That same day, Mongul arrived on Earth seeking help from Superman to deal with a threat facing the entire galaxy — the threat of Imperiex. Superman began special training with Mongul. Concurrently, Jimmy discovered a photograph of Superman wearing a wedding band. Superman confided in Jimmy that he was actually married (though he did not say to whom) before going off into space with Mongul to battle Imperiex near Jupiter. The two succeeded in destroying the construct Imperiex was building to destroy the solar system. Predictably, Mongul then double-crossed Superman, but Superman had anticipated this and turned him over to Lobo. Unknown to Clark, the being defeated near Jupiter was not the true Imperiex but merely one of his thousands of drones. [120] Secret Identity is unusually grounded for a Superman story, as Clark struggles more with keeping his identity safe from prying journalists and military operatives than battling supervillains. But that low-key approach allows Busiek and Immonen to hone in on the character’s humanity and his desire to do good with the gifts he’s been given.

Note - this article was originally published in December 2022 and updated on June 27, 2023 with the latest news about Superman: Legacy. Superman: Birthright was DC’s first Superman origin story to be published after the debut of the Smallville TV series. Smallville’s influence can certainly be felt in this retelling, particularly in its focus on the unlikely friendship between a young Clark Kent and reclusive genius Lex Luthor. And while we certainly wouldn’t mind seeing the Clark/Lex friendship carry over into Gunn’s revamped DCU, that’s not why we’re singling out Birthright. Once he returned, Superman battled the Eradicator, a sentient artifact he encountered on the Warworld, that attempted to impose its own designs on Earth. He defeated the artifact and buried it in the Antarctic, later discovering it had then created a vast underground fortress — the Fortress of Solitude. The Eradicator, still active, began to melt some of the polar ice cap and mind-controlled Superman to change into the so-called Krypton Man. Though he caused havoc in his brainwashed state, Superman broke free from the programming with the help of his adoptive parent and hurled the Eradicator and his Krypton Man costume into the sun. [48] While abroad covering the dangerous war in Umec, Lois and the squad she was with took fire from enemy combatants. In the crossfire, Lois was shot in the chest by an enemy sniper. Superman was there a moment later—to catch her as she fell and immediately flew her to the nearest medical encampment, where he waited while she underwent hours of surgery. Once Lois was stabilized, the JLA teleported her to the Watchtower where Doctor Mid-Nite worked on her further. Clark stayed at his wife's side the entire duration. Lois survived and recovered at home for a couple of months, surrounded by friends and family.Moving to Metropolis as an adult, he began work as a reporter at the economically failing Daily Planet. Clark made his debut as Superman when he caught Lois Lane falling off of the LexCorp skyscraper. [29] Superhuman Reflexes: Although Superman relies mostly on his invulnerability, his reaction speed is beyond faster than the finest human athlete. Stopped two hundred fired bullets at once. [293] He and the Flash (Wally West) stopped five hundred bullets at once. [294] After several adventures in outer space, Superman was captured by the artificial gladiator planet Warworld and encountered its ruler Mongul for the first time. Superman was pitted in a gladiatorial match against Draaga in the arena, but, when he refused to kill Draaga, was forced to fight Mongul. Rallying the other fighters to his aid, Superman beat Mongul and deposed him as Warworld's leader, replacing him with Draaga. Having found peace with executing Zod and the other Kryptonian criminals, Superman returned to Earth. [47] Kryptonian Physiology: Superman's cellular structure is much more dense, resilient and biologically more effective than human tissue. He does not possess superhuman strength levels despite his enhanced cellular ability without his cellular structure charged with yellow solar energy. Without such charging, his physical capabilities are identical to a human of his height and weight who engages in regular physical activity. As an alien, he possesses several organs whose functions are not yet disclosed or understood but are believed to be part of or the source of his bio-matrix force field and reclamation aura. Superman's body also stores energy actively within his bio-cellular matrix as an energy pattern that is linked to his body's electromagnetic field. This energy powers most of his electromagnetic capabilities such as flight, heat vision and other "sight"-based abilities while supplementing his physical abilities to superhuman levels. Superman has been shown to repel Darkseid's Omega Beams with his heat vision and has been shown to handle extreme heat from the Earth's Core.

Death World: Terrenos is a very deadly place. A war-torn land populated by predators worse than anything found on Earth, and they are nothing compared to Lore's demonic minions. Barrier Maiden: The "war criminals" that Mikey is chasing on Earth are actually keeping the barriers between this world and Terrenos. Lore wants Mikey to kill them so he can successfully merge both worlds. With each of their deaths, the barrier spell becomes weaker by the second and Lore's presence becomes more imminent. By the time three of them are dead, the barrier spell is weak enough to allow his minions to invade Earth and prepare a full-blown invasion. At this time, Perry White returned to the Daily Planet, his cancer now in remission, and Clark returned to his position as a reporter. [102]

Superman: Secret Identity - A Relatable Man of Steel

Superman reluctantly accepted that their relationship was over and went to Smallville to deal with his feelings with his parents. [88] With the battle won, Zod attempted to kill Brainiac, but Superman intervened, arguing that Brainiac should stand trial for his crimes. Despite this, Brainiac 5 grabbed Braniac and teleported away. Shortly afterwards, Superman and Supergirl discovered that Lex Luthor was never even present at Kandor; instead it was one of his robots. [196] War of the Supermen I always felt it was Clark Kent wearing the cape...but let's face it...Clark Kent IS Superman, and right now...Superman needs help. — Superman [src]

Mages can take forms appropriate for combat that can be twisted in horrific manners if they can control their power, specially in their magical awakening.Clark went to talk to his friend alone and learned that Pete knew he was Superman (having learned the secret from Lex before it was wiped from his mind). Pete swore he was not the real Ruin and that he had been set up. Superman vowed to prove Pete's innocence, but, when the prison suddenly suffered a power outage, Pete Ross disappeared. [150] The Supergirl From Krypton A young man named Lex Luthor II, the alleged son of the late Lex Luthor, who had seemingly gotten cancer and died in a plane crash months prior, arrived in Metropolis and laid claim to his father's empire. Superman investigated the man but believed his story - never realizing the "son" was really the original Lex Luthor in a cloned new body! [54] It's revealed that Lore also was considered the chosen one that would save Terrenos, but this trope gets played with when it turns out a trio of evil witches forced him to play "hero" by conquering all of Terrenos by force.

Hard times fell on the Daily Planet, and the owners reluctantly sold the company to Lex Luthor — who promptly closed its doors and fired nearly everyone. [109] Out of work, Clark decided to resume his book-writing career but was horrified to find that the fictional situations he wrote about were actually coming true. [110] [111] Superman essentially abandoned his life as Clark Kent, patrolling the Earth 24/7, paranoid of his own prophetic thoughts. Believing even this dedication wasn't enough, Superman built an army of Superman robots to help him with his goal.Kallista to Mikey. Both lost family at a young age, fought alongside Rook for decades, and eventually joined Lore upon deciding that fighting him was only making things worse. In the wake of Infinite Crisis, Clark's origin was adjusted yet again, this time restoring much of the history of his Earth-One counterpart. Third Origin Convicted by Public Opinion: While Mikey was in Terrenos, Aaron was accused of having murdered him because of the sketchy circumstances of his son's disappearance. Even Wands thought he was guilty.