A week from now this summer’s most anticipated movie hits theaters, the long awaited Superman reboot, The Man of Steel, starring Henry Cavill, and Amy Adams. This year also marks the 75th anniversary of Superman in publication.
In celebration of The Man of Steel and his 75th anniversary, websites, fans, critics, industry professionals, etc… are counting down their top favorite Superman stories. For this article, and the hopefully the next, I will be using IGN's "Top 25 Greatest Superman Stories" list since a majority of these stories have been re-posted on various blogs and websites. Check the list if you are interested in reading.
What's interesting is a majority of the most popular Superman stories are the character's numerous retold origin stories. Everyone knows the origin of Superman. He escaped his home planet Krypton via rocket ship built by his father Jor-El and arrived in Smallville, Kansas where he was adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent. These essential elements of Superman's origin have remained intact since 1938. However, beyond these constant elements Superman has the unique privilege of having his back story constantly re-told in an updated fashion to coincide with the times and has evolved and adapted for new generation of fans. What makes the character special is each adaption of his origin features a distinctive spin on the overall Superman mythos. Furthermore, almost all the Superman stories written about his origin have garnered positive reviews from both industry professionals and fans.
Taken from IGN’s "Top 25 Greatest Superman Stories" here are the origin stories that made the list. Some of which are considered “DC Comics Essential Graphic Novels”, DC’s list of popular trade back and graphic novels that are great stories for all readers. The list is in publication order.
The original origin stories:
Superman #53
This single issue was written during the Golden Age of Comics, 1930s-50s. This issue expounded on all the basic elements everyone has come to learn.
In the 1960s the Silver Age of Comics arrived and Superman’s origin was retold with very few minor differences: Golden Age Superman’s Kryptonian name was Kal-L and was adopted by John and Mary Kent, and Silver Age Superman (the origin everyone is familiar with) is named Kal-El and adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent. Prior to DC Comics 12-issue “Crisis of Infinite Earth” event, the company’s first big attempt to reboot the entire DC Universe, there were essentially two Supermen from two parallel worlds. Both were heroes and stood for the same values.
The first reboot for a new generation:
Man of Steel #1-6,
Released in 1986 and is dubbed the Post-Crisis origin. The origin story was written by John Byrne, which describes the early years of Superman’s path to becoming a hero. Key moments from this mini-series are his youthful days playing football at Smallville High, teaming-up with Batman for the first time, his first encounters with Lex Luthor, Bizarro, and of course Lois Lane.
In addition, The Man of Steel, and the future stories that followed, is significant for redefining the Clark Kent identity. Byrne, and the writers that followed, gave the character more personality, and re-interpreted the identity so that it was believable for Lois Lane to fall in love with the Clark Kent identity rather than Superman. Consequently, the newly re-defined Clark Kent persona was used in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman television series.
The second canonical revamp of the origin story:
Superman: Birthright #1-12
The Man of Steel movie seems to utilize Superman: Birthright as the reference material to tell a modern Superman story. Written by Mark Waid, Superman: Birthright reinstated some of the Silver Age elements and Kryptonian heritage that was either removed or drastically re-interpreted by Byrne. Birthright introduces the idea of Superman’s iconic “S” shield standing for the Kryptonian glyph for hope. In addition, the book was inspired by Smallville: Jonathan and Martha Kent are younger and more relatable, and Lex Luthor started out as Clark’s friend, before turning into his greatest nemesis.
Not a revamp, but a good Superman origin narrated by supporting characters:
Superman For All Season #1-4
Superman For All Seasons was written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Tim Sale, one of the best collaborations in the comic-book industry, retells the first year of Clark Kent becoming Superman, but each issue, representing one of the four seasons in the year, is told from a different Superman supporting character: Pa Kent, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, and Lana Lang. Each supporting characters narration and interaction with Clark Kent/Superman helps him grow up, mature, and accept his role in the world.
Last canonical revamp of the origin story prior to the New 52:
Superman: Secret Origin #1-6
Written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Gary Frank, Secret Origin is the most recent revamp to Superman’s origin. Unfortunately, less than two years later it would be replaced by the New 52 status quo. What is worth mentioning about Secret Origin is it incorporated elements from the Silver Age and the Christopher Reeve films. Gary Frank pays even more homage to Christopher Reeves by drawing Superman to resemble the late actor. In addition, the book acknowledged some of the Superman elements from Smallville: a reference to Chloe Sullivan is made, Clark gets his heat vision through his attraction to Lana, and Clark is dressed as Tom Welling when he is a teenager.
The Secret Origin status was very short-lived because of the New 52, but just like all the other origin stories described it is worth a read. Once again, industry professionals and fans can agree that Superman’s origin story has been retold and re-adapted more than any other superhero. To reiterate what was written at the beginning of this article, Superman has existed for so long and remained relevant in popular culture because he has adapted with the times. His origin has constantly been retold and evolved, and will continue to do so in the future decades to come.
