I've loved Superman for as long as I can remember. Even more, I've loved Superboy. Each represents the ideal of doing what's right because it's the right thing to do, not for personal gain. I got hooked into Superboy right before his book started featuring the Legion of Super-Heroes (LSH), I think #197. While I missed Superboy in his own stories, I liked the sci-fi aspects of LSH a great deal (set 1000 years in the future, lots of advanced technology). Superboy went into oblivion in the '80's with the story, Crisis on Infinite Earths. Very sad, but it helped in simplifying the DC Universe in the name of continuity (a move I don't necessarily agree with; it's comics after all, not real life. Give me great stories any time).
After the death of Superman in '92, four new Supermen appeared to take over for Superman. One of these four was a revamped Superboy, hip and cool for the times. While he did not serve the same inspiration to me as the original Superboy (I'm 20 years older at this point), he was a fun character trying to do the best he could. Arrogant and cocky, yes, but far from perfect. The last storyline in his book was by far the weakest, and it was not a great sendoff for the character. But this Superboy didn't stay gone for long; he was in Young Justice, and then moved to Teen Titans after the much-lamented demise of Young Justice.
In 1995, the original Superboy that disappeared in Crisis on Infinite Earths reappeared in the Infinite Crisis series. And it was not a good thing. At all. Having been locked away in an area untouched by the original Crisis, he became psychotic from the isolation. And he started killing people because they were "wrong" and "didn't understand".
Finally, in Inifinite Crisis #6, there is a battle between the two Superboys which results in the death of not one Superboy but two. (In the comic world, even seeing a body is no indication of the permanence of death.)
The deaths of both of these characters saddens me. The newer Superboy was finally growing into a truly Super Man despite all the obstacles he faced. Still arrogant--though greatly tempered with heartache and several mistakes--he was becoming who he originally thought he deserved to be and who he realized ultimately he was not worthy to be. Very sad. Also sad is the fate of the Superboy I grew up with. To become a psychotic murderer after being such a paragon of virtue and upholder of what is right really does the character a great disservice. The loss of everything you knew and everyone you loved and years of isolation could be enough to send the strongest of people over the edge, so it's perfectly conceivable he could turn. But it's a very sad fate for a such a well-loved character.
Update 05/10—Spoiler: The old Superboy was not killed. He'll be around for quite a while to wreak more havoc. But what they've done to his character is a different kind of death. :::sigh:::
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