Question about Superboy-Prime

[Christopher Cross Is God]

Was Superboy-Prime the same person Conner Kent met during Zero Hour (Superboy #8) and the Black Zero event?

If so, how could Conner have met him when Superboy-Prime was stuck in limbo with Kal-L and the others?

And, if not, which Superboy was he specifically supposed to be?

[Buried Alien]

Was Superboy-Prime the same person Conner Kent met during Zero Hour (Superboy #8) and the Black Zero event?

No. During ZERO HOUR, Conner met some variation of the Pre-COIE Earth-One Superboy...i.e. the Silver Age Superboy.

Whether the ZERO HOUR Superboy was actually the true-blue Silver Age Superboy or just a close approximation has never been determined, but ZERO HOUR Superboy was identical to Silver Age Superboy in just about every detail, making the distinction kind of moot.

In any case, he definitely wasn't Superboy-Prime.

If so, how could Conner have met him when Superboy-Prime was stuck in limbo with Kal-L and the others?

See above. :)

And, if not, which Superboy was he specifically supposed to be?

See above. :)

To further complicate matters, there's also a Pocket Universe Superboy who appeared briefly in the early Post-COIE SUPERMAN comic. The Pocket Universe Superboy (who, oddly enough, the Post-COIE Superman did mistake for Superboy-Prme, whom he shouldn't have met because it had been the Pre-COIE Earth-One Superman who had fought alongside Superboy Prime in COIE, not the Post-COIE Superman) was created by the Time Trapper to sort of "replace" the deleted Silver Age Superboy in the Time Trapper's own Pocket Universe.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[umbc8]

To further complicate matters, there's also a Pocket Universe Superboy who appeared briefly in the early Post-COIE SUPERMAN comic. The Pocket Universe Superboy (who, oddly enough, the Post-COIE Superman did mistake for Superboy-Prme, whom he shouldn't have met because it had been the Pre-COIE Earth-One Superman who had fought alongside Superboy Prime in COIE, not the Post-COIE Superman) was created by the Time Trapper to sort of "replace" the deleted Silver Age Superboy in the Time Trapper's own Pocket Universe.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Well, based on Superman's comment in that issue, and the fact that instances as recent as Identity Crisis show that Superman was present (and remembers) events as far back as the Silver-Age. So, while the history may be slightly different, in the Post-COIE/Pre-IC continuity it still would have been the Byrne Superman who fought in the crisis (with Superboy-Prime).

[glennsim]

Well, based on Superman's comment in that issue, and the fact that instances as recent as Identity Crisis show that Superman was present (and remembers) events as far back as the Silver-Age. So, while the history may be slightly different, in the Post-COIE/Pre-IC continuity it still would have been the Byrne Superman who fought in the crisis (with Superboy-Prime).

Yes, but since the Byrne Superman lived in a world that doesn't have a multiverse, his Crisis happened in a way that didn't involve a multiverse, thus where did Superboy-Prime come from?