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Superman comics aren’t always perfect, but when they’re good, they’re the best. Over the years, DC’s creators and editors have found ways to make the Superman comics better, taking the basics of the character and using them in the best ways possible. These ten developments in the Superman comics have made them a joy to read.
10) All-Star Superman
Writer Grant Morrison is one of the greatest writers to ever work in the comic industry. Superman was the character that made Morrison love comics, and it would take years for them to get a chance to write solo adventures with the character. 2005’s All-Star Superman, along with artist Frank Quitely, is Morrison’s first major solo Superman tale, a 12-issue series that tells the story of the death of Superman in a new way. All-Star Superman is an amazing work, combining elements from across Superman’s history into a perfect modern Superman story. All-Star Superman reminded readers why Superman is one of the best superheroes of all time.
9) “Death of Superman”
“Death of Superman” is one of DC’s most important stories, and it helped revitalize the Superman titles. The Superman books had been rebooted in 1986, and by 1991 were in danger of getting stagnant because of changes made to the character. “Death of Superman” showed Superman’s greatest battle and just how far he would go to save the day. “Death of Superman” itself is a good, if formulaic, story, but what makes it so good is that it showed readers who Superman was and why he mattered. Fans started to miss the Man of Steel and what he represented after his death, and “Death of Superman” became an important milestone that means a lot to the Superman mythos.
8) The Geoff Johns Run on Action Comics
In the ’00s, Geoff Johns was DC’s most popular writer. Johns penned best of all time runs for the Flash, Green Lantern, and the Justice Society, and eventually was given the helm of Action Comics after Infinite Crisis and 52 finished. Johns went out of his way to bring Silver and Bronze Age ideas back to the Superman books. Johns brought back Superman’s past with the Legion of Superheroes, brought back General Zod and Brainiac in more classic forms, and told the first Bizarro World story in years. Johns’s run on Action Comics is phenomenal, and it was able to combine the classic and modern perfectly. Stories like “Last Son”, “Brainiac”, and “Superman and the Legion of Superheroes” are some of the best modern Superman stories of all time.
7) Lowering Superman’s Power Level
There was a time when Superman could throw planets around like we throw beach balls. He could sneeze and destroy whole solar systems. He was basically invincible and could move across space at superluminal speeds. Superman was the definition of overpowered, and that could make telling compelling Superman stories difficult. However, Superman’s power level was lowered in the post-Crisis DC Universe and hasn’t ever reached the heights of power he had in the prior years. Superman is still superlatively powerful, but his powers levels are much less than they used to be, and it’s made the stories much better.
6) John Byrne’s Man of Steel Reboot
John Byrne’s Man of Steel reboot is one of the most important changes to the Superman mythos, even if a lot of the decisions Byrne made actually made the Superman mythos less expansive than they used to be. Byrne changed Superman forever, pushing him more as a human than as a Kryptonian. Byrne made Superman the true Last Son of Krypton, doing away with the other survivors of Krypton, and lowered Superman’s power levels. Man of Steel led to a whole new generation of fans to learn to love Superman and created one of the most beloved versions of the character. While you can definitely disagree with Byrne’s changes, they were very important in making Superman popular again.
