{"id":295677,"date":"2025-06-15T20:52:40","date_gmt":"2025-06-15T20:52:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/superman-the-man-of-steel\/"},"modified":"2025-06-15T20:52:40","modified_gmt":"2025-06-15T20:52:40","slug":"superman-the-man-of-steel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=295677","title":{"rendered":"Superman: The Man Of Steel"},"content":{"rendered":"


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After watching the latest trailer for James Gunn’s Superman, I realized I had made a greivous error in our March 2018 post, Superman | The Stories You Should Read<\/a> (you still should read them). So, here’s our look at the one Superman story you must <\/span><\/u><\/b>read.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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James Gunn recently  shared his inspiration for Superman on Threads <\/span><\/p>\n


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No surprises. Jerry Siegel<\/b> and Joe Shuster<\/b>‘s work has to inform any decent Superman story. Max Fleisher<\/b>‘s cartoons, Grant Morrison<\/b> and Frank Quitely<\/b>‘s All-Star Superman<\/b> is a personal favourite. However, like myself, Gunn overlooked one of comic books’ most influential creators.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Man Of Steel<\/b> was the first reconstruction\/deconstruction of  Superman.  1985’s  Crisis On Infinite Earths<\/a> retconned the entire DC Universe. Origins were changed, characters were wiped out of existence, new properties were brought in. <\/span><\/p>\n


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\ud83c\udfa8George Perez<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n


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DC wisely chose John Byrne<\/b> to remake Superman for the modern era (the modern era being 1986 at the time). Byrne was the most popular comic book creator in the 80s. He had unsurpassed runs on the Marvel’s X-Men (1978 – 1981) and Fantastic Four (1981 to 1986). So, this was a massive win for DC.<\/span><\/p>\n

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History note<\/b>: The Man Of Steel <\/b>#1 Collectors’ Edition is the first variant cover ever. Variant covers weren’t a thing in ’86. <\/span><\/p>\n

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John Byrne<\/b> story\/pencils | Dick Giordano<\/b> inks | Tom Ziuko<\/b> <\/b>colours | John Costanza<\/b> letters<\/span><\/div>\n
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Superman<\/b> created by Joe Shuster<\/b> and Jerry Siegel <\/b>| DC Comics 1986<\/span><\/div>\n

Byrne’s strength is his understanding of what made comic book characters work. He applied his back-to-basics approach to Superman. The destruction of Krypton, his upbringing in rural Kansas by adoptive parents.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Jettisoned was the nerdy, unsure teenage Clark Kent of Smallville. <\/span><\/p>\n

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The new Clark Kent was a popular, high school football star. Superboy never existed in this new DC Universe (Byrne would address this in his run on the rebooted Superman series).<\/span><\/p>\n

Byrne understood was the Clark Kent was very much the<\/i> disguise. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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Lois Lane had always been tenacious, daring, but Byrne made her far more alluring, vivacious than she had ever been.Clark is still attracted to her, but it’s not a goofy, schoolboy crush.<\/span><\/p>\n

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In the pre-Crisis era , Clark Kent and Lois are friends and colleagues. Byrne makes them professional rivals.<\/span><\/div>\n


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Superman’s Golden Age bromance with Batman also gone. He tried to turn Batman in on their first post-Crisis<\/i> meeting.<\/span><\/p>\n


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After taking down both a criminal syndicate and the corrupt cops in Batman: Year One<\/a> (Batman<\/b> #404 to #407, volume one), Batman is officially branded as a criminal. Even for Superman, capturing Batman is next to impossible.<\/span><\/p>\n

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So began Superman and Batman’s uneasy  alliance that would become friendship over time<\/span><\/p>\n

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Superman’s most prominent adversary, Lex Luthor ,had been a standard, megalomanical super-villain for more  ages, motivated by a desire to take over the world, and his resentment of Superboy (who had accidentially caused his baldness)<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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The modern Lex Luthor is a powerful billionaire businessman. (more on this later)<\/span><\/div>\n


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DC Comics’ heroes have always been more iconic, wealthier whereas Marvel’s were more relatable (Spider-Man struggling to pay rent, for example). Byrne gave us a look at Superman’s life as Clark Kent.<\/span><\/p>\n

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It’s only a few panels, but showing how Superman does something as day-to-day as shaving. So, Superman has a home life in this new universe (although he’s still doing well financially).<\/span><\/p>\n

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Back to Lex Luthor,<\/span><\/p>\n

Luthor’s animosity for Superman comes from his place of power. Behind the scenes, he set up a hijacking of his own massive, luxury yacht to see for himself Superman in action. <\/span><\/p>\n

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So, Luthor is basically a fantastically wealthy, criminal businessman. Superman, by his very existence, challenges that power. <\/span><\/div>\n

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A very different version of Superman’s most powerful adversary is introduced in Man Of Steel <\/b>#5<\/span><\/div>\n

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No, it’s not Lex Luthor in his armoured suit (as cool as that would’ve been). <\/span><\/div>\n

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Bizarro, created by Otto Binder <\/b>and George Papp<\/b> debuted in Superboy #68 (October, 1958). <\/span><\/div>\n

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Read An Imperfect History Of Bizarro | Den Of Geek<\/a> to learn more. Bizarro had changed over the years from an incredibly unhinged, demented adversary to tragic, misunderstood monster. Byrne’s Bizarro (sound funny) is more of a homage to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein<\/i>. <\/span><\/div>\n

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I was somewhat disappointed by this story , but one has to remember Man Of Steel<\/b> was meant to re-imagine Superman’s origin (Bizarro would later return to Superman’s rogues gallery). Grant Morrison<\/b> and Frank Quitely<\/b> had a one-of-a-kind take on Bizarro in All-Star Superman<\/i>  (read our original Superman post here<\/a> for more on the best Superman story).<\/span><\/div>\n

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The final issue of Man Of Steel takes Clark back to Smallville, Kansas. IWhat it lacks in action, it makes up for in world-building and character development. John Byrne<\/b> treats Lana Lang (Clark’s high school ex) better than many previous Superman writers.<\/span><\/div>\n

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The Man Of Steel set the tone for Superman in the post-Crisis era (and for the remainder of the 80s).<\/span><\/div>\n

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John Byrne <\/b>would go on to write and pencil his own, rebooted Superman series and take over Action Comics. He modernized and brought The Man Of Steel back down to Earth<\/i>.<\/span><\/div>\n

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You can order Superman 1: The Man Of Steel  Omnibus here<\/a><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n


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If you’re interested in learning more about John Byrne, read our March 2016 post John Byrne Got Me Into Comic Books<\/a>. You can follow the outstanding Instagram fan page John Byrne Comics & More<\/a>. Enjoy. <\/span><\/div>\n