Kenneth Braverman (New Earth)

Kenny Braverman was born on the same day that Superman's rocket ship arrived on Earth. While the Kents located the baby Kal-El in their field, Kenny's father was on the way taking his pregnant wife to the hospital. However, the road was slippery due to a heavy snowstorm and when the Bravermans' truck skidded on the ice, they never made it to the hospital in time and Kenny was born in the vehicle on the side of the road. It would later turn out that exposure to Kryptonite that night left some side-effects that would manifest later in life. As a young child, Kenny was often frail and sickly because of the radiation's effects.^[1]

Kenny and Clark Kent were schoolmates. When they reached high school, they were constantly in competition — but Clark always managed to edge out Kenny. Time and time again Clark would be number one in a sporting event and Kenny would come in second place. Kenny asked Lana Lang to senior prom before Clark did, but she lied and told him he had already asked her. They were named Prom King and Queen. Kenny's father was emotionally abusive to Kenny for his whole life, constantly belittling him as a failure and heaping praise on Clark. Kenny's frustration continued to mount, until he vowed on that same prom night that one day he would have his revenge against Clark.^[2]

Kenny went on to join the CIA after high school. He was experimented on because of the growing effects the Kryptonite had on him. His superiors expressed their doubts over his capabilities because of his continued poor health. He was determined to prove himself to them, which involved a mission in France. While there he ran into Clark Kent and Clark's friend Ruby. Believing Ruby was Clark's girlfriend, he "stole" her away from him. After a whirlwind romance, Kenny proposed to her, but when she found out that on his chest green "cables" had begun to glow he threatened to kill her and everyone she loved if she told Clark, ending their romance. As Kenny grew to become more bold and reckless, his superiors decided to try and kill him. When that failed, Braverman left the CIA and started up his own freelance intelligence outfit, Pipeline, which quickly grew in power and knowledge.^[3] Kenny never forgot about Kent, however, and quietly planned his revenge.^[4]

Calling himself Conduit, Braverman decided the time was right to get revenge on Clark Kent. After trying to kill him several ways failed (and trying to make them all look like accidents), Conduit ordered a more frontal hit on Clark on the night he was to receive a Baldy Award. That hit failed, so Conduit attacked Clark when he was at Lois Lane's apartment. Superman was on the scene, however, and during the course of the fight he learned who Conduit really was.

A subsequent battle in Centennial Park led to Conduit's defeat. This enraged him all the more, as he felt that Superman had taken the only thing he had left — his dignity. He then changed his agenda to try and kill Superman.^[3] Conduit easily escaped custody (the same week he was brought in) and tracked down Superman, attacking him with his Kryptonite blasts. Superman was able to defeat him again, however, and this time ensured that he would not escape.^[5]^[6]

Hoping to draw attention away from himself, a villain named Shadowdragon stole vital information about Superman from STAR Labs and delivered it to Conduit in his cell. This, combined with what Kenny knew of Clark Kent growing up, allowed him to deduce that the two were one and the same.^[7] Kenny wasted no time breaking out and working up a plan to come after his hated foe.^[8]

After taunting Clark Kent for weeks with messages that "he knows," Conduit finally comes after his one time friend. Kenny is even more enraged at Kent, as he was convinced that Kent "cheated" during all that time in high school with his super powers (not knowing that Superman's powers developed slowly). He blew up Kent's apartment and captured Jimmy Olsen, who was there. He then attacked Lana Lang and blew up the Kents' farmhouse (though Superman rescued them from being blown up with it).^[9] Conduit calls in some allies, such as Metallo, to fight Superman while he goes after the other people in his life. He attacks Lois Lane and convinces himself and Superman that he succeeded in killing her in a bomb blast.^[10] He continuously hounded Superman and the Kents as they went into hiding. All this caused Shadowdragon to rethink what he had done, and he unleashed a computer virus that destroyed all the data Conduit had on Superman (and most of the rest of the world's data as well). Conduit finally managed to capture Superman, though the Kents eluded him.^[11]

Action Comics 711 — The Death of Conduit

Superman awoke in a mock version of Smallville that Conduit had built somewhere in a remote area of the Dakotas. He filled the town with automatons designed to look like Smallville's residents when he and Kent were young — including a football stadium completely filled with robots that all looked exactly like his father, only now they were all cheering for Kenny. Superman and Conduit faced off man-to-man in the arena, but Kenny's madness got the best of him and he supercharged himself with his Kryptonite until it "overloaded," burning him to a crisp. Even in his final moments, he still blamed Superman for everything that had happened to him.^[12]

After Conduit's death, Superman dismantled Pipeline — where he learned that Conduit had not shared his secret with anyone — and rescued Jimmy Olsen. He also returned Kenny's body to his father, but the elder Braverman was as dispassionate towards his son in death as he had been in life.^[13]

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Unique Physiology: Kenny's body is a living energy generator that can process, manipulate, and act as a conduit for different kinds of energy. Re-channeling and projecting it in destructive ways.
- Radiation Production: The Conduit's body generates Kryptonite radiation due to the propulsion emission from Kal-El's starship. This would give Kenny enough dynamic capacity to wound or incapacitate Superman.
  - Energy Projection: Kenny can focus the massive waves or streams of radioactivity he naturally generates through his hands as concentrated beams of energy at his opponents through the cables in his body and arms. Commonly, Conduit produces Kryptonite-like energy.
  - Radiation Shielding: Conduit can throw up K-Rad shielding to disrupt Superman's heat vision.^[14]
  - Self-Power Distribution: Kenneth's power seems to be fueled by his emotional state, that being the more imbalanced he becomes, the stronger amounts of radiation he can project.^[15] The cables running through his body feed any excess power leaking out back into himself; through it, he can become stronger and tougher with a considerable body mass increase.^[16]
- Superhuman Strength:
- Superhuman Durability:
- Superhuman Stamina:
- Limited Mechanokinesis: Kenny discovered he could utilize his radiology to hack the electronics keeping him prisoner to facilitate escape during a second imprisonment.^[17]

Abilities

Espionage^[4]
- Demolitions^[4]
- Firearms^[4]
- Stealth^[4]
- Multilingualism
Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced)^[4]
Tactical Analysis
- Deception
  - Acting

Weaknesses

Mental Disorder^[18]
Power Instability^[19]

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Conduit's Suit: Flight boots, a helmet, and gauntlets that better direct and focus his power.

Notes

Superman: Secret Origin #1 has Clark being bullied by a red-haired classmate to play football. Clark replies, "It's supposed to rain, anyway, Kenny".
Conduit has the distinction of being one of the few villains included in Kenner's short-lived Superman: The Man of Steel action figure line (1995–96).

Kenneth Braverman (New Earth)

Contents

History