Reign of the Supermen #553: Animated DCU Superboy and SuperDespot

Source: Superman Adventures #26 (1998)
Type: Off-canon/Hoax
The Mark Millar we know today would probably write a Superman just like the tyrant shown above, but back before he was popular, he wrote some very fun comics for the Animated DCU tie-ins. One such story features Mxyzptlk going back in time to rid himself of Superman when he was a teen. The animated Superman was never Superboy, you'll recall, but Mxy tells him he'll become tired of us ants in the future and will take over the world after beating up Mxy's own Justice League (come on Clark, does "the Parasite" sound like a hero? Or "Darkseid"?), taking Lana Lang as trophy wife and apparently forcing people to make a pilgrimage to the Fortress of Solitude in the Arctic. 16-year-old Clark only recently learned he had alien origins and is struggling with dark thoughts of punching a bully into outer space, so Mxy obviously caught him in the right frame of mind. Convinced he would one day become a danger to others, Clark accepts Mxy's offer to go live in a magical air bubble on the moon with his dog Skip, which Mxy rebrands "Eartho", wearing the red and blue jammies the 5-dimensional imp provides.
History is changed and not for the better. Without Superman in the mix, Luthor has become the most powerful man alive, Lois Lane was killed in a helicopter crash, Jimmy Olsen was crippled by Intergang, and Ma and Pa Kent slowly died of broken hearts when their boy disappeared. Worst of all for Mxy, the new present is BORING without the Man of Steel there to play his games. So he undoes it all, but one small change remains: Jonathan Kent, as obsessed as his Kevin Costner self about Clark never revealing his alien powers to anyone, caught a glimpse of the Superman costume on his son when he flew to the moon...
Maybe if Mxyzptlk had paid a visit to the Snyder-Nolanverse, CostnerKent would still be alive...

Comments

Anonymous said…
I've wanted to call a dog "Eartho" for a very long time. (I got the idea from an old Hembeck comic from 1980 or so.)
Martin Gray said…
Sounds like a goodie! Who drew?

And wouldnt an Earth dog named the Krypto way be called Eart?
Siskoid said…
Art by Aluir Amancio and Terry Austin.