Superboy was created by Project Cadmus using Kryptonian DNA, intended as a replacement for Superman who died fighting Doomsday. Artificially aged to his mid-teens and implanted with the equivalent of a high school education, Superboy was set free by the Newsboy Legion before he could be implanted with safeguards to control him. One of the boys gave him a leather jacket before he set out into the city, where he had his first encounter with a villain when he found Sidearm attempting to steal money from an ATM.