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The Man of Steel (comic book)
Encyclopedia
The Man of Steel is a six-issue comic book
limited series
released in 1986
by DC Comics
, several months after the twelve-issue limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths
completed. The Man of Steel was written and penciled by John Byrne and inked by Dick Giordano
.
mythos. Using the history-altering effects of Crisis on Infinite Earths as an explanation, it was decided by DC editorial to give Superman an updated look and feel by completely rewriting his history, as an attempt to attract more readers. Thus, for modern comics, Man of Steel is the dividing point between the previous canon
and the current one; many comic fans refer to the two different versions as "pre-Crisis" and "post-Crisis", per Crisis on Infinite Earths being the major dividing line across DC's universe
as a whole. The pre-Crisis stories were drawn to a close in Alan Moore
's "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?
". The Man of Steel is still considered to be a much favored and superior origin story and resulting continuity than what subsequently came after (Birthright and Secret Origin). This is due to the originality of the story. The tight continuity that followed in the monthly series is still much revered to this day.
From 1986 to 2004
, this series was regarded as the "official" origin of Superman
; in 2004, it was superseded by Superman: Birthright
. However, after the 2006 conclusion of the DCU
-spanning Infinite Crisis
storyline, the Birthright series' was removed in favor of the Superman: Secret Origin
mini-series in 2009
.
The Man of Steel was followed by three four-issue mini-series that also retold and explored the rebooted world of Superman: The World of Krypton (December 1987
- March 1988
), The World of Smallville (April - July 1988), and The World of Metropolis (August - November 1988), all of them written by Byrne.
The series reboots Superman continuity for a modern audience. Previous depictions of the comic book Superman and his mythology are discarded. Some characters’ backgrounds were largely altered.
to his arrival on Earth where he is discovered by his adoptive parents, the Kents. The story fast forwards to a high school football
game after which adoptive father Jonathan Kent takes the now-teenaged Clark
for a ride. By this time, Clark has developed most of, if not all, his powers as Superman. Jonathan reveals to Clark the truth that he (Clark) was never their biological son and that he was found from a crashed spaceship. The revelation causes Clark to decide to use his powers for the greater good. For the next few years during his studies in university, he has been saving lives and averting disasters in secret until an experimental space shuttle forces him to expose himself to the public. He meets Lois Lane
for the first time and both felt a connection to each other but before they could react to it, a mob surrounds them. Clark is unable to deal with the sudden attention. In order to preserve Clark’s secret identity, Jonathan comes up with the idea of a superhero identity such as those used in the 1940s. Clark adopts a costume created by Martha and the name he was given in the news, Superman.
The planet Krypton is portrayed as a cold and emotionally sterile planet, an idea Byrne borrowed from the 1978
film
Superman. Kal-El was not an infant sent from Krypton to Earth; rather, his fetus
was placed in a "birthing matrix" equipped with a rocket engine and Jor-El
's experimental warp drive, with Kal-El gestating during the trip to Earth; once the rocket landed, Kal-El was fully "born" on Earth. This also made him "born" an American, a plot point that would be used in Armageddon 2001
, a DC Comics storyline which explored possible futures, one of which featured Superman becoming President of the United States
.
Clark's abilities developed gradually in the yellow sun environment, starting with resistance to injury, then strength, x-ray vision, etc., with his ability to fly being the last to emerge. It took until his late teen years for all of his powers to develop; thus, Clark only adopted the Superman identity in adulthood, and never was Superboy
. The Kents secretly adopted Clark and passed him off as their biological son. Prior to finding Clark, Martha Kent had a history of failed pregnancies. Friends and relatives assumed that they kept Martha’s “pregnancy” a secret in fear of losing another child. A blizzard that closed off Smallville also helped in the Kents’ alibi. In some pre-Crisis depictions, the Kents surrendered baby Kal-El to an orphanage before having a change of heart and legally adopting him as their own. The Man of Steel, Birthright, and Smallville
all involve the same circumstances and cover-up of Clark's adoption. Clark mentions that at that time he had been making Metropolis
his base of operations for about three years.
While the pre-Crisis Superman's costume was invulnerable (as a result of being made from the blankets in the rocket
that brought him to Earth
), the post-Crisis Superman's costume was made of ordinary material. But while the cape often became ripped and torn (or even completely destroyed on occasion) for dramatic effect, the rest of the costume was usually left untouched. It was later explained that the post-Crisis Superman's body generated an invisible "aura" that surrounded him and contributed to his invulnerability. Objects held close to him, such as his costume, were protected from harm; his cape, meanwhile, could easily sustain damage in battle. The Superman S-shield is an original design by Clark and Jonathan. Byrne made some adjustments to Superman's costume. While keeping every classic element, he significantly increased the size of the S-shield so that it almost entirely covered the chest. The cape is also made larger and longer, its flowing in the air made to look more dramatic.
editor-in-chief Perry White assigns Lois Lane to get an interview with Superman. Meanwhile, Superman is all over Metropolis rescuing citizens and foiling bank robberies. After a series of failed attempts to interview Superman, Lois decides to take a gamble and plunges her car into the harbor. Superman arrives and takes her home. She finally has the scoop on Superman only to find out she was beaten to the headline by the new reporter, Clark Kent.
Lois Lane
was written as an aggressive reporter and person from the start, and never expressed a desire to find out Superman's secret identity
(and indeed, never seemed to consider that Superman might have an alter-ego). She was also responsible for coming up with the name Superman, as she does in versions of the character in other media (such as Superman and, later, Superman: The Animated Series
). Lane was also given a reddish-brown head of hair instead of black.
meet each other for the first time. Batman is on the trail of the criminal known as Magpie
. He is interrupted in a lead by Superman who regards him as an outlaw. Rather than risk capture, Batman informs Superman that should the latter make any attempts to come near him, a signal will be activated that will trigger a bomb and kill a person somewhere in the city. The two are forced to work together and eventually capture Magpie. In the end, Batman reveals to Superman that the endangered person is Batman himself. Superman departs cautioning Batman against crossing any further lines. Batman admits to himself of a respect for Superman’s innate goodness and wonders if, in a different reality, they could have been friends.
Superman's relationship with Batman, which was friendly pre-Crisis, became much more tentative, as each disagreed with the other's methods and attitudes. An allusion is made to their pre-Crisis friendship with Batman’s pondering at the end of the story. Batman mentions that he had read Superman's debut in the Daily Planet news reports eight months ago.
Superman's arch-nemesis Lex Luthor
was no longer a mad scientist
but instead a power-hungry billionaire
, "the most powerful man in Metropolis," who resented Superman's overshadowing presence. Instead of battling Superman directly, Lex would use hired minions and staff on his payroll or manipulate others to confront Superman, while employing various methods (bribery, plausible deniability, legal trickery, etc.) to ensure that none of the incidents could be conclusively linked to him. Clark mentions that it has been almost eighteen months since he beat Lois on the scoop on Superman.
, Lois’s sister, who attempted to commit suicide by jumping off a building. Superman encounters the creature and engages it in battle. The fight ends in a final blow, shattering the imperfect duplicate into a dust cloud which somehow restores Lucy’s sight.
On the opening page of this issue, Superman is seemingly capturing Luthor, who is wearing his pre-Crisis power suit. However, the next page reveals that it is one of Luthor's pawns in the suit. Luthor claims that the suit had been stolen and that he had no knowledge of the plot to attack Superman. Unfortunately, the suit's systems have left the man inside a vegetable, unable to tell the truth of Luthor's involvement. The reader later learns that Luthor was responsible for all of the above, which Superman suspects.
The villain Bizarro
was established as an imperfect clone of Superman, created from the superhero's DNA, rather than as a duplicate resulting from an imperfect duplicating ray. Furthermore, Bizarro is no longer an "imperfect opposite" of Superman and as such, has identical rather than opposite powers. Though the duplicate is referred to as "bizarre" in-story, it is never explicitly named "Bizarro"; that name will not be established post-Crisis until years later, when another imperfect duplicate created by the same process runs rampant in Metropolis. Lois mentions that she has been dreaming of kissing Superman for five years now, indicating that he has been active in Metropolis at least that long at this point. The restoration of Lucy's sight is an element borrowed from Bizarro's original debut in Superboy
(vol. 1) #68, right down to the dust cloud; it is intimated that the duplicate deliberately sacrifices itself after hearing that Lucy's sight began to improve after contact with the creature.
surprises him and touches him. Superman discovers himself to be on an alien planet where he encounters his biological mother, Lara. As the hallucination wears off, he is face to face with his old flame, Lana Lang
. In a flashback, it turns out that on the night that Clark learned his heritage he went to Lana and revealed the truth of his powers to her. She confesses her feelings to him. She realizes that Clark can no longer belong to her, that he belongs to the world and this fact had hurt her. She had gone through a period of depression and finally accepts the fact. The next day, Superman thinks about what she said and starts wondering about where he truly came from. He goes to the location where Jonathan hid the rocket ship he was found in only to find that the ship is gone. The hologram of Jor-El reappears and tells him to be silent and to learn. It appears that Superman is under some kind of psionic attack but the Kents arrive in time and break it off. Superman flies away, realizing that it was not a mental attack but a download of knowledge of everything about Krypton into his brain. He finally knows his biological parents and where he came from and though he appreciates the knowledge he has been given, in the end, he embraces his humanity ever more.
As opposed to the earlier version, where others such as Supergirl
and Krypto
also survived, Superman was portrayed as the sole survivor of Krypton's destruction. Superman had no memory of his existence on Krypton, but instead identified himself as a citizen of Earth. Pre-Crisis, Pete Ross
knew of Clark's abilities since they were teenagers, while Lana Lang suspected Clark of being Superboy. Post-Crisis, Pete learned this information much later. Instead, Clark revealed his abilities to Lana just before he left Smallville. Clark's adoptive Terran
parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent are alive and well in Clark's adulthood, and Clark visits them periodically. Pre-Crisis, they had died shortly after Clark's high school
graduation. Clark is twenty-eight years old by the time the story ends.
that led to the reboot, DC Comics
and Marv Wolfman
had been wanting to do a revision for Superman for a while, even bringing it up with DC's then-publisher and president Jenette Kahn
. Nothing developed until Kahn asked for revision proposals for Superman. While regular Superman writer Cary Bates
wanted the revision that kept the ongoing continuity as it was, Wolfman, and other writers Frank Miller
and Steve Gerber
wanted to start the continuity all over from scratch. Wolfman, Miller, and Gerber all wanted to do the same thing: get rid of Superboy
, cut down on Superman's powers
, make changes in Lex Luthor
, and make Superman the last survivor of Krypton
, but how they wanted to do it was different. Time passed, and no concept for a revised Superman series was given a go-ahead.
Work once again started for a revision in May 1985, and this was when Marv Wolfman found out John Byrne had left Marvel Comics
. Since both of them liked the same media takes on Superman, and Wolfman felt that Byrne would "make it sell", Wolfman called Byrne and he accepted going to DC and proposed his revision of Superman. DC agreed with 99% of Byrne's plans, and the reboot was given the go-ahead. Wolfman was offered one of the monthlies: The Adventures of Superman comic book that was a retitle of the first Superman ongoing series. At first, Alan Moore
was going to do Action Comics
, which was to be a Superman team-up book akin to the DC Comics Presents
Superman team-up series. But Moore proved to be too busy, so Byrne was given that book as well.
and Last Son of Krypton
). The idea was not used because DC wanted Kal-El to be sent to Earth alone, as all the previous incarnations agreed upon.
In his public debut, Superman was originally going to save a landing space-shuttle. After the Challenger disaster
, the Constitution was changed to "an experimental space-plane".
Byrne suggested that the Legion of Super-Heroes
was formed based on legends of Superman's adventures as a boy. The Legion would eventually be surprised to discover that these adventures never happened.
According to Byrne, it was initially agreed upon that he could depict Superman "learning the ropes" as a young hero early in his career (another concept similar to Smallville
). This was part of the reason why Byrne eliminated Superboy from the mythos, as he felt Superboy would be an unnecessary character under those circumstances. However, once Byrne officially signed on he was informed by DC that his Superman would need to be "up to speed" and an established hero by the time the relaunch of the monthly titles took place. Byrne later stated that he wished he had kept Superboy to fill the role of Superman still "figuring it out".
Another unused Marv Wolfman idea was to show Lois Lane and Lex Luthor being romantically involved and living together in Luthor's estate in the mountains until Superman came to Metropolis. Lois would then leave Luthor to go after Superman, another reason for Luthor to hate Superman. This idea was scrapped because Byrne did not want Lois as someone who was drawn to power (and he didn't want any mountains shown alongside the city either). However, Man of Steel depicts Lois and Luthor as having only casually dated.
at his peak could easily move planets, the post-Crisis version strained at moving a commercial airliner
in flight. His vision powers still include x-ray, heat and microscopic/telescopic vision but are set at a more realistic level. He no longer had the ability to survive in space indefinitely without an air supply as he had done often in pre-Crisis stories. The powers dropped in succeeding stories include his ability to travel through time, freeze breath (though he still possessed super-powerful blowing strength), and super intelligence.
Byrne made the most important changes to Superman's personality. Superman's alter-ego Clark Kent
was no longer "mild-mannered"; he became more assertive, and an important half of a double life. Man of Steel established Clark Kent as the "real" person, with Superman being the "disguise" - a reversal of the earlier canon. Stories featuring people actively trying to discover Superman's secret identity
became practically non-existent, since it was not known to the general public that Superman had a secret identity since he did not wear a mask, and most generally assumed that Superman was the full-time (i.e. only) identity. Additionally, Superman's status as the sole survivor of Krypton is restored. This resulted in the writers having to come up with alternative explanations to related characters such as Supergirl
and General Zod
and the Phantom Zone
villains.
The changes among Superman’s cast include Lana Lang, Jimmy Olsen
and Lex Luthor. Lana and Jimmy did not adopt any superhero
identities (pre-Crisis they frequently developed superpowers). Lana was no longer a romantic rival of Lois Lane for Superman's affections, but a childhood friend with an unrequited crush on Clark. Lex Luthor became an evil billionaire (inspired in part by Gene Hackman's
portrayal of the character in the Superman movies.) Clark's adoptive parents are still alive and well and remain important supporting characters to this day.
After the limited series, Byrne took over the storytelling in the monthly Superman series. The change he made to Superman’s greatest weakness, Kryptonite
, was limiting the form to only the original green variety. Other variant forms of Kryptonite such as gold, yellow, blue and white no longer existed; only green remained. The other red version of Kryptonite would eventually resurface later on, created by Mister Mxyzptlk
. Kryptonite was also made a much rarer element and extremely hard to find and acquire, having only come to Earth in a single fist-sized piece stuck to Clark's spacecraft. In fact early on only Lex Luthor had access to it (having taken the only existent piece from Metallo
), and this knowledge allowed Superman to know who supplied Bloodsport
with Kryptonite bullets. Superman's enemies had to become even more creative in finding a way to battle him. Lex Luthor believed early on that the radiation emanating from Kryptonite was within safety limits for humans. However it was determined later that long-term exposure to Kryptonite was also deadly to humans when Lex's right hand which wore a Kryptonite ring became poisoned, in fact requiring amputation.
The removal of Clark's Superboy
career, as well as of Supergirl
, from continuity would have a serious impact on the Legion of Super-Heroes
. Byrne would later state that removing Superboy from continuity was a mistake. To correct this incontinuity, a storyline was created having the Legion travel back in time to confront the post-Crisis Superman to find an explanation for Superboy's existence. It was revealed that Superboy existed in a "pocket universe
" created by the Time Trapper
, consisting of only Earth and Krypton before its destruction. That universe's Kal-El grew up as the pre-Crisis Superboy; whenever Superboy would travel to the future or the Legion would return to Superboy's past the Time Trapper would shift them in and out of the Pocket Universe.
for BBC Radio 4
. It featured Stuart Milligan
as Clark Kent / Superman, William Hootkins
as Lex Luthor, Lorelei King
as Lois Lane, Vincent Marzello
as Jimmy Olsen, Garrick Hagon
as Perry White, Shelley Thompson
as Lana Lang, Dick Vosburgh
as Jor-El, Barbara Barnes as Lucy Lane, David Graham (actor)
as Fisher, Simon Treves
as Metallo, Elizabeth Mansfield as Amanda McCoy, Burt Kwouk
as Doctor Teng, and Jon Pertwee
as Schwarz.
touching upon it. While Superman For All Seasons might have added and changed new things, it never removed Byrne's retelling. However, in 2003, another story of Superman's origin, a 12-issue limited series called Superman: Birthright
, was published. DC stated that Birthright and Man of Steel formed the full "official" origin for Superman. Birthright made use of many elements of Man of Steel that tied into the other series, but also introduced new aspects ignored by Byrne and thus brought back various pre-Crisis elements (such as Lex and Clark as childhood friends in Smallville). The Kara Zor-El
version of Supergirl was also brought back. The Infinite Crisis
storyline made further changes to Superman, which left the question once again asked about Superman's origin. It wasn't until then-monthly Superman
writer Kurt Busiek
stated that the post-Infinite Crisis
Superman origin had yet to be established. This ultimately removed both The Man of Steel (with the exception of #3) and Birthright from canon, and in its place was Superman: Secret Origin
, released in 2009.
form in several editions. The first used a better paper stock after the series’ completion. In 1993
, it was reprinted with newsprint-type paper and priced cheaper. The 2003 edition sported a new cover by Jerry Ordway
and was titled as Superman: The Man of Steel Vol. 1, the first in a series of trade paperbacks collecting the early adventures of the post-Crisis Superman.
The Chinese version was translated by Michael Leung (梁德輝) and his team of Comic Network in Hong Kong.
With the release of Action Comics #584, Adventures of Superman #424, and Superman (vol. 2) #1 there was a card in each copy that readers could fill out and mail to DC for a chance to win 1 of 3000 copies of a collected trade paperback. This version was unique in that it was actually all six issues of the Man of Steel mini-series with the spines trimmed and rebound with a new cover with a photocopied note that read:
Congratulations!
Your entry has been selected to receive a copy of the "MAN of STEEL" special edition the entire six issue mini-series bound between two covers
Thank you for responding to our contest and your continued support of SUPERMAN and DC Comics
Sincerely,
Dale A. Kanzler
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
released in 1986
1986 in comics
-Year overall:* Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, a four-issue limited series written and drawn by Frank Miller and published by DC Comics, debuts...
by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, several months after the twelve-issue limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
completed. The Man of Steel was written and penciled by John Byrne and inked by Dick Giordano
Dick Giordano
Richard Joseph "Dick" Giordano was an American comic book artist and editor best known for introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes, and serving as executive editor of then–industry leader DC Comics...
.
Overview
The mini-series was designed to reboot the SupermanSuperman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
mythos. Using the history-altering effects of Crisis on Infinite Earths as an explanation, it was decided by DC editorial to give Superman an updated look and feel by completely rewriting his history, as an attempt to attract more readers. Thus, for modern comics, Man of Steel is the dividing point between the previous canon
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
and the current one; many comic fans refer to the two different versions as "pre-Crisis" and "post-Crisis", per Crisis on Infinite Earths being the major dividing line across DC's universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
as a whole. The pre-Crisis stories were drawn to a close in Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
's "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?
Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?
"Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" is a 1986 comic book story featuring the DC Comics character of Superman. The story was published in two parts, beginning in Superman #423 and ending in Action Comics #583, both published in September 1986...
". The Man of Steel is still considered to be a much favored and superior origin story and resulting continuity than what subsequently came after (Birthright and Secret Origin). This is due to the originality of the story. The tight continuity that followed in the monthly series is still much revered to this day.
From 1986 to 2004
2004 in comics
-February:*February 6: Marvel Enterprises and Electronic Arts announce a multi-year agreement in which EA will develop a new generation of fighting video games pitting Marvel superheroes against a new, original set of EA heroes....
, this series was regarded as the "official" origin of Superman
Origin of Superman
The origin of Superman is the story that relates Superman's arrival on Earth and the beginnings of his career as a superhero. The story has been through many revisions through decades of publication in comic books and radio, television and film adaptations....
; in 2004, it was superseded by Superman: Birthright
Superman: Birthright
Superman: Birthright is a twelve-issue comic book limited series published by DC Comics in 2003 and 2004, written by Mark Waid and drawn by Leinil Francis Yu....
. However, after the 2006 conclusion of the DCU
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
-spanning Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
storyline, the Birthright series' was removed in favor of the Superman: Secret Origin
Superman: Secret Origin
Superman: Secret Origin was a six-issue monthly American comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Gary Frank starring the DC Comics superhero Superman...
mini-series in 2009
2009 in comics
-January:*January 1: The direct-to-DVD movie Hulk Vs was released.*January 6: The third and final volume of Hollow Fields has been released.-February:...
.
The Man of Steel was followed by three four-issue mini-series that also retold and explored the rebooted world of Superman: The World of Krypton (December 1987
1987 in comics
- Year overall :* Independent publishers continue to enter the comics arena, including Amazing, CFW Enterprises, Imperial Comics, Matrix Graphic Series, New Comics Group, and Rebel Studios...
- March 1988
1988 in comics
-Events and publications:* Jack Binder, creator of the original Daredevil, dies at c. age 86.* Tarpé Mills, creator Miss Fury, dies at c. age 73....
), The World of Smallville (April - July 1988), and The World of Metropolis (August - November 1988), all of them written by Byrne.
Story
The Man of Steel retells Superman’s story beginning with his origin. Each issue focuses on a different time in the early years of his career. In telling the story, Byrne drew from all available media to have depicted Superman for inspiration.The series reboots Superman continuity for a modern audience. Previous depictions of the comic book Superman and his mythology are discarded. Some characters’ backgrounds were largely altered.
Issue One
The first issue chronicles the origin of Superman, from his flight from KryptonKrypton (comics)
Krypton is a fictional planet in the DC Comics universe, and the native world of the super-heroes Superman and, in some tellings, Supergirl and Krypto the Superdog. Krypton has been portrayed consistently as having been destroyed just after Superman's flight from the planet, with exact details of...
to his arrival on Earth where he is discovered by his adoptive parents, the Kents. The story fast forwards to a high school football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
game after which adoptive father Jonathan Kent takes the now-teenaged Clark
Clark Kent
Clark Kent is a fictional character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Appearing regularly in stories published by DC Comics, he debuted in Action Comics #1 and serves as the civilian and secret identity of the superhero Superman....
for a ride. By this time, Clark has developed most of, if not all, his powers as Superman. Jonathan reveals to Clark the truth that he (Clark) was never their biological son and that he was found from a crashed spaceship. The revelation causes Clark to decide to use his powers for the greater good. For the next few years during his studies in university, he has been saving lives and averting disasters in secret until an experimental space shuttle forces him to expose himself to the public. He meets Lois Lane
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
for the first time and both felt a connection to each other but before they could react to it, a mob surrounds them. Clark is unable to deal with the sudden attention. In order to preserve Clark’s secret identity, Jonathan comes up with the idea of a superhero identity such as those used in the 1940s. Clark adopts a costume created by Martha and the name he was given in the news, Superman.
The planet Krypton is portrayed as a cold and emotionally sterile planet, an idea Byrne borrowed from the 1978
1978 in film
The year 1978 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 1 - Bob Dylan's film Renaldo and Clara, a documentary of the "Rolling Thunder Revue" tour premieres in Los Angeles, California....
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
Superman. Kal-El was not an infant sent from Krypton to Earth; rather, his fetus
Fetus
A fetus is a developing mammal or other viviparous vertebrate after the embryonic stage and before birth.In humans, the fetal stage of prenatal development starts at the beginning of the 11th week in gestational age, which is the 9th week after fertilization.-Etymology and spelling variations:The...
was placed in a "birthing matrix" equipped with a rocket engine and Jor-El
Jor-El
Jor-El is a fictional character, an extraterrestrial in the . He was created by the writer Jerry Siegel and the artist Joe Shuster, and he first appeared in a newspaper comic strip in 1939 as Superman's biological father....
's experimental warp drive, with Kal-El gestating during the trip to Earth; once the rocket landed, Kal-El was fully "born" on Earth. This also made him "born" an American, a plot point that would be used in Armageddon 2001
Armageddon 2001
"Armageddon 2001" was a 1991 crossover event storyline published by DC Comics. It ran through a self titled, two issue limited series and most of the annuals DC published that year from May through October...
, a DC Comics storyline which explored possible futures, one of which featured Superman becoming President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
.
Clark's abilities developed gradually in the yellow sun environment, starting with resistance to injury, then strength, x-ray vision, etc., with his ability to fly being the last to emerge. It took until his late teen years for all of his powers to develop; thus, Clark only adopted the Superman identity in adulthood, and never was Superboy
Superboy
Superboy is the name of several fictional characters that have been published by DC Comics, most of them youthful incarnations of Superman. These characters have also been the main characters of four ongoing Superboy comic book series published by DC....
. The Kents secretly adopted Clark and passed him off as their biological son. Prior to finding Clark, Martha Kent had a history of failed pregnancies. Friends and relatives assumed that they kept Martha’s “pregnancy” a secret in fear of losing another child. A blizzard that closed off Smallville also helped in the Kents’ alibi. In some pre-Crisis depictions, the Kents surrendered baby Kal-El to an orphanage before having a change of heart and legally adopting him as their own. The Man of Steel, Birthright, and Smallville
Smallville
Smallville is the hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross...
all involve the same circumstances and cover-up of Clark's adoption. Clark mentions that at that time he had been making Metropolis
Metropolis (comics)
Metropolis is a fictional city that appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and is the home of Superman. Metropolis first appeared by name in Action Comics #16 ....
his base of operations for about three years.
While the pre-Crisis Superman's costume was invulnerable (as a result of being made from the blankets in the rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
that brought him to Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
), the post-Crisis Superman's costume was made of ordinary material. But while the cape often became ripped and torn (or even completely destroyed on occasion) for dramatic effect, the rest of the costume was usually left untouched. It was later explained that the post-Crisis Superman's body generated an invisible "aura" that surrounded him and contributed to his invulnerability. Objects held close to him, such as his costume, were protected from harm; his cape, meanwhile, could easily sustain damage in battle. The Superman S-shield is an original design by Clark and Jonathan. Byrne made some adjustments to Superman's costume. While keeping every classic element, he significantly increased the size of the S-shield so that it almost entirely covered the chest. The cape is also made larger and longer, its flowing in the air made to look more dramatic.
Issue Two
Daily PlanetDaily Planet
The Daily Planet is a fictional broadsheet newspaper in the , appearing mostly in the stories of Superman. The building's original features were based upon the AT&T Huron Road Building in Cleveland, Ohio...
editor-in-chief Perry White assigns Lois Lane to get an interview with Superman. Meanwhile, Superman is all over Metropolis rescuing citizens and foiling bank robberies. After a series of failed attempts to interview Superman, Lois decides to take a gamble and plunges her car into the harbor. Superman arrives and takes her home. She finally has the scoop on Superman only to find out she was beaten to the headline by the new reporter, Clark Kent.
Lois Lane
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
was written as an aggressive reporter and person from the start, and never expressed a desire to find out Superman's secret identity
Secret identity
A secret identity is an element of fiction wherein a character develops a separate persona , while keeping their true identity hidden. The character also may wear a disguise...
(and indeed, never seemed to consider that Superman might have an alter-ego). She was also responsible for coming up with the name Superman, as she does in versions of the character in other media (such as Superman and, later, Superman: The Animated Series
Superman: The Animated Series
Superman: The Animated Series is an American animated television series starring DC Comics' flagship character, Superman. The series was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on The WB from September 6, 1996 to February 12, 2000. Warner Bros...
). Lane was also given a reddish-brown head of hair instead of black.
Issue Three
Superman and BatmanBatman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
meet each other for the first time. Batman is on the trail of the criminal known as Magpie
Magpie (comics)
Magpie is a fictional super-villainess created by John Byrne, who first appeared in the miniseries, The Man of Steel.She is notable for her outlandish 1980s style including a unique tri-hawk/mullet hairstyle as well as an exotic, red and silver costume consisting of...
. He is interrupted in a lead by Superman who regards him as an outlaw. Rather than risk capture, Batman informs Superman that should the latter make any attempts to come near him, a signal will be activated that will trigger a bomb and kill a person somewhere in the city. The two are forced to work together and eventually capture Magpie. In the end, Batman reveals to Superman that the endangered person is Batman himself. Superman departs cautioning Batman against crossing any further lines. Batman admits to himself of a respect for Superman’s innate goodness and wonders if, in a different reality, they could have been friends.
Superman's relationship with Batman, which was friendly pre-Crisis, became much more tentative, as each disagreed with the other's methods and attitudes. An allusion is made to their pre-Crisis friendship with Batman’s pondering at the end of the story. Batman mentions that he had read Superman's debut in the Daily Planet news reports eight months ago.
Issue Four
Lois and Clark are guests at a party to be held on Luthor’s luxury liner. Upon arriving, they are entertained by Luthor in his private chamber on the ship. When Luthor insinuates his desire of Lois, the latter is offended having some knowledge of Luthor’s past. Lois refuses to be one of Luthor’s trophy wives and decides to leave the ship. She and Clark are then confronted by South American terrorists who promptly throw Clark overboard. As the terrorists are trying to cordon the hostages, Clark changes to Superman and lifts the liner ship which surprises everyone on board. This opens an opportunity for Lois to seize control and knock out the terrorists. Luthor then reveals that he allowed the terrorists to get on board just so that he could coax Superman to come and include him on his payroll. Superman refuses Luthor’s offer and is deputized by the mayor of Metropolis to arrest Luthor. A few days later, Luthor confronts Superman and warns him of a day of reckoning.Superman's arch-nemesis Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and the archenemy of Superman, although given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and...
was no longer a mad scientist
Mad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
but instead a power-hungry billionaire
Billionaire
A billionaire, in countries that use the short scale number naming system, is a person who has a net worth of at least one billion units of a given currency, usually the United States dollar, Euro, or Pound sterling. Forbes magazine updates a complete list of U.S. dollar billionaires around the...
, "the most powerful man in Metropolis," who resented Superman's overshadowing presence. Instead of battling Superman directly, Lex would use hired minions and staff on his payroll or manipulate others to confront Superman, while employing various methods (bribery, plausible deniability, legal trickery, etc.) to ensure that none of the incidents could be conclusively linked to him. Clark mentions that it has been almost eighteen months since he beat Lois on the scoop on Superman.
Issue Five
The story begins with Superman confronting Luthor after foiling another of the latter’s revenge schemes. However, Luthor is able to elude arrest when Superman is unable to tie the villain to his criminal act. Superman leaves but not before his body is scanned by Dr. Teng’s cloning machine. Due to Superman’s alien heritage, the machine is unable to duplicate his DNA as it can only recognize known life-forms. At first the clone appears to be a perfect duplicate of Superman until it keels over unconscious and its body starts to crystallize. Frustrated, Luthor orders the body to be disposed of. Days later, the duplicate resurfaces thinking it is Superman and helping Metropolitans. The people, upon seeing it, flee in fear. It later meets a blind Lucy LaneLucy Lane
Lucy Lane is a fictional character in the DC universe. She is the younger sister of Lois Lane and the most recent person to take on the identity of Superwoman.-Fictional character biography:...
, Lois’s sister, who attempted to commit suicide by jumping off a building. Superman encounters the creature and engages it in battle. The fight ends in a final blow, shattering the imperfect duplicate into a dust cloud which somehow restores Lucy’s sight.
On the opening page of this issue, Superman is seemingly capturing Luthor, who is wearing his pre-Crisis power suit. However, the next page reveals that it is one of Luthor's pawns in the suit. Luthor claims that the suit had been stolen and that he had no knowledge of the plot to attack Superman. Unfortunately, the suit's systems have left the man inside a vegetable, unable to tell the truth of Luthor's involvement. The reader later learns that Luthor was responsible for all of the above, which Superman suspects.
The villain Bizarro
Bizarro
Bizarro is a fictional character that appears in publications published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Otto Binder and artist George Papp as a "mirror image" of Superman and first appeared in Superboy #68...
was established as an imperfect clone of Superman, created from the superhero's DNA, rather than as a duplicate resulting from an imperfect duplicating ray. Furthermore, Bizarro is no longer an "imperfect opposite" of Superman and as such, has identical rather than opposite powers. Though the duplicate is referred to as "bizarre" in-story, it is never explicitly named "Bizarro"; that name will not be established post-Crisis until years later, when another imperfect duplicate created by the same process runs rampant in Metropolis. Lois mentions that she has been dreaming of kissing Superman for five years now, indicating that he has been active in Metropolis at least that long at this point. The restoration of Lucy's sight is an element borrowed from Bizarro's original debut in Superboy
Superboy
Superboy is the name of several fictional characters that have been published by DC Comics, most of them youthful incarnations of Superman. These characters have also been the main characters of four ongoing Superboy comic book series published by DC....
(vol. 1) #68, right down to the dust cloud; it is intimated that the duplicate deliberately sacrifices itself after hearing that Lucy's sight began to improve after contact with the creature.
Issue Six
Clark returns to Smallville after a long time away. His adoptive parents pick him up. Jonathan Kent was about to tell him something but Martha shushed him. Later that night, Clark could not sleep as he wonders what his Pa Kent was about to tell him. When he went for a midnight snack, a “ghost” of Jor-ElJor-El
Jor-El is a fictional character, an extraterrestrial in the . He was created by the writer Jerry Siegel and the artist Joe Shuster, and he first appeared in a newspaper comic strip in 1939 as Superman's biological father....
surprises him and touches him. Superman discovers himself to be on an alien planet where he encounters his biological mother, Lara. As the hallucination wears off, he is face to face with his old flame, Lana Lang
Lana Lang
Lana Lang is a fictional supporting character in DC Comics' Superman series. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist John Sikela, the character first appears in Superboy #10...
. In a flashback, it turns out that on the night that Clark learned his heritage he went to Lana and revealed the truth of his powers to her. She confesses her feelings to him. She realizes that Clark can no longer belong to her, that he belongs to the world and this fact had hurt her. She had gone through a period of depression and finally accepts the fact. The next day, Superman thinks about what she said and starts wondering about where he truly came from. He goes to the location where Jonathan hid the rocket ship he was found in only to find that the ship is gone. The hologram of Jor-El reappears and tells him to be silent and to learn. It appears that Superman is under some kind of psionic attack but the Kents arrive in time and break it off. Superman flies away, realizing that it was not a mental attack but a download of knowledge of everything about Krypton into his brain. He finally knows his biological parents and where he came from and though he appreciates the knowledge he has been given, in the end, he embraces his humanity ever more.
As opposed to the earlier version, where others such as Supergirl
Supergirl
Supergirl is a female counterpart to the DC Comics Superman. As his cousin, she shares his super powers and vulnerability to Kryptonite. She was created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino in 1959. She first appeared in the Action Comics comic book series and later branched out...
and Krypto
Krypto
Krypto, also known as Krypto the Superdog, is a fictional character. He is Superman's pet dog in the various Superman comic books published by DC Comics. Krypto's first appearance was in a Superboy story in Adventure Comics #210 in March 1955...
also survived, Superman was portrayed as the sole survivor of Krypton's destruction. Superman had no memory of his existence on Krypton, but instead identified himself as a citizen of Earth. Pre-Crisis, Pete Ross
Pete Ross
Peter Joseph "Pete" Ross is a fictional character who appears in the Superman comic books published by DC Comics. He was introduced in Superboy #86 .-Pre-Crisis:...
knew of Clark's abilities since they were teenagers, while Lana Lang suspected Clark of being Superboy. Post-Crisis, Pete learned this information much later. Instead, Clark revealed his abilities to Lana just before he left Smallville. Clark's adoptive Terran
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent are alive and well in Clark's adulthood, and Clark visits them periodically. Pre-Crisis, they had died shortly after Clark's high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
graduation. Clark is twenty-eight years old by the time the story ends.
Behind the Scenes
In the years before Crisis on Infinite EarthsCrisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
that led to the reboot, DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
and Marv Wolfman
Marv Wolfman
Marvin A. "Marv" Wolfman is an award-winning American comic book writer. He is best known for lengthy runs on The Tomb of Dracula, creating Blade for Marvel Comics, and The New Teen Titans for DC Comics.-1960s:...
had been wanting to do a revision for Superman for a while, even bringing it up with DC's then-publisher and president Jenette Kahn
Jenette Kahn
Jenette Kahn is an American comic book editor and executive. She joined DC Comics in 1976 as publisher, and five years later was promoted to President. In 1989, she stepped down as publisher and assumed the title of Editor-in-Chief while retaining the office of president...
. Nothing developed until Kahn asked for revision proposals for Superman. While regular Superman writer Cary Bates
Cary Bates
Cary Bates is an American comic book, animation television and film writer.-Biography:Bates began submitting ideas for comic book covers to DC Comics at the age of 13, and a number of them were bought and published, the first as the cover to Superman #167...
wanted the revision that kept the ongoing continuity as it was, Wolfman, and other writers Frank Miller
Frank Miller (comics)
Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
and Steve Gerber
Steve Gerber
Stephen Ross "Steve" Gerber was an American comic book writer best known as co-creator of the satiric Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck....
wanted to start the continuity all over from scratch. Wolfman, Miller, and Gerber all wanted to do the same thing: get rid of Superboy
Superboy
Superboy is the name of several fictional characters that have been published by DC Comics, most of them youthful incarnations of Superman. These characters have also been the main characters of four ongoing Superboy comic book series published by DC....
, cut down on Superman's powers
Powers and abilities of Superman
The powers of DC Comics character Superman have changed a great deal since his introduction in the 1930s. The extent of his powers peaked during the 1970s and 1980s to the point where various writers found it difficult to create suitable challenges for the character...
, make changes in Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and the archenemy of Superman, although given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and...
, and make Superman the last survivor of Krypton
Krypton (comics)
Krypton is a fictional planet in the DC Comics universe, and the native world of the super-heroes Superman and, in some tellings, Supergirl and Krypto the Superdog. Krypton has been portrayed consistently as having been destroyed just after Superman's flight from the planet, with exact details of...
, but how they wanted to do it was different. Time passed, and no concept for a revised Superman series was given a go-ahead.
Work once again started for a revision in May 1985, and this was when Marv Wolfman found out John Byrne had left Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
. Since both of them liked the same media takes on Superman, and Wolfman felt that Byrne would "make it sell", Wolfman called Byrne and he accepted going to DC and proposed his revision of Superman. DC agreed with 99% of Byrne's plans, and the reboot was given the go-ahead. Wolfman was offered one of the monthlies: The Adventures of Superman comic book that was a retitle of the first Superman ongoing series. At first, Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
was going to do Action Comics
Action Comics
Action Comics is an American comic book series that introduced Superman, the first major superhero character as the term is popularly defined...
, which was to be a Superman team-up book akin to the DC Comics Presents
DC Comics Presents
DC Comics Presents was a comic book published by DC Comics from 1978 to 1986 featuring team-ups between Superman and a wide variety of other characters of the DC Universe...
Superman team-up series. But Moore proved to be too busy, so Byrne was given that book as well.
Unused ideas
In some pre-Crisis retellings, Jor-El wanted to save both Lara and Kal-El by sending them away in the same rocket, but she would refuse saying that the rocket was too small and might not make it to Earth because of her added weight, and she wanted to stay with her husband, (an idea that was briefly touched on in Superman: The Animated Series). Byrne's original idea was to show a pregnant Lara leaving Krypton. After landing near Smallville, Lara would immediately succumb to a small chunk of kryptonite that was embedded in the ship's hull. This would have been Byrne's way to show early on how deadly kryptonite was. Lara would then have been found by the Kents while she was in labor, induced by the stress from kryptonite poisoning. Before dying, Lara would have told the Kents to look after her son. They would then take young Kal-El, an alien born on Earth, and raise him as their own just as they promised his mother. This was also Byrne's way to emphasize the Kents being chosen caretakers rather than them being a random couple who finds a baby in a rocket, (this concept was also, in a way, touched on in SmallvilleSmallville
Smallville is the hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross...
and Last Son of Krypton
Last Son of Krypton
Superman: Last Son of Krypton is a novel written by Elliot S! Maggin and based on the DC Comics character Superman. It was published in 1978.-Plot summary:Last Son of Krypton is Elliot S! Maggin's first Superman novel...
). The idea was not used because DC wanted Kal-El to be sent to Earth alone, as all the previous incarnations agreed upon.
In his public debut, Superman was originally going to save a landing space-shuttle. After the Challenger disaster
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida at 11:38 am EST...
, the Constitution was changed to "an experimental space-plane".
Byrne suggested that the Legion of Super-Heroes
Legion of Super-Heroes (1958 team)
The 1958 version of the Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 31st century of the . The team is the first incarnation of the Legion of Super-Heroes, followed by the 1994 and 2004 rebooted versions...
was formed based on legends of Superman's adventures as a boy. The Legion would eventually be surprised to discover that these adventures never happened.
According to Byrne, it was initially agreed upon that he could depict Superman "learning the ropes" as a young hero early in his career (another concept similar to Smallville
Smallville
Smallville is the hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross...
). This was part of the reason why Byrne eliminated Superboy from the mythos, as he felt Superboy would be an unnecessary character under those circumstances. However, once Byrne officially signed on he was informed by DC that his Superman would need to be "up to speed" and an established hero by the time the relaunch of the monthly titles took place. Byrne later stated that he wished he had kept Superboy to fill the role of Superman still "figuring it out".
Another unused Marv Wolfman idea was to show Lois Lane and Lex Luthor being romantically involved and living together in Luthor's estate in the mountains until Superman came to Metropolis. Lois would then leave Luthor to go after Superman, another reason for Luthor to hate Superman. This idea was scrapped because Byrne did not want Lois as someone who was drawn to power (and he didn't want any mountains shown alongside the city either). However, Man of Steel depicts Lois and Luthor as having only casually dated.
Impact of changes
The Man of Steel became the official origin story for Superman from 1986 through the early 2000s. Its changes to the origin story were adapted to other media featuring Superman. It was a huge success and within a few weeks after the first issues were released, fans picked up over 200,000 copies. Many of the biggest changes were on Superman himself. While many of his standard superpowers remained, Superman was effectively limited in power and scope to make him more believable. He still had superhuman strength, vision powers and super breath but while the Silver Age Kal-ElKal-El (Earth One)
The Superman of Earth-One is the Silver Age of Comic Books, Pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths incarnation of Superman.-Retconning a New Beginning:...
at his peak could easily move planets, the post-Crisis version strained at moving a commercial airliner
Airliner
An airliner is a large fixed-wing aircraft for transporting passengers and cargo. Such aircraft are operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an aircraft intended for carrying multiple passengers in commercial...
in flight. His vision powers still include x-ray, heat and microscopic/telescopic vision but are set at a more realistic level. He no longer had the ability to survive in space indefinitely without an air supply as he had done often in pre-Crisis stories. The powers dropped in succeeding stories include his ability to travel through time, freeze breath (though he still possessed super-powerful blowing strength), and super intelligence.
Byrne made the most important changes to Superman's personality. Superman's alter-ego Clark Kent
Clark Kent
Clark Kent is a fictional character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Appearing regularly in stories published by DC Comics, he debuted in Action Comics #1 and serves as the civilian and secret identity of the superhero Superman....
was no longer "mild-mannered"; he became more assertive, and an important half of a double life. Man of Steel established Clark Kent as the "real" person, with Superman being the "disguise" - a reversal of the earlier canon. Stories featuring people actively trying to discover Superman's secret identity
Secret identity
A secret identity is an element of fiction wherein a character develops a separate persona , while keeping their true identity hidden. The character also may wear a disguise...
became practically non-existent, since it was not known to the general public that Superman had a secret identity since he did not wear a mask, and most generally assumed that Superman was the full-time (i.e. only) identity. Additionally, Superman's status as the sole survivor of Krypton is restored. This resulted in the writers having to come up with alternative explanations to related characters such as Supergirl
Supergirl
Supergirl is a female counterpart to the DC Comics Superman. As his cousin, she shares his super powers and vulnerability to Kryptonite. She was created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino in 1959. She first appeared in the Action Comics comic book series and later branched out...
and General Zod
General Zod
General Zod is a fictional character who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, a supervillain who is one of Superman's more-prominent enemies. The character first appeared in Adventure Comics #283 , and was created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp...
and the Phantom Zone
Phantom Zone
The Phantom Zone is a fictional prison dimension featured in the Superman comic books and related media published by DC Comics. It first appeared in Adventure Comics #283 , and was created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp...
villains.
The changes among Superman’s cast include Lana Lang, Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character who appears mainly in DC Comics’ Superman stories. Olsen is a young photojournalist working for the Daily Planet. He is close friends with Lois Lane, Clark Kent/Superman and Perry White...
and Lex Luthor. Lana and Jimmy did not adopt any superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
identities (pre-Crisis they frequently developed superpowers). Lana was no longer a romantic rival of Lois Lane for Superman's affections, but a childhood friend with an unrequited crush on Clark. Lex Luthor became an evil billionaire (inspired in part by Gene Hackman's
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
portrayal of the character in the Superman movies.) Clark's adoptive parents are still alive and well and remain important supporting characters to this day.
After the limited series, Byrne took over the storytelling in the monthly Superman series. The change he made to Superman’s greatest weakness, Kryptonite
Kryptonite
Kryptonite is a fictional material from the Superman mythos —the ore form of a radioactive element from Superman's home planet of Krypton. It is famous for being the ultimate physical weakness of Superman, and the word kryptonite has since become synonymous with an Achilles' heel —the one weakness...
, was limiting the form to only the original green variety. Other variant forms of Kryptonite such as gold, yellow, blue and white no longer existed; only green remained. The other red version of Kryptonite would eventually resurface later on, created by Mister Mxyzptlk
Mister Mxyzptlk
Mr. Mxyzptlk , sometimes called Mxy, is a fictional impish supervillain who appears in DC Comics' Superman comic books.He was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, and first appeared in Superman #30 . He is usually presented as a trickster, in the classical mythological sense, in that he enjoys...
. Kryptonite was also made a much rarer element and extremely hard to find and acquire, having only come to Earth in a single fist-sized piece stuck to Clark's spacecraft. In fact early on only Lex Luthor had access to it (having taken the only existent piece from Metallo
Metallo
Metallo is a comic book supervillain and cyborg who appears in Superman stories published by DC Comics. Metallo's trademark is his kryptonite power source, which he often uses as a weapon against Superman. His traditional identity is John Corben...
), and this knowledge allowed Superman to know who supplied Bloodsport
Bloodsport (comics)
Bloodsport is the name of three DC Comics mercenary villains, they are enemies of Superman.-Robert DuBois:First appearing in Superman Vol. 2 #4...
with Kryptonite bullets. Superman's enemies had to become even more creative in finding a way to battle him. Lex Luthor believed early on that the radiation emanating from Kryptonite was within safety limits for humans. However it was determined later that long-term exposure to Kryptonite was also deadly to humans when Lex's right hand which wore a Kryptonite ring became poisoned, in fact requiring amputation.
The removal of Clark's Superboy
Superboy
Superboy is the name of several fictional characters that have been published by DC Comics, most of them youthful incarnations of Superman. These characters have also been the main characters of four ongoing Superboy comic book series published by DC....
career, as well as of Supergirl
Supergirl
Supergirl is a female counterpart to the DC Comics Superman. As his cousin, she shares his super powers and vulnerability to Kryptonite. She was created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino in 1959. She first appeared in the Action Comics comic book series and later branched out...
, from continuity would have a serious impact on the Legion of Super-Heroes
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
. Byrne would later state that removing Superboy from continuity was a mistake. To correct this incontinuity, a storyline was created having the Legion travel back in time to confront the post-Crisis Superman to find an explanation for Superboy's existence. It was revealed that Superboy existed in a "pocket universe
Pocket universe
-In science:A pocket universe is a concept in inflationary theory, proposed by Alan Guth. It defines a realm like the one that contains the observable universe as only one of many inflationary zones.-In fiction:...
" created by the Time Trapper
Time Trapper
The Time Trapper is a fictional character, a supervillain in stories published by DC Comics. The Time Trapper's main enemies are the Legion of Super-Heroes...
, consisting of only Earth and Krypton before its destruction. That universe's Kal-El grew up as the pre-Crisis Superboy; whenever Superboy would travel to the future or the Legion would return to Superboy's past the Time Trapper would shift them in and out of the Pocket Universe.
Effect on media
- In Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of SupermanLois & Clark: The New Adventures of SupermanLois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman was a live-action American television series based on the Superman comic books...
- In Superman: The Animated SeriesSuperman: The Animated SeriesSuperman: The Animated Series is an American animated television series starring DC Comics' flagship character, Superman. The series was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on The WB from September 6, 1996 to February 12, 2000. Warner Bros...
, - In Ruby Spears' Superman,
- The TV show, SmallvilleSmallvilleSmallville is the hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross...
, uses various items such as disguising baby Kal-El's spaceship in a cellar.
Adaptations
In 1990, the series was adapted into a radio play simply entitled The Adventures of Superman by Dirk MaggsDirk Maggs
Dirk Maggs, a freelance writer and director working across all media, is principally known for his work in radio, where he evolved radio drama into "Audio Movies," a near-visual approach combining scripts, layered sound effects, cinematic music and cutting edge technology. He pioneered the use of...
for BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
. It featured Stuart Milligan
Stuart Milligan
Stuart Milligan is an American actor based primarily in Britain, best known for his recurring role as Adam Klaus in Jonathan Creek.He attended South High School in Denver, Colorado...
as Clark Kent / Superman, William Hootkins
William Hootkins
William Michael Hootkins was an American character actor, most famous for supporting roles in Hollywood blockbusters such as Star Wars, Batman and Raiders of the Lost Ark.-Early life:...
as Lex Luthor, Lorelei King
Lorelei King
Lorelei King is a United States-born actress who has been based in the United Kingdom since 1981. She has narrated audiobooks, acted in radio plays for BBC Radio 4 and appeared on television.- Early life :...
as Lois Lane, Vincent Marzello
Vincent Marzello
Vincent Marzello is an American actor.He is of Italian ancestry. He has been active on screen since 1976 in North America and Europe, his first role being in an episode of The Brothers...
as Jimmy Olsen, Garrick Hagon
Garrick Hagon
Garrick Hagon is a film, stage, television and radio actor best known for his role as Biggs Darklighter in Star Wars: A New Hope. His many films include Batman, Spy Game, Me and Orson Welles and The Message...
as Perry White, Shelley Thompson
Shelley Thompson
Shelley Thompson is a Canadian actress best known for her character Barbara Lahey on the hit Canadian mockumentary program Trailer Park Boys....
as Lana Lang, Dick Vosburgh
Dick Vosburgh
Richard Kennedy "Dick" Vosburgh was an American-born comedy writer and lyricist working chiefly in Britain....
as Jor-El, Barbara Barnes as Lucy Lane, David Graham (actor)
David Graham (actor)
David Graham is a British character actor and voice artist. Born in London, after a period in the R.A.F as a Radar Mechanic he trained as an actor in New York but has worked mainly on British television series....
as Fisher, Simon Treves
Simon Treves
Frederick Simon Treves, known as Simon Treves, is an English actor, director and writer probably best known for playing Harold 'Stinker' Pinker in three series of ITV's Jeeves and Wooster.-Biography:...
as Metallo, Elizabeth Mansfield as Amanda McCoy, Burt Kwouk
Burt Kwouk
Burt Kwouk OBE , born Herbert Kwouk, is an English actor of Chinese descent, known for many television appearances and for his role as Cato in the Pink Panther films.-Career:...
as Doctor Teng, and Jon Pertwee
Jon Pertwee
John Devon Roland Pertwee , was an English actor. Pertwee is best known for his role in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, in which he played the third incarnation of the Doctor from 1970 to 1974, and as the title character in the series Worzel Gummidge...
as Schwarz.
Continuity
From 1986 until 2003, The Man of Steel was the Superman origin story, with even Superman For All SeasonsSuperman For All Seasons
Superman for All Seasons was a 4-issue comic book limited series written by Jeph Loeb with art by Tim Sale, and was originally published by DC Comics in 1998. This was made hot off the heels from their previous success, Batman: The Long Halloween, and as that Batman-story dealt with holidays as the...
touching upon it. While Superman For All Seasons might have added and changed new things, it never removed Byrne's retelling. However, in 2003, another story of Superman's origin, a 12-issue limited series called Superman: Birthright
Superman: Birthright
Superman: Birthright is a twelve-issue comic book limited series published by DC Comics in 2003 and 2004, written by Mark Waid and drawn by Leinil Francis Yu....
, was published. DC stated that Birthright and Man of Steel formed the full "official" origin for Superman. Birthright made use of many elements of Man of Steel that tied into the other series, but also introduced new aspects ignored by Byrne and thus brought back various pre-Crisis elements (such as Lex and Clark as childhood friends in Smallville). The Kara Zor-El
Supergirl (Kara Zor-El)
Kara Zor-El is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and related media, created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino. As Supergirl, Kara Zor-El serves as the biological cousin and female counterpart to DC Comic's iconic superhero Superman, created...
version of Supergirl was also brought back. The Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
storyline made further changes to Superman, which left the question once again asked about Superman's origin. It wasn't until then-monthly Superman
Superman (comic book)
Superman is an ongoing comic book series featuring the DC Comics hero of the same name. The character Superman began as one of several anthology features in the National Periodical Publications comic book Action Comics #1 in June 1938...
writer Kurt Busiek
Kurt Busiek
Kurt Busiek is an American comic book writer notable for his work on the Marvels limited series, his own title Astro City, and his four-year run on Avengers.-Early life:...
stated that the post-Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
Superman origin had yet to be established. This ultimately removed both The Man of Steel (with the exception of #3) and Birthright from canon, and in its place was Superman: Secret Origin
Superman: Secret Origin
Superman: Secret Origin was a six-issue monthly American comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Gary Frank starring the DC Comics superhero Superman...
, released in 2009.
Collections
The Man of Steel limited series has since been collected in trade paperbackTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
form in several editions. The first used a better paper stock after the series’ completion. In 1993
1993 in comics
-January:* Doom Patrol #63: " The Empire of Chairs," Grant Morrison's final issue as Doom Patrol writer.-February:* Action Comics, with issue #686, suspends publication following "The Death of Superman."...
, it was reprinted with newsprint-type paper and priced cheaper. The 2003 edition sported a new cover by Jerry Ordway
Jerry Ordway
Jeremiah "Jerry" Ordway is an American writer, penciller, inker and painter of comic books.He is known for his inking work on a wide variety of DC Comics titles, including the continuity-redefining classic Crisis on Infinite Earths , his long run working on the Superman titles from 1986–1993, and...
and was titled as Superman: The Man of Steel Vol. 1, the first in a series of trade paperbacks collecting the early adventures of the post-Crisis Superman.
The Chinese version was translated by Michael Leung (梁德輝) and his team of Comic Network in Hong Kong.
With the release of Action Comics #584, Adventures of Superman #424, and Superman (vol. 2) #1 there was a card in each copy that readers could fill out and mail to DC for a chance to win 1 of 3000 copies of a collected trade paperback. This version was unique in that it was actually all six issues of the Man of Steel mini-series with the spines trimmed and rebound with a new cover with a photocopied note that read:
Congratulations!
Your entry has been selected to receive a copy of the "MAN of STEEL" special edition the entire six issue mini-series bound between two covers
Thank you for responding to our contest and your continued support of SUPERMAN and DC Comics
Sincerely,
Dale A. Kanzler