Before Jon Kent, Superman’s forgotten heir started a dynasty that took the Man of Steel’s legacy all the way into the far future of DC One Million.
The Superman Family is the center of one of the most endearing legacies in the DC Universe, rounding out the Man of Steel’s cast to carry his legacy on throughout time and space. These family members have included various sidekicks, cousins, progeny and clones – both good and bad. While Superboy and Bizarro are easily Superman’s most well-known clones, another apparent clone was vitally important to his legend in the DC Universe.
Superman Secundus carried Kal-El’s torch into the future, paving the way for him to reach beyond the 21st century and become a true Man of Tomorrow. This is true for both the Pre-Flashpoint continuity and one of Superman’s most acclaimed alternate universe stories.
Who Is Superman Secundus?
Debuting in Superman: The Man of Tomorrow #1000000, Superman Secundus was part of the DC One Million storyline that was being featured in many of DC’s stories at the time. Created by Mark Schultz and Georges Jeanty, the character was the first step in one of the story’s most notable concepts. At the onset of what leads to the 853rd century DC continuity, the future version of the present-day Superman leaves Earth. This happens after he begins to outlive many of his friends, family members and fellow heroes, with his Kryptonian physiology making him effectively immortal thanks to Earth’s yellow sun.
He didn’t however, end his legacy there or leave Earth without a Superman. In his place, he left Secundus, whose S-symbol reflected that he was the second Superman to defend the planet. Not much is mentioned concerning Secundus’ origins, however, so his role as an heir of Superman is somewhat questionable.
He didn’t seem to be Superman’s actual son, given that such an offspring wasn’t mentioned theretofore, and he seemingly had no close relationship with Secundus. This is backed up by the Post-Crisis version of Superman being unable to conceive a child with Lois due to their biological differences. It would seem that this was merely a clone or some other such genetic duplicate, with Superman having perfected the technology to do what Lex Luthor failed to when he created Bizarro. This is backed up by his powers being exactly that of Superman’s, suggesting that he has some true Kryptonian DNA. The somewhat optimistic nature of the story was also a slight callback to the plot devices of the Silver Age, with the industry and DC in particular trying to move away from the grim and gritty ’90s.
What is the Superman Dynasty?
Secundus would fight foes such as the evil computer Solaris, as well as apparently do what the original Man of Steel never did in this world and father biological children. From then on, a long line of Kal-El’s descendants were born that made up the Superman Dynasty, with the Superman of the 853rd Century being named Kal Kent in honor of his original ancestor.
Secundus would appear here and there in other stories, but his role in the grand schemes of things was never expanded upon. Easily his biggest role, however, was in a sort of cameo at the end of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s iconic All-Star Superman. At the beginning of that story, Superman had also noted how he and Lois would be unable to biologically start a legacy the old-fashioned way due to biological differences. The story’s last panel, however, showed a vault titled “Secundus” that was Superman’s genetic heir, having been created through a combination of Superman’s DNA and a superpowered Lois’. This leads to that continuity’s own version of the Superman Dynasty and later Kal Kent, all of whom trace their lineage back to this “Superman 2.”
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