dto
Action Ace
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Posts: 417
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« on: June 16, 2004, 08:22:42 AM » |
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Pardon me if I make any overgeneralizations, but reading several Superboy message boards I sense the following:
1. Many Superman fans like the idea of Superboy.
2. Many Superboy fans like the idea of him being Superman as a teenager.
3. Other Superboy fans prefer him to be a separate individual, such as Kon-El.
4. As a whole, Kon-El fans don't particularly want him to be TOO MUCH like Superman, but they DO like the idea of them working closely together -- perhaps the "kinght and squire" analogy might be too much, but there's somewhat of a quasi-"father and son" relationship here.
5. Many Superboy fans would like a full-blooded Kryptonian, while Kon-El fans are mixed -- and they're definitely divided on whether he should be 50% Lex.
I remember enjoying the Superboy "Zero Hour" and "Hyper-Tension" issues when Kon-El interacted with the Hypertime version of the classic Silver Age Superboy. So as a "guest star" why not bring back someone who can fulfill most of the issues I raised above -- Superboy-Prime?
The Superboy of Earth-Prime IS Clark Kent, but he's no Kansas farmboy. Instead he comes from New England (probably from Hampton Beach, New Hampshire. Father Jerome Kent had a home-based personal computer business, while Naomi Kent was an attorney. Even though young Clark was steeped in Superman lore (by reading COMIC BOOKS!), he would have a distinctly different personality, even speech patterns and accent.
He knows he's Kryptonian, and while Clark may strongly suspect he's actually another Kal-El, there's no direct proof. Unless Clark gets a hold of "DC Comics Presents #87" he'll never know for sure about his true origin.
Kon-El's been acting rather moody lately (the Luthor revelation has teken its toll), so Superboy Prime's enthusiasm would be a breath of fresh air. In fact, even after all these years tutoring under Kal-L in the "Paradise Dimension", Prime still hasn't really "grown up". He's not at all embarrassed in saying "Up, up, and awaaaay!" or "This looks like a job for... Superboy-PRIME!", which might drive Superman and Kon-El nuts. Can you imagine the other problems he'd encounter in the current DC Universe?
Superman MIGHT still recall him (he did early in the Byrne years when encountering the Pocket Universe Superboy, but who knows after Zero Hour and Birthright?), but would he trust this strange kid? How is Kon-El going to take it when he has to share his bedroom at the Kents? What will Lois say if she met a younger Clark? Or Lana? And if you think Batman's paranoid over the new Kara Zor-El, he'll have conniptions over Prime. "He's ALREADY stronger than Superman, isn't affected by our Kryptonite or red solar radiation, babbles on about multiple Earths and comic books, knows nearly ALL our secret identities..."
And when Superboy-Prime learns of Superman's new-found cousin: "Kara? Supergirl's ALIVE? Not a hoax, not a dream, not an Imaginary Story?"
"Clark, what in Rao's name is an 'Imaginary Story'?" :wink:
I've always thought Superboy-Prime had potential, and the recent "Superman: Secret Identity" just wetted my appetite for more in the mainstream DC Universe. What do you think? After nearly two decades, should "Prime Time" return?
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