Lovely story.
A retelling of Supermans origin done really well.

Lex Luthor is as powerful and as genius as ever.
The last bits with Superman and his real parents are so sweet.
The artwork is kinda weird.

Leído en la edición de 12 números que sacó Sticker Design en Argentina. Una historia muy pero muy tonta, infantiloide y "smallvillesca" hasta el ridículo, que zafa de quedar zapatera sólo por el espectacular dibujo de Yu. Creo que el colmo de la ridiculez llega con la araña gigante que aparece cerca del número 9, que parece aquella de la que se burlaba Kevin Smith cuando le pidieron el guión para "Superman Lives". Si algún día me animo a releerla, quizás se gane una reseña un poco más prolija y mejor argumentada, en contraste con la obra en sí.

This was a retelling of the origins of Superman and its pretty well done!

It starts with Superman in his 20s visiting some African village and seeing the revolution there and trying to report on it and the tribal battles and politics of it all and like how it inspires him to do more with his power, returning to Smallville and then becoming Superman and then reconciling his differences with his dad and mom and I really liked that aspect of it!

Plus the arrival in Metropolis and how he meets others including Lois, Jimmy and Perry and then we see the past friendship he had with Lex and that was a weird and strange retcon but really well done and builts up Lex so much! I love how Waid takes time to explore the genius and how that leads to frustration and all and how Lex becomes the man he is today and the plan he pulls off to make people distrust Superman is something!

Its an epic battle between two arch foes and its excellent the way its done and shows both as they are, opposites of each other and ends on a perfect note with Lois and Clark and the arrival of Superman!

Its a good volume with great twists and turns and does such a good job on increasing motivations and what not and expands on relationships and characters and is like one of the best Superman origin stories!

Really liked this one.

This is another reread and once again Mark Waid proves that he can write a good story. All of the main points of Superman's origin are there: leaving Krypton, living in Smallville, becoming a reporter in Metropolis, but Waid focuses more on who Clark is and why he decides to finally put on the cape and boots. He tweaks the smaller stuff, such as having Lex living in Smallville for a short time, to help drive some of the drama in the second half.

Halfway through reading this I realized that I was so invested in the characters, that I didn't mind that there really weren't any "action" scenes yet. That's a true testament to a good writer, IMO.

I've been a longtime fan of Yu's art and if I recall correctly, this was relatively soon in his career. He was quickly becoming a big star. At this point he still has some of his quirky facial expressions/contortions which are nearly gone nowadays and some may argue that his slightly sketchy style may not fit with the normally "clean" looking Superman but it sort of fits in that this is Superman's coming of age story where he hasn't become that boy scout idol yet.

All in all, an excellent read, and something worthy of being collected in an Absolute edition.

I need to read more superman comics I am super interested in his history and evolution.
I really enjoyed Superman Birthright and adored Lois Lane, what a woman <3

3.5/5

I’ve often heard this described as one of the greatest Superman stories in his history, and the ideal origin story.

I just want to know why everyone was selling it so short! Fantastic plotting, great characterization, and a perfect balance of revision and respect. This is also Yu’s best work, with a cartoony expressiveness that I don’t associate with him at all.

A superman origin story, and a very good one, fleshing out what you already knew, maybe, with some interesting twists, such as that Lex Luthor at one point knows more about Superman than Clark himself does, using this info against him in an epic Metropolis take-over attempt. It actually early on has a scene in Africa, with some social justice background for Superman's future work as journalist and superhero. We get to see background on how Luthor got to be the way he is, too; they were once sorta friends, then the arrogant super tech/science Lex turns. . . even more arrogant and power-hungry and vindictive against Supes.

It's sort of--just a little--like the Batman-Joker story in that both are remarkable, talented, isolated, and they are the way they are because of their upbringing. One turns dark, another light. We get to establish a solid Lois relationship which is always pleasant. Many of the other characters are sort of annoying: Perry, Mom and Dad Kent, the whole office, basically.

But I think it's really good, a really well written story from Waid and I thought the art was great. Some of the full pages are especially and dramatically impressive. If you want to read one Superman comic, this has got to be one of the best.

Limited series, but it would have worked well as a reboot, and it makes Superman more interesting than anything else I have read.

This would perfectly translate to film. Mark Waid is one of the best writers of superheroes today. He is more concerned with the alter ego rather than the Super hero. I believe it is as means to show how we all sort of think the same things and have the same problems. Clark Kent is a human being first and foremost trying to find purpose. I don't want to spoil too much but man did I love how this comic felt. IT was Superman's own Batman Begins. Also, this may have even rivaled All Star Superman's Lex Luthor portrayal. And the way they did Lois Lane. If more people wrote superheroes this way we would have such great stories concerning our modern pop culture gods. It would makes critics understand why we hold fiction in such high regard.

Check out my full video review! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uOSf...

Another Superman Origin story, after Secret Identity, which I tremendously enjoyed. Mark Waid's Birthright is a very solid reboot for the 21st Century/Post 9-11/Terrorism Age. This Superman isn't accepted right off the bat, people aren't sure what to make, and it's there that Lex Luthor takes full advantage to try and destroy Superman before he really gets started.
This is great because it has Superman/Clark admit fully that while he can read fast, Lex is a genius of unparalleled levels. This is a Superman where Ma and Pa Kent are just different enough to have come from this century, not the 1930s. Ma Kent likes to study UFOs and the cosmos (in order to try and better understand her adoptive son) and Pa Kent isn't nearly the wise stoic man he is in most treatments, which is a nice change.
This includes Lex's connection to Smallville, and to Clark, but the beauty here is to show how and why they connected as well as they did in high school.
This also plays up Clark's interest in truth, justice, and bettering of the WORLD...not the AMERICAN WAY...It shows his travels across the world, learning, searching, discovering what he can about the world in order to try and better understand himself (much like most young people do). What's great is that he comes very close to humanity while being an alien.
There's also more hints of angry Superman, with panels of red glowing eyes and a black shadow, which I love to see. I hate when Superman isn't used to his full potential, and when they try to pretend that he's above emotional outbursts (which never makes sense, given that he was raised human, he's going to have human emotions, he's not a robot).
There's also a great part when he confronts a gun store owner who's sold guns to 2 teens who went to shoot up their school:
'I saw a 9 year old girl today wailing because she had a gun fired at her, and it will haunt her forever'
Then we see the gun fire towards the man, and his facial reaction of sheer terror, before Superman catches the bullet and says: 'Now you'll get to live with that same feeling.'
I LOVE IT. The Superman of too many people would just tie him up and leave him for the cops, but this one goes more dark on him, and I love Mark Waid for doing that.
I also love the shout outs to the past of Superman (one page is a modern version of the Iconic Action Comics #1 Cover; another is Clark changing behind a billboard for a cell phone carrier).
There's shades of potential for great good and great evil here we see if he's pushed (which Waid would later explore in his superb series' 'Incorruptible' and 'Irredeemable').
There's much to like here, for Superman fans and fans of good stories as well. I wasn't entirely keen on all of the artwork, but it did serve the story well enough.

This is a great Superman story, partly because it's about characters and explores the characters most of all, and stays away from the stupid stuff. Even Kryptonite is handled in a better, more believable, yet still very dangerous way.

Essential. I'm even more impressed because for the first 20+ pages I was really ho-hum on it before it took off. I'm now going to jump into Waid's Daredevil work....fingers crossed!