Superman is one of the greatest superheroes in the history of the comic medium. Superhero comics as they’re known today wouldn’t exist without Superman — the biggest selling comic character for years. Since 1938, Superman stories have entertained and inspired millions, creating moments that are etched into the memories of comic fans worldwide.
Superman is as timeless as the mythological heroes of old. The best Superman stories are as entertaining as they are uplifting, turning him into an icon like few other comic characters. With so many different interpretations, all kinds of amazing stories have been told — revealing Superman’s greatest qualities along the way.
10 Kingdom Come Focuses On Superman To Tell A Story About The Power Of Heroes
Kingdom Come, by writer Mark Waid and artist Alex Ross, is officially a story about DC’s greatest heroes but it’s a Superman tale at its heart. The Man of Steel is the story’s the most important character. His retirement spurs the other heroes of his generation to abandon the world to the next generation and his return sees them come back to help him clean up the world. Kingdom Come is a legitimate masterpiece of the comic world. Its tale of timeless heroism follows multiple heroes and highlights the impact Superman has on the world at large.
9 Superman And The Legion Of Superheroes Is Their Best Modern Team-up
Geoff Johns’s run on Action Comics has several gems and one of its high-water marks is Superman And The Legion Of Superheroes, with art by Gary Frank. Superman is pulled into the 31st century to help an older team of Legion of Superheroes deal with the racist Earth Man and his Justice League of Earth. With a red sun shining down on Superman and the Legion at their lowest ebb, the heroes have their work cut out for them. Post-Infinite Crisis, Superman’s origin with the Legion was reinstated making this their first team-up since. Johns and Frank are a skilled team and craft a story which has all the hallmarks of a great Superman tale.
8 Superman: Red Son Presented A Very Different Kal-El
Superman: Red Son, by writer Mark Millar and artists Dave Johnson and Kilian Plunkett, is an Elseworlds classic and the best one starring Superman. Instead of landing in Kansas, young Kal-El lands in Russia. His life turns out very differently, becoming a symbol of Stalin’s Soviet Russia and battling against the evils of capitalism.
Superman: Red Son is one of Millar’s finest works. It hits all of the right Superman notes, despite telling the tale of a communist Superman raised by Stalin trying to make the world a better place in his way. Johnson and Plunkett do a great job on the art, bringing the story to life.
7 The Death Of Superman/Reign Of The Supermen/The Return Of Superman Saga Is One Of The Highlights Of ’90s
The Death Of Superman was a landmark of ’90s DC and kicked off a Superman saga unlike any other in the Man of Steel’s history. For Superman, death was only the beginning. Soon four different people wearing the big red S showed up in Metropolis, all claiming to be the real deal. Eventually, one of them shows their true colors proving the one true Superman had returned.
This multi-year saga carried through all four Superman titles running at the time . In a decade when other multi-year epics were on the rise, The Death of Superman showed the rest how it should be done, presenting an epic story about the death and life of the Man of Tomorrow.
6 Superman: Last Son Of Krypton Is The Best Superman Vs. Zod Story
Superman: Last Son Of Krypton, created by Geoff Johns, legendary Superman director Richard Donner, and artist Adam Kubert, is essentially Superman II. A young Kryptonian shows up in Metropolis, is taken in by Superman and Lois, and an epic series of events is set into motion. Before long Bizarro and Lex Luthor become involved — later joined by Zod, Ursa, Non, and other Phantom Zone criminals.
Zod is one of Superman’s greatest enemies and this is the modern story best captures his essence. Johns and Donner made a great team and Kubert’s art on this project is some of the best of his long career. Superman: Last Son Of Krypton was Johns’s first story on Action Comics and remains his best.
5 Superman: Up In The Sky Presents The Man Of Steel At His Best
Tom King is one of DC’s top writers whose psychological method of storytelling wouldn’t seem like a good fit for the Man of Steel. That’s one of the reasons Superman: Up In The Sky, with art by Andy Kubert, is such a triumph. Superman takes a trip across the universe to save a kidnapped girl in a story that illustrates just what kind of hero he is.
King doesn’t do his usual psychological deconstruction in Up In The Sky, writing a straight Superman story. King understands Superman and presents him as the remarkable man the world has come to love. Kubert’s art is top notch as always, drawing Superman like he was born to do it.
4 Superman Annual #11 Is A Single Issue Masterpiece
Superman Annual #11, by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, is a stone-cold classic. Titled “For The Man Who Has Everything…”, it showcases Batman, Robin, and Wonder Woman bringing Superman his birthday gifts, finding him in the grips of a parasitic flower with Mongul waiting in the wings. Meanwhile, the Last Son of Krypton is fighting his own battle against the life of his dreams. Moore and Gibbons are one of comics’ greatest teams and this story reveals why. Superman Annual #1 is a comic every Superman fan needs to read, revealing just how much Superman will sacrifice to save the day — including the life he’d always wanted.
3 Grant Morrison’s Action Comics Run Is A Mind-Bending Superman Epic
Even though they worked on only one ongoing Superman series, Grant Morrison’s worked proved themselves one of DC’s most prolific writers. Morrison got to helm Action Comics for its New 52 reboot, along with artists Rags Morales, Andy Kubert, Ben Oliver, and Travel Foreman.
Writing issues #1-18 and a special zero issue, Morrison’s run is one long story, with each part immediately connected to the issue before. Finally coming together at the end, Morrison’s mind-bending thriller and the talent of the artists present one of the strangest Superman epics ever.
2 Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow? Was The Last Story Of The Pre-Crisis Superman
With Crisis On Infinite Earths underway, DC wanted to say goodbye to the version of Superman that fans had grown up with since the Silver Age. Writer Alan Moore demanded to be the person to write that story producing Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow?, with artists Curt Swan and George Perez.
In an indeterminate future, Lois Lane shares the story of the last days of Superman to a Daily Planet reporter. Detailing how his enemies stepped up their attacks, Lois reports how a new Brainiac/Luthor team-up besieged Superman and his friends in the Fortress of Solitude. Moore is an amazing writer and this is one of his best DC stories. Swan, the man whose art defined the pre-Crisis Superman, is simply perfect.
1 All-Star Superman Is The Integral Superman Story
Writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely’s All-Star Superman is an undisputed classic. The story starts off with a bang, as Superman stops Lex Luthor from destroying a mission to the sun. However, that was all part of Luthor’s plan, causing Superman to receive a lethal dose of solar radiation. Facing his mortality for the first time, Superman sets out to make the world a better place before he dies. All-Star Superman is a perfect Superman story. Morrison and Quitely are an amazing team and the story they tell is the definitive Superman tale, along with possibly the greatest comic ever.
About The Author
