The new Man of Steel Absolute Edition gives us the beginning. This is how it ended…
By AARON HAMMONDS
Anyone who’s read my pieces for 13th Dimension knows how important the Byrne era of Superman is to me; he’s the guy who made me a Supeman fan. For just over two years, he was the chief architect of a new era for the Man of Steel, and in a way, he arguably had even more control during the second half of his tenure.
With Marv Wolfman’s departure from The Adventures of Superman after #435, Byrne became the sole writer of the Super-titles. (Jerry Ordway assisting as co-plotter on Adventures primed him to take over that series after Byrne’s departure). Even after Action Comics became a weekly anthology with #601, Byrne was still quite a busy fellow.
In June, I wrote a 40th anniversary tribute to Byrne’s landmark 1986 Man of Steel miniseries, and for his 76th birthday in July, I followed up with the TOP 13 SUPERMAN STORIES from his first 13 months helming the Metropolis Marvel.
Now, with this week’s release of Superman: The Man of Steel by John Byrne Absolute Edition — click here for a SNEAK PEEK — we finish things off with the TOP 13 STORIES from Byrne’s final year in Metropolis.
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1. Superman #11. I loved Byrne’s re-introduction of classic characters from the Golden and Silver Ages into the modern Superman mythos and this was one of the best. Lois is almost literally swept off her feet by handsome, broad-shouldered Ben DeRoy, who dresses like he just stepped off a Miami Vice episode. Somehow, everywhere he goes, DeRoy has a way of making things happen: an obnoxious smoker’s cigar bursts into flames in his hand, a child’s toy gorilla becomes frighteningly alive, and he then animates a mannequin, transforming Lois into plastic to take her place.
Of course, the cover had already given the surprise away: This is the post-Crisis introduction of one of Superman’s oldest foes, Mr. Mxyzptlk. Superman has to deal with a semi behaving like a bucking bronco and the Daily Planet building acting like a toddler before finally getting Mxyzptlk to go home. Ah, Silver-Age zaniness with a modern twist; I loved it.
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2. The Adventures of Superman #434. Marv Wolfman’s penultimate issue of Adventures was a typically well-written tale containing everything at which Wolfman excelled: family crisis (Perry and Alice having to bail Jerry out of jail and worrying that he’s slipping further into Metropolis’s underworld); relationship drama (Cat possibly having to move to New York to win joint custody of her son and wishing Clark would consider moving there with her); and hard-hitting investigative journalism (Perry assigning Lois and Clark to find Luthor’s connection to Jerry’s kidnapping and coercion into participating in a recent robbery).
All of this pales in comparison to the most important element of this issue: on his way out the door, Wolfman casually introduced a little character called Gangbuster, who will have connections to some of the biggest plot developments and storylines over the next several years (from Exile, to Bibbo winning the lottery, to Funeral for a Friend).
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3. Action Comics #594. In the spring of 1986, a couple of months before The Man of Steel began reshaping the landscape, Superman met Booster Gold, the first post-Crisis DC character, for a knock-down, drag-out battle royale. Round 2! Booster Gold destroys a statue of Superman and starts giving speeches condemning his actions in Qurac several months back, even kidnapping the mayor’s daughter and torturing her to force Superman into a confrontation.
The fight eventually drags over into Booster Gold #23 and a startling reveal as to the true culprit behind these attacks. I love this one because I was a huge Booster Gold fan, and more importantly, for the opening scene where Superman meets Batman and Robin in Gotham to hand them a mysterious scrapbook Clark Kent received in the mail (we the readers know it’s Ma Kent’s scrapbook of Clark’s exploits as humanity’s anonymous “guardian angel” and later as Superman) for investigation; the results of Batman’s inquiries are revealed in The Adventures of Superman #440.
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4. Superman #12. Call me a hopeless romantic, but I really enjoy a good Superman love story (give me a great Lois and Clark Triangle Era yarn any day), and this is a modern retelling of one of the all-time classics from the Silver Age: Clark Kent’s courtship of Lori Lemaris, his lost love from college. If you don’t happen to know why their relationship was ill-fated, I won’t spoil it for you; let’s just say there’s something…fishy about Lori. Her return in the ’90s unfortunately undercut the tragic nature of her character, but setting that aside, this is a beautiful tale of the one who got away.
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5. Action Comics #595. One of my favorite creations of John Byrne’s was introduced in this issue: the Silver Banshee! A woman who looks like the living personification of Death wanders the streets of Metropolis, a woman whose very voice is lethal. She kills several people who cross her path, and eventually seems to kill the Man of Steel, as well.
We see reactions from various members of the superhero community and the supporting cast (including a great scene of Luthor trashing his office because someone else beat him to it), and even a glimpse of Superman’s funeral (foreshadowing the Death of Superman and Funeral for a Friend a few years later), until a surprise guest purporting to be Superman’s ghost (!) shows up to fight the Silver Banshee from beyond the grave. Wonderfully silly hijinks ensue.
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6. Superman #13. This was another re-introduction of a classic Superman villain, and, in my opinion, one of the better ones. Say hello to Winslow Schott, one of the most respected toymakers in Great Britain. When Schott is fired by his employers after decades of loyal service due to changing trends in the toy industry and his inability to adapt, he begins murdering his former employers as the Toyman. Guess what billionaire industrialist is next on his hit list?
I really liked the new Toyman; I just wish he hadn’t been taken down the road he travelled in the ’90s, the era of dark, grim and gritty. The last four pages serve to make this issue a Millennium tie-in; the less said about this, the better.
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7. Action Comics #597. The team-up for this issue is actually Lois Lane and Lana Lang, who meet for the first time (cue George Costanza’s “Worlds Collide” speech from Seinfeld). Superman is in Smallville cleaning up the mess in the aftermath of Millennium (please don’t ask me to explain that nonsense) when Lois shows up investigating the event and finds him at the Kent farm talking to Lana. Lois almost figures out Clark’s secret until Jonathan gives an explanation for Superman’s presence that is not only ridiculous, but adds a new layer to Lois’ ongoing resentment of Clark for beating her to the first Superman exclusive all those years ago. The main things that recommend this story are the cover, Clark’s Metropolis world finally encountering his Smallville world, and the fact that this issue puts the final nail in the coffin of Millennium.
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8. The Adventures of Superman #438. John Byrne’s first two issues of Adventures were saddled with the responsibility of being Millennium crossovers; this was the first issue where he had free rein, and he used it for another of his “classic character” re-introductions. One of Superman’s most iconic villains, Brainiac, is re-imagined as an alcoholic circus mentalist named Milton Fine, whose latent psionic powers are being enhanced and manipulated by an alien scientist named Vril Dox.
This is one of the stranger versions of Brainiac (we’ve seen several over the character’s nearly 70 years), but I thought it was a very cool ’80s-’90s take. Byrne also shows he’s just as good at the human drama Wolfman had been mining, with a powerful scene involving Lois being confronted by a father who blames her for his son’s death and insists Lex Luthor is a saint.
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9. Superman #16. Byrne was on a roll with his classic villain revivals; this time, Byrne set his sights on Oswald Loomis, aka the Prankster. Byrne takes a similar turn with the Prankster as he did with Toyman: Loomis is disgruntled because WGBS, the TV station on which he has hosted a morning kids show for over 25 years, is cancelling his program. Now, he is using all the complimentary practical joke supplies he has been sent by sponsors over the years to stage one prank after another all over Metropolis.
Where the Toyman feels diabolical and dangerous, the Prankster feels fun and imaginative. Another solid post-Crisis re-invention. The last two pages begin teasing the final entry on this list, a real doozy.
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10. The Adventures of Superman #440. This is a great “day in the life” type story, showing Superman preparing for a very important date. Some highlights include a meeting with Batman to discuss the scrapbook Superman left with him in Action #594 (leading to some very interesting revelations between the two); preventing a highway sniper from causing a gasoline tanker to crash into a fast food joint; and stopping by the farm to get a fresh cape from his mom to look as spiffy as possible for his date with an angel, which leads to…
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11. Action Comics #600. Superman and Wonder Woman! The Man of Steel and the Amazon Princess! Clark has been dreaming/fantasizing about Wonder Woman ever since meeting her at the end of Legends, so this pairing was a year in the making. Their story starts as a date, but quickly becomes a superhero team-up thanks to Darkseid, who has decided to attack Mount Olympus. By the end of the story, Clark realizes Diana is out of his league and they resolve to be good friends, an awesome ending to the team-up era of Action Comics, which became the anthology series Action Comics Weekly with the next issue.
This is just the first story of an 80-Page Giant-style anniversary issue jam-packed with other great yarns: a Lois story that hints at the beginning of a relationship with Clark, until he is forced to blow it by leaving to play Superman; a Jimmy story where he has to rescue Superman; and a strange Man-Bat story (yes, Man-Bat) somewhat reminiscent of Superman’s final pairing with Swamp Thing in the late DC Comics Presents.
I went out of order and saved the best backup story for last: Lex Luthor has Maggie Sawyer come to his office to confront her with evidence of her sexual orientation (still a taboo subject at the time) and threatens to expose her. Maggie tells him he can’t intimidate her, leading him to slam his fist on his desk… and run screaming from his office in excruciating pain! A dump-truck full of ramifications that will play out over most of the Triangle Era stem from this moment. Numerous pin-ups from various artists serve as delicious window-dressing for this 50th anniversary celebration.
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12. Superman #19. This is a “set-up” issue, in that it lays out five distinct plot threads to be followed up in subsequent issues of one Superman title or another: Cat Grant tries to seduce Jimmy Olson while drunk (leading to a confrontation with Perry in Adventures #442); Superman explores an alien spacecraft that has crashed in Metropolis’s West River and his powers start to disappear one by one (concluded in the aforementioned Adventures #442); and, Jimmy’s Mom visits the Daily Planet office and sees what appears to be a picture of her husband, who disappeared nearly 20 years earlier (see Adventures #443).
We also visit Lex in the recovery room after his hand has been amputated (see virtually every appearance of Lex Luthor for the next seven or eight years, bald or red-headed); and last, but not least, a mysterious red-headed woman of whom we’ve seen glimpses over the past few issues takes off from the Arctic, headed for Smallville (see the next entry on this list). Oh, and Professor Killgrave breaks out of prison (although that only takes five pages to resolve). One thing about Byrne: He can pack a lot into 22 pages…
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13. Superman #21/The Adventures of Superman #444/Superman #22. I began my initial list of the best stories from Byrne’s time on Superman with his first monthly issue, and I’m ending this list with his last. These three issues comprise the Supergirl Saga, a sequel to the Pocket Universe Saga from roughly a year earlier. The mysterious woman found in the Arctic and headed for Smallville turns out to be the Lana Lang of the Pocket Universe (or is she?) come to our world to enlist Superman’s help against three Phantom Zone criminals accidentally released by that universe’s Lex Luthor, a red-headed good guy who has assumed the role of that Earth’s protector in the wake of his disastrous mistake.
Along the way, Superman is forced to pass judgment on the perpetrators of five billion murders, making a fateful decision that will eventually lead into the first major post-Byrne story arc, Exile. This story also introduces the new, post-Crisis version of Supergirl, a mainstay of the Superman books (and the DC Universe in general) until the re-introduction of Kara Zor-El in 2003. A hell of a send-off for the guy who re-invented Superman, and I will forever be in his debt for the foundation he laid.
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MORE
— Dig This SNEAK PEEK Video That Shows Off SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL BY JOHN BYRNE ABSOLUTE EDITION. Click here.
— The TOP 13 SUPERMAN STORIES From JOHN BYRNE’s First 13 Months on the Man of Steel. Click here.
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AARON HAMMONDS fell in love with comics and superheroes over 40 years ago; his passion was reignited in 2025 by James Gunn’s Superman. He resides in Pensacola, Florida, with his beautiful wife.
