Recently I was taken to task about my dislike for this character. So I feel a need to clarify why I despise this character so much.

The key problem I have is the nonexistent moral compass this character has and the attempts to make a character like that a hit character that should appear regularly.
I never went to college but I'm sure if I did, I could spout some logical rhetoric about Id, Ego and Superego. This character clearly is stunted in one of these areas. But what appalls me is how quick everybody wants to celebrate a character who's only concern is gratifying himself to the point where Everybody else is a complete non concern. We live in a world where everybody is astoundingly self centered and only concerned with self gratification to an amazing degree.
The act of murder is The most selfish act anyone could ever perform in their entire life. Someone who could perform that act casually on a regular basis for the simple reason that he's having a bad day is beyond a shadow of a doubt the most thoughtless, self absorbed individual you could imagine. Not to mention that he's morally bankrupt.

Now maybe this could be entertaining as a fictional character for a short period but not when he's completely invincible and therefore a writer's crutch.

Somebody tried to compare the Joker to this tripe. The difference is the Joker is stoppable whereas Self absorbed Prime can't be beat by anybody. What's the point of him as a character then? To defy God? To represent the absence of hope? To tittilate? I find him a mindless character that gives hope to people who have no regard for other human beings and love to wallow in other people's discomfort.

In other words, I see him as a bad sign for our future as members of the human race, the same way I see the Red Hulk. (and everything else Jeph Loeb writes, including "Lost").

I post this as a challenge to those of you who are entertained by this kind of storytelling.

Who is Superboy Prime?

Villain's don't necessarily need morality or a moral compass, besides, morality is pretty subjective. He's not unstoppable, he's been stopped a few times at least. I admit, he is a little ridiculous in terms of power level, but that's the entire point. You know when he comes up, it's global/universal threat level stuff going on. You need big gun villains that are insane too; everyone can't be the Joker and Harley Quinn. The fact that he's dumb, self absorbed, ignorant, and everyone laughs at him, is what keeps him kinda grounded.

i think you just don't like people who whine and one punch legionaires to death.

also, you should read the adventure comics blackest night issues to see about his "nonexistant moral compass" issue.

and also...HE PUNCHED TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-RmL

I don't like Superboy Prime because he's whiny and boring.

Like I said before, I don't imagine anyone admires Superboy Prime. They just find him entertaining. Just like they find Joker entertaining. And I don't see the logic of comparing Joker and Prime and finding Joker superior simply because he can be beat. If people admired Joker the way you seem to think they do Prime, then they'd be emulating and exalting what values exactly? Joker is as worthless a human being as they come. They're pretty much equal on that scale.

I like both characters, but frankly I don't think one learns a whole lot about my inner workings because I'm entertained by them. Your mileage may differ.

I think that Superboy Prime is poorly written, period. Back in the original COIE, he was clearly a hero and they gave him plausible characterization. Now that he is a bad guy, I think that he is mostly a running joke and a punching bag for heroes when an omega-level threat is called for during major crossovers. As stated elsewhere, Superboy Prime is a character that does not grow or evolve - basically a boring one that is being overdone and oversold.

But who does in comics? Bad guys especially.

Though I don't condone the act nor am I trying to say that this is why Superman Prime has committed such acts, but I have read many a story when there is an act of murder where they kill someone that is a threat to someone they love, or a group that the killer loves. Is it considered selfish to kill someone to protect someone you love?

It's not the most selfish thing possible, but, well, strictly speaking, yeah...see my emphasis above. The unselfish thing is to lay down your own life on behalf of your loved ones, not someone else's.

An example of a hero character with personal growth and evolution: Wally West. From Kid Flash to the New Teen Titans to becoming The Flash (post-COIE) and now with a family and superpowered children to think about. Wally has definitely changed over time.

An example of a villain with personal growth and evolution: Thanos. He has gone from mad Titan to ally of Adam Warlock, to possessor of the Infinity Gauntlet, to renouncing universal conquest, to atoning for past misdeeds, and finally dying during Annihilation. I'd have to say that his characterization was pretty complex and interesting.

While it's true that comic books are full of 2D characters, we have exceptions of individuals who are much more engaging and multidimensional than the way Superboy Prime is portrayed.

Yes, it is. Murder, even to protect someone you love is selfish. But that's only because murder (in the literal sense) involves premeditation and planning. If you can murder someone, you should of had time to investigate other possibilities, like running away or going to the authorities.

However, the act of killing someone to protect yourself or a loved one is self defense. At best, manslaughter. This is not murder. There is no planning, merely a reaction. Which is why you don't get the death penalty for it like you would with murder. In fact, you wouldn't even get jailtime for self-defense.

I agree with your post, but it brings to mind something that a famous general once said about winning a war not by laying down your life for your country but by making the enemy lay down his life for his country.

Yes. And there are others. But plenty of terrific characters don't really change at all. Joker, and most all the Bat villains for instance. Pretty much the same now as then. Still fun characters.

I'm not arguing people need to like Prime. He is what he is. A comic book bad guy, not a "bad sign for the human race".