Reign of the Supermen #137: Superboy-Prime (pre-Crisis)

Source: DC Comics Presents #87 (1985)
Type: Alternate EarthThe Superboy of Earth-Prime was a surprisingly late addition to the DC Multiverse, making his debut during the Crisis on Infinite Earths and not before. Earth-Prime is basically our own Earth, where comics about superheroes are published, but superheroes themselves do not exist. Well, almost. The Flash crossed over in the famous Flash story that revealed Earth-Prime's existence, teaming the Scarlet Speedster up with Julius Schwartz. And from then on, there were other crossings (Ambush Bug seems to be in direct contact with Earth-Prime much of the time). Apparently, the adventures of superheroes on Earths 1, 2, etc. leaked into the subconscious of Earth-Prime's comics creators, giving us inside information on their secret identities, et al.

Of course, Earth-Prime ISN'T really our Earth, because writers couldn't help but give it its own heroes. First, there was Ultraa (coming to a Reign near you), and during Crisis, that new Superboy. It's the Superman myth, but all the details are wrong. Krypton dies when its sun goes supernova. Jor-El sends his son to Earth via an experimental teleporter. The baby is discovered by Jerry and Naomi Kent, who adopt him as their own and call him Clark. The kids at school make fun of Clark Kent because his name comes from a comic book, but he doesn't have any powers until Haley's Comet passes and triggers them, on a Halloween night during which he is dressed as his namesake, Superboy. Soon after meeting Earth-1's Superman, he is drafted into the Crisis army and ends up on the wrong side of reality with the Earth-2 versions of Superman and Lois Lane.

We know he would return to become one of the most hated and over-used characters in comic book history, but how close is the ol' reality puncher to the original? Is he the same, or did he reality punch HIMSELF? Pretty close, actually. His "showrunner", Geoff Johns, hasn't changed his back story. He still has the same parents, the same girlfriend (Laurie Lemmon), and powers (including immunity to most of Superman's standard weaknesses). But what about being a comic book nerd gone wrong? Yep, that's in there too.
Looks like he was always a little metatextual.
He's also rather impulsive, and his inexperience, especially in matters like "responsibility of power", coupled with time spent in some kind of dimensional void, could believably had led to the power-mad teen that returned in Infinite Crisis.

So if you thought Geoff Johns had remolded the character entirely to suit his story's needs, think again. Looks like the material was all there from the start, courtesy of Elliot S! Maggin.