The Greatest Hero of Them All

"The Greatest Hero of Them All"
Publisher	DC Comics
Publication date	August – September 1987
Genre	Science fiction, superhero
Title(s)	Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 3, #37–38 Superman vol. 2, #8 Action Comics #591
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

[[Category:Legion of Super-Heroes storylines|]][[Category:1987 in comics|]]

"The Greatest Hero of Them All" is story arc that was published by DC Comics, and presented in Superman vol. 2, #8, Action Comics #591, and Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 3, #37–38 from August through September 1987. It was written by Paul Levitz and John Byrne, and pencilled by Byrne, Greg LaRocque and Mike DeCarlo. The story arc was DC’s first attempt to correct the inconsistencies in Legion history created when the original Superboy was removed from mainstream DC continuity in the Man of Steel limited series.

In the aftermath of the Zero Hour: Crisis in Time! and Infinite Crisis miniseries, this story is no longer canonical.

Plot

Legion of Super-Heroes co-founder Cosmic Boy and his girlfriend Night Girl return from a journey to 20th-century Earth, where they are attacked by the Time Trapper and discover that he has altered history, erasing Superboy from existence. ^{[1] [2]} Legionnaires Brainiac 5, Ultra Boy, Sun Boy, Cosmic Boy, Night Girl, Blok, Invisible Kid, and Mon-El attempt to reach the Trapper's Citadel, but are transported to 20th-century Smallville. After meeting with Pete Ross, Superboy’s best friend and an honorary Legionnaire, ^[3] the Legionnaires reunite with Jonathan and Martha Kent. ^[4] Later that evening, Superboy attacks the Legionnaires and freezes them with the Phantom 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 except Superboy-Prime, ^[5] who has not been seen since the Crisis. 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 different Krypton and a different Kal-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 using kryptonite, 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.

Aftermath

Superman

Following Superboy's disappearance from the pocket universe Earth, its Lex Luthor is tricked into releasing General Zod, Quex-Ul, and Zaora from the Phantom Zone. They devastate Earth before Superman kills them with Kryptonite. ^[7]

Legion of Super-Heroes

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] and Duo Damsel, who previously had an unrequited crush on him. ^[11] The four work together to kill the Time Trapper with help from honorary Legionnaire Rond Vidar, though one of Duo Damsel's bodies is destroyed. ^{[12] [13] [14] [15] [16]}

Continuity

The Man of Steel

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.

Removal from the Superman family

In the 1990s, Keith Giffen, Tom and Mary Bierbaum, and Al Gordon revised the Legion's history, replacing the Time Trapper with his former underling Glorith and having her banish Valor to the Phantom Zone. ^{[18] [19]} As a result, the storyline was rendered non-canonical.

In 1994, DC released the Zero Hour: Crisis in Time! limited series, completely rebooting the Legion of Super-Heroes and having Valor serve as their inspiration instead of Superman. ^{[20] [21] [22]}

Post-Infinite Crisis

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]}

Issues

This storyline's issues should be read in the following order:

1. Legion of Super-Heroes (Volume 3) #37
2. Superman (Volume 2) #8
3. Action Comics #591
4. Legion of Super-Heroes (Volume 3) #38

Collected editions

This story is included as part of the trade paperback collection Superman: The Man of Steel, Vol. 4 ( ISBN   1401204554).

References

1. Cosmic Boy #1–4 (December 1986 – March 1987)
2. Prior to this story arc, it was established that Superman began his career as a pre-adolescent, using the name "Superboy". – More Fun Comics #101 (January/February 1945)
3. Pete Ross was made an honorary Legionnaire for safeguarding Superboy’s secret identity, with even Superboy himself unaware that Pete knew his secret. – Superboy #98 (July 1962)
4. Mon-El met the Kents shortly after arriving on Earth in Superboy #89 (June 1961), while Ultra Boy first visited 20th century Smallville in Superboy #98 (July 1962).
5. At this point, the character was simply referred to as the Superboy from Earth Prime. The name "Superboy-Prime" is not used until Infinite Crisis #2 (January 2006).
6. Superboy joined the Legion in Adventure Comics #247 (April 1958).
7. Superman vol. 2, #21–22; Adventures of Superman #444 (September–October 1988)
8. Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy and Lightning Lad recruited Superboy in Adventure Comics #247 (April 1958).
9. Brainiac 5's interest in time travel is first seen during the Legion's original encounter with Rond Vidar and his villainous father Universo in Adventure Comics #349 (October 1966).
10. When they first met, Superboy and Mon-El erroneously believed that they were brothers. – Superboy #89 (June 1961)
11. Duo Damsel's infatuation with Superboy is first suggested in Adventure Comics #348 (September 1966), and is confirmed in Adventure Comics #369 (June 1968).
12. Rond Vidar was made an honorary Legionnaire after he assisted the Legion in thwarting one of Universo's plots to conquer Earth. – Adventure Comics #360 (September 1967)
13. Prior to this battle Rond Vidar kept his membership in the Green Lantern Corps hidden, due to a previous antagonistic encounter that the Corps and the Guardians of the Universe had with the Legion. This encounter prompted the government of Earth to ban all Green Lanterns from the planet. – Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 2, #295 (January 1983)
14. Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 3, #46–50 (May–September 1988)
15. During her days as Triplicate Girl, Duo Damsel's first body was destroyed by Computo, a rogue artificial intelligence created by Brainiac 5. – Adventure Comics #340 (January 1966)
16. In the "Five Years Later" era of Legion continuity, during which the Time Trapper is supplanted by Glorith, it is revealed that Duo Damsel's second body was restored to life by Glorith. She was forced to act as a servant of Glorith until the Legion helped her to escape years later. – Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 4, #42 (April 1993)
17. Superboy #147 (June 1968)
18. Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 4, #4–6 (February–April 1990)
19. Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 4, Annual #2 (1991)
20. Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 4, #0 (October 1994)
21. Teen Titans/Legion Special (November 2004); Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 5, #1 (February 2005)
22. Eventually, it is revealed that this team hails from Superboy-Prime's homeworld, Earth Prime. – Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #5 (September 2009)
23. Justice Society of America vol. 3, #5 (June 2007); Action Comics #858 (December 2007)
24. Superman: Secret Origin #3 (January 2010)
25. Adventure Comics vol. 2, #1 (October 2009); Superman: Secret Origin #2 (December 2009)