December 20's Batman/Superman: World's Finest #10 promises to reveal the secret identity of Boy Thunder, Superman's long-lost sidekick from another reality.
Though there have been a few hints here and there as to which DC character fans have known for "decades" the Boy Thunder may actually be, the biggest clue to his identity may come from updated trade dress for World's Finest #10, which references the Bible verse Matthew 6:10, an excerpt from The Lord's Prayer.
"Thy will be done," reads the quote on the cover.
The full context of Matthew 6:10 reads "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven."
It's that first bit, "thy kingdom come," which may be an important clue to who Boy Thunder actually is, potentially referencing the 1996 story Kingdom Come (which we named the best DC story of all time), also written by Mark Waid.
Kingdom Come depicts a not-too-distant future in the DC Universe where the old guard of Justice League heroes like Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman are at odds with a new generation of heroes whose methods and ideologies are much darker and more brutal than those of the classic heroes.
The Kingdom Come reality now inhabits an Earth (designated Earth-22) in the DC Multiverse.
So who from Kingdom Come could Boy Thunder be? We've made our guesses about who the character's secret identity may turn out to be, but we didn't quite tune into any suggestions from Kingdom Come.
For Waid's part, he tells Newsarama that "One person. Just one," has guessed the character's identity, to his knowledge.
With just the clues from the already released issues of Batman/Superman: World's Finest, there are a few possibilities of heroes who come from the world of Kingdom Come that could be the secret identity of Boy Thunder.
For one thing, there's the character Thunder, a kid who controls the legendary Thunderbolt of Johnny Thunder. Thunder appeared in the Kingdom Come spin-off title The Kingdom, so we know Waid has had his eye on the character for a while. And of course, there's the 'Thunder' connection in their names, even though Boy Thunder's powers are inherent, not provided by the Thunderbolt.
Then there's one other big potential clue to a possible Kingdom Come character who could be the secret identity of Boy Thunder, though the connection is more tenuous. In the previous issue of World's Finest, Boy Thunder was kidnapped by the Joker (never good for a sidekick).
In Kingdom Come, the story is largely kicked off when a young hero named Magog kills the Joker while the Clown Prince of Crime is in custody for the murder of Lois Lane, creating a complicated relationship between Superman, Magog, and the now dead Joker.
Could Boy Thunder be Magog? Magog's powers of energy control could line up with those displayed by Boy Thunder, though Magog has traditionally channeled his powers through a staff. And Boy Thunder's connections to Superman and the Joker could hint at their dynamic in the alt-future of Kingdom Come.
We should also note, The Boy Thunder, who comes from an unnamed alternate reality, is named David Sikela (which is likely a Waid homage to classic Superboy artist John J. Sikela). While not given a name in Kingdom Come, Magog was given the name David Reid in follow-up series and specials.
Of course, we can't rule out that there's another Kingdom Come character who fits the bill for Boy Thunder's true identity, or that the seeming Kingdom Come reference on the cover is a misdirect.
We'll find out on Tuesday, December 20, with Batman/Superman: World's Finest #10.
