Warning: The following contains spoilers for Shazam #14 by Geoff Johns, Dale Eaglesham, Scott Kolins, and Michael Atiyeh, on sale now.
Shazam #14 has a battle that's been building for the last few issues. Superboy-Prime is back and confronts the Shazam family in a knock-down brawl. Things don't go well for a few of the family members as Superboy-Prime takes them out quickly. Superboy-Prime has always been one of the more powerful villains in the DC Universe, and in this issue, he displays a new power previously unseen.
The character who became Superboy-Prime was created by Elliot S. Maggin and Curt Swan and made his first appearance in 1985s DC Comics Presents #87. The character is based on the original Superboy character by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and comes from Earth-Prime which has no superheroes. On Superboy-Prime's earth, Superman and the other superheroes only exist in comic books. Kal-El's powers came to him one night after Halley's Comet passed overhead. He was soon brought into the fight during Crisis on Infinite Earths, but Earth-Prime was destroyed and Superboy-Prime, along with Alexander Luthor, Jr., Kal-L, and Lois Lane, all end up in a "paradise," pocket dimension created by Alexander Luthor, Jr.
While in the paradise dimension, Superboy-Prime was unable to let go of his previous life and his destiny to become his world's greatest hero. Kal-El slowly goes mad as he believes Earth-Prime is the true Earth and his true calling is to be the one true Superman. But in reality, Superboy-Prime has become a psychotic, murderous, sadistic villain.
Superboy-Prime came to his full power in Infinite Crisis when he punched his way out of his pocket dimension and came to Earth-One, which is now the main Earth. Believing Earth-One's heroes act more like villains, Superboy-Prime confronts Connor Kent, Earth-One's Superboy, and viciously attacks him. During the battle, the Teen Titans, Doom Patrol, and Justice Society of America come to help and Kal-El winds up killing Pantha, Wildebeest, and Bushido and defeats the rest of the team's members in a rage.
In Shazam #14, Shazam and family are battling the Monster Society of Evil, led by Mister Mind and Doctor Sivana, when Superboy-Prime makes his dramatic return. Kal-El was locked up in a cell in the Monsterlands, one of the seven magical lands connected to the Rock of Eternity, and tricked Dummy into releasing him. Superboy-Prime immediately confronts Shazam and his family, hating Billy Batson for being the hero he never could be.
In their first confrontation, Superboy-Prime asks Shazam who all the new family members are, but before Billy can answer him, Superboy-Prime attacks and displays a new power he hasn't previously had. In a flash, Superboy-Prime takes out five members of the Shazam family, including Captain Marvel Jr. and Mary Marvel, by punching the magic out of them. After punching them, the five Shazam members transform back to their alter egos before falling unconscious.
This is a new and interesting power for Superboy-Prime to have. Superman has always been vulnerable to magic. Supes doesn't have as much weakness to magic, as he just doesn't have any special defenses against it. So, if there is a magic spell that would affect a regular person, it would also affect Superman. Because Superboy-Prime was born on Earth-Prime, he doesn't have the same weaknesses as the Superman from Earth-One. For example, Superboy-Prime is only affected by kryptonite from Earth-Prime. As a result, Superboy-Prime is resistant to magic because he is from Earth-Prime and was born that way
From his first appearance, Superboy-Prime has always been one of DC's most powerful characters. By the end of Shazam #14, Superboy-Prime is defeated and handed over to the Justice League, but he has escaped from far more secure prisons. With his new power to punch the magic out of heroes, Superboy-Prime promises to be an even bigger threat to the DC Universe.