Dave's Comic Heroes Blog: Superman And Superboy Switch

Time for another Super Blog Team-Up. This time around, focusing on time travel!

Remember those fanciful days as a child when you wished you live your life as your adult self...or, the days of being an adult, that you could back to those fanciful days as a child?

Well, Clark Kent doesn't have to wonder about such things, as Superman and Superboy experienced a little mind switch one time when they were both travelling in time, and got to live each others life for a time...

...and, time to see how this happened!

A Mind-Switch In Time!

Starting off with Superman #380 (February, 1983, with a Ross Andru/Dick Giordano cover, and a story by Cary Bates, Curt Swan and Dave Hunt), where Superman is heading back in time (way back to the days of the cavemen) on a request from Professor Lang (and thinking of his days back in Smallville as he heads back). Meanwhile (well, as much as it can be in a time travel story), Superboy is saying goodbye to Ma and Pa Kent in Smallville as he heads into the future to a meeting with the Legion of Super-Heroes.

In the time stream, they both see a phenomenon they never encountered, and both being possessed of Kryptonian might (and ego), think they can just fly through it and be fine. Well, not so much, as they both go through, they "meet" (and turn phantom, as a rule of time travel involving Kryptonians is that they can't exist in a time they are in), and Superman is sent back to his time in Metropolis after the almost collision, as Superboy is sent back to his Smallville. Both are shaken up, but Superman seems shocked he ended up in Metropolis...until he sees his reflection and sees he is older, a Superboy in a Superman's body!

After dealing with a few problems, Clark somehow ends up at the Daily Planet after an encounter with Lois Lane (which she sees Superman as oddly distant and standoffish....not knowing of his body switch), where he decides to get the lay of the land as Clark Kent. Meanwhile, the Daily Planet staff has been dealing with a new hero, Euphor, who makes people bad feelings go away. The young Clark in older Clark's body meets the modern Lana Lang (whom he is so totally attracted to) and the two go on, as Euphor spends more time in Metropolis absorbing the bad feelings of the city.

The Day That Lasted Forever

The New Adventures Of Superboy #38 (February, 1983, with a story by Paul Kupperberg and Kurt Schaffenberger, with a cover by Ross Andru and Mike DeCarlo) picks up the story from the Superman in Superboy's body point of view, where Clark ends up back in old Smallville after a little time establishment, with Superboy lamenting how he can't help the young Lex Luthor at Thanksgiving. Then, Superboy heads into the time stream, and everything changes...

With Superman (in Superboy's body) now in old Smallville, Clark realizes he doesn't want to go back to Metropolis as a boy, so he decides to go back to his (at Superman's time) empty farm house...where he finds Ma and Pa Kent! Stunned, the experienced Superman goes along with it as guests arrive (a young Pete Ross and Lana Lang) for Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, in the main town, Chief Parker has a problem to deal with...an escaped Lex Luthor on the loose, who seems to have no fear of Superboy arriving. Back at the Kent home, Superboy starts his day, heads to the prison, then to travel in time (again?)...yes, Superman in Superboy's body has been trapped in a 24 hour period, unable to move forward (as Luthor had planned, and tells Chief Parker).

But, then how does Superboy show up to stop Luthor? Well, it's a solution only a Superman would know (that he could just keep going back in time to the beginning, which meets up with the end of time, and continue to go back from there). Having solved the Luthor problem (with a little extra anger, as Superman knows the vile deeds Luthor will commit in the future), Clark is still faced with the problem of how to get back to his time in his own body!

Whose Super-Life Is It, Anyway?

Back to the future (at least from Superboy's point of view), with Superman #381 (March, 1983, cover by Gil Kane, story by Bates/Swan/Hunt), where the boy in the man's body goes home to Smallville to recover (finding the house empty, and having his parents death while he was still Superboy revealed to him by the home's caretaker, the former Chief Parker). Meanwhile, back in Metropolis, Euphor heads to an on camera interview at WGBS while a motorcycle rider near him seems to get a bike upgrade and a suit of armor!

At WGBS (also the home of the Daily Planet), Lois tells Jimmy Olsen that she feels something is off with Superman, and it fills her with dread. Euphor shows up and says he'll take away her pain, but Lois storms off, wanting to deal with it herself. Euphor goes on camera with Lana Lang, and tells the people of Metropolis of his powers, and promises to drain their sorrow and anger from them (which he does), giving the city a feeling of contentment and happiness (and hopefully higher ratings for the show). Superboy in Superman's body is dealing with the knowledge of his parents death when that motorcycle rider attacks a Superman statue, with Clark showing up to stop Mace Malloy, who doesn't know where his powers came from.

Meanwhile, back at WGBS, Lois confides her feelings of losing Superman to Lana, who tells her not to worry. Clark shows up and he and Lana go to prepare for a newscast (but young Clark's mind is still distracted by what to him is the now grown up Lana. Euphor finds the newscast, and realizes he is shedding power due to all he has absorbed, and puts an ad in the Daily Planet to draw people unhappy with Superman to the park.

Perry White assigns Lois to cover the story in the park, with Lois agreeing, as she also feels unhappy with Superman now. Superman goes to check on Lana, still having a Superboy's feelings towards her, but she rejects him as their time has long been over, and SuperMAN should be thinking about Lois. In the park, Euphor empowers three Superman haters who manifest abilities based on their Superman hate, with Superman arriving to try to stop them. He does, but the energy in them consumes their bodies. This becomes a problem as Euphor gets a new recruit, Lois Lane, who manifest the energy as a witch to attack Superman (and, Superboy wonders how to stop her without killing her....).

Where Trouble Goes -- Euphor Follows

Superboy (in Superman's body) is still dealing with Euphor in Superman #382 (April, 1983, story by Cary Bates, Curt Swan and Dave Hunt, and a Gil Kane cover) and his newest recruit...Lois Lane! Superboy (in Superman's body) lures her away from the park (as Euphor solidifies his hold on more Metropolis citizens). Having gotten Lois unconscious, Clark hopes her powers will fade as he's secreted her to the Fortress of Solitude. When Lois wakes up, Superboy explains he's the mind now in Superman's body (which explains why he was cold to her. The duo get closer as an alarm goes off signaling trouble in Metropolis.

At WGBS, Morgan Edge is angry about the station giving Euphor more time, until Euphor hits him with his power, and goes on live again, detailing his origins of how he found Mr. Mystic at a street fair, and that magician revealed the source of his power to the boy, and how he could do the same drawing people's negative emotions to use as he wished. Euphor then proceeds to draw even more from Metropolis' citizens, with Superboy and Lois watching at the Fortress, realizing that this will leave Metropolis as a home of drained people. Superboy doesn't know how to handle this, but Lois figures the Superman in Superboy's body is also working on a solution, and likely would be waiting on the other side of the temporal storm to repeat the accident which switched their minds in the first place.

Grateful, Superboy takes off into the time stream as Euphor's powers grow. Superboy and Superman meet up at the anomoly and are successful in reversing its effects, with the now fully Superman headed home to deal with Euphor (and Superboy safe in Smallville, with no memory of his time in Metropolis). Superman finds Lois at the Fortress, who fills him in on the menace of Euphor. Superman goes to Metropolis to confront him, and takes him into the time stream, where Superman goes back to witness the destruction of Krypton (making Superman very sad). Euphor tries to absorb Superman's sadness but it is too much, and he overloads (with Superman having brought him back to Metropolis, allowing the city residents to get their feelings back, and Superman to go back to life as normal).

Quite an adventure for Superman and Superboy!