Thank you for your prompt response, Mr. Busiek. Concerning Superboy-Prime, I agree with your assessment that young Clark would be FAR more interesting had he remained on Earth-Prime and continued his Superboy career in secret. Unfortunately, Superboy-Prime's cover was blown in DC Comics Presents #87, as there were too many witnesses who saw him and Superman at the Clark residence -- friends, neighbors, policemen and Laurie Lemmon (and you NEVER reveal your superhero persona to your girlfriend until right before the marriage proposal!) :wink:
And if Earth-Prime and young Clark survived the Crisis, EVERYONE would know by the time Superboy-Prime returned! Forget about "super-amnesia gas" -- it's too late now, and recent story arcs have proven that such mind-wipes aren't 100% effective over the long haul...
So with a public identity, poor Clark's parents would be under constant threat; he himself would be hounded by the media, the government and foreign intelligence agencies; Laurie Lemmon would be approached for a "tell-all" tabloid story; Earth-Prime's DC Comics legal department would be suing for trademark infringement while at the same time advertising and publicity want to hire him as a spokesman; the Salkinds want him for "The Adventures of Superboy" TV show ("He can do his own stunts and special effects!"), which means poor Gerald Christopher never gets his big break... :wink:
And inserting Superboy-Prime into the present DC Universe would be cause for alarm. It's possible that Superboy-Prime is about as strong as the Silver Age or Pocket Universe Superboys, and he's apparently immune to the effects of red solar radiation! (See
https://www.supermanthroughtheages.com/tales2/comet/?page=21 ) Superboy-Prime might be unfazed by Post-Crisis Kryptonite (though the multi-colored Kryptonite introduced in Superman/Batman #6 might be another matter).
Worse for the paranoid Batman, Superboy-Prime would know most of the secret identities in the DC Universe from his comic books! Sure, a lot of these stories (never happened) in this continuity, but he still has a gold mine (or SILVER/BRONZE mine?) of information. :wink:
But even with these possibilities, I heartilly concur that "Superman: Secret Identity" was FAR superior to what you might have derived from the original Superboy-Prime. Thank you again, Mr. Busiek.
P.S. If you don't mind my asking, I've always been puzzled by Justice League of America #240 (July 1985). What was the deal with Dr. Anomaly? I felt it odd that this plot line was never followed up, though the Crisis obviously threw things in a turmoil and retconned some JLA adventures. But it seemed a waste after going through all the effort introducing a new character, only to have him immediately disappear after only one issue, never to be seen again.
Hmm... Dr. Anomaly thought that superheroes were a danger to society, and he travelled to the future to stop them. And the last time we saw him was right during the Crisis...
Uh, oh... :shock:
Boy, if Dr. Anomaly resurfaces in the upcoming Crisis, that WOULD be a shocker!

(And I'm sure you planned this all the time, right?) :wink: