For better or for worse, clones are a mainstay in DC and Marvel Comics, and almost nowhere is that more apparent than in Superboy and Spider-Man‘s publication histories. Clone stories have a reputation of being divisive, or at the very least frustrating for fans, as seen with Spider-Man’s panned “Clone Saga” story that introduced Peter Parker’s double, Ben Reilly. Even so, the trajectory of Conner Kent’s Superboy and his clone, Match, in Suicide Squad proves that clone stories can carry a unique emotional weight while also inviting fans to look at comics’ most iconic characters in new light.
To start, what makes Conner Kent (also known as Kon-El) unique in comparison to other clones in superhero comics is that he was created from DNA belonging to Superman and the villainous Lex Luthor. This makes Conner’s clone, Match, a clone of a clone. Conner was created in a test tube at Cadmus as part of an operation to replace Superman, while Match was created under even darker circumstances by a group called the Agenda. And while Conner is able to pass in public as a perfect, if charmingly bratty, copy of Superman, Match stands out because of his deeply unstable nature and limited speech capabilities that are reminiscent of Superman’s Bizarro clone. While Match has been appearing in Superboy comics since the 1990s, only in the most recent Suicide Squad run has he been given the chance to unpack the horrifying truth about his identity as a clone of a clone.
Robbie Thompson, Dexter Soy, and Eduardo Pansica’s Suicide Squad featured Superboy on the team, leaving fans surprised as to how Conner first got there. But when the real Conner appeared later on in the series, it was discovered that the original Superboy on the Squad was actually Match the whole time, who had been taking supplements from Amanda Waller that gave him cognitive and physical enhancements, allowing him pass as Conner. Match’s discovery that he wasn’t Conner coincided with his skin turning a Bizarro shade of white, and his speech regressing to Bizarro levels as the effects of Waller’s drug suddenly wore off. This shocking scene took place in Suicide Squad 2021 Annual #1.
Superboy’s arc in Suicide Squad is utterly heartbreaking, and vastly improves upon questions typically asked in stories such as Spider-Man’s “Clone Saga,” because in this case, there is a real significance to be drawn from the character that was cloned. That is, from a thematic standpoint, a clone created from Superboy, a character originally created in the image of DC’s pinnacle of goodness, carries more weight than a clone of an everyman hero like Spider-Man. In this sense, Match’s identity in Suicide Squad reveals how superheroism is understood by people within the world of DC Comics, uncovering the processes by which its façade is maintained.
Spider-Man’s “Clone Saga” is a notoriously incoherent story, with the plot frequently twisting on itself to avoid answering the question of who the “real” Peter Parker is. And while the arc kept fans engaged for months, the reason for its existence in the first place is rather ludicrous. There is no question that Spider-Man is an iconic hero in Marvel Comics and beyond, but part of why he is so popular stems from the fact that he is, at his core, a character whose lack of specificities makes him instantly relatable to almost anyone. That is, Peter Parker functions as a coming-of-age avatar, embodying everyman qualities intended to make him relatable. Within the context of the “Clone Saga,” nothing is achieved on a thematic level when the everyman is replicated, which is why the storyline lacks a sense of depth.
On the other hand, Superman represents an almost impossible heroic ideal that has been imitated, subverted, parodied, and literally cloned countless times within the world of DC Comics and beyond. His image of goodness is inspiring, but ultimately, impossible to replicate in a lab, as Conner’s DNA from Lex Luthor demonstrates. Conner’s existence proves that Superman’s heroism isn’t something that can be broken down from a scientific standpoint, and it engages a debate between nature versus nurture in how heroes are created. Before Match is even brought into the equation, Superman’s relationship to his clone Conner provides a much deeper look at how regular humans like Lex Luthor try to understand how such an honorable and powerful figure can even exist “naturally.”
Because Match is a clone of a clone, he represents how superpowers are commodified by those with evil intentions like Lex Luthor and Amanda Waller, and his character’s arc in Suicide Squad reveals the emotional and psychological consequences of their actions. Because the arc is framed from Match’s perspective, readers have no reason to suspect that he is anything but Conner until the real Conner arrives, partly because Superboy’s brand of heroism is something DC fans are trained to readily accept and support. But as Match quickly regresses to his original self without Waller’s drugs, he becomes like Frankenstein’s monster. He is too horrible to be looked at for what he really is: someone who was never intended to have a soul. In order to be marginally accepted by others, Match has to be drugged so he can behave more like the person he was cloned from. Nothing Ben Reilly has experienced will ever compare to this.
Match’s arc in Suicide Squad sets a new standard for clone stories, precisely because it understands what its characters represent. Conner benefits from the fact that he is the most socially-acceptable out of all the Superman clones, while Match suffers from the truth that he is a corrupted version of an imitation. While Match was commonly used as a punchline before Suicide Squad, this story elevated his character to new heights as his arc illustrates a terrifying truth about being a clone: you never truly belong to yourself.
Over the years, clones have been the source of much derision amongst comics fans, but under the right circumstances, they provide insight into the limits of the heroic in superhero comics. Already, the role that superpowers play in these stories means that superheroes are exceptional figures whose public images can quickly slip from admiration to horror. Clones like Match face an even more intense version of this paradigm, as even members of the superhero community look at him with shock and scorn.
With both Match and Ben Reilly entering the spotlight again at DC and Marvel Comics, there has never been a better time to unpack what makes a successful clone storyline. As Match’s arc in Suicide Squad can attest to, there is real emotional power to be found in tragic characters such as himself, and even Conner. Seeing the reemergence of Ben Reilly in current Spider-Man comics, perhaps Peter Parker’s clone is due for his own emotionally devastating story like Superboy‘s.
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Author: Jules Chin Greene
