Reign of the Supermen #134: Quetzal

Source: Superboy Annual #3 (1996)
Type: FutureThe planet Aztlan in the 109th century, a colony from the now Dead Earth and home to a self-professed line of Sun Gods known as... Superman! But corrupt Sun Gods should be careful who they choose for their successors! It came to pass that after five centuries of rule, the Superman chose badly, and promoted a meta to the status of Superboy. And lo, that Superboy had a conscience and did not approve of Superman demanding tribute, of his violence and of his corruption. And with the help of friends and his own telekinetic shield, he did defeat the tyrant. But the population of Aztlan was used to being subjugated. They proclaimed him Superman, true heir to the Sun God. But Superboy did not give in to temptation. Absolute power did not corrupt him absolutely. And in the process he taught us about something about humility.
Maybe that's what SuperBOY is really about. If you were Super, you could easily believe you're a MAN. We need Superboy to remind us of our roots, and that we are always in a state of BECOMING.

Comments

LiamKav said…
Actually, I think that's how I prefer Superboy. Not as young Clark Kent, but as another character who might, one day, become a Superman. Like how the implication in the name "Kid Flash" is that one day they will become "Flash". Which worked for Wally, but not so well for Bart. (well, it hasn't worked for Wally now eithe. Stupid backwards looking DC.)
Siskoid said…
And it's better for the shared universe, because both heroes can be contemporaneous.

Though of course, we now have both (coming to a Reign near you).