Graphic Novels - The Man of Steel

And after two weeks, I'm back, perplexed as ever. I may be starting Grad school in the summer instead of the spring now, I am still unemployed (but still looking around, and if anyone knows of a job in my immediate area, tell me), and I'm still wondering why in the heck does a test need to cost 250 George Washingtons? I must know!

Well, since I have gotten all of that out of the way, I can once more go through this little collection of mine. Today's (or tonight's) topic is called "The Man of Steel".

The Man of Steel

Written and Pencilled by John Byrne

Inked by Dick Giordano

I found this at Outer Limits in Murfreesboro for $3.50, so you know I had to get it. What got me interested in getting the book was this:

• Big Superman fan - As some may know, I'm a fan of Superman. I got 3 shirts with that 'S' on it. Plus, this is an origin story, so you get to see how it all started for this version of Superman.


• From Crisis to Crisis - Another thing that got interested in getting this, as well as looking at this certain era of the Superman comics, was a podcast called From Crisis to Crisis: A Superman Podcast (yep, long title). I've been listening to this podcast for over a year now and it's still good. The guys, Michael Bailey and Jeffery Taylor, do the podcast well. They've started out with MOS and went in-depth with it, so if you want a more in-depth look of MOS, check them out.

The artwork in MOS is real good. It's probably John Byrne at his finest. Actually I take that back, his work on X-Men was his finest. The inking was well done by artist Dick Giordino, a well-known inker and penciller. The writing is old school (a lot of exposition), but is still well written.

Now, there is an actual reason for MOS to exist. This is the short version of this reason: In the mid-1980's, DC wanted to revitalize the Superman franchise by taking him back to his roots and removing all of the baggage that the character gained over 50 years. So, they got Byrne to reshape Superman's universe and pretty much redo everything. If you want to know more about this, check out Wikipedia or even better, check out From Crisis to Crisis.

Now MOS is split up into 6 six individual issues, with each issue having its own story. So here we go:

1. The Origin

Now, everybody knows what happens here. The planet Krypton is going to blow up, so Jor-el and Lara send their son to the planet called Earth.


We skip to 18 years later, and Clark (the son) has won another game of football for his high school in Smallville, Kansas. Everyone is cheering, except for his father, Johnathon "Pa" Kent. After the game, Pa takes Clark for a ride and tells him the whole truth about his origins:

During a bad snowstorm that lasted months, they found his ship. At first, they didn't know what to think. They didn't know if he was an alien or a human experiment. To mask the fact that they found him in a ship in a field, they tell everyone that Martha (Ma) had the baby during the storm. Over the years, Clark began to do weird things (super strength, invulnerability, flight, speed, etc., but no FINGER BEAMS!!!).

So after some time to think it over, Clark decides to leave Smallville, travel the world, and use his powers for something other than football. But before he leaves, he must go see someone very important in his life. Who is it? Find out...eventually.

A few years later, Ma and Pa are at home talking about Clark and filling up a scrapbook (a book containing all of the un-explained miracles that Clark has done). Pa looks at another paper and points out the headline, "Mysterious Superman Saves Space Plane".

Suddenly, they hear a creak in Clark's room. Clark's come home, and apparently he's shaken by the ordeal.

Clark's been living in Metropolis for about 3 years now and loves it there. One day, a big space plane was supposed to be landing in Metropolis, so he casually goes down to the airport to see it. Everything was going well, and then all of the sudden a mishap happens and the space plane is going to crash. Clark, knowing that people are watching and that he may out himself as a superhero, saves the plane and the people on it. One of the passengers is Lois Lane. They almost get to have a moment together, and then a mob of reporters and people break up that moment, treating him like some big-time celebrity. Clark gets flustered and flies away, and ends up coming home.

At home, Clark tells his parents that he still wants to help people, but now they'll be looking for him, expecting him, and he doesn't know how he'll handle that. So ole' Pa comes up with an idea. I guess a couple of pass and the idea comes into fruition. Clark designs the "S". He also comes up with his new "mild-mannered" persona (glasses, slicked back hair, and a little slouch), which he uses to throw off suspicion, and Ma makes the costume. He puts it on and flies back to Metropolis as Superman, ready to help people in need.

Oh yeah, I definitely see the difference!

2. First Days as Superman

The next issue pretty much revolves around Lois Lane, reporter for the Daily Planet, trying to get a scoop on the mysterious flying man (Superman). Meanwhile, Superman is in Metropolis doing the usual things: catching bad guys, turning down radios, knocking out dangerous women, you know, superhero stuff! Whenever Superman stops a crime or saves someone and leaves, Lois misses him by a few minutes. By the way, Lois is one snappy dresser.

Who knew being a reporter paid so well?

Anyway, she comes up with an idea to get Superman's attention: put herself in mortal danger. She does this by running her car off into the river. Superman, with his super-hearing, hears her cries for help and rescues her. So he takes her to her apartment where she finally gets her interview with the Man of Steel. Right before he leaves, he tells her that he knew that she planned the whole thing (She had aqualung under her seat). After he leaves the apartment, he heads to the Daily Planet for a job appointment as Clark Kent.

Two hours later, Lois is at the Daily Planet with her interview with Superman finished. She shows it to her editor Perry White, who then informs her that they already have an interview of Superman done by their newest employee: Clark Kent.

Somehow, I bet Clark won't hear the end of this.

3. BATMAN!!!! (duh duh duhduhduhduhduhduhduhduh)

Issue 3 of this miniseries takes place about 8 months after the events in issue 2, and it's Superman's first meeting with Batman. We start out in Gotham City with Batman, THE WORLD'S GREATEST DETECTIVE (and singer too, check out the bottom for that), roughing up a villain lackey and trying to find the villain called Magpie. The lackey gets away, and Batman goes after him until he's stopped by Superman. Supes is ready to take Batman to jail, but then Batman disappears, and Superman has a little trouble finding him (This is weird, considering that Superman has super-hearing, x-ray vision, and super speed. I guess he had Lois on his mind or something).

Superman: OMG!! He's disappeared! If only I had the power to....

Batman: Uh, dude, I'm over here!!

Superman: Quiet!! Let me get my monologue about you out of the way. Oh, there you are.

Anyway, Bats comes out from the shadows and after a little "Touch me or someone blows up" threat from Batman, they talk about their different methods and the main villain, Magpie. Meanwhile, in a hideout, Magpie is pretty much yelling at that lackey from before, calling him "FOOL" and all that stuff. She is essentially a crazy chick who wants all of the "shiny things" in Gotham and has killed the people who she has stolen from. Plus, you know she's crazy when you see her costume:

I knew the 80's were bad for fashion, but Daaaannnnngggg that's bad.

Unfortunately for her lackey, Bull, he.....well........this happens:

Bull: 1986 to ....well, 1986.

Superman hears the explosion, and he and Batman go to capture Magpie. They break into the hideout and capture her henchmen, but she escapes. After a super-feat from Superman, and some detective work from Batman, they find Magpie at another hideout: the museum where she apparently works at(Of Course!!). Once they catch her, she has a mental breakdown, and is then arrested. S and B then talk some more about their differences (ways, cities, etc.) and commend each other on what they're doing. Then Superman brings up that whole "bomb" threat and this happens:

I have to admit, it's a nice scene.

And that ends the first meeting of the World's Finest.

4. "Lex Luthor, the greatest rich, villainous guy around!!!"
Issue 4 takes place 18 months after Superman's first appearance. We start out with Lois coming to Clark's apartment to take to a party hosted by Lex Luthor: Balding Businessman. They talk about the stuff in Clark's apartment (parents, football trophies, etc.). It then comes out that Lois is still peeved at Clark for getting his interview about Superman published instead of hers. Even though he wasn't trying to steal the story out of spite, she still has to be a b---- about it.

Anyway, Clark has to go shave (Heat Vision Style), and then we see this:

Lois Lane: Reporter, Fine dresser, and body builder!

They go to Luthor's big yacht via helicopter, where they talk some more about the rumors about Luthor and her. Lois, in shorter words, doesn't like him and sees him only as a "collector". They then finally meet Lex Luthor. They talk, and it turns out that the dress was a gift from Luthor. Lois gets peeved at Mr. Baldy, gives the dress back to him, and leaves wearing Clark's coat.

Well... I have nothing to say.

When they leave, they then run into some hijackers and trouble ensues. Clark is thrown off the boat, and that gives him a way to change. Meanwhile, Lois finds her inner G.I. Jane and kicks the hijackers' butts.

Lois Lane: a real American bimbo....I mean hero.

All Superman gets to do is LIFT THE WHOLE SHIP OUT OF THE WATER (Awesome) and stop Lois from getting shot by some dude. The mayor of Metropolis, who was also on the ship, commends Superman. Then Luthor, gives Superman a check for $25,000 dollars and tells him to work for him. Superman, of course, doesn't accept it. Luthor then reveals that he ordered his men to hold back and let the ship be hijacked because he wanted to see what "this 'Superman' could really do." Supes, Lois, and the mayor are all peeved and the mayor appoints Superman as a special deputy and orders him to arrest Luthor. Lex isn't happy.

Don't drop the soap....

Sometime after saving a pregnant woman and sensing getting his picture taken, Superman runs into Luthor on the street. There, Luthor gives him a long-winded message and Superman has his first big-time villain:

Yes, Luthor. Threaten the man who can punch you through 3 buildings.

5. Now here's something..... Bizarre

The 5th issue starts I guess takes place two years from Superman's first appearance. We start out in Hong Kong, in one of Lex's buildings. Superman is trying to link Lex to an attack perpetrated by one of his "former" employees. Lex denies it of course. So, Superman leaves, but not before saying this:

Superman: And another thing.....shave that thing off! A mullet is one thing, but that? Wow....

Lex then goes to a lab and talks to Teng, a lab assistant. Apparently, Lex had sensors in his office, and Teng had scanned Superman while he was there. What Lex is trying to is to create a clone of Superman(duh duh duh!!!). With Superman's DNA scanned, they find out that he isn't even human. The cloning process ends, now Lex has his own Superman........for about a second or two. Apparently, the process didn't work because Superman is an alien. Lex, who's peeved to the point of losing even more hair, leaves and tells Teng to destroy the body (which apparently didn't go well).

Meanwhile, in Metropolis, Lois is at her apartment checking up on her younger sister, Lucy, before she heads to work. Lucy is blind thanks to some hijacker who threw some chemicals into her eyes a while back. Lois is trying to help Lucy deal with the situation, but Lucy won't have any of it. When Lois leaves, Lucy sits down and I think cries.

On the streets of Metropolis, an ambulance is stuck in traffic and needs to get to the hospital. Suddenly Superman (we don't see his face) comes down and picks up the vehicle and takes it to the hospital. The drivers are about to thank him until they see his face and run. We catch a glimpse of Superman before he flies away.

At the apartment, Lucy decides to end it all and jump off the balcony. So she jumps, but Superman saves her and takes her back to the balcony. Lucy notices that he isn't saying anything and he feels dusty. Superman then leaves.

We cut to the Daily Planet with Clark and the staff working until Lois shows up. She and Clark talk about Lucy until Jimmy (Hey Jimmy!!) shows up and talks about a guy breaking into a men's store and taking a suit. Clark hears a scream with his hearing. It came from the lobby of the Planet and he uses his x-ray vision to see some strange man in the lobby. Clark make an excuse and turns into Superman and heads to the lobby.

In the lobby, Superman goes up to the man and gets the shock (and punch) of his life:

They fight in the streets, using heat vision on each other and punching each other. It's an epic fight (Not really, but it's alright). Lois shows up when Superman gets knocked away and the clone looks at her and takes her away. Seeing this, Superman flies after them, thinking to himself:

As they fly, the clone kisses Lois. She thinks to herself, "I don't believe it! Five years I've been dreaming of being kissed by Superman...Now this thing..." Yeah, I'd have the same problem if the woman I liked had an evil clone and it kissed me too. Anyway, they head back to her apartment and Lucy is somehow able to see (not by much though). She talks about being saved by Superman, and then the real Superman shows up. We then have another "epic" fight between the two. Superman is getting his butt kicked until realizes that he needs to put the clone down for good. When he finds out it's android, Superman puts all he has into one final hit:

What kind of sound is SHOOOM?

When the dust (the clone's dust) settles, Superman is the victor, and Lucy can fully see! Yeah, it's a weird explanation (the clone's dust un-blinded her), but she can see again. Yay!

Yeah, this is a really weird explanation.

6. A Past Revealed...
Issue 6 closes out with a return to Smallville. Clark flies back to Smallville, and changes into his normal clothes when he get to the bus station to look like he came on bus. His parents are waiting for them, a proud as ever. As they ride home, they talk some, then Ma shuts Pa up when he was about to say something.

At home, he tells them about his feelings for Lois and the situation between them. See, she likes Superman, but not Clark. See the problem? Anyway, after some restless sleep, Clark gets up. He wonders what his parents are hiding from him. He goes to the fridge to get a piece of pie when this happens:

Well, at least there wasn't a dog in the fridge screaming "ZUUL!"

The ghost of Jor-el then touches Clark’s head, and then either he falls out or falls into a section of the Twilight Zone. When he wakes up, he's in costume and on Krypton. He sees his real mother and father and is about to make a connection, but then he's snapped out of his dream by Lana Lang. It turns out that he ran into her field. They talk about the situation, then Clark asks Lana why she is in Smallville. She tells him she left after what he did to her and her life. Clark, of course, is baffled. She tells him and then we have a flashback.

Remember that important someone Clark went to see way back when? Yes, that was Lana. Apparently, she liked him in high school. In the flashback, which was about ten years, he goes over to her house to talk to her about his plans. He even reveals his powers to her. But in the end, she wasn't in those plans. Back in the present day, Lana tells him that what he did hurt real bad, and that she hated him for a while but got over it when she saw what he was doing. She tells him that she told Pa and Ma to keep her secret about being back from Clark. Clark apologizes to her, and she forgives him, telling him that she's happy and content now.

Clark, in costume, thinks about all the stuff that's been talked about: Lois, Lana, and his parents. He wants to know where he came from and then heads to the place where his ship is buried. It turns out not to be there and it looks like someone took it. But who? Don't ask me. All of the sudden, Ghost Jor-el comes back and starts doing something to Superman.

Quick! Someone call Bill Murray!

Ma and Pa show up in their truck to see what Clark is doing and they see Ghost Jor-el attacking Superman. Pa grabs his shovel and does something that the Pa from Smallville would be proud of.

Take that, Jor-el!

After this, Clark stands up, checks on Pa, and flies off to think. Through Ghost Jor-el's "mind-meld", Clark now knows where he's from: the planet Krypton. He even knows about its culture and stuff. But he realizes that it's all meaningless to him now. He concludes that Krypton may have bred him, but it was Earth that made him into the man he is now.

And that's all that needs to be said about this GN. Is it good? Yeah! I wouldn't be writing about it if it wasn't. It may be wordy and somewhat dated (Magpie looked horrible, even for the 80's), but it's still has good writing and artwork.Writing this has actually mad me appreciate it more. And now, I leave you with the Dark Knight with his latest hit.