Superman (Kal Kent)
Encyclopedia
Kal Kent is a fictional superhero
who appears in the DC Comics
, created by Grant Morrison
. He is the Superman
of the 853rd century
. He first appeared in DC One Million #1 in 1998.
, Superman Kal-El, is about to return from his solar Fortress of Solitude after several centuries. As part of the festivities, the Justice Legion Alpha
went back in time to recruit the ancient Justice League of America
. The current Legion had counterparts to the League except for Green Lantern (they had the future Starman instead). After arriving at the end of the 20th century, Kal Kent and the Justice Legion convinced the League to go the future and participate in trials as part of the celebration. Before they leave, Kal helps Superman stop a Belle-Reve prison riot; during this incident he references fighting the Chronovore with the Superman Squad.
Following the League's departure, Hourman
releases the "Hourman virus" which infected not only people, but technology. It is revealed that the virus is Solaris
' artificial intelligence in its infancy. The virus is spreading because Solaris is looking in all technology and organisms for its body. To cure the world and save it from Solaris, they had to create Solaris. Once in his body, Solaris became self aware, with his intelligence increasing with every passing second. Starman sacrifices himself but he is able to banish Solaris by creating a black hole
. Their time machine didn't have enough power for deep time travel, but Superman is able to punch through the time barrier to bring the Legion back to the 853rd century. They arrive in time for Superman-Prime's arrival and the final destruction of Solaris.
that have evolved into the far future. His default kryptonian powers (super strength, invulnerability, super speed, super senses, super breath, freeze breath, flight, x-ray vision and heat vision) appear on par with the vastly powerful Silver Age Superman. Due to other alien/extradimensional admixtures in the Superman Dynasty bloodline, he also has additional powers such as super ESP, force vision, telepathy
, electromagnetic manipulation and an additional 10 senses. Kal gets the energy for his main powers from the original Superman Kal-El and Earth's Super-Sun, resulting in him gradually losing his powers when he is in the past. This future descendant of Superman has stated that he himself is "Faster than a speeding Tachyon
, more powerful than a collapsing star, and able to leap between planets in a single bound". When trapped in the 20th century, he displayed the ability to punch his way through time using the basic time portal Steel
had assembled using plans acquired from the Lord of Time
, although this was exhausting and nearly drained him down to the last dregs of his power before he reached his home century. Finally his agility, reflexes and extrasensory and visionary power are nearly incalculable. He is also immune to Kryptonite
, Red sun light/radiation, and possibly psionics
. He is also as smart as Brainiac 5
if not more so as the future Flash John Fox once stated he is able to calculate over a billion scenarios simultaneously. Although humans have developed into a superhuman race as well, Superman promised his successors greater powers if they pledged to always protect Earth and the solar system.
in the animated film All-Star Superman
as one of Superman
's descendant
s from the far future. In the movie, Superman shows Lois Lane
on his time telescope Kal Kent, the Superman
of the 84th century whose just "fought the mad god Darkseid
in year 8315". Interestingly, Lois points out to Superman that Kal resembles her father, to which Superman just smiles.
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
who appears in the DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, created by Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
. He is the Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
of the 853rd century
DC One Million
"DC One Million" was a crossover storyline that ran through a self titled, weekly limited series and through special issues of almost all "DCU" titles published by DC Comics in November 1998...
. He first appeared in DC One Million #1 in 1998.
DC One Million
In the 853rd century, the progenitor of the Superman DynastySuperman dynasty
The Superman dynasty, an extension of the House of El, is a lineage of DC Comics superheroes. The term is used for the descendants of Kal-El, the original Superman, who continue to uphold his legacy of heroism well into the 853rd century, as depicted in the DC One Million crossover...
, Superman Kal-El, is about to return from his solar Fortress of Solitude after several centuries. As part of the festivities, the Justice Legion Alpha
Justice Legion Alpha
The Justice Legion Alpha is a DC Comics superhero team, who exist in the far future of the DC Universe. Created by Grant Morrison, they first appeared in DC One Million .In the 853rd century the institutions of the Justice League of America and the Legion of...
went back in time to recruit the ancient Justice League of America
Justice League
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....
. The current Legion had counterparts to the League except for Green Lantern (they had the future Starman instead). After arriving at the end of the 20th century, Kal Kent and the Justice Legion convinced the League to go the future and participate in trials as part of the celebration. Before they leave, Kal helps Superman stop a Belle-Reve prison riot; during this incident he references fighting the Chronovore with the Superman Squad.
Following the League's departure, Hourman
Hourman
Hourman is the name of three different fictional DC Comics superheroes, the first of whom was created by Ken Fitch and Bernard Baily in Adventure Comics #48 , during the Golden Age of Comic Books.-Rex Tyler:Scientist Rex Tyler, raised in upstate...
releases the "Hourman virus" which infected not only people, but technology. It is revealed that the virus is Solaris
Solaris (comics)
Solaris is a DC Comics supervillain, who exists in the distant future of the DC Universe. Solaris was created by Grant Morrison, and first appeared in the DC One Million crossover, although it also subsequently appeared in Grant Morrison's All-Star Superman series, set outside DC continuity.-DC...
' artificial intelligence in its infancy. The virus is spreading because Solaris is looking in all technology and organisms for its body. To cure the world and save it from Solaris, they had to create Solaris. Once in his body, Solaris became self aware, with his intelligence increasing with every passing second. Starman sacrifices himself but he is able to banish Solaris by creating a black hole
Black hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
. Their time machine didn't have enough power for deep time travel, but Superman is able to punch through the time barrier to bring the Legion back to the 853rd century. They arrive in time for Superman-Prime's arrival and the final destruction of Solaris.
All-Star Superman
Kal Kent isn't actually named until Superman mentions him by name in All-Star Superman #2. He is shown in a holographic communication unit, as Superman is trying to communicate with the future. Due to technological limitations, only fragments come through, Kal is shown talking about the Superman Dynasty's feud with Solaris. He makes his first appearance leading a group of time-traveling Superman Squad members against the time-eating Chronovore in Smallville the day Jonathan Kent dies of a heart attack.Powers and abilities
Kal Kent has Kryptonian powersPowers and abilities of Superman
The powers of DC Comics character Superman have changed a great deal since his introduction in the 1930s. The extent of his powers peaked during the 1970s and 1980s to the point where various writers found it difficult to create suitable challenges for the character...
that have evolved into the far future. His default kryptonian powers (super strength, invulnerability, super speed, super senses, super breath, freeze breath, flight, x-ray vision and heat vision) appear on par with the vastly powerful Silver Age Superman. Due to other alien/extradimensional admixtures in the Superman Dynasty bloodline, he also has additional powers such as super ESP, force vision, telepathy
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
, electromagnetic manipulation and an additional 10 senses. Kal gets the energy for his main powers from the original Superman Kal-El and Earth's Super-Sun, resulting in him gradually losing his powers when he is in the past. This future descendant of Superman has stated that he himself is "Faster than a speeding Tachyon
Tachyon
A tachyon is a hypothetical subatomic particle that always moves faster than light. In the language of special relativity, a tachyon would be a particle with space-like four-momentum and imaginary proper time. A tachyon would be constrained to the space-like portion of the energy-momentum graph...
, more powerful than a collapsing star, and able to leap between planets in a single bound". When trapped in the 20th century, he displayed the ability to punch his way through time using the basic time portal Steel
Steel (John Henry Irons)
Steel , also known as the Man of Steel, is a fictional character, a superhero in the DC Universe. First appearing in The Adventures of Superman #500 , he is the third character known as Steel and was created by Louise Simonson and artist Jon Bogdanove...
had assembled using plans acquired from the Lord of Time
Epoch (comics)
Epoch, in comics, may refer to:*Epoch , a DC Comics time-traveling character*Epoch , a Marvel Comics character, the offspring of Eon...
, although this was exhausting and nearly drained him down to the last dregs of his power before he reached his home century. Finally his agility, reflexes and extrasensory and visionary power are nearly incalculable. He is also immune to Kryptonite
Kryptonite
Kryptonite is a fictional material from the Superman mythos —the ore form of a radioactive element from Superman's home planet of Krypton. It is famous for being the ultimate physical weakness of Superman, and the word kryptonite has since become synonymous with an Achilles' heel —the one weakness...
, Red sun light/radiation, and possibly psionics
Psionics
Psionics refers to the practice, study, or psychic ability of using the mind to induce paranormal phenomena. Examples of this include telepathy, telekinesis, and other workings of the outside world through the psyche.-History and terminology:...
. He is also as smart as Brainiac 5
Brainiac 5
Brainiac 5 is a fictional character who exists in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Universe. He is a long standing member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Brainiac 5 is from the planet Colu...
if not more so as the future Flash John Fox once stated he is able to calculate over a billion scenarios simultaneously. Although humans have developed into a superhuman race as well, Superman promised his successors greater powers if they pledged to always protect Earth and the solar system.
In other media
Kal Kent appears in a cameoCameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
in the animated film All-Star Superman
All-Star Superman (film)
All-Star Superman is a direct-to-video animated film based on the acclaimed comic book series All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. The film is the tenth in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line released by Warner Premiere and Warner Bros. Animation and the first in the...
as one of Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
's descendant
Lineal descendant
A lineal descendant, in legal usage, refers to a blood relative in the direct line of descent. The children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc...
s from the far future. In the movie, Superman shows Lois Lane
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
on his time telescope Kal Kent, the Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
of the 84th century whose just "fought the mad god Darkseid
Darkseid
Darkseid is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 and was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby....
in year 8315". Interestingly, Lois points out to Superman that Kal resembles her father, to which Superman just smiles.