Conduit (Kenny Braverman) is a fictional character appearing in
American comic book
An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...
s published by
DC Comics
DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
.
Publication history
Conduit first appeared in ''
Superman: The Man of Steel'' #0 and was created by
Dan Jurgens
Dan Jurgens (; born June 27, 1959) is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for his work on the DC Comics, DC comic book storyline "The Death of Superman" and for creating characters such as Doomsday (DC Comics), Doomsday, Hank H ...
and
Louise Simonson. In the 1995 story arc "Death of Clark Kent" spanning four Superman titles, Conduit tried to murder everyone important to Kent.
Fictional character biography
Kenny Braverman is born on route to a hospital as the infant
Kal-El's starship lands on Earth, exposing him to
Kryptonite
Kryptonite is a fictional material that appears primarily in Superman stories published by DC Comics. In its best-known form, it is a green, crystalline material originating from Superman's home world of Krypton (comics), Krypton that emits a u ...
radiation that alters his biology. As a teenager, he becomes an athlete at
Smallville
''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...
High School, but always comes in second place to Clark Kent.
To learn how to manage his body's changes, Kenny volunteers to be examined by the
CIA. Afterward, he is recruited to partake in a covert operation in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, but is defeated by Clark. This, coupled with years of being outdone by him in their youth, causes Kenny to grow to despise Clark. He battles Superman several times before being killed in battle with him.
In 2011, "
The New 52
The New 52 was the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero American comic books, comic books. Following the conclusion of the "Flashpoint (comics), Flashpoint" Fictional crossover, cros ...
" rebooted the DC universe. Kenny Braverman appears in a flashback when
Psycho-Pirate uses his Medusa Mask to make Superman relive his history.
Powers and abilities
Conduit wears body armor that provides some protection from energy and physical attacks. His powered exo-frame allows him to fly. He has two extendable cables with which he can ensnare an opponent as well as fire blasts of Kryptonite radiation. Conduit also learned how to channel this energy he gave off back into his body to enhance his strength to a point where he could physically compete with Superman.
In other media
* A young Kenny Braverman appears in the ''
Superman: The Animated Series'' episode "New Kids in Town", voiced by
Scott Menville
Scott David Menville (born February 12, 1971) is an American actor and musician who is known for his voice work in animated films, television series and video games. He voices Robin in Cartoon Network's ''Teen Titans'' (2003–2006) and ''Teen ...
.
[ A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.] This version is a bully at Smallville High School.
* A young Kenny Braverman appears in ''
Man of Steel'', portrayed by Rowen Kahn. This version is a bully at Smallville High School.
* Conduit appears as a character summon in ''
Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure''.
* Conduit received a figure in
Kenner Products' ''Man of Steel'' toy line.
See also
*
List of Superman enemies
This is a list of supervillains appearing in DC Comics who are or have been enemies of the superhero Superman. Several of Superman's opponents (most notably Darkseid and Brainiac) are or have been foes of the Justice League as well. Unlike most ...
References
External links
Conduitas DC Universe Guide
{{Superman characters
Characters created by Dan Jurgens
Comics characters introduced in 1994
DC Comics male supervillains
DC Comics spies
Fictional characters from Kansas
Fictional characters with energy-manipulation abilities
Fictional players of American football
Superman characters