This incarnation of Superboy was born into a singularly created universe who was developed by the Time Trapper as part of his scheme to control the Legion of Super-Heroes after the Earth-One Superboy was wiped from existence due to the effects of the Crisis on Infinite Earths and replaced with the current Superman who was never costumed Superboy.
History
This change threatened to destroy the 30th century Legion of Super-Heroes' existence and all who populated it as it was the superhero efforts of the Earth-One Superboy who inspired the Legion in the first place, creating that reality. Unable to directly access the "Dawn of Time" and change the time stream back as it was before the Crisis, the Time Trapper used his massive control over the resulting time stream to create a small universe that reflected the Pre-Crisis Earth-One reality of Earth and Krypton to a very close level. With that Earth created and Superboy developed almost exactly as in the Earth-One reality, the Time Trapper routed the Legion's time travel machines so they would always be shunted into the Pocket Universe Earth's history rather than their own Earth which was now reformatted.
Unlike the Earth-One universe this pocket dimension only had two populated planets, Earth and Krypton. The Time Trapper deemed only these two necessary to recreate the now missing Earth-One and its Superboy. This would explain why no other powered heroes who were dependent on extraterrestrial influence developed on this particular Earth as in other parallel realities.
After establishing himself for several years as a hero and forming the Legion in line with the pre-existing Earth-One incarnation the Time Trapper reveals to this Superboy the problem with reality, convincing Superboy to aid him in capturing and killing the Legion, else all reality be destroyed. When the Legion arrives in Pocket Universe Smallville they are attacked by Superboy who follows them to the new Primary DC Earth home of the current Superman.
Thinking they have only jumped a few years forward and not to another entire separate reality, the Legionnaires try to contact Superman thinking that he is merely an older version of their friend and would explain his earlier actions. When they confront Superman his powers accidentally activate leading to the Legion to attack him until Brainiac 5 forces the fighting to stop whereby discussions can be revealed. It is during the discussions that Superboy arrives and freezes everyone with his immobilizer ray. Superboy loads his four frozen former friends into a time bubble and leaves Superman behind after correctly stating that the adult Kal-El is not the Superman who he would grow up to become. After a few moments Superman begins to regain his mobility and immediately sets off in pursuit of Superboy and the still immobilized Legion members.
Superboy, faster and far more powerful than Superman, prepares to enter the time stream under his own power and leave the primary DC Earth behind. Superman begins to falter behind due to Superboy's vastly greater speed but manages to grab hold of Superboy's booted foot before entering into the actual time stream and is dragged along by Superboy to Superboy's world. Superman comments that time travel is hard on him and how impressed he is by the speed that Superboy has at his control that allows him to break the time barrier on his own speed. Superman ultimately loses his grip and falls off the time stream and crashes into ground not far outside of Pocket Universe's Smallville where he is found by the younger Pocket Universe Pete Ross who Clark mentally notes to look only similar to the high schoolmate he once knew showing the differences from the new Earth history and that of the Earth-One version.
As Pete leads Superman from the crater, he assumes like the Legion that Superman is merely his friend Superboy artificially aged into adulthood by the effect of Red Kryptonite. Superman mentally questions Pete "Red Kryptonite? There is no such thing!"
Pete takes Superman to the Kent farm fearing that the mistaken Superman's life could be endangered by the aging effects of Red Kyrptonite that might continue to advance age the mistaken Superman into old age and death. Upon seeing Superman for the first time, the Kents native to this dimension also assume that he is their son grown-up until Superboy reveals that Superman is indeed another person separate from Superboy. Superboy attacks Superman and due to his far greater speed and strength easily starts to defeat Superman. Superman grabs Superboy by the cape and launches him out of the immediate area to gather his breath while the Krypto of that dimension who is exactly similar to the Earth-One universe looks on confused. Finally deciding to help his master defeat the invader, Krypto decides to help by grabbing Superman's cape. Expecting the same indestructible cape, Krypto is caught off guard when the cape rips and he is sent hurtling away. Regaining his composure, Krypto decides that the only way to stop the evil Kryptonian is to use Kryptonite. He willingly exposes himself to Gold Kryptonite which permanently removes super-powers to save his master, Superboy. Unfortunately, the exposure also removes his super-intelligence but inspires Pa Kent to do the same to Superman. As the two continue to battle, Pa grabs everyone of the samples which he brings to the battle stating that "at least one of these should stop you". Which they do but not for the reason that Pa Kent thinks as Superman reaches out and takes the canister from Kent and draws them even closer to himself to analyze. Superman's analysis of the samples indicate that while the meteors have the same chemical elements as Kryptonite, "the radiation they produce is completely different from the stuff I know."
Superboy realizes that Superman now has won the battle with the Kryptonite. But rather than using it Superman closes the canister lid and holds it up to Superboy stating that with his obviously far greater speed and strength, Superboy could snatch the canister out of his hands long before Superman would even know it gone.
Superman also realizes that Superboy was not fighting as hard as he could be. Superman went on to reveal Superboy's true nature about the Kents, "Meeting your Ma and Pa was really the clincher. They're not quite the same people who raised me, but they're from the same stock. I knew they'd have given you the same solid, moral foundation my foster parents gave me. I could never betray my friends. I knew you couldn't either."
Death of Superboy (Legion of Super-Heroes Vol 3 #38)
Revealing at last his own plan to defeat the Time Trapper, Superboy breaks down and admits that Superman is correct and that he wanted Superman to defeat him in battle. Seeing that Superboy was not a threat Superman offers to help defeat the Time Trapper but is refused and sent home to his native reality and time for fear of destroying their timeline.
Superboy and the Legion decide to directly attack the Time Trapper in a direct assault and go to the Smallville High School gym where the Time Trapper is waiting for Superboy to deliver the immobilized Legion members to him.
As the Legion attack the Trapper reveals his hold over Superboy to the assembled Legion members "This never was your past, Legionnaire. Only a whisper of a possibility I connected you to when you were presumptuous enough to try to travel through time. Each time you 'broke' the time barrier, I sent you here ... until this Earth began to fall apart and the jest paled." With that the time Trapper damaged the machinery that held back the destructive energies of the Crisis and left. Once again the red skies began assaulting the Pocket Universe. As the heroes tried to repair the machine, Superboy realized that the only way to repair the machine is to find some way to channel its energies. Lacking the time to find a proper insulators to the enormous energies needed to safeguard an entire universe, Superboy jumps into the machine to act as the insulator and allows the universal energies to pass through him. He endures until the pocket universe is moved away from energy waves of the Crisis to some unknown safe locale in the cosmos.
With the world safe, Superboy finally allows himself to collapse. Ma and Pa Kent watch in horror as the Legionnaires try to save the injured Superboy by taking him back to the 30th century. But arriving in the safeguarded future, Superboy dies from his injuries.
It would be revealed later that Superboy was never taken back to his native time but buried in the 30th century though was missing for so long that the Kents gave him a funeral at which time they revealed to the world at large that their son Clark was Superboy.[1] These Kents would die of heartache and grief not too long after that time leaving the Pocket Universe to be defended by its Luthor and Supergirl (the shapeshifting Matrix) who would become the sole survivor of this pocket reality after the destruction done by that reality's General Zod and henchmen.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Kryptonian Physiology: Pocket Universe Superboy's powers all matched that of the Earth-One Superboy which meant nigh-infinite power levels which allow them to move planets and fly faster than the speed of light.
- Solar Energy Absorption: His body's ability to absorb, process and store yellow sun radiation was more efficient than New Earth's Superman.
- Superhuman Strength: Far superior to adult New Earth's Superman even as an adolescent.
- Superhuman Stamina
- Superhuman Speed: He could travel at faster than light speeds which allowed him to time travel under his own power.
- Invulnerability: He was immune to all normal means of harm and was also impervious to extreme heat and cold.
- Self-Sustenance: As long as Pocket Universe Superboy was charged under a yellow sun, he didn't need to eat, breathe, or sleep. Able to survive indefinitely in a vacuum in a yellow sun system.
- Flight
- Enhanced Senses
- Superhuman Hearing
- Enhanced Sense of Smell
- Super-Breath
- Heat Vision
- Super Vision
- Telescopic Vision
- Microscopic Vision
- X-Ray Vision
- Super Ventriloquism
- Super Hypnotism
Abilities
Brilliant scientist and inventor, especially in robotics . Appears to speak every known language on Earth as well as several alien languages (though none exist in the pocket universe besides Kryptonese).
Weaknesses
- Vulnerability to Kryptonite
- Vulnerability to Magic
- Psionics could also effect him but unless done quickly, Superboy's superconcentration would overcome most enemies who used mind control techniques on him, same as did magic forms that did not immediately immobilize him whereby he would move out of their range of effectiveness.
- Pocket Universe Superboy would he lose all of his powers in the presence of a red sun such as his native Krypton star in a short period of time.[2]
Paraphernalia
Equipment
Various super science devices to aid him in analyzing and protecting the universe that were based on his native Kryptonian heritage from super powered robot duplicates to interdimensional transporters. Superboy did also possess a Legion Flight Ring.
Weapons
Multiple devices that could be used for offensive and defensive abilities including the most notable Phantom Zone Projector which he fashioned into a portable weapon and an immobilizer ray that he used to effectively stop the current Superman when he attacked Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes.
Related
- 24 Appearances of Kal-El (Pocket Universe)
- 2 Images featuring Kal-El (Pocket Universe)
- 1 Quotations by or about Kal-El (Pocket Universe)
- Character Gallery: Kal-El (Pocket Universe)
Footnotes
  Superman Family member |
  Legion of Super-Heroes member |