Forget everything you know about The Man of Steel and brace yourself for a staggering new take on the world's most popular Super Hero.
Best-selling, Hugo Award-winning writer J. Michael Straczynski (BRAVE AND THE BOLD, Thor, Babylon 5) and red-hot rising star artist Shane Davis (GREEN LANTERN, SUPERMAN/BATMAN) team up for this exciting launch of the EARTH ONE graphic novel series. Set in an all-new continuity re-imagining DC's top heroes, EARTH ONE is a new wave of original, stand-alone graphic novels produced by the top writers and artists in the industry. The groundbreaking new line rockets into effect right here with the Super Hero who started it all – Superman!
What would happen if the origin of The Man of Tomorrow were introduced today for the very first time? Return to Smallville and experience the journey of Earth's favorite adopted son as he grows from boy to Superman like you've never seen before!
Arriving at Metropolis, Clark rents a room at Metropolis Hotel and goes around the city to get a job. Clark tries out for the Metropolis pro football team. Because he is much smaller than the other recruits, he is met with extreme skepticism and some derision. But as soon as Clark shows what he can do, the coach is beside himself to get Clark to sign a contract.
Clark has similar experiences at a major scientific research company, a financial services institution, and trying out for the Metropolis Major League Baseball team. Calling his mother at night, Clark tells her he can work anywhere, and earn pretty much whatever he wants. He can also send a lot of money to her. She says she really has everything she needs. What Martha really wants, and Jonathan wanted too, is to have Clark expose his abilities to the world and make it his mission to help people. Martha has even fabricated a costume for him, should he decide to go down that road. But she emphasizes that it is Clark's decision to make.
Clark heads to the Daily Planet, and meets Perry White, Lois Lane, and Jim Olsen. But upon hearing the Planet, like the newspaper industry, is declining, Clark decides not to pursue a job at the Daily Planet, drops the application paper into a garbage bin, and flies away into space.
He thinks back to when Martha and Jonathan Kent told him how he was found: hiking through the woods, the Kents saw a sonic booming ship flying pass them before it crashed. Checking for survivors, they found a baby boy instead and left before the ship finally exploded. Then, the Kents decided to keep the child, just after the US government and its military started arriving at the crash site. They only kept a small fragment of debris from the ship where they'd learned it wasn't from this Earth; meaning Clark is an alien. This only connected to Clark being considered a freak growing up.
Flying to a graveyard, he talks to his late father's grave and says that he can't do it: he now has already "fit in" and that he'll be on the run if he exposes himself. Instead, he decides to get a perfect job or career instead, and hopes that his dad will accept this.
Leaving the Daily Planet building, Clark flies into space to think about everything that's happened. Later, Clark returns to Metropolis and discovers his apartment in on fire. Racing up ahead of the firemen, Clark saves his costume and his ship fragment. When Clark feels the fragment is white-hot, he begins to think that for some reason, the fragment started the fire.
The fragment emits some kind of energy and Clark examinates it with his microscopic vision, discovering Kryptonian symbols in the fragment's atoms. Then, the fragment releases an energy bursts at Clark's head, leaving him unconscious. In his mind, Clark sees images of Krypton, and of his parents putting him into the spacecraft and sending him off just as Krypton explodes.
Just as this is happening, an invading alien force suddenly arrives and attacks Earth's major cities. The military quickly jumps in to fight back, but the alien attack ships defeat Earth's fighter jets. Jim and Lois decide to be where the story is, and are almost killed because of Jim wanting the best photos from the invasion possible.
Clark, moving at invisible super speed, takes out several of the attack ships. Then, Clark realizes he cannot stay hidden and must enter the battle. Remembering that his mother made a special costume for him should he reveal himself to the world, Clark puts the costume and accepts the name his father made for him: Superman.
As Superman and Tyrell fight, Tyrell tells him that he is a Dheronian, a member of an alien race at war with the Kryptonians. Both species were enemies and fought each other for many years, preventing either race from fully developing the capability of space travel. Eventually, a mysterious person came to Dheron and offered the Dheronians a chance to defeat Krypton. Implanting special drills in Krypton's core, the Dheronians were responsible for Krypton's destruction, not an accident. He came to kill Superman, the last Kryptonian, and he is prepared to destroy Earth to do so.
Tyrell traps Superman in high-gravity red-sunlight beam. Jimmy tries to help him, but the gravity is too much for him to endure. Then, Lois and Jimmy drive a heavy duty cement truck into and out of the gravity beam, dragging Superman to safety. Superman immediately recovers and engages Tyrell again.
Then, Superman's ship, having escaped from military custody, finds Superman, who pilots it into Tyrell's command ship. Entering Tyrell's ship, Clark heavily damages the ship's fusion reactor. The ship's red sunlight strips Superman and Tyrell of their powers, and Superman defeats Tyrell in combat. Then, Superman escapes from the ship before it explodes, leaving Tyrell to die.
Afterwards, Superman destroys all the drills Tyrell had placed around Earth to destroy the planet's core, effectively ending the Dheronian threat.
After the battle has ended, Clark buys some clothes and glasses to make a disguise he can use to conceal his identity.
Clark returns to the Daily Planet, and presents Perry an interview he wrote about the new hero, saying that the hero is named "Superman." Amazed by Clark's story, Perry gives him a job as a reporter.
Superman goes to the Arctic and makes a cave where he can be alone with his starship, believing it to be sentient. He asks the ship to his purpose on Earth, and the ship replies that Superman must use his powers with wisdom and avenge the death of his homeworld.
Accepting his new place as protector of Earth, Superman returns to Metropolis and Jimmy takes a picture of him.
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