I feel about Superboy (Clark Kent) the way I feel about Clara Oswald in DOCTOR WHO. I don't remember the Doctor's words exactly, but when Clara was taken away from him, even though he couldn't remember her, he said that you can still see the outline of the person by everyone and everything that surrounded their existence. There's so much of old school Superboy that's outlined by all that DC still retains, that he might as well exist, since he's the central persona that explains everything else around him.