The Greatest Hero of Them All
The Greatest Hero of Them All is a 1987 DC Comics crossover that ran in Superman vol. 2 #8, Action Comics #591, and Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 3 #37–38. It was written by Paul Levitz and John Byrne to fix Legion history after the original Superboy was removed from the main DC universe in Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Plot in simple terms: The Time Trapper erases Superboy from history. The Legion of Super-Heroes, joined by Superboy from 20th-century Smallville and Pete Ross, travel through time to stop him. Their adventures lead them to a pocket universe the Time Trapper created. In this clash, Superboy battles the Legion while Superman from the main timeline tries to make sense of what’s happening. Superboy ultimately sacrifices himself to restore the timeline and dies in Mon-El’s arms. After Superboy’s disappearance, Lex Luthor accidentally frees General Zod and other villains, who devastate Earth until Superman defeats them with kryptonite. The Legion mourns Superboy, especially four members—Saturn Girl, Brainiac 5, Mon-El, and Duo Damsel—who team up to kill the Time Trapper (one of Duo Damsel’s bodies is destroyed in the fight).
Legacy: In the post‑Crisis era, DC tinkered with continuity, replacing or reworking the Time Trapper and other elements, and later rebooting and revising the Legion’s history through Zero Hour and Infinite Crisis. The arc was an early effort to keep Superboy and the Legion tied to the core DC universe, even as the timeline was reshaped over the years. The story is collected in Superman: The Man of Steel, Vol. 4.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 17:14 (CET).