Superman (Earth One)

History

See also History of Superman, Silver Age and Bronze Age

In the mid-1950s, following the decline of superhero comics after World War II and the end of the Golden Age of comics, the editors at DC decided to revive some of their Golden Age superheroes with completely new origins and backstories. Starting with the Flash in Showcase #4 in 1956, new versions of DC's former heroes were gradually introduced as completely separate characters with no connection to previous incarnations. This concept eventually became canonized with the introduction of DC's multiverse in 1960s DC Comics.

With the introduction of DC's multiverse, it was retroactively declared that the version of Superman published between 1938 and the early 1950s lived on Earth-Two, while comics featuring Superman published since approximately the mid-1950s took place on Earth-One. This was confirmed by the introduction of the Earth-Two Superman as a distinct character in Justice League of America (volume 1) #73 (August 1969). However, since Superman was one of several DC characters continuously published throughout the 1950s, there isn't a clear dividing line between the Earth-One and Earth-Two versions of Superman. Several stories published before the mid-1950s took place on Earth-One, such as Superman (volume 1) #78 from September–October 1952, the first appearance of the adult Lana Lang in Superman comics. Also, any Superman stories published before the mid-1950s that featured or mentioned Superboy also took place exclusively on Earth-One, as the Earth-Two Superman, per the earliest Superman comics, never had a Superboy career. The Earth-One Superman's first appearance in comics was in Superman (volume 1) #46 (May 1947), the first time Superboy was referenced in a Superman story. The Earth-One Superman's first appearance (in a flash-forward) in a Superboy story was in Superboy (volume 1) #1 (March–April 1949).

This version of Superman remained in publication through 1986. After the 1985-86 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Earth-One Superman was written out of continuity with the 1986 John Byrne miniseries The Man of Steel. However, the Earth-One Superman was given a send-off in the final, noncanonical-to-Earth-One "imaginary" story Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? in Superman (volume 1) #423 (September 1986) and Action Comics #583 (September 1986).

Fictional biography

For details on the Earth-One Superman's origin and childhood/teenage years, see Superboy (Kal-El).

The Earth-One Superman's origin story was retold in various stories; the most prominent retellings were in Superman (volume 1) #146 (July 1961), Limited Collectors' Edition #C-31 (November–December 1974), and Action Comics #500 (October 1979).

As recounted in these retellings, Superman was born Kal-El on the planet Krypton. Upon learning of Krypton's imminent destruction, his father Jor-El and mother Lara sent Kal-El in an experimental rocket to Earth moments before the planet exploded.

Landing outside of the town of Smallville, Kal-El was found and adopted by an elderly farm couple, Jonathan and Martha Kent. The couple soon learned that their foster son, now named Clark Kent, possessed a vast range of super-powers. Shortly before Clark started school, the Kents sold their farm and moved into Smallville, where they opened a general store. After training in the mastery of his superpowers, Clark at age 8 began a superhero career as Superboy, Earth-One's first noteworthy superpowered superhero. During his childhood, Superboy first met Lana Lang and Pete Ross, his first love and his best friend respectively, and also his Kryptonian dog Krypto.

Superboy also first met in Smallville the boy who would become his main archenemy, the criminal genius Lex Luthor. Other foes Superboy encountered included the Kryptonite Kid, and various foes from his membership in the 30th century's superhero team, the Legion of Super-Heroes.

During the summer after Clark's high school graduation, both Jonathan and Martha Kent died. Clark subsequently decided to move to Metropolis to attend Metropolis University, from which he graduated with a degree in journalism. During his college career, Clark changed his superhero name from "Superboy" to "Superman." After graduating from college, Clark obtained employment as a reporter with The Daily Planet. Clark's boss was editor-in-chief Perry White, and his co-workers included Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen.

During his adult superhero career, Clark found various new challenges, such as the first of many battles against the supervillain android Brainiac. Lex Luthor, who plagued Superman as a youth in Smallville, would return repeatedly to face Superman as his primary adult foe.

After Superman reached adulthood, other superheroes soon debuted, including the hero who would become Superman's best friend in the superhero community, Batman. The two heroes would engage in regular team-ups over their careers (as shown in the title World's Finest Comics).

Another ally of Superman is his cousin Kara Zor-El, another survivor of Krypton's doom, who came to Earth and became Supergirl. Soon after Supergirl's arrival on Earth, Superman became a founding member of the Justice League of America, Earth-One's most prominent superhero team.

In 1971, Clark began working as the evening news anchor for WGBS-TV after his new boss Morgan Edge purchased the Daily Planet. Along with Edge, Clark soon gained as coworkers WGBS-TV sports anchor Steve Lombard and childhood friend Lana Lang, who became Clark's co-anchor.

Allies

As the first prominent superpowered superhero of Earth-One, Superboy met few other peers his own age outside of his trips to the 30th Century to serve as part of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Earth-One's main other superpowered superhero during Superboy's era was the teenaged Aquaman (who called himself "Aquaboy"). After Superman reached adulthood, other superheroes made their debuts, including Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, the Flash, and the Martian Manhunter. The above group of heroes plus Superman decided to form the superhero team the Justice League of America.

Fellow Kryptonians

Besides Supergirl, other Kryptonians were revealed as having survived the explosion of Krypton. These included the denizens of the bottle city of Kandor, Superman's pet dog Krypto, and the prisoners in the Phantom Zone.

Powers and abilities

See Powers and abilities of Superman (Silver Age/Bronze Age)

Equipment

As an adult, Superman made prominent use of his Fortress of Solitude. An elaborate facility located in the Arctic, the Fortress traditionally could only be accessed with the use of a giant-sized key only Superman could lift.

Superman also made extensive use of Superman robots, robots that could pose as Superman (or Clark Kent) as needed, with a fraction of his abilities. However, the robots became largely disused by the early 1970s.

Crisis on Infinite Earths

Along with the existence of his Earth-Two counterpart, Superman's Earth-One history was retroactively erased from continuity, after the conclusion of 1985-86 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths. The Post-Crisis Earth would be an entirely new continuity, but some aspects of the Earth-One version remained intact. However, Clark's career as Superboy, Supergirl, and Superman's tenure with the Legion of Super-Heroes were removed entirely from the new timeline. Writer John Byrne acknowledged that he intended to reintroduce several modified Silver Age aspects such as Superboy to the comics, but he was fired after two years due to "creative differences" with DC.

Infinite Crisis

A year after the Infinite Crisis, a number of the Earth-One elements have been restored to the Post-Crisis Earth (dubbed "New Earth"). Although several Byrne aspects, such as his portrayal of Clark's football days and love interest in Lana, remain in continuity, the Kryptonian criminal Jax-Ur has been re-introduced into "Post-Infinite Crisis" canon in the Superman: Last Son story arc, and Clark is revealed to have been made an honorary member of the Legion of Super-Heroes during his late teens. According to Clark, he met Mon-El and wrongly assumed him to have been his long-lost brother from Krypton, based on their similar names, and Superman still has a Legion flight ring in his possession. He is shown to have been wearing glasses as far back as his adolescent Smallville years, and he has actively been saving lives in a low-profile. Although he had quite an adventurous career as a teenager, he did not wear a costume or was referred to as "Superboy" in his own time, but as revealed in Superman: Secret Origin, he used the name while traveling to the future as a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes.

It is revealed in Countdown to Final Crisis #34, Lex Luthor did spend some time in Smallville under the care of his Aunt Lena. He did befriend and interact with Clark, Lana, and Pete, who were a few years his junior. Unlike the Earth-One or Birthright versions, he did not burn his hair off in an accident he blamed Clark for, but he left after a few months, "under a cloud of suspicion". Instead, like Byrne showed, his hair receded over time until he was bald.

Superman: Earth One (graphic novel)

An original graphic novel written by J. Michael Straczynski and with art by Shane Davis. The story focuses on a young Superman's decisions to use his powers to help the world rather than use his powers for his own benefit. Due to the weekly series Trinity creating a new Earth One this may be part of the DC Multiverse, as J. Michael Straczynski said that it is not part of the main DCU.

In other media