Superboy #6
Superboy #6 (1994) is the third chapter of 'Worlds Collide,' the landmark 14-part crossover between DC Comics and Milestone Media — one of the very few intercompany events of the era designed to run within regular monthly continuity of both publishers rather than in a self-contained special. The issue marks the first meeting of Superboy and Rocket (Raquel Ervin), bringing a character rooted in Milestone's socially conscious Dakotaverse into direct contact with DC's Superman family for the first time. That encounter was a deliberate creative statement: Milestone co-founder Dwayne McDuffie and his collaborators had built Rocket as a fully dimensioned Black teenage heroine whose worldview was inseparable from her identity, and placing her alongside Conner Kent foregrounded the cultural distance between Metropolis and Dakota as a storytelling engine. The crossover also demonstrated that Milestone's universe could stand as an equal partner to DC's, a distinction that 'Worlds Collide' earned precisely because each creative team wrote the other publisher's characters with genuine respect.
In "Changing Realities! (Worlds Collide Part 3)," Superboy steps into a new chapter of his journey when he stays in Metropolis and crosses paths with interdimensional traveler Fred Bentson—just as the Parasite attacks. With help from Dubbilex, Superboy defeats the threat, only to be suddenly pulled into a new reality, landing in Dakota City and facing off against Rocket. Written by Karl Kesel and Steve Mattsson, with art by Tom Grummett and inks by Doug Hazlewood and Dennis Janke, this pivotal issue sees Superboy’s world shift in ways he never expected, all under a striking cover by Tom Grummett and Karl Kesel.
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Karl Kesel and Tom Grummett had co-created the post-Crisis Superboy (Kon-El) in The Adventures of Superman #500 (June 1993) and then launched his solo ongoing series in February 1994, making issue #6 only the sixth installment of a still-young title. The 'Worlds Collide' crossover was masterminded primarily by Dwayne McDuffie and involved writers and artists from both publishing houses; on the DC side, editor Frank Pittarese shepherded the Superman-line chapters. The issue carries a co-writing credit for Steve Mattsson alongside Kesel — consistent with Mattsson's periodic collaborative role on the Kesel-era Superboy — with Doug Hazlewood inking Grummett's pencils, the same core art partnership that defined the series' early visual identity. The story was also embedded within DC's concurrent 'Fall of Metropolis' arc, meaning Kesel had to service two major crossover commitments simultaneously in the same issue.
Trivia · 9 facts
- Cover date: July 1994; on-sale date: May 17, 1994 (DC Volume 4 / 3rd Series, issue #6).
- This issue is Part 3 of the 14-part 'Worlds Collide' crossover; it continues from Hardware (1993) #17 and flows into Icon (1993) #15.
- 'Worlds Collide' was a 1994 intercompany crossover between DC Comics' Superman-family titles and Milestone Media titles, distinguished by being in-continuity for both publishers — an unusual commitment for the era.
- The issue features the first direct encounter between Superboy (Kon-El) and Rocket (Raquel Ervin), the Milestone heroine co-created by Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, and Mark Bright, who originally debuted in Icon #1 (May 1993).
- Written by Karl Kesel and Steve Mattsson; pencilled by Tom Grummett; inked by Doug Hazlewood and Dennis Janke; edited by Frank Pittarese.
- The Parasite serves as the main villain — a deliberate escalation, as Parasite had recently drained Superman himself, making him an especially dangerous threat for the newer, less experienced Superboy.
- The crossover's central device — postal worker Fred Bentson involuntarily shifting between the DC Universe and the Dakotaverse and gradually becoming the reality-threatening being known as Rift — is central to the plot here, as Bentson's collision with Superboy triggers the interdimensional transport to Dakota.
- The issue also acknowledges the concurrent 'Fall of Metropolis' storyline, following up on the Guardian's blood providing a cure for the Clone Plague that had endangered Superboy and the Newsboy Legion — tying multiple Superman-line events together in a single chapter.
- Exists in at least two cover editions: a standard direct edition and a newsstand edition, as well as a DC Universe Logo variant.
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Superboy and Superman leave the Cadmus Project in the hands of the senior Newsboy Legionnaires. Superboy decides to remain in Metropolis for a while and soon meets interdimensional traveler Fred Bentson just as the Parasite appears. With Dubbilex's help, Superboy subdues the Parasite and turns to help Bentson, but they suddenly find themselves transported to Dakota City and facing off against Rocket.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).
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