The Kents

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The Kents is a 12-issue DC Comics miniseries published from August 1997 to July 1998. It was written by John Ostrander, with art by Timothy Truman and Michael Bair on the first eight issues, and Tom Mandrake on the last four.

The story follows Nathaniel and Jebediah Kent, ancestors of Clark Kent’s adoptive father, Pa Kent. Set in the mid to late 1800s, the Kents are abolitionists who help the Underground Railroad. They move to Kansas during Bleeding Kansas to run a newspaper promoting a free state. Their father is murdered by border ruffians.

Nathaniel and Jeb argue over slavery and end up on opposite sides of the Civil War. Nathaniel fights for the Union and marries a half-Native American woman who gives him a spiritual symbol that becomes a forerunner to Superman’s chest emblem. Jeb fights with Quantrill’s Confederate guerrillas. After the war, Nathaniel becomes a sheriff in Smallville, while Jeb leads a gang of outlaws.

Years later, Jeb learns he has a son with a partner; the son turns out to be dangerous. The brothers team up to trap him, but the son mortally wounds Jeb and is killed himself. Nathaniel and Jeb reconcile briefly before Jeb dies. The Kent family stays in Smallville for generations, including Jonathan and Martha Kent, Superman’s adoptive parents.

The Kents received a trade paperback collection, and there’s a subtle nod to them in the 2002 Marvel/MAX Apache Skies, where Johnny Bart uses the alias “Jeb Kent.”