Who is Superboy-Prime? Is the Clark Kent from a world without superheroes a young hero? A psychotic villain? Or is Superboy-Prime simply a lost soul, searching for a way home? He’s a very complex character, especially for one who - for all intents and purposes - is comparatively new. Here's a deeper look into one of DC's most powerful, and potentially most dangerous, beings.
Superboy-Prime’s Comic Book Origins
To truly understand where Superboy-Prime comes from, one has to understand a little about the cosmology of the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths DC Universe. There were, as the title suggests, countless universes with parallel Earths, each one slightly different from the others. Earth-Prime was constructed as “our” Earth, the Earth where superheroes were comic book characters owned and created by DC Comics. This is where Superboy-Prime comes from.
Related: Who Is Cyborg Superman? Comic Origins and Powers Explained
The character’s first appearance was in DC Comics Presents #87. In the Earth-Prime Universe, Kal-El’s parents send him hurtling through space to Earth-Prime. Only, in this universe, Krypton does not blow up, but is burnt to a crisp from the solar flares from a supernova, and baby Kal-El was not sent to Earth in a rocket ship, but a transporter. The couple that discovers the baby isn’t Jonathon and Martha Kent, but Jerry, CEO of a computer company, and his wife, Naomi, an attorney. They discover the baby while hiking one day. The couple, who have not been able to conceive a baby on their own, decide to keep young Kal-El and name him Clark. Although he is teased mercilessly as a child, he grows up into a well-adjusted teenager, with a girlfriend who, by happenstance, share Lois Lane's initials, Lori Lemon.
During a costume party, Clark (dressed as Superman) and Lori (a mermaid) are strolling along the beach chatting about Clark's desire to go to the stars someday. Between Halley’s comet and a magnetic fluctuation of the moon, Clark’s Kryptonian powers are activated. He jumps into the air and simply floats away. In Earth’s orbit, Clark meets Superman from Earth-1. Together they prevent a tidal wave and stop an alien invasion from Polarian tourists. Superman and the newly-christened Superboy return to their respective universes.
All of the above events take place during the early days of Crisis on Infinite Earths, which collapsed all the different universes into one, and only Earth-1 was remaining. Superboy assisted Superman from Earth-2 (Kal-L) and Alexander Luthor from Earth-3 in defeating the Anti-Monitor. After the fight, the three refugees from other Earths (along with Lois Lane from Earth-2) realized that Earth-1 could never be their true home, so they retreated into a “paradise dimension” where they could observe the goings on of Earth-1. And that was that.
Only, that was not that.
How Superboy-Prime Went From Hero to Villain
As the four refugees watch reality from a safe distance, they see the world’s heroes grow darker and more violent, especially with moments like the Justice League erasing the memories of several villains and even Batman. Angered at the direction the world’s superheroes were going, Superboy-Prime and Alexander Luthor decide to do something about it. Punching the barrier between dimensions, Superboy-Prime causes ripples throughout reality, explaining away continuity errors that DC Comics had developed over the years, including, but not limited to, Donna Troy’s (the original Wonder Girl) multiple origins and the reincarnations of Hawkman.
The four refugees decided that at the end of Crisis on Infinite Earths, they “saved the wrong Earth,” and swore to bring back Earth-2 and establish it as the sole Earth. They break through the barrier, and Superboy-Prime attacks the current Superboy, Connor Kent, believing that Connor isn’t worthy of the name “Superboy.” In a confrontation with the Teen Titans, Superboy-Prime either kills or maims several members. They only manage to stop him by trapping him in the Speed Force, the force that powers the Flash family.
Superboy-Prime remains trapped in the Speed Force for years, but eventually returns to Earth mere hours after he left due to time dilation, sporting a new set of armor inspired by the Anti-Monitors. In the ensuing battle, Superboy-Prime inadvertently destroys the tower Alexander Luthor had built to separate the various Earths to their previous state. Ultimately, it takes the Guardians of the Universe to capture and imprison him. He escapes and joins forces with Sinestro and Cyborg Superman in attacking Oa, the planetary base of the Green Lantern Corps, though he turns on Sinestro and is seemingly vaporized.
Superboy-Prime is a Villain To... Everyone?
He flies throughout the multiverse, trying to find and return to “his” Earth and destroys at least one universe’s Earth in the pursuit. He finds his Earth, only to discover that it has been nearly destroyed by an ongoing war between Monarch and his armies and that Earth’s heroes. Attacking Monarch, he inadvertently causes a quantum explosion that appears to destroy that entire universe.
He next appears in the future to battle the Legion of Super-Heroes. Legions from several different universes enter the fray to combat Superboy-Prime and the Legion of Super-Villains. But the only way he can be defeated is by the Time Trapper, a Legion villain who lives at the end of time. It is revealed that the Time Trapper is in fact a grown and aged Superboy-Prime. When the younger Superboy-Prime appears to kill the elder, he creates a paradox that causes both versions to vanish.
He reappears back on Earth-Prime, where his parents and girlfriend have all read about his villainous deeds and are terrified of him. He spends his time pouring over any DC Comics he can get his hands on. When it is implied that he will die in an upcoming issue, he attacks the New York offices of DC Comics. He is taken by Alexander Luthor and is given a Black Lantern ring. Superboy-Prime, despondent, attempts to commit suicide by willing his Black Lantern ring to kill him. But due to all of his conflicting emotions, he inadvertently destroys all of the Black Lanterns.
After a battle with the Teen Titans, Superboy-Prime, enraged, vows revenge on the Titans and promises he will find his way back home. To help him in his revenge, he recruits several other young villains who have a grudge against the Titans to attack them. He is ultimately defeated and imprisoned in the Source Wall at the edge of reality.
The next time fans see Superboy-Prime, he is trapped in the Dungeon of Eternity and escapes to battle the Shazam family. He is only defeated by the combined might of Shazam and Black Adam, at which point he is turned over to the Justice League, where he supposedly is today.
Despite his incredible powers, Superboy-Prime’s essential flaw is his immaturity. He often betrays or bickers with his villainous partners. He will enter a fight enraged and unable to control himself. He throws tantrums a three-year-old can appreciate, and unless he finds a way to stop obsessing over his own problems, he will always find himself on the losing side of the fight.