| "The Greatest Hero of Them All" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher | DC Comics | ||
| Publication date | August – September1987 | ||
| Genre | |||
| |||
| Main character(s) | Legion of Super-Heroes Superboy (Kal-El) Superman Time Trapper | ||
| Creative team | |||
| Writer(s) | Paul Levitz John Byrne | ||
| Penciller(s) | John Byrne Greg LaRocque Mike DeCarlo | ||
"The Greatest Hero of Them All" isstory arc that was published byDC Comics, and presented inSuperman vol. 2, #8,Action Comics #591, andLegion of Super-Heroes vol. 3, #37–38 from August through September 1987. It was written byPaul Levitz andJohn Byrne, and pencilled by Byrne,Greg LaRocque andMike DeCarlo. The story arc was DC’s first attempt to correct the inconsistencies in Legion history created when the originalSuperboy was removed from mainstream DC continuity in theMan of Steel limited series.
In the aftermath of theZero Hour: Crisis in Time! andInfinite Crisis miniseries, this story is no longer canonical.
Legion of Super-Heroes co-founderCosmic Boy and his girlfriendNight Girl return from a journey to 20th-century Earth, where they are attacked by theTime Trapper and discover that he has altered history, erasingSuperboy from existence.[1][2] LegionnairesBrainiac 5,Ultra Boy,Sun Boy,Cosmic Boy,Night Girl,Blok,Invisible Kid, andMon-El attempt to reach the Trapper's Citadel, but are transported to 20th-centurySmallville. After meeting withPete Ross, Superboy’s best friend and an honorary Legionnaire,[3] the Legionnaires reunite withJonathan and Martha Kent.[4] Later that evening, Superboy attacks the Legionnaires and freezes them with thePhantom Zone Projector. Realizing that something is amiss, Pete locates and warns the remaining Legionnaires, who enter the Time Bubble and escape into the time stream as Superboy arrives.
A decade later, Brainiac 5, Sun Boy, Blok, and Invisible Kid arrive in Smallville, attracting the attention of Superman. The Legionnaires attack him, occasionally calling him Superboy. However, Superman does not recognize them, and knows of no one named Superboy exceptSuperboy-Prime,[5] who has not been seen since theCrisis. When Superman has no recollection of meeting and being inducted into the Legion,[6] it becomes apparent that he is a separate individual from Superboy. Suddenly, Superboy arrives, places the Legionnaires in time-stasis and returns to his own time. Superman follows, barely able to keep up with Superboy. From his Citadel, the Time Trapper observes the transpiring events and recalls that he created a "pocket universe" (with a different Earth, a differentKrypton and a differentKal-El) to which he has continually directed the Legion during all of their journeys to the 20th century.
In the pocket universe, Superman encounters Pete Ross and the Kents and is attacked by Superboy. As the two battle, Jonathan Kent attempts to stop Superman usingkryptonite, but fails because Superman hails from a parallel universe and is immune to kryptonite from other universes. Superman deduces that Superboy has been holding back, giving Superman opportunities to win their battle, forcing him to admit that he knows he is in the wrong. Superboy and the Legion depart to rescue the other Legionnaires and face the Time Trapper, leaving Superman behind to preserve the timeline.
Superboy explains to the Legionnaires that the Time Trapper protected his Earth during the Crisis in return for his help in defeating the Legion. The Legion battle the Time Trapper, but accidentally destroy the machine protecting the pocket universe Earth. Superboy sacrifices himself to return the Legionnaires to the 30th century and dies in Mon-El's arms.
Following Superboy's disappearance from the pocket universe Earth, itsLex Luthor is tricked into releasingGeneral Zod,Quex-Ul, andZaora from thePhantom Zone. They devastate Earth before Superman kills them with Kryptonite.[7]
While the entire Legion mourns Superboy's death, four members are particularly outraged:Saturn Girl, one of the three founders who invited Superboy to join;[8] Brainiac 5, who realizes that all of his theories about time travel are incorrect;[9] Mon-El, who regards Superboy as a brother;[10] andDuo Damsel, who previously had an unrequited crush on him.[11] The four work together to kill the Time Trapper, though one of Duo Damsel's bodies is destroyed.[12][13][14][15][16]
In post-Crisis on Infinite Earths continuity, Clark Kent does not become a superhero until adulthood. This creates major inconsistencies in Legion history, as Superboy was their primary inspiration.[17] The storyline was written to correct continuity, establishing that Superboy is from another universe and that the Legion never visited the mainstream universe seen in post-Crisis continuity.
In the 1990s,Keith Giffen,Tom and Mary Bierbaum, andAl Gordon revised the Legion's history, replacing the Time Trapper with his former underling Glorith and having her banishValor to the Phantom Zone.[18][19] As a result, the storyline was rendered non-canonical.
In 1994, DC released theZero Hour: Crisis in Time! limited series, rebooting the Legion of Super-Heroes and having Valor serve as their inspiration instead of Superman.[20][21][22]
Infinite Crisis restores much of the Legion's original history, making Superman their inspiration once more.[23] However, he only uses the name Superboy in the 31st century as a Legion member and does not become a superhero in the 21st century until he is an adult.[24][25]
This storyline's issues should be read in the following order:
This story is included as part of thetrade paperback collectionSuperman: The Man of Steel, Vol. 4 (ISBN 1401204554).
