Superman is Teaming Up with the Deadliest Kryptonian of All Time

23 hours ago 2

The following contains major spoilers for Superman #29, on sale now from DC Comics.

Superman's deadliest enemy might just be the only hope he has of stopping the Legion of Darkseid.

In a preview of Superman #29 (by Joshua Williamson, Dan Mora, Alejandro Sánchez, and Ariana Maher) from DC Comics, readers find the infamous human-turned-Kryptonian Superboy-Prime recounting his youth on Earth-Prime, his rise to power, and his subsequent fall from grace, all before circling back around to where he stands today. Specifically, that is right next to the titular hero of Superman #29, who was whisked away from certain doom at the hands of the Legion of Darkseid by the current Time Trapper, the former villain known as Doomsday. As it turns out, Superboy-Prime might just be the only chance Superman has of stopping the villainous Legion, especially since the former won't hesitate to cut down this new army of villains the same way the latter already has.

Superman #29

Written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON
Art by DAN MORA
Colors by ALEJANDRO SÁNCHEZ
Letters by ARIANA MAHER
Main cover art by DAN MORA
Variant covers by DAVID AJA; ARIEL OLIVETTI; EDDY BARROWS, EBER FERREIRA & ALEJANDRO SÁNCHEZ; TULA LOTAY; and BRUNO REDONDO

Introduced all the way back in 1985's DC Comics Presents #87 by Elliot S. Maggin and Curt Swan, the version of Kal-El/Clark Kent known as Superboy-Prime hails from the reality of Earth-Prime. In his reality, superheroes only existed in the pages of comic books, including the Superman he was named after. Eventually, the Clark of Earth-Prime learned of his true heritage when a rip in the multiverse sent the primary Superman hurtling down to his world. This not only unleashed the Earth-Prime Clark's powers for the first time, but it also proved that he was always bound for something greater than he could have ever imagined.

Unfortunately, it wasn't long after he ventured into the Multiverse that Superboy-Prime's entire reality was destroyed during the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths. In the years that followed, Superboy-Prime became more and more disillusioned with his life, which the Alexander Luthor Jr. of Earth-Three was quick to take advantage of. Before long, Superboy-Prime had fully embraced his new role as a villain, one capable of quite literally punching his way through the very fabric of reality and altering it in demonstrable ways at will.

Now, Superman has no choice but to fight alongside Superboy-Prime, who exists outside of ordinary time and space as a complete anomaly unto himself. This is a result of the arrival of the Legion of Darkseid, a twisted version of the Legion of Super-Heroes from the Absolute Universe who serve at the behest of the former ruler of Apokolips. When Darkseid was obliterated by a mystically empowered Superman, his consciousness was able to travel through the Multiverse and bond to the reality formerly known as the Elseworld. With this newfound form of existence, Darkseid has manipulated the Absolute Universe, remaking it in his own image into a brutalist hellscape where heroes are virtually nonexistent, and those who do are relegated to more painful lives than almost any version of them that has come before.

Superman #29 is available now from DC Comics.