Pre-Crisis
Main article: Pre-Crisis
Superboy was born Kal-El, son of Lara and Jor-El of the planet Krypton. When Kal-El was still a toddler, his scientist father made a grave discovery. He learned that a massive solar flare from Krypton's red sun threatened to engulf their home world, ultimately destroying it. Jor-El brought his concerns to the Kryptonian science council, but rather than offer solutions, they politicized the pending travesty and locked themselves in committee.
In the meantime, Jor-El labored to find a way to save the people of Krypton. Working alongside his scientist wife, Lara, they developed a technology which would enable them to teleport samples of living tissue (weighing less than fifty pounds) across intergalactic distances. He presented his transportation device to the science council, but it was too late. Krypton was already beginning to suffer from the effects of the intense solar radiation. As Krypton shook in its death-throes, Jor-El placed his son inside of the teleportation device and transported him across the universe.
Kal-El rematerialized on the planet Earth. In a New England seacoast town, Jerry and Naomi Kent were hiking through the forests when they discovered the abandoned toddler. They decided to adopt him and raise him as their own. Naomi chose to name him Clark, despite the fact that Clark Kent was likewise the name of a popular comic book hero known as Superman.
Unlike his namesake however, Clark Kent grew up without the benefit of super-powers. His classmates at school would tease him and refer to him as Superboy. However, Clark took the ribbing in stride and soon cultivated a small circle of friends.
As Clark grew older, he became romantically involved with a fellow student named Laurie Lemmon. One evening, Clark, Laurie and several other friends decided to attend a costumed beach party. Being of good humor, Clark donned a Superboy costume similar to that worn by the fictional comic book hero. They drove down to Hampton Beach and sat by the ocean waiting to catch sight of Halley’s Comet.
Suddenly, a tremendous tidal wave rose up on the beachhead threatening to flood the small hamlet. At that same moment, a cosmic vortex opened up above them discharging the Earth-One super-hero known as Superman. At that critical moment, a bizarre transformation took hold of Clark. The physical characteristics of his Kryptonian heritage manifested for the first time and he discovered that he was gifted with flight and super-strength.
Superman quickly introduced himself to his alternate Earth counterpart, but there was little time for pleasantries. He gave Superboy a crash course in the use of his powers and together, they were able to divert the course of the deadly tidal wave.
With the immediate disaster abated, the newly crowned Superboy aided Superman in returning him to his proper world. He followed Superman through the cosmic vortex to Earth-One. Little did Superboy realize that he would never again see his adopted world.
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Main article: Crisis on Infinite Earths
The multiversal catastrophe known as the Crisis on Infinite Earths began as a deadly wave of anti-matter consumed parallel dimensions. Superboy aided heroes from hundreds of different worlds, but none of them were able to save the Earth of his home dimension from destruction.
The Crisis finally culminated with the destruction of the multiverse. In its place existed a solitary static universe with only one version of the planet Earth. Superboy remained as the sole survivor of not only his birth world, but his adopted world as well. He united with an aging version of Superman from the late Earth-Two as well as his wife, Lois Lane. Along with Alexander Luthor of Earth-Three, they traveled into the antimatter universe and forged a quiet, peaceful existence for themselves in a paradise realm.
Infinite Crisis
Main article: Infinite Crisis
Superboy in his Anti-Monitor armor
Superboy in his Anti-Monitor armor
Eventually, Superboy, Superman, Lois Lane and Alexander Luthor broke free of their paradise realm and returned to Earth of the Post-Crisis reality. The weight of the destruction of his core reality finally took its toll on Superboy and drove him insane.
Superboy's new "S"
Superboy's new "S"
He first stopped at Earth's moon and destroyed the Watchtower, the headquarters of the JLA. He then flew to Smallville, Kansas where he encountered the Superboy of this reality. He chastised the clone Superboy and accused him of being unworthy of his name. The two fought one another and their epic battle raged across the state, eventually culminating in Keystone City. Members of the JSA and the Teen Titans arrived to lend a hand, but the power-mad Superboy thwarted even their efforts. Superboy brutally attacked the heroes, killing several including Pantha, Bushido and Wildebeest. Jay Garrick, Wally West, and Bart Allen (using the name Impulse at that time), grabbed Superboy and used their combined super-speed to propel him into the kinetic dimension known as the Speed Force.
However he escaped from his imprisonment and built a battle-suit based on the Anti-Monitor's armor that constantly supplies his body with yellow sunlight. He arrived at Alexander Luthor's tower to battle with Nightwing, Superboy and Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark). The heroes succeeded in releasing the metahumans powering the machine. After a brief fight, Superboy grabbed Superboy-Prime and flew into the tower destroying it and killing Superboy.
He then was seen at the Battle of Metropolis, killing the heroes with ease. He continued his killing until he was met with resistance by Bart Allen in his grandfather's, Barry Allen, uniform. He was pulverized by Bart, but fled into space to destroy Oa. On the way he killed 32 Green Lanterns. Then, near where Krypton was, Kal-L and Kal-El took him through Krypton's red sun and landed on Mogo, where they fought, stripped of all their powers. Superboy-Prime murdered Kal-L with his bare fists and almost killed Kal-El, but was brought down by the Kryptonian.
He was imprisoned inside a Green Lantern generated "Sciencell" near what is alternately described as a red sun or a Red Sun-Eater, constantly being guarded by the Green Lantern Corps. Members of the Corps were often assigned to "Prime Duty" as punishment. While in prison, he carved a bloody "S" on his chest using his fingernail, saying that he had always found a way out (referring, presumably, to his escape from the Speed Force and his future prison).
Sinestro Corps
Superboy-Prime was freed, along with Hank Henshaw, by a strike force of Sinestro Corps members who turned the red sun to yellow, presumably thereby restoring his powers. He was brought to Qward, where he was made into a herald of the Anti-Monitor, along with Henshaw and the Parallax-possessed Kyle Rayner. [1]
Now calling himself Superman-Prime, he is currently fighting against most of the major heroes of Earth and again due to the massive power difference between himself to the others he continues to cut a path of destruction throughout the known universe successfully defeating Superman, Power Girl and Supergirl all at the same time with them charged up as well as many other high powered heroes in his role as the herald of the Anti-Monitor.
However he has shown that his main goal is to still gain his revenge on the Anti-Monitor who he accidently revived during his time in the Paradise Dimension and somehow recover his lost universe, or at least the recognition as the so called real Superman.
Towards the end of the war, he is enountered by the Guardians of the Universe, who introduce the new Ion, the Daxamite Sodam Yat. The two battle each other in a brutal and fierce fight, but when the battle is taken inside a nuclear power plant (with its walls lined with lead), Ion is weakened by lead poisoning, giving Prime the upperhand. Prime spears Ion with several uranium rods, then beats him unconcious and ends up the victor.
Later on, during the final battle between the Green Lantern and Sinestro Corps, The Anti-Monitor is attacked and severely weakened by the Guardians. Prime takes this opprotunity to turn on him and throws the Anti-Monitor into deep space. Prime is attacked by both Corps and kills several members from both sides. Before any more lives can be lost, one of the Guardians uses himself as a bomb and explodes himself to kill Prime. The explosion reduces Superman-Prime to atoms. His atoms are later reconstrcted in another universe, convincing him that the Multiverse as been restored. His newly resonstructed body has also somehow aged him into an adult.
Countdown
Death of Earth-15 Zod and his family by Superman-Prime (Countdown 24, page 4)
Death of Earth-15 Zod and his family by Superman-Prime (Countdown 24, page 4)
During the Countdown story arc, he is has started a murderous rampage against all of his other dimensional counterparts and their supporters while searching for Earth-Prime. He was shown killing the Superman of the Earth-15 dimension and his wife and unborn child. After killing that world's Justice League, he destroys Earth-15. Returning to his new base of operations, the Source Wall, he is shown torturing Mr. Mxyzptlk to recreate Earth-Prime, but after he escapes, Prime is angered and gives up on the use of magic to achieve his goals.
Spoiler Warning: Plot or ending details follow. Please skip this section if you do not want foreknowledge of this plot.
DC
He was most recently seen arriving at the Monitor's satellite headquarters, threatening Solomon to help him find Earth-Prime. Superman-Prime demands to know where his "perfect universe" is. Solomon directs him to Earth-51, where the Monitor's forces are battling those of Monarch.
Prime flies to the battlefield to challenge Monarch, in order to keep him from destroying Earth-51. During their fight, Monarch reveals to Prime that his aging to adulthood was from him absorbing the cosmic Oan powers of the Guardian that blew himself up to kill Prime. He also tells Prime that the cosmic energies will wear off very soon, and then he will turn back into a boy. Superman-Prime flies into a rage and attacks Monarch, with his cosmic powers seemingly beginning to dissipate. Prime then tears off the chestplate of Monarch's containment armor. The energies inside Monarch's armor are released, resulting in an explosion of quantum energy so massive, it destroys the entire Earth-51 universe. Superman-Prime's fate is currently unknown.
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