Superman is the first costumed superhero and has been around for over eighty years. Not a month has gone by in all of that time without a Superman comic being published; that's a lot of stories to choose from and some are considered more important to the overall ethos than others. On the surface, it seems like he has been the same man and hero over his entire run. A golden hero, a sweet small-town boy, and someone who believes in fighting for what's right no matter what, Superman has a reputation for being a rather predictable hero.
However, this is not the case. Superman's stories have had some rather shocking plot twists over the years which have often brought about massive changes for character. Over the decades, Superman has become a very different character, changing with the times, and these stellar comics have allowed readers to see him in a new light.
10 Justice League #12 Put The New 52 Superman And Wonder Woman Into A Relationship
The New 52 brought a lot of change to the Man of Steel and one of them changed something that had been around since the beginning. For years, it was always Superman and Lois but in the New 52, starting with Geoff Johns and Jim Lee's Justice League #12, it was Superman and Wonder Woman. This was a massive change from before, as the two characters had never been anything more than friends in previous continuities.
The two became one of DC's most powerful couples, staying together for the remainder of the New 52, even getting a co-starring series. While it was certainly a bizarre change for some fans, it made sense in the context of the stories being told.
9 The Man Of Steel (2018) Made Some Changes To Superman's Origin And Status Quo
When Brian Michael Bendis came to DC, it was a big deal and he made a splash right off the bat with The Man Of Steel. Joined by artists Jason Fabok, Doc Shaner, Adam Hughes, Kevin Maguire, Ryan Sook, and Ivan Reis, Bendis shook up Superman's status quo for his upcoming two-year run. He would begin by introducing an all-new villain, Rogol Zaar.
Then, he'd reveal that Zaar had been responsible for the destruction of Krypton, a big change from what readers knew. On top of that, Zaar would break into the Fortress of Solitude and destroy the Bottle City of Kandor, another action that changed Superman- and Supergirl- forever.
8 Superman #123 Saw A Big Change To Superman's Powers
The '90s were a time of big change for DC's most iconic characters and Superman got more than his share of changes. One of those came in Superman #123, by writer Dan Jurgens and artist Ron Frenz. In that issue, Superman seemingly lost his powers but gained completely new ones, more electric-based than before.
Superman's powers have changed a lot over the years and this was one of the biggest changes to them. It was also very different from just about any other change, as his powers were suddenly very different from how they were before.
7 Superman: The Wedding Album Saw Superman And Lois Lane Finally Tie The Knot
Superman and Lois Lane had one of the longest courtship periods in all of comics, one that finally ended with Superman: The Wedding Album. Written by Dan Jurgens with art by John Byrne, Murphy Anderson, Jon Bogdanove, Tom Grummet, Jackson Guice, Stuart Immonen, Gil Kane, Kevin Maguire, Bob McLeod, Jerry Ordway, George Perez, Al Plastino, Curt Swan, and Nick Cardy, it gave readers wedding decades in the making.
The wedding of Lois and Clark changed the two forever and represented a culmination of years of storytelling. Now, it's almost impossible to imagine them apart outside of the New 52.
6 Superman: Lois And Clark Gave Readers The Child Of Lois And Superman- Jon
For years, there had been all kinds of stories about the children Superman might have but it didn't happen in continuity until Superman: Lois And Clark, by writer Dan Jurgens and artist Lee Weeks. Part of the maligned Convergence event, this story saw the post-Crisis Superman and Lois that fans loved having a child and raising him.
Eventually, Jon would become a huge deal in the DC Universe, joining with Damian Wayne to form the SuperSons, going on adventures with his parents, and joining the Legion of Superheroes. He's become an important part of the Superman mythos and a beloved hero.
5 Superman: Son Of Kal-El #1 Is The Dawn Of A New Superman
Jon would have lots of adventures in his time as Superboy but would get aged up after a journey through space with his grandfather Jor-El. After more adventures as a teenager, he would move out from under his father's shadow and become a new Superman in Superman: Son Of Kal-El #1, by writer Tom Taylor and artist John Timms.
This first issue saw Jon take up a new costume and work to prove that he could be a different kind of Superman than his father was, solving problems without violence, devoting himself to being a hero for the whole world, and making a name for himself in the world in his own way.
4 Superman Reborn Saw The Post-Crisis And New 52 Continuities Finally Converge
After Rebirth and the return of the post-Crisis Kent family, they existed in the New 52 universe for a while (one where Superman and Clark Kent had died.) Superman Reborn, by writers Dan Jurgens, Peter Tomasi, and Patrick Gleason with art by Gleason and Doug Mahnke, changed all of that. Featuring a mysterious villain kidnapping Jon and Clark and Lois searching him out, it would fix Superman continuity.
Melding the New 52 and post-Crisis Superman timelines made things easier for fans and allowed those who weren't exactly thrilled by the New 52 changes to fully embrace the character again.
3 Flashpoint Brought About The New 52, Which Wrought Massive Change On Superman
The New 52 brought a lot of changes to Superman and they all started in Flashpoint, by writer Geoff Johns and artist Andy Kubert. This Flash-centric event saw a new universe created from the results of Flash's temporal meddling, one that he and Thomas Wayne would try to fix. However, the resulting fix would create a very different universe from what came before.
The New 52 saw Superman as more of a throwback to his Golden Age self, gave him a new costume that was Kryptonian battle armor, and changed a lot of his supporting cast and relationships. The whole thing would end in his death and replacement by the post-Crisis Superman.
2 The Death Of Superman Did Exactly What It Promised
The Death Of Superman was a cultural phenomenon in the '90s and the ultimate example of truth in advertising. Crossing through all of the Superman books and Justice League America, it saw Doomsday escape and begin a rampage towards Metropolis. Superman and his friends did their best to stop him but it was futile. In the end, Superman was all that stood between the city and destruction.
Superman's death was a massive shock to readers as it was something no one thought would ever happen. It led to the Reign of the Supermen, where four different people would step up to fill his shoes. For years, there was no actual Superman in the DC Universe.
1 Crisis On Infinite Earths Completely Changed The DC Universe And Superman
Crisis On Infinite Earths, by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Perez, is considered one of the best events books of all time and for good reason. This action-packed epic did something that modern event books don't even try for anymore- it brought about lasting change. The story closed out the Silver Age, ending the era of the Multiverse, and brought drastic change to Superman.
While the basics of his origin would stay the same, much about the planet Krypton was different, he was never Superboy, there were no other surviving Kryptonians, and the Kents were still alive. There were other small changes as well, all of which added up to a changed Superman forever.
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