When it comes to superheroes, Superman of DC Comics easily becomes one of the most recognizable. After all, only Superman can pull off blue tights, red underwear, and a red cape while still looking all-ready to save the world. And through some marvelous DC Comics stories, Superman has proven more than capable of saving humanity from some of the worst threats from outer space and even in other dimensions.
Thankfully, Superman still manages to get some quality time in for his family with Lois Lane. And while current stories depict his son Jon Kent being his own version of Superman, there were actually other times in comics where Superman had children to call his own.
9 Superman Junior (1973)
While multiple iterations of Superman Junior exist, his most notable iteration would probably be from “World’s Finest Comics” #215 (1973). In here, Superman Junior is revealed to be the son of Superman with an unnamed human wife. Being a half-human, he possesses half of all the abilities of his father. In Super Friends fashion, Superman Junior teams up with Batman Junior, as they’re both bent on rebelling against the pressure of their fathers’ legacies.
Despite the humorous and campy approach of their adventures, Superman Junior is proof that being a part of Superman’s legacy is always going to be an issue that the son of the Last Son of Krypton will inevitably face.
8 Ariella Kent (1998)
Perhaps the craziest of all Superman children in terms of powerset, Ariella Kent debuts in “Supergirl” #1,000,000 from 1998. A child in the 853rd Century, six-year-old Ariella Kent somehow causes chaos wherever she goes. Her parentage is soon revealed to be that of Earth-One Superman and Linda Danvers, who retires as Supergirl upon Kara Zor-El’s arrival and returns to Pre-Crisis Earth.
After the various Crises throughout the years, the Spectre tells Linda that Kara needs to return to her own timeline. Linda agrees to help the Spectre, provided he saves Ariella from being killed. In 2003’s “Supergirl” #80, Linda’s last act as Supergirl is sending Kara back to “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” where she’s destined to die. As Linda finally retires from her superheroics, Ariella is now seen traversing the stars. This is quite fitting, considering Ariella Kent’s bizarre range of abilities - which include time travel.
7 Jon Kent (1999)
While today’s Jon Kent is known to have taken the mantle of Superman, this isn’t the first instance of Jon Kent becoming the Man of Steel. In the 1999 Elseworlds story “Son of Superman,” when a young Jon Kent starts developing his powers, Lois Lane tells her son that his father was in fact, Superman. Thing is, in this reality, Superman has been missing for the past 15 years. As such, Jon Kent dons his father’s costume in an effort to find him.
Unfortunately, like his father, Jon Kent as Superman faces a couple of adversaries. These include Lex Luthor, who has taken command of the Justice League, as well as putting America under his total control. Moreover, while his adventures eventually lead him to his father, Jon’s modern way of thinking will clash with Clark’s more traditional philosophy. They would have to set their differences aside to help save the world once more.
6 Kara Kent (1999)
Before cousin Kara Zor-El revealed herself as Supergirl in the mainstream, other Supergirls were also popping up in other timelines. In “Superman & Batman: Generations,” Superman and Lois Lane actually have two children in the form of Kara and Joel Kent. Whereas Joel Kent was born without powers, Kara Kent had all the abilities of Superman. She eventually becomes Supergirl, and essentially Superman’s sidekick, and saves the world with him while hiding his secret from his brother.
At some point in the story, Kara Kent works with Bruce Wayne Jr., the current Batman in their timeline, who was about to get married. Unfortunately for them, Joel Kent appears with powers of his own, provided by Lex Luthor. Moreover, Lex Luthor brainwashes Joel into thinking that Superman didn’t give him his powers on purpose so Joel can’t replace him. Consumed by anger, Joel kills Kara - but not before Lex’s superpower serum also kills Joel.
5 Hyperman (1999)
After the popularity of “Kingdom Come,” DC Comics released “The Kingdom,” which is in both ways a sequel and prequel to the hit story. In a continuation of the story, Gog traverses time in a bid to kill Superman over and over again. At some point, he even steals Superman and Wonder Woman’s child, Jonathan Kent, intending to have him become Magog in the future.
Thankfully, the present Trinity (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman) team up with their Kingdom Come counterparts to save the child. However, baby Jonathan slips into Hypertime and is protected by his future self, who now uses the superhero name Hyperman. Future Jonathan returns his baby counterpart to his parents after Gog’s defeat. While Hyperman possesses all of Superman and Wonder Woman’s powers, Jonathan also has the power to travel through time via Hypertime.
4 Lara Kent (2002)
Another Supergirl pops up in another timeline, this time in “The Dark Knight Strikes Again,” the sequel to the hit “The Dark Knight Returns.” In this story, Superman and Wonder Woman serves as Lara’s parents, and Wonder Woman raised her among Amazons to hide her from the tyrannical government led by Lex Luthor and Brainiac.
When Brainiac attacks and almost kills Superman, Lara Kent makes herself known. Assuming no superhero alias, Lara Kent uses her Kryptonian/Amazonian physiology and Amazon training to eventually defeat Brainiac. Thanks to her assistance, she alongside the Trinity (Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman) eventually free the United States from Brainiac’s tyranny.
3 Cirl-El (2003)
Originally introduced in “Superman the 10 Cent Adventure” in 2003, Cir-El suddenly appeared and used the moniker “Supergirl” without so much as a how-do-you-do to the Superman family. This surprising arrival had Clark investigate her origins, which Cir-El reveals to them as being the daughter of Superman and Lois in the future.
Unfortunately for them, Cir-El soon discovers that she’s simply a human named Mia. Moreover, it’s discovered that Cir-El was a creation of Brainiac, with her existence being a result of combining Kryptonian DNA with another human. To make matters worse, Brainiac made Cir-El the host of the horrifying Yes Virus, which would one day help dominate the human race. This unfortunately made Cir-El erase herself from existence.
2 Jon Lane Kent (2013)
Despite the infamy of Superboy Prime as one of the evilest Superman villains, another Superboy attempts to take his place. Taking the form of Jon Lane Kent, this version of Superboy is from an alternate future where he has unstable DNA. However, instead of dying, the villain known as Harvest took his body to the past and transformed him into a villain bent on killing all other metahumans.
Sadly, Jon Lane Kent is largely forgotten in the current timeline despite his implications in the timeline. It’s soon revealed that Kon-El Superboy is actually a clone of Jon Lane, and not necessarily Superman. When the two fought, Jon Lane took the mantle of Superboy before Kon-El eventually defeated him.
1 Zod (2014)
In the far future, Lord Superman and Wonder Woman of the Justice Lords had decided to “create” the perfect heir to their throne on Earth through bio-engineering. This resulted in a child with a combination of Kryptonian and Amazonian physiology. Unfortunately, Brainiac stole the child and had him raised in the Phantom Zone, now named Zod.
Thankfully, Batman Beyond eventually rescued Zod and brought him to the Justice League. Now named Superboy, Zod eventually proved himself trustworthy among the Justice League’s ranks and helped them fight Brainiac. Interestingly enough, Zod not only has all of Superman’s powers but also control over technology. This proves to be instrumental to defeat Brainiac, who also uses technology at his disposal.
