This week is Superman’s 83rd birthday! Action Comics #1 was published on April 18, 1938, and it featured the debut of the last son of Krypton. To celebrate the occasion, we are celebrating our favorite Superman stories from the pages and on-screen.
Matt D
Favorite Comic – What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way
Released in 2001, Action Comics #775 dealt with the topic we still haven’t settled yet 20 years later: Is there still a place for Superman in the modern world? This Joe Kelly penned story sees Superman encounter the Elite, a blatant Authority stand-in of trash-talking, carefree super killers. Can Superman keep up with a group who see collateral damage as a feature, not a bug, especially in a world that can’t get enough of them? And if he does win, then at what cost? This story cuts to the heart of what Superman is all about and what’s made him such an enduring figure. Doug Mahnke’s gruesome, kinetic art goes perfectly with Lee Bermejo’s quieter, more down-to-earth work, perfectly representing the themes of the story and the conflicting philosophies central to the story. It’s the perfect argument against a dark, murderous Superman. Because if he’s not fighting to uphold human dignity and the dream of a better tomorrow, then he isn’t Superman.
Favorite On-Screen – Superman: The Animated Series
Oft overshadowed by its admittedly stellar Batman counterpart, Superman: The Animated Series deserves more credit than it gets. A show that captures a wide range of stories and eras of the comic, all while staying true to the character. The blocky, art deco style of the DCAU worked even better for Superman than for the Caped Crusader. Superman: TAS also has the distinction of handling his rogue’s gallery better than any other adaptation. What show can hope to top Michael Ironside’s Darkseid, Clancy Brown’s Lex Luthor, and Brad Garrett’s Lobo? Superman: TAS focused on the strengths of the character while showing his utility.
Ethan
Favorite Comic – All-Star Superman
I recognize this isn’t a particularly hot take, but All-Star Superman is the greatest piece of work featuring Superman in any medium. It wraps every great thing about the greatest superhero into a dense set of twelve issues. While there is an overarching plot thread, each issue tells a satisfying and fairly self-contained story, and each one is worthy of the spot on this list. It does all of this, and also deftly disproves the notion of Superman being too powerful simply by making him more powerful than ever. It isn’t worth detailing what transpires in those pages, because nothing could provide you with the satisfaction and joy they incite unless you read it yourself. It’s my first comic, my favorite comic, about my favorite superhero, so needless to say this wasn’t a difficult choice.
Favorite On-Screen – Superman: The Movie
I hate to take anything away from this movie, as it’s one of my favorites, but I’d like to note that I don’t feel a perfect Superman interpretation exists outside of comics. With that said, Superman undoubtedly comes the closest. Superman himself is perfect, from his costume to Chris Reeve’s performance, this is the best interpretation of the character that’s been brought to screen. It takes the source material seriously, and it never compromises Superman’s inherent cheesiness. This movie existed in a beautiful time before being embarrassed about being a superhero movie was even an idea; it’s a Superman movie that’s proud to be about Superman.
Ryan
Favourite Comic- Son Of Superman
Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason made Superman good again. That may be a controversial opinion, but New 52 Superman simply wasn’t good, as a character or as a comic. Son of Superman is the first story arc of the Rebirth era of Superman. It reintroduced pre-crisis Superman and pre-crisis Lois Lane to the mix, but it also threw in the variable of their young pre-teen son, Jon Kent. It’s this variable that made the story so refreshing. Superman is often portrayed as a father figure to many characters, but this is the first time in continuity that Superman has had a son. We get to see him raising his son, teaching him how to use his powers and it’s all depicted marvelously through Patrick Gleason’s beautiful artwork. Later arcs would introduce Damian Wayne to Jon Kent to form a new World’s Finest duo (which led to the greatest comic series in DC history, but that’s beside the point), but it’s here that began a beautiful reign of Superman.
Favourite On-Screen- Superman II (The Donner Cut)
Superman II’s original cut isn’t amazing. It’s good, but not brilliant. However, the Donner Cut of Superman II fixes every single issue with the original and is simply put the best representation of Superman on-screen to this day. Christopher Reeve’s Clark Kent/ Superman is so good to the extent you can understand why people haven’t worked out they’re one and the same person. Margot Kidder’s Lois Lane has real chemistry with Reeve too and when they’re together you can almost see sparks flying. It’s Terence Stamp’s General Zod though that’s remembered the most, and rightfully so. He’s an imposing, menacing figure when on-screen, and he commands an air of gravitas that is rarely seen in a comic book movie, especially in an era where comic book movies were seen as cheesy pieces of film. In terms of differences, the Donner Cut is a largely different film that features new footage, alternative takes, and camera angles, alongside new edits. As a result, the film just flows a lot better and is a lot more satisfying to watch, making it the best on-screen Superman movie ever created.
Pashtrik
Favorite Comic: Superman: For All Seasons
Superman has had his fair share of fantastic stories from some of the most celebrated writers. Grant Morrison gave us All-Star Superman – arguably one of their best works and quite possibly the best Superman story ever told – with Alan Moore not lagging far behind with ‘For the Man Who Has Everything’ and ‘Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?’. But as great as those books are, as much as I love them, ‘For All Seasons’ will forever hold a special place in my heart.
Written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Tim Sale (a certified Dream Team!), the book tells a stand-alone, self-contained story that tries to flash out the core of Clark Kent and his supporting cast. It’s a beautifully crafted coming of age story, a story of an all-powerful dork accepting his limitations and trying to find a place in the world. The thing that gives the book a special flair and makes it stand out (even more) is the narration of the book. Instead of telling the story from Clark’s PoV, each of the four chapters – themed around the seasons – is narrated by four different characters. It’s such a wonderful book and I can’t recommend it enough.
Greg
Favorite On-Screen: Smallville
A common criticism against Superman’s character is that he’s not relatable but Smallville proves that’s not the case. The ten-year-long series (the longest live-action superhero television show ever) chronicles Clark Kent’s (Tom Welling) evolution from being a regular teenager dealing with his extraordinary heritage to the legendary hero everyone knows he’ll become. Welling had an everyman charm to rival Christopher Reeve’s and his lengthy tenure in the role makes his Clark the most thoroughly developed on-screen version, explored through interesting conflicts but never forced into uncharacteristic brooding. The show definitely had its weak or overly cheesy moments but overall it was a wholesome delight that put its own unique spins on almost every corner of the Superman mythos and crafted some of the most compelling versions of important supporting characters like Jonathan Kent (John Schneider), Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum), and Lois Lane (Erica Durance).
Alexander
Favorite Comic: Superman Secret Origin
DC has released multiple origin stories of their iconic hero that you’ll often see recommended to new readers. This is easily the best of them though. Across the six-issue series, we see Superman develop from the young boy growing up in Smallville to his early days as a hero in Metropolis.
Reading that, you may be wondering what makes it different from other origin stories though. Quite simply, it’s the scope. Most other versions of the origin tend to narrow in on specific aspects of Superman. For All Seasons shows his early days from the point of view of 4 different supporting characters. Superman Smashes the Klan and American Alien focus on the idea of Superman as an immigrant. Secret Origin is told like a blockbuster movie. The story establishes Superman, his entire supporting cast as well as 3 of his most iconic villains, Metallo, Parasite, and of course Lex Luthor as well as their relationships with the man of steel.
Despite the sheer amount of characters that Secret Origin introduces though, the story manages to stay coherent and self-contained. All the while it still gets across all the key points a new reader needs to know in order to enjoy other Superman stories. Even if you’re an existing fan of the man of steel you’re still likely to get a kick out of how fun this story is. That’s all not even mentioning the gorgeous, nostalgic artwork which depicts Superman as Christopher Reeve.
Superman may have a plethora of retellings of his origin out there and they’re all good in their own way but Secret Origin is the one that’ll have you humming that classic John Williams tune every time you read it.
Favorite On-Screen: Legion of Superheroes
A myriad of on-screen versions of Superman have reached our screens over the decades. Most of them tend to focus on the person in the costume or the physical feats he can accomplish. What tends to get lost in the shuffle though is Superman’s ability to inspire people. That’s what Legion of Superheroes is all about. One thousand years into the future a team of superheroes inspired by the man of steel is defending the universe from evil. During one of their struggles, the team travels back in time to seek the aid of their hero. A young Superman accepts and travels to the future with them.
Throughout the series, we see this budding hero who still struggles with his powers as he learns of the impact he’s going to have on the world. You see this awkward, scrawny teenage boy and you wonder how he could become this massively influential paragon of good. Through the eyes of the legion, you see exactly what it is that leaves them in awe though. It’s not how many times he’s saved the world. It’s not the powers. It’s that Superman is a genuinely good human being.
The goodness of this character is shown at its best in the final season of the show. An older clone of Superman from even further into the future has been created and raised purely to kill a supervillain known as Imperiex. Superman X, as he’s known is violent, cold, unethical, and willing to kill as often as needed to accomplish his goals. After a confrontation with the villain, Superman X ends up being thrown back in time. He meets the legion and the original man of steel and has to team up with them due to Imperiex following him back through time.
Once again, we get to see how Superman inspires others. As X interacts with Superman and the heroes inspired by him, his violent nature and obsession with killing Imperiex fades. X goes from a character who would slaughter thousands in order to accomplish his goal to a man who’ll work with his greatest enemy if it means saving a single child. All of this is due to the positive influence of one person who always did their best to be good. That’s what Superman has always been about and the Legion of Superheroes captures that perfectly.
Geoff Luu
Favorite Comic – Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?
Before All-Star and The Death of Superman, Alan Moore’s Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? gave us the definitive* end of Superman. This two-issue arc, published in 1986 in Action Comics #423 and Superman #583, tells a tragic and emotional story of the last days of the Man of Steel. Amidst its gut-wrenching turns, however, this story is above all else a celebration of the character’s history, friends, allies, and greatest enemies. There is a constant sense of finality and sadness to this story as if the audience itself is saying goodbye to a longtime friend. Its climax features, as Moore states in the story’s prologue, Superman breaking his most sacred oath. But in its final pages, “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?” gives us a final ray of hope in the form of a knowing wink and reinforces Superman’s status as the greatest comic book superhero.
Favorite On-Screen: Superman the Movie (1978)
43 years after its original release, the first theatrical appearance of Superman remains arguably his best. From its introductory homage to the 1930s to Christopher Reeve’s closing line and smile to the camera, from the brilliant opening on Krypton to Superman’s race against Lex Luthor’s missiles, Richard Donner’s Superman is the epitome of a classic superhero film. Though many others have played and voiced Superman since and have done the character justice, the Donner/Reeve version of the character is still the definitive take. Reeve’s distinctive portrayals of Clark Kent and Superman especially have set the standard for nearly all depictions of the character that came after. Backed by the iconic score by John Williams, Superman the Movie is a near-perfect blend of heroism, humor, and emotional depth that brings the comics to life.
What are your favorite Superman stories? How are you celebrating Superman’s birthday? Let us know in the comments.