Definitely my new favorite Supe's origin (ever-so slightly ahead of Superman: Earth One, Vol. 1).

So here's the rundown. Luthor knows more about Superman's origins than he does.



And he proceeds to go out of his way to use all of this knowledge against Superman. It's actually quite genius. But just when everyone thinks Superman is going to throw in the towel?



Of course he has a little help from his greatest friend/admirer.



My favorite part was probably Perry's list of reasons to keep or fire Lois.



Well done, Mr. Waid. Well done.

After my disappointment with n  Superman: Earth One, Volume Onen, I felt the need to revisit other titles featuring the Man of Steel and what better way than to reread Superman: Birthright by Mark Waid and Leinil Francis Yu. I have previously discussed in a number of reviews about creators’ fascination at reinterpreting Superman’s origin and despite terrific revamps by Mark Millar and Geoff Johns, Mark Waid – who has written many superheroes for DC and Marvel – shows he has the biggest fanboy hard-on towards the OG American superhero.

Showcasing his origin and updating him for the 21st century, Clark Kent decides to do something useful with his powers, having been inspired by the heroism within a West African conflict. Arriving into Metropolis as a mild-mannered reporter for the Daily Planet, Clark begins his career as a superhero as he must learn tough lessons including his friend-turned-enemy Lex Luthor and his alien heritage.

There are many Superman comics that can apply to newcomers, however Birthright feels like a definitive introduction for anyone who would like to start reading the Man of Steel. As a retelling of the origin, it certainly ticks the boxes, such as the destruction of Krypton, Clark’s upbringing in Smallville, his arrival as both journalist and superhero, as well as the introduction of his arch-nemesis Lex Luthor. However in twelve issues, Waid takes the classic tropes of what is essentially an old-fashioned character and rejiggers them in a way that would fit nicely in the context of our current century such as Metropolis being monitored by surveillance drones, evoking our post-9/11 fears of terrorism.

As much as Superman has always fought for truth, justice and the American way, Waid establishes him as a citizen of the world with West Africa being a key part into why Clark would want to save people, as well as realising that he cannot save everyone. Amidst the super-heroics and science-fiction, Waid’s greatest strength as a writer is the organic characterisation throughout, whether it is Jonathan Kent’s fatherly fear of his alien son being exposed or Clark’s rocky childhood friendship with Luthor which perhaps was the cause for the latter’s villainy.

Known for his art style that is described as "Dynamic Pseudo-Realism", Leinil Francis Yu is not an obvious artist to draw Superman and yet he brings a modernity to the character and his supporting cast. With Yu primarily drawing in wide panels, you get the sense of cinematic scope from Superman interacting with the streets of Metropolis to the other-worldly technology of Krypton.

Much to Waid’s displeasure towards Man of Steel, Zack Snyder’s film (and no doubt its upcoming sequel) was influenced by Birthright which in its twelve-issue narrative tells a definitive version of Superman’s origin with such warmth and humanity.

The Superman origin story gets a modern update. A young Clark is inspired to don blue tights and fight crime by a heroic, martyred African community leader. A young Lex Luthor is driven by loneliness to murder civilians for profit and attack Superman at every opportunity.

I tire of Superman choosing to let innocent people be murdered over killing a bad guy. I tire of him engaging in pointless judgy conversations with Luthor while right in front of him Lex enacts the next stage of his nefarious plan. I tire of stories where it's a given that the hero triumphs and the bad guy suffers a temporary setback so that they can clash profitably again (and again, and again) in the future.

In spite of these inevitable failings, Birthright was actually pretty decent. Not great but far better than it should have been. Given the unprecedentedly fact-challenged nature of Donald Trump's presidential campaign, Lex Luthor's coordinated assault of misinformation against Superman and the citizens of Metropolis is timely and relevant. Of course, in the book Truth prevails, but I guess if it weren't optimistic it wouldn't be a Superman story.

Holy shit...

I've never been the biggest Superman fan whilst growing up. Here and there I would enjoy some superman content. Now in my teenage years Superman has been a more prominent part into my entertainment. This is by far my favorite story in the superman saga. Look, I'm aware the origin of Superman is almost as exploited as Batmans. But there's just something so damn charming about this book. And to be honest I believe this should be the Batman Year One to Superman.

This book made Superman very relatable to me. Of course, the factors of living in a southern family brought some relatibily to me. This book serves a powerful prowess of Identity. This entire book is about Clark battling with identity. Growing up he's always known about his irregular circumstances. Now I don't want to get to into spoilers so I'll leave it at that. The dynamic between Lex Luthor and Superman was an amazing chemistry to witness.

9.5/10 it was amazing!