Who's Who in the Superman Comics

The Futuresmiths

Mysterious, apparently omnipotent in nature, the Futuresmiths were enigmatic monitors of Superman, who used a supercriminal named Amok as their first pawn. During a confrontation with the Man of Steel, Amok managed to acquire a sample of Superman's DNA. Perishing during his final battle with Superman, Amok's masters unleashed another pawn: Supergirl! A raven-haired, black-suited version of the classic heroine, this Supergirl claimed to be the daughter of Superman in a future time. In our modern reality, Supergirl would join her father and fight evil in the futuristic city of Metropolis.

Utilizing Supergirl as an agent, the Futuresmiths seemed to be benevolent guardians of the timestream. But...many months later, it was revealed that the Futuresmiths were actually the disintegrated form of one of Superman's deadliest enemies - Brainiac! From the far future, Brainiac tried to manipulate Superman and the denizens of Earth, so that he could conquer the planet and simultaneously destroy his hated enemy. It was a far-ranging plot, but Brainiac - in the form of the Futuresmiths - attempted to wipe out humanity through the timestream, with the city of Metropolis as his hub. Because the futuristic Metropolis existed with Brainiac's technology, he could easily manipulate variables allowing him to destroy Superman.

One of Brainiac's devices was the seemingly innocent brand of Yes! Coffee. Coming on the seen shortly after the futurized Metropolis, Yes! Coffee was a phenomenon, easily rivaling the popularity of Starbucks Coffee. The Yes! Coffee and bottled water were the new wave of must-have consumer items. At first, Superman didn't think of its sinister origins, but did notice how peculiar his wife Lois acted when consuming Yes! coffee. Originally distraught and tearful over the appearance of the new Supergirl (Lois thought Supergirl was the product of a super affair!), Mrs. Kent would instantly be calm and peaceful while consuming Yes! coffee.

Then, a riot broke out in Metropolis. While Superman and Supergirl attempted to quell the panic, the Man of Tomorrow used his x-ray vision to inspect a cup of Yes! coffee. It was at this point that Superman discovered the nanobite particles in the coffee, and realized they were responsible for the erratic behavior in the people around him. Finally facing Brainiac in the timestream, Superman discovered the future effects of Yes!: humans became cybernetic organisms, making them easier for Brainiac to manipulate!

Reintegrating into a version of Brainiac, the Futuresmiths clashed with Superman, until the latter plunged himself into the timestream, and found his way to the future. In this period, Superman teamed up with a futuristic, cybernetic version of himself, as well as cybernetic incarnations of Batman and Wonder Woman. Together, the heroes finally managed to defeat Brainiac, and rescue the present reality from a horrific, possible future. But with the demise of the Futuresmiths, so too ended the futuristic incarnation of Metropolis. The city is morphing once more, into a modern day mega city. For now, it seems that the villainy of Brainiac and his Futuresmiths alter egos are at an end.

First Appearance: Superman: The 10-cent Adventure #1



Who's Who in the Superman Comics

Introduction

This is a listing of many of the notable characters and a few places that have appeared in the Superman comics from the 1986 revamp up until around 2008.

NOTE: A new, and more current version of the Who's Who is currently being worked on and can be accessed by clicking here.

Although Superman often appears in other DC Comics, this text's information is limited mainly to what has occurred in the regular Superman comics.

Many thanks to Scotty V, Derrick Lyle Coleman, Dean Vanek, Genevieve Clemens and Benjamin Grose who all helped out at one time or another with writing and updating these Who's Who descriptions.

The listings are displayed as follows:

  • Surname, Firstname - Text describing the character, place, object, etc...

Relevant issues of the Superman comics are listed as such:
  • SUP = Superman
  • MOS = Man of Steel
  • AOS = Adventures of Superman
  • ACT = Action Comics
  • MOT = Man of Tomorrow

The Issue Number for each of these titles is written in this manner: “#000”. (e.g. SUP #123)

“First Appearance” refers to the issue since 1986 unless otherwise noted.



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