CONDUIT

Real Name: Kenneth Braverman

Class: Human mutate / cyborg

Occupation: Supervillain, formerly CIA agent

Group Affiliation: Pipeline

Known Relatives: unnamed father, unnamed mother

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Metropolis, formerly Smallville, Kansas

First Appearance: Superman: The Man of Steel #0 (October, 1994)

Powers: Conduit could absorb energy, and then release it as destructive bursts or radiate it from his body. Metal cables were part of his body, and he used them as whips.

History: 

(Action Comics I #0) - Conduit was assigned to go to Simbalia and kill their ambassador, but he went overboard and destroyed an entire embassy, saying he never took half measures. Bristol decided that Conduit would soon turn against the C.I.A., and sent a team to kill him. Conduit defeated the team, but felt betrayed by Bristol, yet another father figure, and left the C.I.A. Conduit was keeping tabs on Clark Kent, and as Kenny he found him in Metropolis. Clark was out with his friend Ruby, but Kenny thought she was his girlfriend and was determined to steal her away. He started dating Ruby and got engaged, but when she realized he was a cyborg they broke up, with a warning from him never to tell anyone or he'd kill her. Conduit started forming global contacts to form the clandestine organization the Pipeline.

(Action Comics I #0) - Conduit and Pipeline attacked the Daily Planet at a rededication ceremony and demanded Clark Kent. Clark slipped away and changed to Superman, and his presence was enough to get the Pipeline agents to flee. They fought and Superman defeated Conduit by damaging his armor. Conduit told him Clark Kent took everything away from him except his dignity, and now that Superman had taken that away he would not stop until Supes was dead.

(Superman II #100, 101, Adventures of Superman #523, 524, Superman: The Man of Steel #45, Action Comics I #711) - Conduit uncovered Superman's secret identity, and sent him notes saying "I Know." He now believed Superman used his powers to an unfair advantage in the sports competitions he had with Clark as a youth, and his anger over being second-best increased to maniacal levels. He targeted Superman's friends and family, kidnapping Jimmy Olsen, setting Clark Kent's apartment ablaze and sending a bomb in a champagne bottle to the home of Lana Lang and Pete Ross. The bomb destroyed their house, but Superman saved their lives. Superman confronted Conduit in his warehouse hq, working his way through Conduit's army of hi-tech goons. When Superman freed Jimmy and started to win the day Conduit showed him video footage of tanks outside the Kents farmhouse. Superman allowed Conduit to escape so he could save his parents, but their farmhouse was destroyed. Superman and the Kents went on the run, and Conduit hired Warp, Neutron and Plasmus to go after them. Superman defeated them, but this gave Conduit time to send Pipeline members after Lois. Conduit tried to kill Lois with a bomb, but she was flown clear by the blast, although Conduit and Superman believed her dead. Conduit sent a number of exploding robotic duplicates to target the S.C.U., the Daily Planet and other areas in Metropolis. Conduit warned Superman that he could stop them or he could stop Pipeline agents from killing the Kents in Denver. Superman made the choice of defeating the robots and saving Metropolis, and both he and Conduit thought the Kents were dead when the Pipeline destroyed their cabin, though the Kents were away foraging for food. Superman had a breakdown and destroyed his Superman costume. Conduit felt he won, finally breaking Superman's spirit and sent Pipeline bombardiers to finish him off. They shot a nuclear missile at him, but the Kents revealed they were alive and Superman snapped out of it and disposed of the warhead, afterwards going into hiding. Shadowdragon thought Conduit's methods of going after Superman's loved ones was dishonorable, and regretted breaking him out of prison, so he wiped out Conduit's database that had information on Superman and his associates. Superman was forced to tip his hand saving loggers from a fire, and Conduit caught up with them. Conduit killed Superman's boss Judith McGivney, knocked out Superman, and brought him to the duplicate of Smallville he built in the Dakotas, populated by robotic versions of their old friends who loved Conduit and hated Superman. They had a showdown at the high school sports stadium, and the crowd was made up of duplicates of Conduit s dad, a symbol of how his victory over Superman might finally make his father love him. During the battle Conduit overloaded his power source, incinerating and killing him.

Comments: Created by Roger Stern

Conduit had a cameo in Superman/Toyman #1.