "I wouldn't have it any other way". Superboy knocks Manchester out.
Hours later Connor is in the White House with Lex, getting ready to make an announcement to the country. Connor says he's going to tell the people the truth, just as Lex ordered. Before the American people, Connor introduces himself as Superman. The next Superman. He tells the public how he was created by Luthor, how he hid out of fear, and how he once thought he couldn't kill because of a programming or because he wasn't brave enough, but Connor saw the truth. He saw that killing for the good of others isn't a service, it's a last resort and should be treated as such. Maybe death is the only solution, but not every situation calls for it. He could have killed The Elite just as they did to others, but he knew there was another way. And when faced with the choice, we should all try to find another way before taking the easy way out. "And while I'm being honest" Connor says "Maybe President Luthor should come clean too". As they walk past each other, Connor whispers "You want to turn over a new leaf? Now is your chance". Lex tells the public the truth, he was never controlled by Brainiac to attack Superman. He hated Superman from day one. He was jealous, so jealous he created robots and unleashed a monster to take Superman's life. He was to blame for Hope, the blame for Cyborg Superman, the blame for every tragedy he fought against. He never deserved to lead the country, all he did was put a bullet through the head of someone evil. Lex admits he's no better than The Elite and openly resigns from his place as President and hands it over to Vice President Amanda Waller.
Later that day, Connor and Waller watch as Lex Luthor is taken away by the police. Connor is sure he'll find redemption in a jail cell. Connor flies up to leave, telling Waller he owes a special girl an interview. Connor flies to the home of Tana Moon only to find her dead on the carpet and with Manchester Black standing over her. Manchester is clearly looney and claims he crushed her mind with a thought and now Connor has no choice but to kill him. Connor calmly walks towards Manchester and grabs his throat, watching a devilish smile grow on him. Connor's eyes gleam red and he puts Manchester down. Connor goes to pick up Tana's body, claiming he's going to make sure she gets a proper burial. Manchester demands him to kill him, but when Manchester tries to use his powers nothing happens. Connor-when he picked Manchester up-used x-ray and microscopic vision to find the abnormality on Manchester's brain that granted him psychic powers. He then used heat vision to burn that abnormality away. He performed a heat vision lobotomy to destroy Manchester's powers. Manchester pulls out a gun and demands to be killed, but Connor promises after Tana is taken care of he will find Manchester and-even then-arrest him. Connor walks out of the house and hears the sound of a gunshot. He uses x-ray vision to see Manchester had shot himself. Tana wakes up just after the gunshot and Connor realizes Manchester inadvertently put her to sleep instead of killing her. Even at the end of his rope Manchester couldn't kill an innocent person, but the loss of his powers and the destruction of his moral code left Manchester with nothing left.
Connor sits in a chair explaining how after that he and Tana got to talk and how Waller announced the DMA would work with heroes like Superman instead of against them. He is telling this to Dick Grayson-sitting across from him-who exhales at what a roller coaster Connor's story was. Connor knows Dick has taken the Batman mantle and thinks he is the best adviser on the subject matter. Dick agrees to help Connor grow into the new Superman, but hints that the Superman and Batman legacies are only the beginning. Thanks to Connor, The Justice League may be needed once again. In the arctic, Connor-as Superman-finds an iceberg and begins tunneling it out. Now hallow, Connor looks around the iceberg and puts a photo of himself and the Ross Family on a chunk of ice. He then proceeds to build his Fortress of Solitude.
After the credits, Glorious Godfrey walks into a DMA base where the super strong woman who attacked Superboy is being examined by scientists. Godfrey uses his mind control powers to make the scientists release the woman from her bonds. The scientists leave to go kill themselves as ordered and Godfrey wakes up this woman (Knockout, one of Darkseid's Female Furies) and asks what she has learned about this "Superman". Knockout claims he's too weak to kill, this pleases Godfrey. "I'll let Darkseid know this Superman isn't the God we thought he was". "He is as powerful as one of us" says Knockout. "My dear" Godfrey says "All men are mortal to Darkseid".
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We are shown chopped-up scenes of Lex Luthor's underground lab from the perspective of someone inside a tube. We see Luthor and various scientists writing notes and observing the person in the tube, we see Luthor pull Bizarro out of an adjacent tube, we see Cyborg Superman look longingly at the tube before smashing it with his first. At that moment, we open after Supergirl buried Superboy under a rock in "Supergirl: Power Couple". Superboy panics and tosses the rock aside before running through the woods. He runs through some thorn bushes that rip off a piece of his solar-suit. Time is sped forward and we see a group of people taking a piece of the suit and putting it into a device that points them in the direction he ran. One of the men calls on his phone, "Mister President, we found him".
In Smallville, junior news correspondent Tana Moon is on the TV talking about another person saved by "Superboy". Martha Kent, Pete Ross, Lana Lang Ross, and their two children are watching this on TV and Pete goes out to the barn to give Superboy his breakfast. Through their conversation we learn Superboy has been living on The Kent Farm in hiding, but stepping out occasionally to help people. He describes it as "a natural tick to help others". Pete jokes that Tana Moon seems to have a similar natural tick, always talking about Superboy the same way Lois Lane talked about Superman. Pete thinks its time for Superboy to reveal himself to the world, but Superboy knows if he does he'll just be compared to Superman. For some reason, Superboy doesn't have the same powers as Superman and fears he won't measure up. Pete tells him that Superman's power didn't come from what he could do, it came from what he could make other people do. Pete tells Superboy that when he and Superman were kids he was the first person Clark told his secret to. When Clark went to Metropolis and became Superman, he left the farm, his adoptive mother, and even his ex-girlfriend Lana to Pete Ross, who always felt he got the short-end of the stick. The hand-me-downs. But when Pete looks at his home and his family, he's reminded that Superman gave him a good life. Just as Superman gave Superboy to the Earth. Pete tells Superboy to think about it.
That night a group of armored cars arrive at Kent Farm and the leader of the group-Agent Otis-demands Superboy come out. Superboy hides in the barn, but when he sees Pete Ross get tossed to the ground for refusing the orders Superboy bursts out and flips the armored cars. He tells the Ross Family to get inside just as Agent Otis says "Red Sun". "Red Sun" is a trigger word used to shut Superboy down. The troops carry Superboy into the only car that isn't flipped and Pete demands to know who ordered this. "President Lex Luthor".
In his dream, Superboy walks through the ruins of Metropolis and spots a flag waving Superman's cape. Superboy digs into the ground below, but only finds the corpses of Jimmy Olson, Lois Lane, Martha Kent, and so many more Superman allies. Finally, the arm of Doomsday shoots out and grabs Superboy. This shocks Superboy awake in the back of the armored car and he bursts out. Now outside an airport, Superboy demands answers. Agent Otis claims if Superboy doesn't come with them the Ross Family will be killed. Against his will, Superboy gets on the plane. Next we see Superboy sitting in a hallway of The White House across from some CIA agents. Superboy hears with his super-hearing Lex Luthor yelling at Agent Otis in the Oval Office. Lex tells Otis "we don't do that anymore", clearly mad at how Otis handled Superboy's capture. Superboy is invited in by the now-crying Otis. Superboy meets Lex Luthor face-to-face. When Lex asks if Superboy has taken a human name, Superboy claims Martha Kent called him "Connor". Luthor explains to Superboy that he was created in Luthor's lab around six years ago, but was given accelerated aging to the physique of an eighteen year-old. Luthor goes on to say that he created Superboy to be Superman's replacement, but Connor is quick to point out how he lacks many of Superman's powers like heat vision and flight. Luthor reveals that cloning Kryptonian DNA was messy and resulted in Bizarro, so for Superboy Lex used half Kryptonian and half human DNA samples. A piece from Superman, and a piece from himself, meaning Superboy is the son of Superman and Lex Luthor. Superboy is mad at first, but Lex claims after Superman died he began turning over a new leaf. Lex realized the death of Superman meant the world lacked an icon and after what he had done that icon could never be him. But Lex thought-after Superboy was released-this was an opportunity. "With you as America's Superman and me as their president, we would cement a new era for peace and justice". Superboy doesn't know how to feel, but Lex gives Superboy a container of patches called "Shields". By slapping one of these on himself, Connor can nullify his human DNA and gain full Kryptonian powers for a short time. And with that, Lex allows Superboy to leave.
The next day, Connor is back on Kent Farm staring at the Shields. Pondering if he should even try one. Pete Ross' son Jerry and daughter Josephine run into the barn and show Connor a video of The Elite, a new team of heroes who post their activities online. The Elite openly kill a group of mercenaries in London and make it clear that "goody-good" heroes aren't enough to keep the world safe. In the video, their leader Manchester Black introduces his allies Coldcast, Menagerie, and The Hat. Connor remembers Manchester Black and seems to care at first, but knows it has nothing to do with him. However, the kids show him a response video made by Tana Moon where she claims "Superboy" should be the hero people look up to because he doesn't go to The Elite's lengths. When Connor sees that Tana posted this video and images of him she got on camera, he gets mad and runs out of the barn to find her. Connor goes to Tana Moon's home and the two of them talk outside. Tana is obviously flustered as she's meeting him for the first time, but Connor explains he was trying to keep hidden. Tana thinks it's selfish Superboy wanted to keep his existence a secret, she thinks his emergence and the actions of The Elite are a sign that the world needs a Superman again. Tana gets a text alert and opens her laptop, she and Superboy watch as The Elite make their response video to Tana's. The Elite think if this "Superboy" is such hot stuff he'd meet them in Metropolis in a few days. With The Elite calling him out and his existence being out there, Superboy doesn't see much of a choice. That night, Martha Kent helps pack a bag for Connor and Pete gives him the number of Lois Lane so he has somewhere to stay in Metropolis.
The Elite get off a plane and arrive in Metropolis, but Vice President Amanda Waller and soldiers from The Department of Metahuman Affairs show up to arrest them. Superboy arrives that morning in Metropolis and meets up with Lois Lane. Lois tells Superboy that last night The Elite defeated Waller and the DMA soldiers without killing them. She wishes Connor luck as they approach the garbage dump The Elite are using as a base. Superboy talks with Manchester Black who recalls how "fun" Superboy used to be. Manchester tells Superboy that after Brainiac killed his sister Vera, Manchester decided to use his powers for good. The kind of good costumed superheroes couldn't do, he believes superheroes just weren't enough. He gathered as many followers as he could: The Hat was the son of a real-deal magician, Coldcast was a science project gone wrong, and Menagerie has alien heritage. Superboy demands The Elite take their messed-up circus act somewhere else, but Manchester knows Superboy doesn't really care. Superboy isn't from Krypton or Metropolis or anywhere, he was just a tool created by a man in a suit. Manchester offers Superboy a chance to run with The Elite, get a feel for what they do. Superboy hears a voice in his head that tells him to accept, so he does. That night, Superboy and The Elite hop from club to club. Between clubs they are approached by a woman with super strength who attacks Superboy. Superboy's base strength isn't enough and his container of shields is crushed in the fight, but The Elite lend a hand. The Hat uses his ability to summon magical forces, Coldcast creates electrical blasts, Menagerie shape-shifts into a dragon, and Manchester Black uses telekinesis. The woman is defeated and Manchester prepares to strike the last blow, but Superboy stops him. They leave the woman for the DMA and watch from a rooftop above, Manchester claims Superboy may have what the team is looking for, but he needs to loosen up a bit.
The next day Superboy jumps all the way back to Washington and enters the White House against the CIA's will. Superboy recognized Lex's voice and knows Lex used a frequency only Superboy could hear. Luthor has been watching The Elite since their appearance and believes they are an upfront to everything the DMA is trying to do. If superpowered people can play judge, jury and executioner what power does the government have over them? Lex planted a bug on Superboy that recorded his meeting with The Elite and thinks Superboy should join them, gain their trust, and then take them down. When the plan is over Superboy can stand in front a crowd and say "Myself and the President came up with this plan to keep people safe". It's slimy, but Connor agrees that The Elite are going too far. Connor takes the bug off himself and demands more Shields if he's going to do this.
For the next month Superboy and The Elite take on criminals and dodge the DMA. Lex Luthor watches all their adventures with bated breath. Lois Lane writes articles for The Daily Planet expressing how disappointed she is that Superboy would stand by and watch The Elite kill people. The Ross Family and even Tana Moon have begun losing hope in Superboy. One night Superboy stands on the roof of the Daily Planet and is followed by Manchester Black. Connor tells him that he stayed in hiding because he didn't want people to say he wasn't as good as Superman, but upon joining The Elite Connor has to worry about people even more. Connor can hear the voices of every person in the city, their shame and rejection of this "false Superman". Manchester tells Connor-in lives like theirs-they can't afford to care what people think. As long as what they do is for the good of others, it's justified. Connor admits he only joined the team because Luthor ordered him to and he'd feel better with Luthor out of his way. Manchester offers to kill Luthor, but when Connor refuses Manchester remembers Connor was built with a trigger phrase. Using his newly developed telepathic powers, Manchester erases the trigger word from Superboy's brain. The montage of The Elite's actions continue and end with the super strong woman from before attacking Superboy yet again. Superboy uses a Shield to access his full power and pushes the woman to the limit. Manchester tells Superboy to kill her, but Superboy refuses and pushes Manchester away. With his human side numbed and his Kryptonian side fleshed out, Connor starts to perceive the world the way Superman did and has a realization of what he needs to do. Superboy openly quits The Elite and orders them to turn themselves in. Manchester Black uses his powers to brainwash Metropolis citizens into attacking Superboy. While he is distracted The Elite get away.
In The White House, Lex demands an explanation as to why Superboy sabotaged the plan. Connor explains that when he used a Shield he saw things the way Superman did and couldn't continue to lie to the world. Luthor shows Superboy a video The Elite made challenging Superboy to a fight. Luthor thinks they can use this to their advantage and after Superboy defeats The Elite the world can truly see the truth in both Superboy and himself. At the mentioning of truth Superboy brings up how Lex Luthor has been lying since the day he got in office. Luthor tries to use "Red Sun" to shut him down, but it doesn't work. Connor then claims if he's going to do this, he'll do it his way. We see scenes of Connor putting on the classic Superman costume piece-by-piece, scenes of The Elite prepping themselves, a scene of Superboy talking with Christopher Zod and Kara Kent on Planet Clark. Another scene shows Lex Luthor using a machine to tattoo a permanent shield onto Connor's chest. By the end of the scene collage Connor is dressed as Superman and on The Moon. Several devices are set up on The Moon to create pockets of oxygen similar to the devices used on Planet Clark/Mars. High-tech camera's are set up on the moon too so that the fight between Superboy and The Elite can be broadcast across Earth. With a few hours before the fight, Superboy meditates while facing the sun.
The Elite show up as the cameras begin filming. The Elite throw everything they have at Superboy, but it's not enough. Coldcast creates an energy blast incredibly large that sends a shock-wave over the moon. In the wake of the blast Coldcast assures Superboy has to be dead, but suddenly he drops to the ground. Then The Hat drops. Next Menagerie. Only Manchester Black stands as his allies seem dead on the ground. Superboy stands still, eyes red and mouth silent. Manchester panics at the sight of a murderous Superboy and tries to use "Red Sun", but it of course doesn't work. Superboy ominously stands before Manchester and Manchester breaks down crying at his feet. Manchester claims he wasn't supposed to kill anyone, he points at the camera telling the viewers Superboy isn't any different from anyone else. That he kills just as anyone else would. But Superboy says otherwise, he says even the cameras didn't see him put each of The Elite in sleeper holds at super speed. "It was an act, but the anger was real" Superboy says "It must have frightened you and everyone watching, it scared me too. I thought crossing that line would be scary, thought it would be tough. But you know what? It was easy" he turns towards the cameras "Anger is easy, killing is easy". Manchester claims he'll never stop doing what he does, no matter what Superboy does, and Connor smiles, "I wouldn't have it any other way". Superboy knocks Manchester out.
Hours later Connor is in the White House with Lex, getting ready to make an announcement to the country. Connor says he's going to tell the people the truth, just as Lex ordered. Before the American people, Connor introduces himself as Superman. The next Superman. He tells the public how he was created by Luthor, how he hid out of fear, and how he once thought he couldn't kill because of a programming or because he wasn't brave enough, but Connor saw the truth. He saw that killing for the good of others isn't a service, it's a last resort and should be treated as such. Maybe death is the only solution, but not every situation calls for it. He could have killed The Elite just as they did to others, but he knew there was another way. And when faced with the choice, we should all try to find another way before taking the easy way out. "And while I'm being honest" Connor says "Maybe President Luthor should come clean too". As they walk past each other, Connor whispers "You want to turn over a new leaf? Now is your chance". Lex tells the public the truth, he was never controlled by Brainiac to attack Superman. He hated Superman from day one. He was jealous, so jealous he created robots and unleashed a monster to take Superman's life. He was to blame for Hope, the blame for Cyborg Superman, the blame for every tragedy he fought against. He never deserved to lead the country, all he did was put a bullet through the head of someone evil. Lex admits he's no better than The Elite and openly resigns from his place as President and hands it over to Vice President Amanda Waller.
Later that day, Connor and Waller watch as Lex Luthor is taken away by the police. Connor is sure he'll find redemption in a jail cell. Connor flies up to leave, telling Waller he owes a special girl an interview. Connor flies to the home of Tana Moon only to find her dead on the carpet and with Manchester Black standing over her. Manchester is clearly looney and claims he crushed her mind with a thought and now Connor has no choice but to kill him. Connor calmly walks towards Manchester and grabs his throat, watching a devilish smile grow on him. Connor's eyes gleam red and he puts Manchester down. Connor goes to pick up Tana's body, claiming he's going to make sure she gets a proper burial. Manchester demands him to kill him, but when Manchester tries to use his powers nothing happens. Connor-when he picked Manchester up-used x-ray and microscopic vision to find the abnormality on Manchester's brain that granted him psychic powers. He then used heat vision to burn that abnormality away. He performed a heat vision lobotomy to destroy Manchester's powers. Manchester pulls out a gun and demands to be killed, but Connor promises after Tana is taken care of he will find Manchester and-even then-arrest him. Connor walks out of the house and hears the sound of a gunshot. He uses x-ray vision to see Manchester had shot himself. Tana wakes up just after the gunshot and Connor realizes Manchester inadvertently put her to sleep instead of killing her. Even at the end of his rope Manchester couldn't kill an innocent person, but the loss of his powers and the destruction of his moral code left Manchester with nothing left.
Connor sits in a chair explaining how after that he and Tana got to talk and how Waller announced the DMA would work with heroes like Superman instead of against them. He is telling this to Dick Grayson-sitting across from him-who exhales at what a roller coaster Connor's story was. Connor knows Dick has taken the Batman mantle and thinks he is the best adviser on the subject matter. Dick agrees to help Connor grow into the new Superman, but hints that the Superman and Batman legacies are only the beginning. Thanks to Connor, The Justice League may be needed once again. In the arctic, Connor-as Superman-finds an iceberg and begins tunneling it out. Now hallow, Connor looks around the iceberg and puts a photo of himself and the Ross Family on a chunk of ice. He then proceeds to build his Fortress of Solitude.
After the credits, Glorious Godfrey walks into a DMA base where the super strong woman who attacked Superboy is being examined by scientists. Godfrey uses his mind control powers to make the scientists release the woman from her bonds. The scientists leave to go kill themselves as ordered and Godfrey wakes up this woman (Knockout, one of Darkseid's Female Furies) and asks what she has learned about this "Superman". Knockout claims he's too weak to kill, this pleases Godfrey. "I'll let Darkseid know this Superman isn't the God we thought he was". "He is as powerful as one of us" says Knockout. "My dear" Godfrey says "All men are mortal to Darkseid".
Thanks for reading!
After a one week break the Panel Biter DC Universe will snap in half. "Justice League: Crisis Part 1" is on it's way.
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