Thursday, January 19, 2006

The Tragedy of Superboy-Prime

Infinite Crisis #4 has come and gone, and we're left with as many questions as answers. But issue number four gave us something very special: one of the most brutal fights I have ever seen in comics. Superboy-Prime versus the Titans, the Doom Patrol and the JSA. It was violent -- and more than a few characters ended up dead or missing. Long lost heroes returned in a desperate effort to even the scales against a mad, nigh unstoppable Kryptonian.

And yet, I found myself feeling somewhat sorry for that "mad Kryptonian." Here is a boy who grew up on a world like our own. Superman was a comic book character -- and he was just the kid people made fun of for having the name "Clark Kent." Then one day he manifested all the powers of Superman. Clark Kent became the Superboy of Earth-Prime. His world changed in that moment, and the possibilities before him seemed endless.

Then the Anti-Monitor came.

The arrival of the Crisis on Infinite Earths destroyed Earth-Prime. Everything Superboy-Prime had known was lost. He was thrust into a war against enemies he couldn't comprehend with powers he barely understood. Despite it all he proved himself a hero and went on to what seemed like a heaven.

But it turned out to be anything but. He was forced to watch the world seemingly go bad after he had sacrificed everything for it. In his eyes, the people of the Earth were squandering what he would have given anything for. Superboy-Prime was like a kid, angry at the world for his lot in life. How simple it would be for a genius like Alex Luthor to manipulate him.

Not that it took much. Superboy-Prime wanted everything that the others had. He believed -- rightly or wrongly -- that he could do better. That he was the true Superboy.

But in the end his powers were too much for him. Superboy-Prime was little more than a child endowed with the abilities of a god. To me, this certainly legitimizes the Post-Crisis removal of Clark Kent as Superboy from continuity. The powers are too much for someone without proper guidance. Without time to grow into their role.

This is seen very clearly in Infinite Crisis #4's battle royale. Superboy-Prime kills. He stares down at his bloody hands in horror as tears fill his eyes. He never wanted to be a monster. It was circumstances beyond his control -- and the influence of Alex Luthor -- that made him one. All Superboy-Prime wanted was to be a hero. All he wanted was to be Superman.

But he could never be Superman. Despite how I may feel for him, in the end he brought it upon himself. Despite his lot in life, he chose to stand with Alex Luthor. He chose to take part in mass murder and genocide. His desire to be a hero wasn't altruistic. It was for his own sake. And that is the antithesis of Superman. Above all else, Superman fights his fight for the sake of others. No matter what the cost, no matter what the sacrifice to himself, Superman will always fight for others.

11 Comments:

At 12:15 PM, Blogger Melchior del DariĆ©n said...

Nice post, DR. And the kicker is that, like a child, SBP actually places the blame for his actions on the people whom he has killed, rather than himself. ("They made me do it.")

 
At 10:32 PM, Blogger Centurion said...

Agreed. Don't think I could quite dictate it nearly as well, mainly becuase I don't have as much of a background of Superboy.

 
At 8:48 PM, Blogger Scipio said...

"I found myself feeling somewhat sorry for that "mad Kryptonian.""

I don't.

He attacked an innocent person for, literally, minding his own business. Connor has sidelined himself because he feels guilty about actions he's not really responsible for anyway. He is taking responsibility for actions that doesn't need to. Superboy Prime refuses responsibility for actions that are clearly his fault.

Superboy Prime kicks a dog in face.

I'd shove the kryptonite down his throat myself.

 
At 10:24 PM, Blogger CalvinPitt said...

Yeah, I wasn't sorry for him either. He was a whiny brat. I mean he just didn't get it. For all the crap he and Alex Luthor and Old-Fart Superman have said about the heroes in this universe, they still stand by their friends. Did he really think the Titans would just leave Conner to get pummeled by him?

On the plus side, this may be the kick in the pants Conner needed. Nothing Ma or Pa Kent have said has gotten him going. Come on Kon, there's work to be done!

 
At 10:16 PM, Blogger Diamondrock said...

The only reason I felt sorry for him at all was because of the circumstances forced upon him. That's as far as it goes, though. I was happy to see him crushed. He became a monster of his own volition. I'm glad he got his ass kicked.

Also, I'm definitely not in the camp that agree with E-2 Supes, Alex, or SB-Prime. I think they're monstrous in what they're doing. I don't feel sorry for them at all. I only feel a tiny, tiny bit sorry for SB-Prime.

 
At 9:38 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

This was a very good tribute to a fallen hero before his time. If you have followed SBP from the start, you could not help to feel sorry for him. He wanted to be a hero. A brief timeline of his events:

1. He's beamed away from Krypton
2. Lives his first 16 years as a normal person would.
3. Hailey's Comet somehow triggers his powers and all of the sudden he has all of the Kryptonian powers of the Pre-Crisis superman.
4.Not long after discovered, he is called to a Crisis of Infinite Earths
5. Earth-Prime is distroyed.
6. He joins the rest of the heroes for a fight of his life.
7. He is rewarded with a "paradise"
8. He goes stir crazy knowing he will never grow up, grow old, love anyone, or be superman.
9. Being young, Alex Luthor manipalates him.
10. Since nobody was there to guide him with his powers, he doesn't know there are consequences of losing his temper (like beheading Pantha in one punch). That was the main turning point of going from hero to villian.

 
At 2:45 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Superboy Prime Is The perfect example of the ultimate villian, and the ultimate example of how powerful that Superman would be if he were still at Silver Age status. He would have never lost to Doom's Day then. You can't help but to feel sorry for Superboy Prime, because of the short life he had on Earth Prime. That was unfair for him to loose his Earth just like that, out of the blue. Left with nothing but emptiness, what else could he do but go mad. Can he be saved? Probably. He would be a great force for good, if only there were a way to reach out to him. The line between Heroes and Villians is a very thin one. It doesn't take much for either side to switch to the other. Especially if everything that you knew was destroyed. And I thought that Marvel's Secret Wars was horrible. Crisis On Infinite Earth's and Infinite Crisis shows just how human super beings really are when faced with a threat that can spell the end of exsistance. I shed a tear for Superboy Prime, only because of what he lost. Other than that, He should have been killed for what he did. But is it too late to redeem him? No! All it takes is guidance from someone of a higher calibur. And Clearly, Superman of E2 couldn't do it.

 
At 3:46 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

anyone who has ever been a teenager should feel sorry for superboy-prime. he is just like anyother adolesent. full of teenage angst and nowhere to direct it. i know what he did was wrong butserously i think i would hae reacted very similar if not worse. kindest egards boywonder.

 
At 4:57 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Though I'm sure I'm the only one who feels this way, I like Superboy-Prime more than any superhero/supervillian in the DC Universe.

Why? Because he's a round and dynamic character. He fully portrays the spectrum of human emotions. If nothing else, he's totally badass. At first, he doesn't want to be the monster, but when he becomes one, he completely embraces it. It's very similar to the situation of Anakin Skywalker.

If nothing else, I believe he should be respected for being one of the deadliest forces alive.

 
At 12:02 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

all of u are idiots that probably have not gotten laid. "i feel sorry for him" omg, its a dam comic book.

 
At 2:58 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

jeez anonymous cal down if you dont like comics why are you here?

yeah Superboy-Prime was badass. he was a very tragic character too bad he lost his mind

 

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