With Absolute Superman reimagining his origin once again, and the New 52 version shaking things up before that, there is one reimagining that came out 22 years ago today that is incredibly well told, but one that few people mention today. That is Superman: Secret Identity.
Superman: Secret Identity debuted on January 14, 2004, and it followed an Elseworlds Superman as he was growing up in a small town in Kansas. However, this version of Clark Kent was named after the fictional superhero Superman from DC Comics. He was often bullied because of his name, but he found his solitude by writing. However, one day, he’s exposed to unknown radiation from a meteor strike, and he develops the powers of the Man of Steel from the comics.
This version of Superman then becomes a superhero and starts to help people, much like his namesake from the comics. What really makes this series stand out is that it jumps forward in time with each issue, showing the struggles that Clark faces as he fights to keep his role as Superman a secret, even when the U.S. government tries to capture and experiment on him. When he and his wife Lois have twins, he finally agrees to help the government if they will stop trying to capture him. It’s an interesting twist on the stories that came before, but with a more modern-day updating.
When the series ends and Clark realizes his powers are fading and going away, he finally has a chance to settle down, and soon there are superheroes all over the world, ones that no longer need a Superman. It was similar to the Life Story comics at Marvel, but instead focused on showing what the world would have been like if Superman were the only superhero for many years in a world that feared him. While it sounds similar to Superboy-Prime, this Superman origin story has a lot of heart and might be the best Elseworlds story about the Man of Steel that DC ever published.
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