Christopher Kent
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Chris Kent is a comic book character, a Kryptonian in the DC Comics Universe, who first appeared in Action Comics #844 (2006), the first part of the Action Comics story arc "Superman: Last Son". He was created by Richard Donner and Geoff Johns. The name is obviously a reference to Christopher Reeve, the famous actor who performed the Superman's role in Superman: The Movie (1978).
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character biography
When a spacecraft is headed towards Metropolis, it is diverted to a relatively safe landing by Superman. After its crash, Superman is very surprised to discover a young boy inside. Echoing his own arrival in his youth years before, Superman sees that the boy is completely unharmed. The Kryptonese writings on his ship states that his Kryptonian name is "Lor-Zod" and is later confirmed in Action Comics #851. He is taken to the east coast lab of the Department of Metahuman Affairs for observation.
The boy exhibits super-human strength and can only speak Kryptonese. He does not know his name or where he is from. As with Supergirl, Superman instinctively knows the boy is Kryptonian before the tests are complete. After he is confirmed as a Kryptonian, he is immediately taken to the Department of Metahuman Affairs headquarters in Washington, D.C. without informing Superman. He removes the boy from their custody, and he decides, with Lois Lane, to raise the boy Action Comics #844 (2006)*. Clark then contacts Batman, who uses his resources to create the identity Christopher Kent.
Afterwards, Superman holds a press conference to inform the world that the Kryptonian child is under his care. At this time, Bizarro, sent by Lex Luthor, attacks in an attempt to kidnap Chris, but he fails. Later, it is revealed that Chris is the biological son of General Zod and Ursa. His arrival released General Zod, Non, and Ursa from the Phantom Zone.Action Comics #845 (2007)* He was apparently conceived and raised there within a prison structure that is immune to the "timeless" effects of the zone, and Christopher himself was specially immune as well. It is insinuated by Phantom Zone resident Mon-El that Zod and Ursa were abusive towards their son before sending him out of the Zone. In a battle with Superman, Zod and Ursa reclaim their son and capture Lois. After sending Superman to the Phantom Zone, General Zod's army invades Earth.<ref name="ac846">Action Comics #846 (2007)* Superman escapes with Mon-El's aid, and then seeks an alliance with Lex Luthor to defeat Zod, who has captured a large portion of Earth's superhero population. In Zod's custody, Chris uses his powers to prevent Lois from being harmed.Action Comics #851 (2007)*
Chris remains in the custody of Lois and Clark as their foster son. He attends the Ellsworth School, an elite private school,Superman #664 (2007)* where he has some trouble concealing his powers, particularly during P.E. To aid him, Superman works with Batman to develop an implant, concealed within a wristwatch, that uses red sun radiation to block Chris' powers while in school until he learns how to control them. While the watch is being created, Chris makes friends with Robin who treats him like a younger brother and offers to show him some gymnastics.Superman #668 (2007)* Eventually, the wristwatch fails, due to his being calibrated on the metabolism of an adult Kryptonian, and the built-up energies explode wrecking Clark and Lois' apartment. Clark reassures the young boy that he wouldn't be sent away, and they'll cope with his growing powers in some way. Superman #673 (2008)*
Following the events of Action Comics Annual #11, Zod and his army are defeated and Chris pursues them into the Phantom Zone in order to ensure that the passage between the Phantom Zone and the rest of the universe is closed properly, since it will remain weak for as long as he remains on Earth. He is aware of the cost of this action, and as he leaves he thanks Superman and Lois for giving him a proper family.
Continuity discrepancy
Due to the pronounced scheduling problems with the release of the "Superman: Last Son" storyline, a line of dialogue in Action Comics Annual #11 is incorporated ("I even got to meet Robin.") which insinuates that the invasion of Zod's army takes place after Chris receives his red-sun watch, which places the events of Superman #664, 668, and 673 and all of Christopher Kent's other appearances chronologically between panels of Action Comics #846 (despite the fact that the latter was released earlier).
To explain the discrepancy, editor Matt Idelson theorized in an interview that "after the last panel of Issue #846, Page 9, Clark, Lois and Chris stepped out for lunch. Several weeks passed by, during which Clark and Lois struggled with raising Chris, Chris went to school, met Robin, helped the 3rd Kryptonian, etc., and then, on an off-day from school, Chris, Clark and Lois happened to all wear the same outfits they were wearing on Page 9 of #846 (they're extremely organized, methodical people, and Chris imitated his "parents") and took another trip to mom and dad's office, wherein Zod attacked.
Other versions
An alternate universe counterpart of Chris Kent (from Earth-16) appears in the Countdown: Arena mini-series, where he is depicted as a highly evolved (both physically and spiritually) individual with access to vast powers beyond those of standard Kryptonians. Sacrificing himself in an attempt to kill Monarch (Nathaniel Adam), he is ultimately the first to fall in his battle against the Supermen of Earth-30 and Earth-31.
Powers and abilities
As a Kryptonian, Chris can develop Superman's powers as he becomes older. He has exhibited eight Kryptonian abilities:
- Flight: He flies in the Fortress of Solitude and at the Kent farm.
- Heat vision: He burns General Zod's hand when he attempts to harm Lois.
- Telescopic vision: He is able to combine this power with his x-ray vision to watch the main screens in the Batcave from afar.
- X-ray vision: He is able to combine this power with his telescopic vision to watch the main screens in the Batcave from afar.
- Invulnerability: He arrives on Earth unharmed, and a bus falls on him during the Bizarro attack.
- Super strength: He is able to lift a television in the Metahuman Affairs lab. He also caught the Daily Planet globe as it fell during the Bizarro attack.
- Intelligence: He is able to memorize a dictionary within an hour and learn the English language.
- Super breath: He is able to use this power to slow the falls of several cars, allowing Superman to catch them.
He also has the unique distinction of being born within the Phantom Zone which renders him immune to its effects. He has a solid body within the zone and apparently ages normally while all other inhabitants are timeless and phantoms.
