Superman
Superman is a comic book character that first appeared in Action Comics #1
Superman, the Man of Steel, is one of DC Comic's flagship characters. As a Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent is sheepish, but as his true self, the last son of Krypton is nearly unstoppable.
Golden Age Superman / Kal-L
Next, Superman would watch over the entire world. Later they would reveal that Superman was a founding member of the Justice Society of America, but he would actually be just an “honorary member” because he did not participate in many adventures with the JSA. He eventually built a secret citadel in the mountains near Metropolis, similar to the Earth-One Superman’s Fortress Of Solitude. Superman would meet more Kryptonians named U-Ban, Kizo, and Mala. They were three brothers and were part of the Kryptonian Science Council. They were exiled from Krypton and imprisoned in a suspended-animation vessel when they attempted to conquer the whole planet. Mala would create a counterfeit Earth where Bizarro would come from in the future. Eventually during the Silver Age, Superman’s cousin Kara (later known as Power Girl) was introduced onto Earth 1. Kara had arrived decades after Kal-L and her ship would educate her through a virtual reality, she arrives in her early twenties.
Silver Age of Superman
Kal-El’s ship landed in Smallville where he would be discovered by Jonathan and Martha Kent. (An earlier version identified them as Ethan and Sara Kent.) They named Kal-El Clark, after Martha’s maiden name, and would proceed in adopting him as their own son. While growing up, Clark discovered his super-humanoid powers, convinced his foster mother to design a uniform for him, and began to work as a super-hero under the
Bronze Age of Superman
Superman and the Crisis on Infinite Earths
However, this was not over when Kal-L discovers that Anti-Monitor was still a threat to the one reality still existent. Kal-L teamed up with Alexander Luthor Jr. from Earth-3 and Superboy-Prime from Earth-Prime to fight the Anti-Monitor. The three of them won, with Kal-L delivering the killing blow. Soon after wards, Alexander Luthor Jr. reveals that he had saved Lois Lane from Earth-Two before she could be erased from history and had transported her to a safe place. Lois and Kal-L were able to reunite, and Lois described the safe place as “beautiful.” Alexander offered the couple and Superboy-Prime the chance to enter this “paradise” since it would not be a good idea to return to an Earth where they had been replaced. They agreed and entered the paradise to avoid causing any havoc on the new Earth-One. Prior to Crisis On Infinite Earths, it was revealed that Kal-L loved the paradise dimension and had no desire to leave until Lois became ill. Kal-L decided to build replicas of the Daily Star and eventually all of Metropolis. He believed that seeing their old home would help Lois heal, but instead her condition worsened. Alex convinced Kal-L that the paradise was eating away their souls. Eventually Kal-L would gain the desire to escape from the paradise because he began feeling like he was imprisoned. Kal-L would return in the Infinite Crisis mini-series.
Modern Age of Superman
In all stories, though, the basics of his origin remained that he was born as Kal-El on the planet Krypton and due to a catastrophe that destroyed that planet, he traveled half a galaxy away and was found as a child in Smallville, Kansas, by Jonathan and Martha Kent. The elderly couple, who could have no children of their own, adopted the strange baby and reared him as a normal child by the name of Clark Kent. They kept his origins secret, even from him, till the boy's powers became too hard to hide. In John Byrne's modern retelling, his super-humanoid powers manifested themselves slowly, as opposed to earlier tellings that described Superman's innate gifts right away, which resulted in him never donning the Superboy identity.
Later, Bryne would revamp Kal-El’s arrival on Earth again by introducing the idea that Superman was born on Earth through a “birthing matrix.” Many "Superfans" criticized Byrne for his drastic changes, which would later result in him quitting DC. Even though DC thought his changes were drastic too, they continued to use this origin for Superman. After High School, Clark left the farm behind and traveled to the fictional city of Metropolis (whose skyline was based on Toronto) and got a job as a reporter at the Daily Planet alongside editor Perry White, reporter Lois Lane and photographer Jimmy Olsen. The newspaper was somewhat modeled after the New York Times and was considered the bastion of serious journalism, with Lane as the go-getter story-breaker and Perry White as the uppity curmudgeon. Clark immediately fell for Lois Lane and over the early years had a hard time dealing with her with his two different personalities. Lois always loved Superman, but Clark never wanted to reveal his true identity. Later Superman would fight the Kryptonian criminals that arrived on Earth through a different dimension. (Whether this was the Phantom Zone, the twilight continuum to which Krypton exiled its criminals, is not known.) Superman was forced to use lethal force on the criminals and as a result, he killed them. After wards, Superman exiled himself into space because of what he had just done.
Eventually Superman returned to Earth. As Clark Kent, he proposed to Lois Lane and revealed his secret identity to her, and she accepted his proposal. In any case, Clark's move to Metropolis meant a huge upping of appearances for Superman as the "Man Of Steel" found himself battling all manner of enemies while attempting to protect Metropolis. Superman found some respite in his Fortress Of Solitude, which was a base of operations, most often located in the arctic. Byrne's version used the haven as a way for Superman to be normal and reflect and commune with his Kryptonian nature. Earlier versions had it as an almost zoo of alien artifacts, with a gold door and the usual super-hero trappings.
Superman's Secret Identity - Clark Kent
The Death And Life Of Superman
The renewed popularity of the character was milked for a full year when no less than four separate books with characters claiming to be the real Superman were released. There was a new Superboy, a Cyborg Man of Tomorrow, The Last Son of Krypton, and a character named Steel, who all claimed the Superman mantle. This was the arc called Reign Of The Supermen. Near the end of the Reign Of The Supermen, Kal-El resurfaced with no powers and was using a battle suit. Steel and Supergirl (Linda Lee Danvers) destroyed the battle suit and it revealed Kal-El wearing a black uniform with a silver “S.” Superman would team up with Superboy, Supergirl, Steel, Eradicator, and Hal Jordan to stop the cyborg from destroying the world. Superman would be able to defeat the cyborg, and he revealed that it was the scientist Dr. Hank Henshaw who had been controlling it. Superman eventually was brought back to life through the aid of Jonathan Kent and after battling a couple of his doppelgangers, returned to the hero business.
Impact of Superman's Death on Publications
After Superman's death and life, the series saw a definite shift in focus and storytelling. The largest change was that Superman was now married to Lois Lane and she was also aware of his identity. Newer books focused much more on the life of Clark Kent and were almost similar to Spider-Man books in their super-hero by night, troubled husband by day themes. Another major change was that Lex Luthor, Superman's greatest enemy, became President of the United States and gained much more ambiguity in his moral compass. Many fans welcomed the new changes as they brought about a more serious and realistic Man Of Steel.
Aftermath and Superman's Marriage to Lois Lane
Superman’s Latest Retcon
The Saga was updated yet again in 2004 when another retelling of Superman's origin, titled "Birthright," was told by writer Mark Waid. The series mostly tried to clear up loose ends from John Byrne's Man Of Steel series while adding some pre-Crisis elements in them, which was now two decades old. During Birthright, they replaced the “birthing matrix” with Superman being born on Earth back to the spaceship that flies across the galaxy and towards Earth [he was born on Krypton] . They also re-introduced Lex Luthor as Clark’s childhood friend. Birthright also brings in story elements from the TV series Smallville, which introduced many teenagers to comics. Another retcon was in 2005 when DC comics launched the All Star Superman series written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Frank Quitely. This was an attempt by DC to retell Superman's origin without disrupting the current continuity. DC claimed, “This series will strip down the Man Of Steel to his timeless, essential elements.” Morrison had stated that it was loosely based on the Pre-Crisis Silver Age Superman.
Superman in Infinite Crisis
During Infinite Crisis, Earth-Two Kal-L broke free of the paradise dimension, accompanied by Alexander Luthor Jr. and Superboy-Prime. Kal-L had become desperate to save Lois, and Luthor Jr. convinced Kal-L that the only way to save her was to rid history of the “corrupt” Earth-One and re-create Earth-Two. They escaped and Kal-L tries to recruit Batman, who refused. Meanwhile Luthor Jr. had gone to the Fortress of Solitude and built a machine that would re-create Earth-Two. It worked successfully and Earth-Two was re-created, an act which also transported Kal-L and Lois to the planet. Lois seemed to have revived when she returned to Earth-Two, however she would collapse and die. Kal-L began to attack Kal-El as a reaction due to the death of his wife. Eventually the two would stop fighting when Wonder Woman arrived to stop them. Kal-L finally realized that Alexander Luthor Jr.’s plan to restore the multiverse would kill millions of millions of people. The two Supermen teamed up to stop Luthor Jr. They would confront Luthor Jr. to stop what he was doing, but Superboy-Prime would protect Luthor Jr’s plan. The two Supermen fought Superboy-Prime and drag him to Rao, where a red sun similar to Krypton was located. Next they would take him to Mogo, a Green Lantern planet, and defeat him there. Kal-L was unfortunately wounded during the fight and he died in his cousin Power Girl’s arms. They would bury Kal-L and Lois next to the recently deceased Superboy (Conner Kent). Later DC would release “Infinite Crisis: Secret Files And Origins 2006,” where it revealed the reason the DC Universe had so many continuity errors. It was all caused by Superboy-Prime when he was not happy living in the paradise resulted in him banging on the barrier wall of the paradise. This caused the revisions in the history of the DC Universe. It also reveals that the Birthright origin happened because of what Superboy-Prime did.
One Year Later
One year after the Infinite Crisis, Superman had apparently lost his powers and had left Supergirl to defend Metropolis on her own. Kal-El no longer had any responsibilities in being a hero and was able to catch up on his regular life and job. He became one of the best reporters at the Daily Planet. Clark was also able to heavily damage Luthor’s reputation in one of his articles. Eventually Clark’s powers would slowly return and he went straight to action to protect the city.
The Mysterious Kryptonian Boy
Superman was at the Fortress Of Solitude, activating the hologram of his father for the first time in a long time. Back in Metropolis, Clark got called into Perry White’s office for a little talk. However, Clark heard people screaming for help from a distance, and used his x-ray vision to see what was going on. He saw a meteor about to crash land in the middle of Metropolis. Clark gave White a rather poor excuse and rushed out of the Daily Planet. Superman was able to catch the meteor before it caused more damage, but as it turned out, the "meteor" was actually a space ship. A boy emerged from the ship and Superman took him to the Department of Meta-human Affairs. Superman met the director of the department, named Sarge Steel. They spoke briefly about where the boy could possibly be from, but when they turned around, they saw the boy lifting a television with one hand, and Superman heard the boy speaking Kryptonian. Superman and the boy conversed in Kryptonese, and he eventually stayed with the boy the whole day. After the boy fell asleep, Superman went to visit Lois at the Daily Planet. The next morning, Superman went to visit the child only to discover he had been moved. He found out where they had taken the boy and headed for the Meta-human Affairs Headquarters in Washington, D.C. There, he seized and interrogated Steel. After he found out the information, Superman decided to kidnap the boy, but without using his super-humanoid powers so that Meta-human Affairs could not figure out it was him. Clark then took him to his parents farm in Smallville. Later, Superman took the boy to the Fortress of Solitude, in hopes that Jor-El would know who he was. Unfortunately, Jor-El did not have the boy in his database.
Later that evening, Clark, Lois, Martha, and Jonathan were deciding what to do with the boy, since Clark had basically kidnapped him. They debated possibly adopting him, but Lois did not think they could be his mother and father. Superman eventually contacted Sarge Steel to negotiate about the boy. Meanwhile, Lex had been feeding Bizarro with videos of Superman, eventually unleashing Bizarro to get the boy for him. Superman decided to hand over the boy to the Meta-humans Department, but his attempt to do so caused a media circus. Then all of a sudden, Bizarro attacked Superman from above. Superman engaged against Bizarro and eventually defeated him. Meanwhile, Lois saw how scared the boy had become and decided that she wanted to adopt him now. They decided simply to take the boy without notifying the Meta-humans Department. Clark decided to give him the name Chris Kent. Meanwhile, three more space ships crash-landed near Metropolis, and it was General Dru-Zod, Ursa, and Non who emerged.
General Zod’s arrival
Zod, Ursa, and Non headed over to Superman’s Fortress of Solitude and activated Jor-El's hologram, to look at the knowledge that was still available about Krypton. They stole the Phantom Zone projector gun and headed after Superman, attacking him at the Daily Planet. Zod and Non attacked Superman while Ursa went after Chris, revealing that he was their son. As Zod and Superman clashed, armies of space ships fell from the sky. Zod, who had released all the criminals from the Phantom Zone, then used the gun on Superman, trapping him in the Phantom Zone. As Superman struggled to break free from the Phantom Zone, eventually Mon-El would arrive to help guide Superman away from madness. Mon-El reminded Clark that he had been a student on Daxam who had been studying Krypton. He had followed Clark to Earth but lost his memories. They had met each other during Clark’s childhood. Although he developed the same powers as Clark, he was not Kryptonian. He would be exposed to lead poisoning, and the only way to save him was to send him to the Phantom Zone until Clark found a cure. Mon-El then showed Superman a Kryptonian prison, called Fort Rozz, that was inside the Phantom Zone. The prison was the only place in the Zone where time passed by, and it was the reason Zod and Ursa were able to have their son, whose name proved to be Lor-Zod. Mon-El revealed that Zod and Ursa were able to manipulate the Phantom Zone with the technology inside the Prison to send their son to Earth. Superman decided to go in since it was the only way to get out of the Zone. However, inside the prison there was no yellow sun; therefore Superman would have none of his powers. Also, a criminal named Dev-Em had decided to stay there, but Superman went in anyway. Superman would fight Dev-Em, but without his powers, he was overwhelmed by Dev-Em’s strength and was nearly killed.
Luckily, Mon-El decided to enter as well and saved Superman, despite the fact that his lead poisoning would spread if he entered the area. Superman helped Mon-El out of the prison before he died from the poison, and vowed to find a cure for him. Superman returned to Earth to discover Zod and his army had taken over the city, while defeating many of the heroes. Superman went to Lex first to get some help against the Kryptonians. Although Lex did agree to save the world from the Kryptonians, he did not agree with teaming up with Superman. However, Lex did offer Superman to join up with him and his team.
The Third Kryptonian
A warship hovered over planet Earth. The people inside of the ship were looking for a male Kryptonian. They found his position over South China Sea, near Hainan. Superman had found a ship and a group of aliens conducting experiments on Chinese men. Superman brought a stop to them and helped the people who were still alive out of the ship. Once everyone was out he took the ship and threw it out into space. It turned out that Superman had been sent there because Batman thought that might be the position of the third Kryptonian. While flying through the sky he found Christopher Kent flying around. He was meant to be in school, but Superman realized that he was finding it hard to adjust to life on Earth, especially with great powers. So he allowed him to go with him to Gotham, where they visited the bat cave, Batman lair. While Superman and Batman spoke, Robin took Christopher to show him around. As Superman and Batman talked, Superman was told that red solar radiation only “froze” the yellow sun’s radiation. But if still exposed to yellow, it only shocked him. Superman asked him if he can construct a red sun-radiation projector into a watch for Christopher to help him adjust to life on Earth easier. Batman constructed one while Robin was talking to Christopher. Superman then gave him the watch, which made him tired. Looking at the monitor, Superman saw a bridge about to collapse, and he was about to fly off when Chris asked to come along. Superman only agreed as long as he stayed out of sight. Superman and Chris flew to Virgina where the bridge was collapsing. Superman stopped a few cars from falling, but Chris drifted too far down. While Superman was pulling cars to safety, a car was about to strike the water, but Chris fired a blast of super-breath at the water, bouncing it upwards long enough for Superman to catch them. While they fixed the situation on the bridge, they were being watched by the warship outside of Earth. The person watching, Amalak, revealed that to get the location of the third Kryptonian, he had paid the Actioneer a fortune. He then looked at Supergirl. She mentioned Kandor, and he was shocked that he would get the chance to slay more Kryptonians.
Batman contacted Superman and told him of a group of people who had been exposed to toxins that were not of Earth origin, but could be found in tomatoes. He then told him the location where these tomatoes had originated. Superman traveled to Northern California, near Ukiah. A woman was near some such tomatoes; Superman came close and tried to talk to her, only to be struck so far that he landed in Tokyo. He headed back. She had a gun ready, but somehow, she knew that he would not harm her. Thus, she stowed it away and invited him in for tea. She explained her past before she landed on Earth and gave her real name as Kristen Wells. She had been hunted by a man called Amalak. Much to Superman's horror, as she revealed, there had been a few Kryptonians left traveling around space after Krypton's destruction. But Amalak's men constantly hunted these, and he eventually killed off the rest. She was the only one left. She had heard news of Superman on Earth and had decided to travel there for cover. But while they were talking, Amalak and his men tore off the roof of the house where she had been living. In Metropolis, Amalak's men ambushed Supergirl. Also in Manhattan, Power Girl and Krypto were also ambushed. Superman believed that Karsta would help him fight the battle against Amalak, but she ran away, and Superman was struck with a blast from Amalak’s red solar radiation gun that sapped his strength for a second. But because the house was in open daytime with the sun’s radiation striking him, the effects were short-lived.
No sooner had he gets his focus back and flown away than an artificial kryptonite gun was fired at him, and he was bombarded with its deadly radiation. Batman heard the commotion and headed off to help while the other Kryptonians, Supergirl, Power Girl and Krypto were fighting the rest of Amalak’s men. Superman fired his heat vision up to a satellite. It deflected into his apartment, and he left a message for Lois to get Chris into safety. While Superman was in a weakened condition from all the attacks, Amalak struck him and planted him on a machine that entered his mind. Superman’s willpower was too strong, however, and he entered Amalak’s mind. He saw the reason Amalak was attacking them all; many of his men were killed by General Dru-Zod. But the cavalry came to help Superman. Amalak ran while the rest of the men took care of Superman, Supergirl, Power Girl and Krypto. Karsta, while in outer space and ready to leave, took what she thought would be one last look at Earth, but she saw Amalak’s ship in orbit. Scanning it, she traced the radio communications below. Amalak approached the Fortress Of Solitude only to find Batman waiting there. He tried his best to slow Amalak down while the others stopped the rest of his men. Batman succeeded in slowing Amalak down enough for the others to come and help. They arrived to find that Amalak had Kandor in his hands, but a bright light shone from Kandor and it disappeared. Superman struck him, but all of them were weakened from battle, so Batman shut down the watch Chris was wearing. Amalak was beating the weakened Kryptonians, but they were helped by Chris, who struck him. Superman got up and battled on, getting weaker. They got close to the portal to the Phantom Zone. As he was close to going in, Superman was saved by Karsta. She threw two bottles, which exploded and sent out yellow sun radiation, which bombarded and re-empowered the Kryptonians. They then dealt with Amalak quite easily. Karsta then took the responsibility of handling Amalak and took him away. They all said good-bye to her.
Superman & The Legion of Superheroes
3008 A.D. War has broken out on an unknown planet and a family’s only hope is to send their only child to the planet that embraced the legend that is Superman, Earth. When the baby arrives in Smallville, a family arrive, but they don’t take the child in, they try to kill it. Follow its story in Final Crisis: Legion of 3 worlds.
Today; In the Daily Planet office, Perry isn’t happy with Jimmy’s photos of General Zod in the previous effort to take over the planet. While he’s ranting on hears people screaming in the distance and then takes a look and sees robots that resembles Brainiac, well investigating it a man on a television screen tells him he means them no harm and that the future needs him. He jolts him with what seems to be a memory beam, his memory goes back to when he was a kid in Smallville. While walking around on his lonesome; Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy and Lightning Lad. He is then taken to the 30 Century where he meets The Legion of Superheroes. Superman opens his eyes and he’s back in Metropolis in front of the Brainiac robot, it is Brainiac 5 and he explains that he is needed in the future and gives him a Legion Flight Ring. When he gets there The Legion of Superheroes are fighting a war, Clark tries to stop but a laser goes right through his hand, he then finds out it’s because the Earth’s sun is Red.
Still in the 30 Century, Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad are moving to their base, which is Batman’s secret layer. They are arguing about a man known as Earth-Man has twisted everything Superman stood for and ripped the Legion apart. They are then attacked by Earth-Man and his team, his team known as the Justice League and captured. Superman with a few members is being told that a few years after an accident that made the sun turn red they decided that they wouldn’t bring him to the 30 century because he could be harmed and everything that Superman did would not come to pass if he died. He is then told that a man named Kirt Niedrigh known as Earth-Man twisted the truth and made people believe that Superman was actually born on Earth and was never from the planet Krypton and he despised aliens. They mention that aliens are not welcome on Earth and that Kirt built the Justice League of Earth.
In the Justice League of Earth Headquarters in space were Earth-Man has taken the Legion members he captured there next to all the others he had captured. He then begins to absorb their powers. He gets a call saying that there seems to be a person dressed as Superman, he thinks it’s a Legion sympathizer, but then is told that there are remnants of a time sphere.
Superman can’t believe that his name has been taken for misuse and then tells them they need to find Brainiac 5. Dawnstar leads them to an Alien holding camp where Brainiac 5 may be. They break into the place taking down many guards. Dawnstar leads them to where he was and tells them that he is back on planet Colu. While there, they rescue more Legions that were captured; they lead them to a secret refuge and explained that Brainiac 5 built a star gate that has been leading aliens of the planet. While meeting everyone, the Justice League of Earth attacks them and some of the Legion get Superman into a pod and they are sent to Colu where they crash knocking Superman and the others unconscious. When he wakes up he sees Brainiac in front of telling him he is to be terminated. However when he is alone with the Legion, he is relieved to see them all and that he’s only acting as the leader of Colu and has their interest at mind. Superman is very tired at this point, but Brainiac tells them that their sun has become a red sun only a few days ago and that seventy-five percent within the United Planets solar systems have all turned red. Superman wants to go to the Justice League of Earth headquarters, but Brainiac explains that he has a person on the inside.
At the Justice League of Earth headquarters, Earth-Man is furious that he never finished off Superman while he had the chance. He read one of the Legions mind and knows that he is off to Colu, where Brainiac is posing as their leader and has tipped them off about it. When they leave the room the inside-woman; Chameleon Girl appears. While searching the place she walks into a room where she sees Sun Boy imprisoned inside some solar engine and seems to be the reason for all the suns turning red. While she is in the room she is captured by Earth-Man.
Chameleon Girl being the inside-woman doesn’t go down well with Colossal Boy. Superman calms things down between them all, but while they try to escape they are interrupted by the tipped off Colu guards who begin to attack the Legion. They beat them off and get to the ship and head back to Earth. While on their journey to Earth they decide to call in the subs.
A vehicle is flying towards the Justice League of Earth headquarters, it smashes into it going through many rooms and finally showing the Legion subs. The subs battle it out with some of the Justice League of Earth members and while they are, Superman and the Legion enter their headquarters and they enter the room where the rest of the Legion are held captive. They see Sun Boy in the next room and realizes that they were using him to make the all the suns turn red. Brainiac works on getting Dirk out of his imprisonment. Chameleon Girl appears behind Colossal Boy and he helps her, Superman sees a red cape hiding something and when he pulls it off and sees the real Chameleon Girl. Chameleon Girl turns into Earth-Man and attacks Colossal Boy, then turns his attention to Superman and begins to beat him up. Superman then attacks him takes him into space breaking though the glass. As they fall to Earth Earth-Man is trying to get Superman’s Flight Ring off as he breaks it Brainiac frees Sun Boy from his imprisonment. They try to wake him but nothing is happening, Brainiac tells Chameleon Girl that he prefers brunettes, she’s kisses him and he wakes up making the sun rejuvenate and become a yellow sun again. Police officers are taking alien prisoners back on Earth in the sky Superman is still falling, as he is everyone on the ground below are watching him fall. He stops just short of the floor everyone realizing that he is Superman, he then rips open the van that has aliens captured in it and form his actions a police officer fires at the aliens thinking the Superman is a fake but Superman stops it and tells them he helps everyone.
Earth-Man lands on Earth and releases a blast of energy at Superman but it could have easily hit innocent bystanders. The battle, Earth-Man using all the abilities of the Legion then the real Legion of Superheroes all come to help Superman and attack Earth-Man. Earth-Man releases a blast of energy knocking everyone to the floor par Superman. He then charges at him, but Superman knocks him out with a punch. Not too long later, Brainiac fixes the time sphere and Superman is sent home.
DC One Million - Superman Prime
In the year 85,271 AD, after spending one hundred centuries in the core of the Sun, Superman has evolved into this godlike being. After emerging from the sun, He crushes Solaris in one panel, creates his wife out of a sample of DNA from Solaris, takes a fragment of a doomed planet and transforms it into a full blown living world. He has been stated to have circumnavigated the Universe, wrestled evil Gods, and fought battles unimaginable. This being is something you can't put into words.
In "The Divided Self," the Atom was on the frontier of a whole new, living universe, just as the super-string equations had predicted. And this intricate, breathing jewel of diversity and wonder began to strain at its boundaries, eager to unfold. But the poor, undernourished little universe of rational science and common people had just encountered a monster from the top of the food chain. Something stronger, faster, better than them had been born. They could no more stop its progress than the Neanderthals could hold back the rise of Cro-magnon man. Atom tried to reach his loved one and tell her that he'd find her again even if he had to search every inch of infinite... That is when the universe ate him. Nothing should have survived the explosive flowering of the singularity, but somehow, caught as he was between too realities... He finds himself at the Universal Gates where Superman Prime telling him he knows what he is feeling, and to try not to panic, Atom appears to have survived a dimensional collapse. He welcomes Atom to HIS universe and tells him that things happened so fast, even He couldn't preserve Atom's reality in time... Superman tells Atom that if there's one thing he's learned, it's that nothing is lost forever. He tells Atom he is welcome to stay while Atom searches for the people he loves.
In All Star Superman, he is seen as the Leader of the Superman Squad, he hands All Star Superman an Indestructible Flower from New Krypton in remembrance of all that they are and all that will be. The Ultra-Sphinx also says that he had completed 12 super challenges, the stuff of legend. It also said that Superman had created life, escaped from the underverse, overthrew the tyrant sun (Solaris), and had answered the unanswerable question.
Kingdom Come Superman
The Known Super-Human Powers Of Superman
Golden Age Superman
The Golden Age Superman does not have super–humanoid powers that are as great as they eventually become. The stories also establish that all Kryptonians can use the same abilities as Superman on Earth; however, how they do that is never fully explained.
- Invulnerability – Only strong military weaponry, specifically "nothing less than a bursting shell," can pierce his skin.
- Flight – Superman is always, as per the famous radio–series introduction, "able to leap tall buildings in a single bound," and leaps 1/8 of a mile to be exact. However, by 1943, he possesses the power of flight.
- Super Strength – Early on, Superman's debut shows that he can lift cars easily. As the stories continue, Superman becomes, as per the famous radio–series introduction, "more powerful than a locomotive." He is shown to be able to throw Army tanks with little effort, and on one occasion, he pushes an ocean liner into a dry dock with his own power.
- Super Speed – Originally he is faster than a speeding express train. However, as the stories continues, he becomes, as per the famous radio–series introduction, "faster than a speeding bullet," and in 1947, he gains the ability to travel faster than light, and is even able to penetrate the time barrier, as shown in a story where he time travels back to Krypton to find out about his true origins. No version of Superman ever gains the power to change the past (aside from the film version), and this one is no exception.
- Super Breath – Initially, he can hold his breath for hours. However, as his audience comes to expect more from the Man Of Steel, his power level increases to the point where his lungs can withstand any pressure or lack thereof. Superman often relies on this power for space–travel because he cannot breathe in space, at least not until the Silver Age.
- X–Ray Vision – Again, since before the theatrical cartoons began.
Silver Age Superman
The Silver Age Superman, before the Crisis on Infinite Earths, becomes one of the most powerful incarnations of Superman. They also established that he gains his power from Earth's yellow sun primarily, and that Krypton's red sun causes Superman to lose his powers. In the Silver Age, Superman becomes so powerful that the writers find it difficult to come up with suitable stories. The writers of the radio series also introduce Kryptonite meteorites, thereby giving Superman a weakness, initially to meet Clayton "Bud" Collyer's demand for a vacation. Superman’s strength in the Silver Age comparing to the Modern Age can be referenced in Infinite Crisis. Superboy–Prime is basically the Silver Age Superman. Superboy–Prime easily overpowers Superman and is able to defeat many DC heroes.
- Flight – Superman still retains his power to fly, though it is increased to a much higher extent.
- Super Hearing – This allows Superman to hear anything, anywhere.
- Healing – Whenever injured, Superman will heal at an accelerated speed.
- Heat Vision – Superman is able to fire a melting hot beam, presumably infra–red radiation, from his eyes.
- Invulnerability – Superman’s invulnerability becomes so great that he can fly into the core of a sun without being injured.
- Mental Powers–Superman gains the ability to learn foreign languages in mere seconds after a conversation. He learns all known Earth languages and gains the knowledge of 28 known galaxies by this means.
- Super Breath – Superman is able to inhale enough air and exhale it with enough force that he can create hurricane like effects, and he can even create more fine–tuned effects as well. His Super Breath ability is so powerful that he can extinguish stars with it. He can also produce freezing air so cold as to encase an opponent entirely in ice.Once, superman destroyed a solar system when he sneezed.
- Super Hypnotism –Superman will use this power often to remove his powers for sustained periods of time, usually no longer than 24 hours. Superman also used this ability to cover up his disguise and thereby preserve the secrecy of his dual identity.
- Super Strength – Superman’s strength level becomes so high that he is able to move planets.He was once able to move 11 planets under his own strength.
- Super Speed – Superman is now able to travel faster than the speed of light and even crosses the time barrier to travel back into the past.
- Super Ventriloquism–Superman will use this ability often to fool people into thinking he is in two places at once, again to preserve the secrecy of his dual identity. He will also use this ability to speak to people on the other side of the continent!
- Vision powers – Superman is able to see through solid objects and see things microscopically.
- Telescopic vision – Superman can see across the universe with his telescopic vision.
Modern Age Superman
After the Crisis On Infinite Earths, John Byrne instills boundaries for Superman’s powers, mainly to help the writers come up with stories. Superman retains most of his Silver Age powers, but they are severely weakened. Superman loses the ability to move planets and the ability to travel through time. He loses his super ventriloquism, hypnotic, and mental powers. All his other powers are hobbled. After Byrne leaves the series, other writers begin increasing his powers again, though they are not increased to his pre–crisis level.Superman can sun-dipped to increase his powers a lot.
- Flight – Superman can still fly. Superman is shown to be able to fly at Superluminal speeds.
- Super Hearing – Superman is no longer able to hear at interstellar distances, but he is able to hear faster than the speed of sound, this is shown when he instantaneously arrives at Umec to shield Lois Lane from a bullet, upon hearing the shot blast in Metropolis. Actual sound waves will take roughly 7 hours to reach Metropolis.
- Healing – Weakened.
- Heat Vision – Originally weakened, but as the story continues, once again, his heat vision is hotter than the core of the sun.
- Invulnerability – Weakened at first, as shown in Superman #9, he is unconscious for half an hour after a 40 megatons bomb explodes in his hand. As the story continues, Superman once again had the ability to survive in the core of the sun, as shown in Action Comics #782, where he survives the immersion into the core of the sun with no problem.
- Super Breath – His strength level was reduced. Strangely enough, he doesn't use this ability often
- Super Strength – Weakened. His strength level remains high, but he is able to move planets by straining himself a lot
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Superman in Flight Super Speed – Early Superman reboot stories show that he can accelerate himself just below the speed of light, as the story continues, his speed increases to the point where he manages to move beyond the speed of light.
- Super Hypnotism – Lost.
- Super–Ventriloquism – Lost.
- Super–Intellect – Unknown but presumed lost.
- Telescopic vision – Though he loses his ability to see across the Universe, he can still see distant galaxies. As shown in Superman #152, when Superman uses his telescopic vision to peer across the galaxy to Warworld.
- Microscopic vision – Able to see at a subcellular level, as shown when he analyzes Bizzaro's cellular structure. He is even able to see on molecular level, as shown when he analyzes the molecular composition of Magpie's acid gas.
- X–ray vision–Superman still retains this ability after the John Byrne reboot.
Weaknesses of Superman
Magic
- Superman is every bit as vulnerable to magic as a normal human being does. Captain Marvel has used magic to knock out superman with one punch before.
Kryptonite
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Internal pressures that caused Krypton’s explosion create Kryptonite; Kryptonite is the ore form of Kryptonium. It looks like a green glowing rock. It is very hazardous to Superman. If exposed to Kryptonite, Clark will experience pain and rapidly lose his powers. If exposed for much more than an hour he will die. If suffering Kryptonite poisoning, Clark can recover if he gets away from the Kryptonite. When Clark's birthing matrix leaves Krypton, a fragment of Kryptonite becomes embedded in the tail section. Villain Lex Luthor obtains this fragment and uses part of it for a ringstone, to protect himself from Superman. After being exposed to it for a year, the radiation from the ring destroys his hand, and is killing his body through cancer. Necessitating, he obtains a prosthetic hand, and later a new cloned body. Note: Another villain, Mr. Mxyzptlk, a Fifth Dimensional being who can use super–science that resembles magic, once created Red Kryptonite to temporarily remove Clark's powers. Without Mr. Mxyzptlk's powers, though, this 'red Kryptonite' will be harmless to anyone, and in no way connects to genuine green Kryptonite. When Superman captures three criminals in a "pocket universe" he uses gold Kryptonite from that universe. Batman also creates his own variant of Red Kryptonite which renders Kryptonian skin transparent and causes Superman to overload with yellow sun radiation.
Superman's Greatest Weakness: Kryptonite
Superman in Movies & Television
Superman in Smallville
Clark Kent first appears in the season one pilot episode of Smallville, as a teen with superhuman abilities, which he uses to help others in danger. Clark is adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent as an infant when he crash lands on Earth on the day of the Smallville meteor shower in 1989. Twelve years later, trying to find his place in life after being told he is an alien by his adoptive father, Clark saves the life of billionaire Lex Luthor , and the pair become quick friends.During season one, Clark struggles with the burden of keeping his powers a secret from those close to him; he is afraid to open up to Lana Lang for fear that she will not accept him if she were to learn the truth about him.In the season two episode
"Rosetta", Clark learns of his Kryptonian heritage, including his native language, his birth name "Kal-El" and that his birth father Jor-EL intends for him to rule the world.The fear that he will not be able to control his own destiny forces Clark to run away to Metropolis in the season two finale, leaving Lana, whom he had just started to develop a romantic relationship with, alone.In the season three premiere, three months later, Clark is brought home by his father, who makes a deal to let Jor-El take Clark when the time arrives. That time arrives in the season three finale, when a girl, referring to herself as "Kara", arrives at the Kent farm and claims to be from Krypton. After Kara predicts that Clark's friends will all either leave or betray him, Clark decides that it will be best for everyone if he just left Smallville. When Jonathan attempts to intervene, Jor-El threatens to kill Jonathan if Clark does not leave; to save Jonathan's life Clark agrees.
Clark returns to Smallville, in the season four premiere, "reprogrammed" by Jor-El to seek out the three stones of knowledge so he may fulfill his destiny; in the process, the reprogrammed Clark meets Lois Lane , who is investigating the supposed death of her cousin, and Clark's best friend,Chloe Sullivan . Clark, with Martha’s help, regains control over his body and refuses to look for the stones.In the season four finale, a "great evil" is awakened in space after Clark defies Jor-El’s instructions to obtain the three stones of knowledge. With a new meteor shower hitting Smallville, Clark finds the remaining stones and is transported to the Arctic , where the three stones create the Fortress of Solitude In the season five premiere, Clark interrupts his training to return to Smallville, but when he fails to return to the Fortress before the Sun sets he is stripped of his powers. In season five's "Hidden", Clark begins an honest relationship with Lana, but is killed trying to save the town from a resident who hopes to kill all of the "meteor freaks". Jor-El resurrects his son, but warns him that someone he loves will eventually have to take his place.Clark worries about who will be sacrificed, and in the episode "Reckoning" Lana is killed, so Clark turns back time to save her. This results in Jonathan becoming the sacrifice, when he suffers a fatal heart attack.
In the season five finale, Clark battles Brainiac , a Kryptonian artificial intelligence in the form of a man, in his attempts to
release the Kryptonian criminal Zod from the Phantom Zode . Clark fails, and Zod imprisons Clark in the Phantom Zone, while he sets out to conquer the Earth .In the season six premiere, Clark is able to escape the Phantom Zone—inadvertently releasing several of the prisoners in the process—and returns to Smallville to defeat Zod .The Phantom Zone escapees become Clark's primary focus in season six,as well as Lana's relationship with Lex, which eventually turns into marriage by the season six episode "Promise".The season six finale reveals that the last of the Phantom Zone criminals is really a genetic experiment created by Kryptonian scientists. The escapee attacks Clark, cloning his DNA, and becomes Clark's doppleganger.Clark, with assistance from John Jones, defeats his duplicate in the season seven premiere.In season seven, Clark discovers that a secret society known as Veritas was aware of his landing in Smallville during the first meteor shower and that they knew of a means to control him. In the season seven finale, Clark is confronted by Lex, who has the device and has discovered his secret, at the Fortress of Solitude. Lex uses the device, which brings the Fortress down around him and Clark.
According to rumors season nine will pick up three weeks after the last seasons' finale with Lois coming back from the future
Interesting Superman Trivia:
- In Superman #81 it was established that Superman's favorite book and movie was To Kill A Mockingbird by Lee Harper. This is not suprising, given the subject matter of the book (justice and equality)
| Super Name: | Superman |
| Real Name: | Kal-El |
| Aliases: |
Clark Joseph Kent Man of Steel Last Son of Krypton Man of Tomorrow Superboy Big Blue Boy Scout CK Superman-Prime The Traveler Smallville Kal-L Kal-El Nightwing Supes Kellel Kal Sun-Spirit The God amongst Men Commander El Bishop 6 Kal El Of Krypton Chris Delbart Red Blue Blur Vlatuu of Plyrox The Kryptonian Ol' Red S General EL Earth's Mightiest hero Bizarro Bizarro |
| Publisher: | DC Comics |
| Gender: | Male |
| Character Type: | Alien |
| 1st Appearance: | Action Comics #1 |
| Appears in: | 5861 issues |
| Birthday: | |
| Died: |
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Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
President Lex Luthor uses an oncoming Kryptonite meteor to declare Superman and his partner in crime, Batman as public enemies. He places a $1 billion ...
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Justice League : The New Frontier
Adaption of the acclaimed graphic novel
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Superman: Doomsday
Superman: Doomsday is an original direct-to-video animated film adaptation of the storyline The Death of Superman focusing on the supposed death of Superman.
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Superman/ Doomsday
The Death of Superman recreated into this animated movie which shows everything from the tragic death of the beloved Supes to the grand resurection.
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Superman Returns
Superman Returns brought the franchise back to the big screen after a 20 year absence with newcomer Brandon Routhe putting on the cape.
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The Batman/Superman Movie
Originally aired as a three parter on Superman: The Animated Series, it was put out on VHS & DVD as a movie.
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Superman IV: The Quest For Peace
Superman battles the Russians and the threat of nuclear holocaust in this cold-war inspired film that market the last Christopher Reeve Superman movie.
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Superman III
Richard Pryor adds some comedy to the Superman movie franchise with the third movie starring Christopher Reeve.
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Superman II
Although Superman II was shot partially in step with the first movie, director Richard Lester replaced Donner behind the camera. The film's plot picks up ...
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Superman
The 1978 film directed by Richard Donner created the first real success of comic-to-film adaptations and became a blockbuster around the world.
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Superman and the Mole Men
An 1951 live-action film. Clark Kent and Lois Lane cover the opening of the world's deepest oil well in the town of Silsby. The drilling ...
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Atom Man Vs. Superman
Movie serial;Superman battles Lex Luthor
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a list of 101 items by RYU/BATMAN
a list of 10 items by SUPER-MAN 23
a list of 38 items by Sipsi
