Some characters in movies, series, and comics occasionally break the fourth wall. The most famous is probably the character Deadpool from Marvel. But DC also played with this idea, giving it a completely different twist in combination with Superman.
Which character is it about? Almost every movie and comic fan has heard of Deadpool. The goofy anti-hero is especially known for his break with the 4th wall. This means he is aware that he exists in a comic or film, and sometimes he even talks to viewers and readers.
In the comic DC Comics Presents No. 87 from 1985, DC introduced a similar character with Superboy-Prime, developing a unique approach with the ability
and knowledge of his own existence, which was primarily intended to provide readers with a mirror.
A Superman fan who becomes a hero
Who is Superboy-Prime? The planet Krypton in the Earth-Prime universe is on the verge of destruction, but Jor-El saves his son Kal-El with a teleporter that transports the baby to Earth. There, the child is rescued by Jerry and Naomi Kent. They name him Clark Kent, after the Superman character who is a well-known comic character in this universe.
During a catastrophe, Clark suddenly gains superpowers like Superman. At the same time, a Superman from another dimension appears and teaches him some lessons about being a hero. He becomes Superboy-Prime, follows Superman into another dimension, and begins an odyssey through the multiverse.
Later, Superboy-Prime helps to defeat the Anti-Monitor, a powerful entity that threatened the multiverse. But he had a problem: He could no longer return to his home world, which drives him insane.
Superboy-Prime ultimately becomes the villain, clashing with heroes in various story events. At the end of the comic series Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds, he manages to return to Earth-Prime, but his villainous deeds appear in the comics of that world.
After that, he often breaks the fourth wall. He can read in comics what happens in other universes, discussed in forums that he isn’t that evil, and in the series Blackest Night, he even confronts and threatens DC authors.
But all of this is not portrayed as absurdly as with Deadpool. Superboy-Prime is a tragic character.
The tragic realization when one becomes aware of their existence
Why is Superboy-Prime a tragic character? Breaking the 4th wall can be used for jokes, but Superboy-Prime is different. In Adventure Comics No. 4 from 2009 (via DC), he learns through a comic that he will soon be attacked. While he manages to survive and defeat the attackers, he also despairs.
In several panels (Source: Screen Rant), he complains about his existence:
I never get what I want. They don’t want me to have it. They have made me their puppet, forced me to hurt people. I shouldn’t be like this. I was once the hero. Why can’t I stop being like this? Can’t I make my own decisions?
Source: Adventure Comics No. 4 (2009)
Superboy-Prime is written as a villain, and he knows it. He would like to change something about it, but he is at the mercy of the authors who do with him what they want.
As comicbook.com writes, Superboy-Prime is also the personification of toxic comic fans. He discusses on the internet about wrong
decisions but remains obsessed with comics, wanting to know how the future unfolds.
The authors were merciful
For Superboy-Prime, there was still a happy ending. At the end of 2020, the comic one-shot Dark Nights: Death Metal The Secret Origin was released, giving Superboy-Prime a nice happy ending. He is back in his universe, with a girlfriend and his dog.
He does not read the comics; he enjoys the sunny day and thinks about his lost abilities. After a child narrowly escapes being run over by a car, he suddenly saves it with superpowers, and the comic addresses the reader and ends with the words: But maybe you should take a walk too
(Source: Reddit).
How can one read the story of Superboy-Prime? He appears now and then in several stories, but the 3 most relevant stories are probably:
- Infinite Crisis (also available in German as a collection)
- Sinestro Corps War (also available in German as a collection, but one must rely on the used market for it)
- Dark Nights: Death Metal The Secret Origin (available in German in the collection Batman: Death Metal Special Volume: Volume 3)
You can also find the stories individually in English, either in print or as a Kindle version. Another DC villain is also forced to be evil, but he seems to enjoy the fight against his hero: The biggest jerk of DC is neither the Joker nor Lex Luthor, it’s a former fan of The Flash
