Superman’s New Unhinged Replacement Explained

As DC Comics moves away from the All In era to begin its new Next Level era, the DC Universe is getting a new Superman to keep it safe. If you’ve been following DC K.O., you know that Clark and the rest of DC’s heroes and villains have been competing in a tournament in a last-ditch effort to defeat Darkseid. Everyone has been fighting for the right to become King Omega, a being with the power to completely reshape the DCU for the better. Unfortunately, as we’ve seen from the fourth issue, Superman fell in battle in the tournament’s semifinals.

Now, the events of DC K.O. #5 have yet to be unveiled, but you don’t think that DC would leave its universe high and dry without a Man of Steel to protect it, right? Thanks to the solicitations for the coming months, we know that former fanboy menace Superboy-Prime will be taking over the main Superman title and that he will, for all intents and purposes, be the DCU’s Superman while the main one is God knows where. But who is Superboy-Prime? Why is he the right Kryptonian for the job? And most importantly, can he be trusted?

Superboy-Prime: From Hero to Villain and Back to Hero

Superboy-Prime first appeared during the epic Crisis on Infinite Earths event and hails from Earth-Prime (not to be confused with the Prime Earth, DC’s mainline setting). Earth-Prime is a world, much like the ‘real’ world, one completely devoid of superheroes, save for Superboy-Prime, his world’s version of Clark Kent. During the Crisis, Prime united with the heroes in their stand against the Anti-Monitor, and though his world was destroyed, he found haven with a few other survivors in a paradise dimension. However, this was the beginning of his turn to villainy.

Prime, a huge comic book fan, grew bitter watching his favorite heroes grow darker and less heroic in the modern age. Eventually, he left his world and had a years-long stint as a villain, getting joy out of antagonizing the heroes he once admired. Prime fought them periodically before disappearing for a brief period until the Rebirth era. After years of villainy, however, Superboy-Prime found himself working on the side of the angels again during Dark Nights: Death Metal, going so far as to sacrifice himself to help put an end to the Batman Who Laughs’ reign of terror.

Superboy-Prime returned once again late last year and assisted Superman on a rescue mission to save the Legion of Super-Heroes. Unfortunately, the Darkseid Legion was too powerful, forcing Prime to return to the modern-day DCU. While the battle raged on in DC K.O., Prime has been working side-by-side with Lois Lane to ensure an important message was delivered to the Time Trapper. They succeeded in Superman #35, but not before discovering Clark had perished. While Lois and the Kents hold out hope for Clark’s return, Lois introduces them to Prime, who gets to know Jonathan and Martha.

Superboy-Prime is Ready to Become the Hero He Was Meant to Be

If you got into comics around the time I did, you are almost certainly more familiar with Superboy-Prime as a villain. To be fair, he was a damn entertaining one. An embittered fanboy with all the powers of Superman who spends his time raging on message boards? It was a hilarious and fresh approach to a supervillain in the mid-to-late ‘00s. That being said, those years really colored people’s opinions of Prime, and when he reappeared last year, many of us wondered if he could actually be trusted to fill in for Superman while he’s gone.

I’ll give DC credit, because in the last few years, writers like Scott Snyder and Joshua Williamson have really emphasized that for all the toxicity and negativity surrounding Superboy-Prime, he’s still Clark Kent at heart. He wants to be good and to be a hero. He’s spent the better part of his life admiring DC’s pantheon of do-gooders and knows that he can be better than he’s been. If Prime’s last adventure has taught him anything, it’s that he’s not too far gone and that he has it within him to be like his counterpart.

Will the DC Universe’s heroes trust him? That’s another story. I’m sure the Green Lanterns might have a few things to say about Superboy-Prime running around unchecked. But I really do think that Prime is in a new era here. With Superman gone, he’s not showing off or hiding. He’s stepping up because it’s what Superman would do. I do not doubt that he might bring a little bit of attitude to the gig, but I feel confident saying the DCU is in pretty good hands with Superboy-Prime filling in for his doppelganger.

How do you feel about Superboy-Prime replacing Superman in the DC Universe? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts on the ComicBook Forum!

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