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.