Superman is one of DC’s most powerful superheroes, as strong as he needs to be to save the day. However, as strong as he is, that doesn’t mean there’s not a handful of beings and people even more powerful than him. Our Clark Kent isn’t even the most powerful version of Superman out there, in fact. Superboy-Prime is one of the most overpowered versions of the Man of Steel ever put to page, and that is saying a lot, considering his history. He’s gone up against the Justice League and Justice Society of America simultaneously and was winning that fight, and has battled the entirety of the Green Lantern Corps by himself. Without a doubt, however, Superboy-Prime’s biggest feat is the time he punched reality so hard it literally changed history.
Videos by ComicBook.com
The infamous Retcon Punch remains one of the most insane things ever published by DC, with Prime punching so hard he actually changed the way things worked. He’s changed a lot since then, and now is attempting to be a hero like he once was. Prime is working with Superman instead of against him this time, and he just had the original Man of Steel help him recreate this monstrous feat.
Punches That Shatter Time and Space
If you haven’t been keeping up with Superman, the long and short of it is that Darkseid has altered time so the Legion of Super-Heroes are his personal army, and the villainous Time Trapper recruited Superman to stop the God of Evil. Time Trapper reunited Superman and Superboy-Prime, who he had placed in a pocket dimension after the reformed villain’s supposed death in Dark Crisis on Infinite Earth. He tasked them with traveling to the 31st century and saving Booster Gold, who had been wiped from the minds of everyone in the 21st century. Superman was understandably put off by working with one of his worst villains, but Prime assured him that he was a hero through and through, and that they would need to work together to rescue the Legion.
Superman wasn’t sure how they were going to get to the 31st century given that all the Justice League’s known time travel methods were nonfunctional and the Time Trapper abandoned them to go deal with his own mission, but Superboy-Prime just showed him how. Prime punched the air so hard it cracked reality, including the panel and onomatopoeia. He told Superman that because the timestream was being watched, they were going to take the direct approach of literally tunneling through time to get where they wanted. Superman was concerned, but Prime simply asked Superman to get Silver Age with him. Together, the two forced their way through time and space, punching all the way to the 31st century. Not only is this such an awesome showcase of how beautifully Superboy-Prime plays with his fourth wall breaking reality powers, but it shows that Superman is just as capable of breaking the rules as he is.
Silver Age Supermen With Zero Limits
The Silver Age was famous for letting anything happen as long as it moved the plot along, and this was especially true for the Man of Tomorrow. Superman could do anything the story demanded, from tugging along dozens of planets on a single chain to shooting miniature versions of himself out of his hands. Over time, especially as comic books steered towards more serious topics, this zany level of power without explanation faded away, even with Superman. In contrast, Superboy-Prime is the living embodiment of the wacky, overpowered nature of the Silver Age. Everything he does breaks down the rules of comic reality to be as fun and insane as he wants it to be, and it’s glorious to see.
Not only does Prime’s feat call back to his best known feat, but it shows us that all the limitations Superman has might be a lot more self-imposed than they seem. Superman deals with plenty of dangerous situations that push him to his limits, but if he’s capable of punching through time like this, then it could be that his old Silver Age limitlessness is still buried underneath. Superman is still the strongest hero there is, and this shows us that he is still every bit as capable of breaking the rules when he needs to. All he needs is the right motivation, and Superman can do anything he sets his mind to, which makes his inevitable confrontation with the evil Legion and the amped up Darkseid all the more awesome to think about.
Superman #29 is on sale now!
Most Viewed
-
Image courtesy of Lucasfilm
