Mild Mannered Reviews - Classic Post-Crisis Superman Comics
Man of Steel 1 (Miniseries)
Cover date: July 1986
Writer: John Byrne
Penciller: John Byrne
Inker: Dick Giordano
"The Comics Event of the Century"
Reviewed by: Josh Gehling (rgehling@concentric.net)
Prologue: From Out of the Green Dawn...
A floating module shoots through the skies of the advanced planet Krypton. Robots rush to greet the man emerging from the craft, he is a tall man, dressed in long green robes, which cover every part of his body, except the very front of his face, the man is Jor-el. When asked if his journey was successful, Jor-el tells the orange robot that: "It was, and it was not," then asks where his child is. The robots tell him that the baby is in his laboratory. As Jor-el leaves with his head-bowed, the two robots converse about what could be wrong with him and everyone else on the planet but they decide that it is beyond their programming to understand. In his laboratory, he sees the birthing matrix where his son lies (It's sort of like a blue egg). Lara suddenly enters the room and yells Jor-el's name as she sees their child, who has (on his orders) been taken out of the gestation chambers. Jor-el tells Lara that he is the child's father, and by Kryptonian law, this means he can remove him. Lara asks him if the tragedy occurring on their world has robbed him of his sanity and caused him to endanger the life of their un-born son. He explains that he doesn't wish to endanger the child but he wishes for the child to survive, even after Krypton is a shattered ruin. Lara tells Jor-el that the cure for the plague that is sweeping their planet (a cure for Kryptonite?... interesting) will soon be found, but Jor-el tells her that it is not only the plague (Kryptonite) which is killing them. "A chain reaction within the core of Krypton has caused vast pressures to build within the planet's crust. Those unnatural pressures are fusing the native elements into a new metal, a radioactive metal. That same pressure, as it builds and builds within Krypton, will soon be too much for the rocky mantle to contain. Within a day, perhaps an hour Krypton will explode!!!" Lara screams in denial that it cannot be true, for they have been masters of Krypton for thousands of years, they control the weather... not a drop of rain falls without their approval. Jor-el tells her that perhaps it is fitting that in the end, the planet should control them once again and asks her what their controlling has achieved other then a cold and heartless society, devoid of passion and life. Lara asks how he plans to save their child, and he tells her that the child will be rocketed through hyperspace to a nation called America, in a sub-section called Kansas, on a world the natives call... Earth. As he talks, a view-screen displays a picture of a shirt-less native at work on a farm, Lara screams in horror when she sees the man who "bares his naked flesh." She then asks Jor-el what Hell he seeks to send their child to, but he explains that it won't be a Hell for him because the planet orbits a yellow sun which, when exposed to the radiation of the yellow sun, will give him powers and abilities beyond mortal men, making him a supreme being on the planet... a God. As they walk into the next room they see that the birthing matrix has been attached to the hyper light drive, and not a moment too soon it seems because the eruptions have begun! Jor-el runs to the launch activator, initiates the launch of the rocket and bids his son farewell. Standing in a corner of the room, Lara speaks quietly to her "husband": "And so it must end, Jor-el? In fire, and pain, and madness? Without my ever knowing... the touch of my child's hand?" Jor-el approaches Lara and tells her that from the first moment he saw her in a holo-image and was told that his seed would be mingled with hers in the matrix, he felt an unknown emotion stirring in his heart. Jor-el then tells her that "even though we die, I am content so long as we die together... for I have always loved you." As the planet explodes around them they embrace one last time... maybe for the first time. In space, the matrix rockets away from Krypton, and right before the ship exits into hyperspace, a green fragment attaches to the side of it...
Chapter One: The Secret
Clark Kent streaks down the field for his tenth touchdown! The Coach of the Smallville football team tells Jonathan Kent that Clark's gonna make millions as a pro, Jonathan (who seems disappointed) tells him maybe. A few minutes later, the game comes to an end. Lana runs over to Clark and compliments him on the game, he starts to respond but Jonathan tells Clark that they have to talk. Clark tells him that he promised Lana a soda after the game but Jonathan tells him to come with him now.
In the car, Clark asks if Pa (Jonathan) is mad with him. He tells Clark that he's not mad, just a little disappointed. Jonathan pulls into a vacant field and they get out of the car. Clark recognizes the field as the one Pa told him never to play in when he was little. Clark lifts a board to reveal a crater with the birthing matrix inside. Shocked, Clark asks him what it is and Pa tells him that it's where he came from. Reeling from the shock, Clark asks if he's adopted. Jonathon tells him that adopted is not quite the right word and then begins the story:
On a late night eighteen years ago, a storm was coming and the Kents were preparing to close up the house when they saw something shoot from the sky into a field nearby. They drove out to the field and they found the birthing matrix with the baby inside. They brought the baby home and kept the baby. A blizzard raged for five months after that and when the Kents finally got into Smallville, they said the child was their own. A few years later, as Jonathan Kent was coming home from work, he saw Clark cutting across Mark McCullogh's pasture which just happened to contain a prize-winning bull. Jonathan tried to reach Clark but he was too late and the bull ran over Clark, but when Jonathan finally reached Clark, he just found a scared little boy with torn clothes. Jonathan then talks about how his special powers (strength, x-ray vision) started to develop and the time late last summer when Clark learned that he could fly. When the story finishes, Clark gets closer to the birthing matrix and starts to get weak (because of the Kryptonite that attached to the ship when it was shooting away from Krypton). Pa helps Clark to the car and as they leave, a hooded man appears in the shadows.
When they get home, Ma asks if Pa told him and he tells her he did. Clark tells her that he doesn't hate her and he understands why Pa was disappointed (he used his powers to help himself and not others). Clark tells them that he must leave Smallville without anyone else knowing, he must leave in secret, to help others. Before he goes he tells them that there's someone he must see...
Chapter Two: The Exposure
It's a bright Saturday morning in Metropolis as Jonathan Kent enters the kitchen and sees Martha working on her scrapbook (a book containing un-explained miracles that Clark has done). Jonathan points out an article on the front page of the Smallville Post entitled: "Mysterious Superman Saves Space Plane" with pictures of the flying man (all the other events Clark has done have just been considered miracles). Suddenly, a creaking sound comes from above in Clark's room and when Jonathan runs up to confront the man breaking in, he finds... Clark. He lies in the shadows in a rocking chair and begins: "They wanted a piece of me, Pa. They all wanted a piece of me." He tells Pa how he had been watching an air show from the ground when the "experimental space plane" was accidentally hit by a civilian plane that slipped though the security cordon. The Plane faltered and then fell to the ground. Clark knew what he had to do and leaping from the crowd, he saved the space plane (which not only contained the crew but a certain reporter named Lois Lane). As he prepared to leave, Lois stopped him and looked him straight in the eye, for a brief moment, they were alone, until the crowd caught up and swarmed around them. Clark tells them that he still wants to help people but now they'll be looking for him, expecting him, and he doesn't know how to handle that, Pa tells him he does...
Epilogue: The Super-Hero
Pa and Clark walk into the living room to see Ma sewing the cape and out-fit. They show Ma the symbol they've designed (the familiar S) and she tells them it looks perfect. Clark also shows her the mild-mannered reporter image (slicked back hair, glasses and a slouch) which she is also happy about. When Ma finishes sewing, Clark tries on the outfit (which fits perfectly). Ma's not too sure if the cape won't tear but Clark tells her it's fine. Clark kisses his mother and as he departs he starts: "So, from now on, whenever there are people who need my very special kind of help, it won't be a job for plain, ordinary Clark Kent... It'll be a job for Superman!" Ma and Pa wave from the porch as he shoots away to Metropolis...
 Story - 5: Following "Crisis of Infinite Earths" in 1985, this is the first post-crisis Superman story ever to be told. In 1986, Byrne was given the privilege of redefining Superman (which created many complaints among most Superman fans). Well, Byrne really didn't change Superman as much as everyone thought he would, and when this miniseries was printed, everyone became a lot happier. I think the only major thing that Byrne couldn't put in this comic that he wanted to was a part where Lara actually journeys to Earth with Kal-el but when she exits the ship, she dies from the Kryptonite radiation (Clark was still in the birthing matrix at this time). And when the Kent's take Clark from the birthing matrix he has a fever (which is cured on the way home). I would've liked this but, oh well.
Simply put, "The Man of Steel" miniseries is one of the best Superman stories ever told. And John Byrne's run on Superman from #1-23 are some of the most exciting and fun stories I've ever read. The Krypton Prologue has some brilliant writing and is very reminiscent of Mario Puzo's "Superman: The Movie" script from 1976 (I wonder if that's where Byrne got a few of his ideas?). Published bi-weekly at 75 cents, this was a pretty tough find back in 1986. The foreshadowing is amazing in this book (the kryptonite attaching to the ship, the man in the shadows and the part where Clark stops by someone's house before he leaves Smallville (but who's?)) and I can't find one bad thing about this great story (and I thought the old origin was cool...).
Art - 5: John Byrne is one of my all-time favorite artists (a tie with Dan Jurgens), his Superman looks so... well... Superman! When I think of Superman I think of either John Byrne's Superman or Christopher Reeve.
Cover Art - 5: Everything about this cover looks great (that's how Superman is supposed to look... please get Byrne back on the regular Superman team!). There is also a special edition of this comic (which also cost 75 cents) which had a different cover (just the hands ripping the shirt open with a different "Man of Steel" logo at the top) that was much less striking. After some really boring Superman pre-crisis stories (besides "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow") this was a great re-entry to the Superman comics and a nice introduction to post-crisis Superman. Masterful storytelling Mr. Byrne!
Classic Post-Crisis Superman Comic Book Reviews
1986
1987
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
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