Superboy Prime

Superboy Prime is quite the character in DC Comics. I won't deny that he is The Scrappy (or The Wesley) and a Straw Fan. To tell you the truth, however, I have a hard time deciding if this character is the result of They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot, They Plotted a Perfectly Good Waste, or both. There are some people who say that he could have been an interesting character, but that he was simply reduced to a Psychopathic Man Child, a delusional Hypocrite, and a Take That! to the fans of DC.

Thankfully, Prime did get some Character Development as well as a Heel Realization in Blackest Night. He even tried to pull a Calling the Old Man Out with Dan Didio himself! Sure, it may not have worked, but let's be honest. Aren't there a number of us who would love to do exactly that with Didio over legitimate concerns, and not just the concerns voiced by the Straw Fans?

I have to say that I find it strange that Prime reappeared in a Teen Titans episode. I mean, I thought Prime was told in Blackest Night that the writers were going to leave him alone. Does this mean that the writers have pulled an I Lied situation? Oh! They gave their word and they broke it! And That's Terrible!

edited 12th Aug '11 3:37:39 PM by TiggersAreGreat

I will say that, outside of the RIDICULOUS derailment in Countdown and Lo SH, Superboy Prime is the most realistically written teenage character of all time. Seriously.

edited 12th Aug '11 3:40:18 PM by 11Numb

That's an interesting point. Writing a realistic teenaged character has to be hard. I mean, you have to avoid making the character a model citizen and you have to make the character someone who is not necessarily going to be likeable. Yep, because a teenaged character is someone that you are going to love to hate sometimes.

Superboy-Prime was, in my opinion, realistic up until after he returned from being trapped in the speed force.

When he accidentally killed a few Teen Titans, you could see the horror in his face, and understand his frustration and attempt to rationalize his actions with the "you're making me do this" excuse. After that, he took a 10.0 double backflip swan dive off the slippery slope and just became a card-carrying psychopath. Then, he lost all claim to "realism".

There's also the fact that DC Comics uses Prime as the reason for a number of things being out of continuity. In some ways, it's like the writers want you to hate him for everything being wrong.

Oh, and you know when he said that immortal line "I'll kill you to DEATH!" in Countdown? Department of Redundancy Department aside, I can tell you that he is not the first character to utter a line like that. A line like that can be found in the Popeye comic strip, which was launched way back in 1919. Yes, Virginia, there is a Popeye Newspaper Comic. Talk about Older Than They Think!

edited 13th Aug '11 5:44:16 AM by TiggersAreGreat

Tigger, why do your posts read like you're talking AT people than to people? Yes, we're quite aware Popeye is a comic.

Probably because I am curious to see if anyone is reading my posts. Would you like to explain to explain the difference between "talking at people" and "talking to people" to me?

Anyway, Countdown has been rendered non-canon (I think), so it does help to tone down the Card-Carrying Villain and the psychopathic levels Prime has been subjected to. That, it doesn't help that he was called Superman Prime in at least that story and there was a Real Life lawsuit over his name.

edited 13th Aug '11 7:48:38 AM by TiggersAreGreat

Wut?

edited 13th Aug '11 8:47:28 AM by kkhohoho

The one is a conversation the other a lecture. And the assumption that you need to lecture people on the comic subforum of a media analyzing site about comic trivia is rather arrogant.

edited 13th Aug '11 8:14:40 AM by eX

The way your word your posts...it's the kind of way I'd expect someone on a stage holding a lecture to speak. Am I making sense?

I think you're making sense. It's just that I notice how people don't mention this detail or that detail, and I feel this need to point it out in the hopes that nobody gets the wrong idea about a topic. Really, comics are so loaded with details that I would be surprised if they were all covered.

Really, Tigger uses facts to make a point and knows how to argue without appealing to emotion or confusing personal bias for truth, and for this he's called out?

...Um, who was he "arguing" with? There was no debate in this thread...

Okay. I'm going to try again here. Why did the writers put Superboy Prime in that Teen Titans issue? His story was supposed to be wrapped in Blackest Night. I am asking why the writers would put a character back into the story when his story was supposed to be finished? I don't get it.

A comic book character's story.......finished?!

Hehe...

Hehehehehahahaha!!

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

*wipes tear* Oh man... I needed that.

Okay, I'm guessing that means that I was an idiot to think the writers were going to leave Superboy Prime alone. So what does that mean? That I should never believe anything that the writers ever say?

Yup.

Gosh, comic book writers ought to be politicians. Sure, the writers may set up unflattering portrayals of the government, but they sure have a Not So Different vibe going on here.

But going back to Superboy Prime, am I the only one who finds it creepy that he always seems to be buggy-eyed and his mouth big and wide-open. Seriously, you should see this.

Concerning Prime, at first I was "Alright, I can see a thread of progression in this character, sans shitty Countdown" and was mildly annoyed by people refusing to shut up about how they think he's the worst thing DC has ever created.

Now? I freaking love Prime! He really is every angry comic book fanboy given superpowers! It's hilarious to see (when I still posted there) people at scans_daily bitch about Prime when they in turn are exactly as whiny as he is.

Tangetically related, I find Linkara infinitely more annoying than Prime even at his most Johns annoying or Countdown stupid. I say this because Linkara is ALSO one of those people who bitch about Prime and is annoying!

edited 20th Aug '11 8:32:45 AM by biznizz

I really didnt see how bad Prime was. he wnet from lergoatmet Hero-turned-Anti-Villain in Infinite Crisis. In Siestro Corps War he was REALLY well done. Countdwon fucked him up ROYALLY (but it was countdown, eh) And he suffered from his effects all the way into Final Crisis Legion of Three Worlds (even thero he was handled well) And Blackest Night was a cool post-modern analysis pf the concept. 9Surpsingly allthese were written by Geoff Johns). Really, like most things in DC, we can blame Count Down.

Well, it's nice to see that some people around here don't think that Superboy Prime is The Scrappy or The Wesley.

Who knows? Maybe he will get Rescued from the Scrappy Heap. It is pretty nice to see a character who is aware that he is in a comic book, and probably doesn't need that much of an explanation for suddenly appearing again. The writers could easily say that they need him in the story, they warped him there, and he is their Cosmic Plaything.

Honestly I'd be content with him going to Comicbook Limbo instead of further attempts to use him to appeal to/piss off fans more.

By the way, back in the original Crisis, what was the point of creating Prime and bringing him in? He never did anything really useful to the plot, just was... there all the way to the end.

There was an already established Earth-Prime & (I believe) Elliot S! Maggin thought it would be interesting that "our" world would have had a Superman of it's own. The fact he couldn't do anything to save his universe just made it more tragic.

I think it was mostly just so a Superboy would be involved in the Crisis.