Issue Description

Cover by John Byrne."The Haunting" written and penciled by John Byrne, inked by Dick Giordano, colored by Tom Ziuko and lettered by John Costanza.

Clark returns to Smallville after a long time away. His adoptive parents pick him up. Jonathan Kent is about to tell him something but Martha shushes him.

Later that night, Clark cannot sleep as he wonders what his father was about to tell him. When he goes for a midnight snack, a “ghost” of Jor-El 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.

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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 even more.

The Man of Steel

Publisher

DC Comics

Volume Description

House Ad

The hit John Byrne mini-series which detailed the Man of Steel's new origin following the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths,and his meeting his various friends and enemies for the very first time.

In one of the boldest moves in comic book history, DC decided that its most famous icon was in need of a makeover. The idea was simple.Keep the core themes and elements of Superman's character that had made him popular with the readers throughout his published career, but trim around the edges by removing outdated concepts and sometimes preposterous situations. The result was a streamlined new Man of Steel that stayed true to the character's personality, but was tailor made for a modern audience.

In the 6 issue mini series entitled, "Man of Steel", the mammoth task of remaking Superman fell to popular writer / artist John Byrne. Byrne was a life long Superman fan and an unbridled success in the comic book industry due to his heroic run on Marvel's "Uncanny X-Men," among other projects. He made his weighty challenge seem effortless as he fashioned his version of the Last Son of Krypton. Doing away with the ideas like Superboy and Krypto the Superdog, Byrne remade Krypton into a cold, sterile world, changed super villain Lex Luthor into a corrupt businessman, re-evaluated the relationship between Superman and Batman, and even re-examined Superman's first clash with Bizarro. The result was an overwhelming success, popular with fans both old and new. Superman had been reborn for the Modern Age of comics, and soon other icons of the DC Universe would follow suit.

Collected Editions:

Superman: The Man of Steel (1986) (#1-6)Superman: The Man of Steel (2003) Volume 1(#1-6)

Issues featured in other collections:

Superman: the Greatest Stories Ever Told (#1 only)Superman: World of Krypton (#1 only)Lois & Clark, The New Adventures of Superman (#2 only)Superman/Batman: the Greatest Stories Ever Told (#3 only)Superman: They Saved Luthor's Brain (#4 only)Superman Vs. Lex Luthor (#4 only)Superman: Escape from Bizarro World (#5 only)Secret Origins (#6 only)

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Status: Not in Collection