DC Comics has long been in Marvel’s shadow. Thanks to the popularity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Fox X-Men movies, Marvel characters became much more well-known than ever, with few being more popular than Deadpool. Even before Deadpool’s films started dropping, the character’s fourth-wall-breaking humor and violent adventures made the him a favorite of the Hot Topic set. While DC did have Harley Quinn become popular, the publisher never had a character that could match Deadpool; there was no real competition for the Merc with a Mouth. However, that has changed, as DC has finally positioned a character to be their Deadpool — Superboy-Prime.

Superboy-Prime has had quite a history. The character was introduced in DC Comics Presents #87 as part of Crisis on Infinite Earths and was used to homage the old Superboy stories that would become non-canon with Crisis‘s end. Since then, he has returned as a villain in Infinite Crisis, becoming edgy and violent, even eventually realizing he was in a comic book, before dying in Dark Knights: Death Metal. Superboy-Prime came back in Superman, as part of the “Darkseid Legion” story, and seems to be primed to become DC’s Deadpool.

Superboy-Prime Does Everything Deadpool Does…

Image Courtesy of DC Comics

Superboy-Prime has had an interesting evolution over the last 20 years, starting with Infinite Crisis. The “prime” in his name referred to Earth-Prime, which was the real world. In the Bronze Age, DC creators would write themselves heading into the DC Multiverse. That would lead to Superboy-Prime, who was the Kal-El of his world and the only person with superpowers. The young Kryptonian was driven mad after spending years watching the DC Universe become dark and gritty in the years following Crisis from a paradise dimension where he lived with other survivors of the old multiverse, and his bloody return in Infinite Crisis revealed that the character had become something very different.

After joining the Sinestro Corp in “The Sinestro Corps War”, he was thrown into the multiverse and would become Superman-Prime. This would lead him back to the new version of Earth-Prime, where he would realize that his friends and family had been reading the comics he was in and had seen him become a villain. This led to him attacking DC Comics’s offices before they gave him a happy ending, which would lead to his death in Dark Knights: Death Metal. His return in Superman #28 was a huge shock to readers and saw him become more Deadpool-esque than ever.

Deadpool got popular for two reasons: his sense of humor, which included realizing he was a comic character and breaking the fourth wall, and the ultra-violence the character inflicted on his enemies. He became one of Marvel’s greatest anti-heroes, and has rode that to the races. DC does have some great anti-heroes, but they had no character that could do what Deadpool did. However, the published seems to be positioning Superboy-Prime to take that place in the DC Multiverse.

Superboy-Prime is now an anti-hero type character, one who will use his amazing powers to tear his enemy apart and make jokes about it. He knows that he’s a comic book character and has met the creators who work on his comics. He’s become funnier than he used to be as well; there was a time when he was every edgy villain stereotype out there, but that changed when he got his happy ending with his family and friends. He’s much funnier than ever, and everything about his development is quite similar to Deadpool. He does all of the things that Deadpool does, but here’s the thing: he’s a better character for it than the Merc with a Mouth.

… But Better

Image Courtesy of DC Comics

Superboy-Prime is an amazing character. He was first created to represent the history of Superboy in Crisis, and grew into something completely different, becoming a metaphor for the darkening of the DC Universe. Since then, fans have followed him through some extreme ups and downs, watching him get his happy ending, and dying for the terrible sins that he committed as a villain. His return has seen him evolve even more, and now he’s here to take the crown as the best humorous anti-hero in comics.

Deadpool is a beloved character, but he’s more of an actual joke than ever. Marvel has made him into one thing nowadays, and it’s honestly kind of boring. Superboy-Prime, on the other hand, is different. The character has been built into a complicated young anti-hero, one with room to explore him and the way he sees the world. He’s not the same kind of joker as Deadpool is, and this gives him much more potential as a character. Prime has grown in a way that Deadpool doesn’t anymore, and that growth and where it can take the character make him much more exciting than Deadpool has been in years.

What do you think about the future of Superboy-Prime? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!