WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Shazam! #13, by Geoff Johns, Dale Eaglesham, Mike Atiyeh and Rob Leigh, on sale now.
The Shazam Family is taking on a new Monster Society of Evil, led by Mister Mind and Doctor Sivana -- but a fan-favorite supervillain is also returning to the DC Universe: Superboy-Prime.
Conspicuously absent during the entirety of the New 52 era and much of DC Rebirth, the evil Clark Kent from Earth-Prime is poised to make a comeback in a big way, not just in the pages of Shazam!, but also with an appearance during the crossover event Dark Nights: Death Metal, as the heroes battle for the fate of the DC multiverse.
Superboy-Prime was created by Elliot S. Maggin and Curt Swan in 1985's DC Comics Presents #87, as the Clark Kent from an Earth where DC Comics heroes exist as comic books and mass media. When the planet is threatened by the upcoming Crisis on Infinite Earths, Clark discovers he has the superpowers of Superman and helps defeat the Anti-Monitor, before entering a pocket universe with the surviving multiverse heroes not incorporated into the Post-Crisis DCU.
While in this sanctuary, Superboy watches the superheroes of the reborn DCU with a deep and growing sense of resentment and jealousy, before he and Alexander Luthor, Jr. of Earth-3 break out during Infinite Crisis.
After orchestrating the Crisis to recreate the DC multiverse, Superboy-Prime loses control of his powers when he is confronted by the Teen Titans and slaughters several of them. As he becomes increasingly mentally unstable, Superboy-Prime kills many other heroes until he is subdued by Superman and the Green Lantern Corps and imprisoned by a red sun to rob him of his powers. This proves temporary, as the newly-created Sinestro Corps breaks him free and enlists him as a prominent member before the Guardians of the Universe banish him to fringes of the multiverse during a climactic battle on Earth.
After being rescued by the villainous Time Trapper to assist with his battle against Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st century, Superboy-Prime is sent back to the relative present, where he is imprisoned within the Source Wall by the Teen Titans in his final pre-Flashpoint appearance.
In Shazam! #10, Superboy-Prime was revealed to have been locked up in a cell in the Monsterlands, one of the seven magical lands connected to the Rock of Eternity. Aware of everything that has gone on in the DCU without him, Superboy-Prime tricks Dummy into releasing him before double-crossing him and regaining his armor, allowing him to super-charge his cells with solar energy while setting the stage for his inevitable return.
According to writer Geoff Johns, Superboy-Prime was freed from the Source Wall after its destruction at the end of the original Dark Nights: Metal by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, before being imprisoned once again. Vocally displeased at being forgotten by the DCU and with a particularly large axe to grind against Billy Batson for being the teenage superhero he never could be, Superboy-Prime will be a significant threat once he finds his way out of the Monsterlands and makes his way back to Earth.
Always leaving a bloody trail in his wake each time he goes on a murderous rampage, Superboy-Prime is more than just a threat for the Shazam Family, but for the entire DCU. After a decade away, the villain is going to make sure readers remember him this time.