It Took Two Versions of Superman To Beat Superboy-Prime

The DC Universe has plenty of incredibly dangerous villains, but one – Superboy-Prime – was so powerful that it took two different versions of Superman to stop him – and even then, neither finished the fight on their feet.

Written by Geoff Johns with art by Phil Jimenez, Infinite Crisis was a sequel to Crisis on Infinite Earths, an event which reorganized the history of the DC Universe, streamlining its then 50 years of continuity into a cohesive whole. As a result, whole realities were wiped from existence, including Earth-Prime. Earth-Prime was created to be a stand-in for the world of the reader, and as such there were no superheroes save for Superboy. Tragically, the Crisis arrived on Earth-Prime, destroying it, with Superboy the only survivor. Once the Crisis was over, Superboy of Earth-Prime, Alex Luthor of Earth-3, and the Earth-2 Superman and Lois Lane left for a paradise dimension where they could live out their lives in peace. But during their exile, the newly christened Superboy-Prime began feeling he’d been robbed of his opportunity to be Superman, which slowly corrupted him, especially as he watched others play out his dream. Superboy-Prime and his cohorts decided to return to DC’s main reality to restore the original multiverse, solving the corruption they believed had grown out of control in their absence.

As the event unfolded, it was brought to light that Alex Luthor has been manipulating both Superboy-Prime and the Earth-2 Superman, using them to further his plans for conquest. Once he realized the depths of Luthor’s manipulation, the Earth-2 Superman turned on him, but Superboy-Prime stood by his side, which led to a final showdown in space between two Supermen (the Superman of Earth-2 and the mainline Superman) and Superboy-Prime. Both Supermen hit Superboy-Prime with everything they had, but he was able to take it. Realizing they were overmatched, the two Supermen brought Superboy to a solar system with a red sun and threw him through it, destroying his power suit. He survived but was now powerless, as were the other two Supermen.

After blasting the mainstream Kal-El with his remaining heat vision, Superboy-Prime attacked Earth-2’s Superman with his bare hands. And while the mainstream Superman eventually rose to his feet and delivered a blow that took down his villainous doppelganger, he immediately collapsed, leaving the Green Lantern Corps to actually apprehend Superboy-Prime. When the dust settled, the Earth-2 Superman was dead, and Superboy-Prime was locked away in a prison formed by the combined willpower of fifty Green Lanterns, already planning the atrocities he’d bring about when he inevitably escaped.

The fact that Superboy-Prime was able to take two Supermen down to the wire, killing one in the process, shows just how powerful he is – and he was only a teenager. That much power in the hands of someone as petulant as Superboy-Prime is a terrifying thought. Over the years, Superboy-Prime would return, most notably as a member of the Sinestro Corps, and eventually achieved some degree of peace during Dark Nights: Death Metal, earning a fresh start. However, as a fan-favorite villain, it’s always possible Superboy-Prime (or a new version of this dark Clark Kent) will return, and if he does, fans already know it will take more than one Superman to even slow him down.

About The Author

Shaun Corley
(1379 Articles Published)

Shaun Corley is a pop culture enthusiast living in the Pacific Northwest. After stints in both customer service and academia, he’s turned his attention to writing about comic books–his lifelong passion. He is a graduate of Radford University, with a degree in English. When not reading comics, he enjoys spending time with his fiance and their dog.

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