If you’re one of the many who have picked up a recent issue of Superman, you may have noticed something curious: namely, that Superman isn’t in it. In his place is a young man dressed in his own Superman outfit calling himself “Superboy-Prime.” But what does that mean, exactly? What happened to Superman? And why should we care about this person taking his place? We’re here to answer all your questions about the new star of Superman’s flagship title—who happens to one of the most unique characters in the entire DC Universe.
WHY “PRIME”?
We’ve seen some misconceptions that “Superboy-Prime” refers to an earlier iteration of Superman in main continuity, like he may be the Silver Age iteration of the Superman we know.
Well, not exactly. In most cases—especially before and after the New 52 period of 2011 to 2016—“Prime” is used as a shorthand for “Earth-Prime.” A concept dating back to Silver Age issues of The Flash and Justice League of America, Earth-Prime was introduced in the 1960s as the world in DC’s multiverse that’s most equivalent to our own: one where superheroes exist as fictional comic book characters, their stories arriving to the writers and artists we know in dreams. Occasionally, real creators and staff from DC Comics would assist the Justice League in crises which spilled over into their world.
WHERE DOES SUPERBOY COME IN?
While there were always minor variations between Earth-Prime and our own Earth, the biggest one of all would be established in a crucial tie-in to Crisis on Infinite Earths—1985’s DC Comics Presents #87. As the multiverse falls to pieces at the maw of the Anti-Monitor, Earth-One’s Superman discovers the existence of his own counterpart in an otherwise superhero-free universe: a Kal-El who was sent from a doomed Krypton to a more realistic Earth, raised in New England by Jerry and Naomi Kent, and named after the popular comic book character, to which he had obvious similarities.
Growing up reading the superhero comics from which he got his name, young Clark Kent of Earth-Prime unexpectedly developed his own Superman-like powers during the Crisis. In aiding Superman and the surviving heroes of the multiverse against the Anti-Monitor, the emergent “Superboy-Prime” became the sole survivor of his own universe. As consolation, he was given a paradise world in a small, self-contained universe to inhabit with a handful of other multiverse refugees. Just him, Earth-3 Lex Luthor’s son and the Golden Age Superman and Lois, all living together on a tiny world where nothing ever happens…at least until the emergence of a viewing point that allows them to check in on the New Earth. What could go wrong?
EVERYTHING GOES WRONG
Fast forward twenty years to Infinite Crisis. There’s been a whole lot of bleakness in the new universe. A broken Batman, a dead Robin, a Superman’s Doomsday…we won’t even get into Identity Crisis. In a long simmering follow-up to the original Crisis, we check in on Superboy-Prime, the character imagined back in the ’80s as a comic book reader who became the sort of superhero he’d grown up reading about. Here, he is still meant to stand for a certain kind of reader—one who is not happy with the direction this world has taken. The kind of reader who, just maybe, thinks he can do a little bit better if he were in charge.
The lost heroes of Superboy-Prime’s pocket world free themselves from their captive reality, soft-rebooting certain elements of continuity and allowing him to attempt to take direct control of the world he once loved. Superboy-Prime, savior of the universe in Crisis on Infinite Earths, becomes the central villain of its sequel. Heroes and villains alike are killed in battle with him, most significantly the current Superboy, Kon-El. (He eventually got better. They all did, really. As Superboy-Prime himself asks in a recent issue, “If everyone I killed eventually came back, does it really even count?”)
The Superman of New Earth subdues Superboy-Prime at the end of Infinite Crisis, placing him in the custody of the Green Lantern Corps, and thus making him their problem for the ensuing Sinestro Corps War storyline as one of Sinestro’s recruits. Then, as he discovers the multiverse has been reborn following the events of the weekly 2006 series 52, Superboy-Prime tears his way through the new multiverse in Countdown searching for his home. After a massive course of casualties, Superboy-Prime is lost in the timestream, going on to fight three different versions of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the Final Crisis tie-in Legion of Three Worlds. A whole lot goes down there, including a reveal that Superboy-Prime may in fact be the classic Legion villain the Time Trapper (though reports on that do vary), but ultimately it ends with him in a paradox that finally sends him back to Earth-Prime.
FROM SUPERBOY TO FANBOY
If you’ve been following along so far, this is the point where Clark Kent of Earth-Prime goes from being casually aware of Superman to a comic book obsessive. Having lived in the DC Universe for so long, we see in a 2009 Adventure Comics tie-in to Blackest Night that Superboy-Prime becomes wholly dedicated to following the developments of the universe he once inhabited through the comics, even trawling for spoilers for issues not yet published online. (And you thought Darkseid was evil.) After fighting off an outbreak of Black Lanterns, Superboy-Prime was called back to the DC Universe thanks to a misplaced wormhole for one last showdown with the Teen Titans in Teen Titans #98-100. Shortly after that, the Flashpoint took place, and what could have possibly happened to Superboy-Prime following that was anybody’s guess.
THE WALLS COME DOWN
We eventually catch back up with Superboy-Prime in Geoff Johns’ Rebirth-era Shazam! series, trapped in a realm of forbidden magic since we last saw him. It’s here that we see that he’s gained a new ability—one where he recognizes the readers themselves holding the comics in which he appears, often addressing them directly. After a quick fight with the Shazamily, Superboy-Prime is handed over to Justice League custody, until yet another Crisis event brings it all back around. This time it’s in Dark Nights: Death Metal – The Secret Origin, where young Clark finally reconnects with the values that made Superman an inspiration to him and puts it all on the line in a fight against the Batman Who Laughs, then reborn as “The Darkest Knight.” For his reward, Superboy-Prime was once again returned to his home universe, with a chance to start over again as a true hero.
IT’S PRIME TIME
Which brings us, more or less, to now. In the run-up to DC K.O., our Superman forms an alliance with the new Time Trapper—not Superboy-Prime, but an incarnation of Doomsday from the very end of time. To defeat an invading Darkseid and his horde of brainwashed Legionnaires, Superman and the future Doomsday broker a further alliance with Superboy-Prime for a little extra firepower. And so far, he’s proven a valuable asset—one who not only possesses the powers of Superman, but has enough media literacy to understand the tropes and dynamics of superhero comics, using that knowledge to his benefit against any opponent.
Not to spoil the end of DC K.O., but while Superman was competing in the King Omega tournament to defeat Darkseid, Superboy-Prime stayed behind to help the Superman Family hold down the fort. Now, the tournament is over and Superman hasn’t come back, having told the League that with the new power he’s won as champion, he has some more business to sort out. So, in the meantime, Superboy-Prime’s taken up temporary residence back on Earth-0, where most DC comics today take place. He’s working in a comic book shop by day while he saves the world in Superman’s stead…also by day. Nobody said being Superman didn’t keep you busy.
Can we forgive Superboy-Prime for his villainous past? Can the world? Is there any path forward for a villain, even one designed to represent us, to make good? Joshua Williamson’s Superman run has been all about finding paths to redemption for even the worst of Superman’s villains. Sometimes they take it, and sometimes they turn away, but a way towards the light is always there. It’s there for Lex Luthor, for Doomsday and even for Superboy-Prime. Spend a few issues flying with him. Even after everything he’s done, it’s hard not to root for the guy.
Look for Superboy-Prime in this week’s Superman #38, now available in print and as a digital comic book. Or to learn more about what Joshua Williamson has in store for him, check out his recent DC.com interview!
Alex Jaffe is the author of our monthly "Ask the Question" column and writes about TV, movies, comics and superhero history for DC.com. Follow him on Bluesky at @AlexJaffe and find him in the DC Official Discord server as HubCityQuestion.
