This got 5 stars from me because I generally just don't care about Superman. Thus, like with the novel be Tom DeHaan, "It's Superman!" when a Superman story can interest me to a major degree, it's impressive. Of course, it's hard to tell that from what I've reviewed, but to be fair, All-Star Superman is also widely regarded as a masterpiece of Superman stories.

Birthright does a new origin story and yet isn't boring. The updated Daily Planet, the Smallville-esque way of incorporating Lex into Clark's hometown (which has happened before, but not to as strong effect), and especially the way his "disguise" works are all finely honed here. Prior to this, I don't think anyone's been so forthright about WHY Clark's disguise works. It's not just glasses (though as a pop culture joke, it won't go away), it's tinted lenses, the way he carries himself, a higher voice, trying to purposefully blend in, never wearing t-shirts, etc. It's a really thoughtful look at what was (probably back when he was created) not a well-thought out disguise.

The one thing I wavered on was the use of the S symbol. I'd heard about this before, how someone decided to make the S stand for something other than Superman and this is that story. Luckily, there are some interviews at the back of the book that help explain. The goal was to have Superman carry on a symbol for Krypton as he's the lone survivor. It's marking him as a Kryptonian even as he attempts to save humans. It's a legacy. I'm still not sure that really works, but I can buy it with the detailed explanation.

All in all, apart from All-Star Superman, it's hard to argue that there's a better Superman story, or at least not a better origin one out right now.

had i not read the greatest superman stories before this, i might’ve given it a bit more. an origin story will always be faced with its struggle to be unique. BUT i love the part where ma and pa kent help come up with clark's disguise so adorable

Superman's origin. Again... At least it looks pretty too, though the artwork started to tire me out half-way through. The insight into Lex and Clark's pasts are the best. Current day events seem to be there just to provide a frame for the flashbacks. Clark is the goody-two-shoes who wants to help people, but needs to hide among the regular people to do so. His behavior is perhaps too successful in hiding him in plain sight, since nobody notices or befriends him, making him feel utterly alone. Lex's past is explored in detail and reveals a troubled youth who ultimately hated his time spent in Smallville. He is a petty, vengeful little boy who has set his eyes on Superman. Even though the two share an outcast status, Lex uses vinegar while Superman uses honey when dealing with people. It's pretty obvious who wins.

In his youth Clark meets Kobe Asuru, a political activist, that leaves a lasting impression on him. He decides to help others, but can't do so using his real identity. His mother and father create a costume for him using the symbol he noticed in recordings from a tablet that was in his shuttle. He moves to Metropolis and gets hired at the Daily Planet. His first article puts him against Lex Luthor, an encounter that will lead to a major conflict between the two.

Lex dedicates his time into investigating Superman and discovers he is an alien. He starts his campaign to ruin Superman's image. He also confirms his suspicion that Superman is vulnerable to Kryptonite. On their following visit he shows Superman pictures of his home planet and is overjoyed when he realises that Superman knows nothing about it. Lex wants the whole world to view Superman as a menace and himself as its savior.

Lex stanges an invasion of Metropolis by sending a huge spider-like machine and people wearing Kryptonian symbols while he floods the media with conflicting information. Superman fights back, but is weakened by Lex's Kryptonite pulse. After losing his powers and smashing into the ground, he is shot and pursued by the police. Still he does all he can to help people and gains allies who see through Lex's ruse. Lois disables Lex's Kriptonite device, enabling Superman to stop his mock invasion and beat Lex up. Lois reveals the events and Lex gets indicted.

The last couple of pages were beautiful. Lex invented a way to not only see images from Krypton, but also send translated messages into the past. After beating Lex up, Superman discovers his real name, Kal-El, as it was spoken by his biological parents. He tries to tell them that he survived, but the connection is severed. It turns out they got the message right before Krypton blew up.

There is a little over a decade of comic book writing I need to catch up on. I loved comics and collected religiously from my early teens to my mid-twenties, then I drifted away from comics for a long time. Only now, now that my kids are discovering comics, have I found my way back to this world I love so deeply, and now that I am back in comic book land, I get to come to fantastic works I missed out on the first time around. Enter Superman: Birthright.

With the possible exceptions of Batman, Spider-Man and the Hulk, Superman has the most well known origin story. Even those who've never read a comic or seen a superhero movie are likely to know the origin of Superman. They know he is the last son of Krypton (even if they've never heard of Jor-el). They know he was adopted by a childless farming couple in the American prairies (even if they don't know it's in Smallville, Iowa). They know that he goes to the big city and hides his alien identity behind a pair of glasses and a bumbling demeanour (even if they don't know he is a jornalist named Clark Kent and that the city is Metropolis). They know he is the most powerful being on Earth.

We all know these things because it has been told and retold countless times, in comics, in cartoons, in multiple movies, in multiple television shows, in dime-store novels; we know these things because they have become the target of satire or criticism or celebration in sit-coms, comedies, plays, academic theses and even literary works.

So with that level of cultural saturation -- a saturation that goes well beyond the comic nerd sphere of influence -- how in the Multiverse can anything new be brought to the generative myth of Superman? Much to my surprise, very easily and with excellence.

The key is in the recognition, which has since become an integral part of Superman's existence, that no one on Earth would be too pleased with a sublimely powerful, indestructible alien wandering around doing good deeds. Superman / Clark Kent / Kal-el is simply not welcome around these parts. No matter how much good he does, he can be either a potential enemy to us all or an unwelcome deus ex machina who can only make our decisions -- even our destructive decisions -- meaningless because he has the potential to correct them and save us, against our will, from ourselves.

It seems like a small thing, perhaps, but it is far removed from the dazzling Superman, the perfectly good and beloved Superman, the completely accepted Superman, who existed from his creation to the Christopher Reeve films and beyond. He was the Superman that only the "bad guys" would fear because if you were a good guy you'd have nothing to fear from the Last Son of Krypton. But that's not the world we live in now. We live in a world of chronic xenophobia, paranoia and insecurity, and there is nothing secure about a super-alien who can do damn near anything.

In Birthright, Mark Waid recognizes the truth about Superman's near omnipotence, and he expresses it through the two most important human men in Superman's life: Pa Kent and Lex Luthor. The former tries to warn Superman of humanity's fears and convince his son to stay hidden and avoid conflict. The latter embodies humanity's paranoia, only ramped up to the levels that only a mad ultra-genius could attain, putting Luthor in a position to make a power grab using the best possible tool -- Superman himself.

Details of Luthor's power grab aside, Pa winds up being correct, and the world is not happy about the rise of Superman, even less so when Lex Luthor's plans come to fruition, and nothing Superman does to thwart Luthor's plans for domination can overcome the damage done to his own trustworthiness at the hands of his greatest enemy (a man/boy with whom Clark Kent was once a friend).

It's powerful, it's refreshing, and it leads seamlessly into this summer's newest expression of the Superman origin in the Man of Steel. We've heard Kevin Costner's Pa telling Clark that maybe he should have let others die to remain hidden. Some have been appalled by that idea, but the idea was Waid's and for a legion of comic book fans who prefer to have their superheroes in a world like our own, it is an embracing of verisimilitude that will make Superman relevant once again. And no matter how good the movie is, Birthright already exists and has done the job for nerds everywhere.

Yep ... we'll always have Birthright, but wouldn't it be wonderful if Man of Steel was excellent too?.

There were some creative changes I dug - like Clark Kent being an established reporter long before Superman came into Metropolis and the journalist donned his hat at the daily planet. This makes more sense of him passing his dual personas off without people catching on. His parents help him make the costume, even with a joke about the glasses not fooling anyone.

I like the connection with both parents living and the e-mails back and forth through the crisis's in The Daily Planet. After the intro of the book where Clark as a journalist finds other heroes in human form in Africa, he comes home for awhile to face some issues with his parents. It gave credibility to the story and their relationship.

I liked the prominent Daily Planet setting, Lois's character, Jimmy, Perry White. I enjoyed Lex was focused on quite a bit but I found a lot of that part rushed. I do like how they made Superman into a 'powerful Superman version' - some wimp him down a bit.

I disliked him not knowing his origins, no fortress, and the rushed feel with the main story-line. It makes sense the city wouldn't trust him fully at first, but the story started losing me a bit after awhile. I also didn't like the whole hack into Krypton thing, just felt weird for me. Lex felt a little hokey.

The art was great, I liked so much focus on heat vision. They captured most of what makes Superman Superman and Clark Clark. Anyone catch the little Batman figurine in one panel when he's in his room? Awesome. There's a little humor too - love the wink he gives Lois as a nod from the movies when they meet, and the Africa selfies e-mailed home to mom.

It's always interesting to see different interpretations of Superman's beginnings - this one took some risks, working with some of them but not pleasing me with others.

Stayed interesting even though Superman’s origin is a very well known story already.

4.2 Biblio

Lex Luthor is just a theatre kid with a bunch of money, not unlike Kendall Roy

I love Superman and I loved this.

A fine Superman origin story update, with some really nice mythos touches (e.g., Lex Luthor makes giant robots to attack Metropolis because giant, apparently alien Metropolis-attacking robots are the most effective way to accomplish his goal of discrediting Superman). The story has a clever, heart-wrenching bookend, and this Lois is *great.* Sadly, most characters who aren't Clark remain static, if very well-drawn.

Waid nails the core power fantasy of Superman in a way I don't think I've ever seen before: it's not about being able to punch through walls, or fly at Mach 4. It's about being able to save people when all hope seems lost.

My first Superman comic! Jenny rec'd this to me and I really, really enjoyed it. Lex Luthor's backstory flashbacks could have been a little shorter for my money, but otherwise I loved the introduction and interplay between characters, the establishment of who he is and what he can do, and - as a fan of the Lois and Clark dynamic - some really cute moments as well. (Clark looks at Lois and says "wow," like, four or five times in this book. Ugh. Love them.) Anyway: great take on the origin story and the art is awesome as well.

The last son of Krypton. Let him never forget.
Superman: Birthright ~~~  Mark Waid



I grew up reading Superman. I loved his stories of truth and honesty and goodness. In “Superman Birthright” we have a story worthy of Superman's greatness. There are some truly great Superman choices out there these days, but for me, 'Birthright is one of the best. It's a must read story if you love Superman. It's a must read story if you want to learn about Superman. And, last but certainly not least, it's a must read story if you just want to read a terrific tale. It's gripping, beautiful and a brilliant revamp of the legendary character's origin story.

Back in 2003, this twelve-issue series served as the new retelling of Kal-El's origin. I know, I know -- we've seen Clark's early years and his path to becoming Superman countless times before, but ‘Birthright’pulls it off masterfully. It's definitely a refreshing change of pace and an excellent way to set him on the right path. Honestly, the only thing that’s not answered here is why Clark Kent has nary a chest hair while Superman’s chest resembles Sean Connery.



Soon Clark heads to Metropolis and Waid does a first-class job creating an engrossing relationship between Superman and Lex Luthor, greatly expanding upon their history and eventual rivalry. Additionally, his take on having Clark's career path with the Daily Planet plays out in an incredibly amusing and somewhat unexpected manner. It's clear Man of Steel drew some inspiration from this storyline.

Waid manages to juggle all of these different plot points quite well, giving this story great pacing and it all builds up to an exciting finale. Then there's the ending. It’s unlike any told in a Superman origin tale so far. It's a strong emotional punch after a series of totally thrilling events and it's truly the perfect way to top off this triumphant retelling of the Superman story.

The artwork delivers on all of these powerful moments Waid's script offers, too. Whether it's a scene driven by an emotional conversation or Superman fighting for his life, the artists beautifully bring these moments to life and make them feel dynamic. The artists do create some legitimately breathtaking and cinematic moments -- everyone involved in the visuals brought their "A" game to this arc.



'Birthright' illustrates why Superman is such an iconic character and someone we should all strive to be like. It's heroic, truly inspiring and I loved reading each and every page of it. If you love Superman, graphic novels, or a great story, do yourself a favor and read this. And if you've already had the luxury of reading it, go ahead and read it again. There's plenty of debate over what the "best" Superman story is -- but 'Birthright' may well be the best of them.