One of the most recognisable superheroes of all time, Superman turns 75 this year. He doesn’t look it. Blame the Kryptonian DNA. Check out our series of the top five Superman comics to prep for the upcoming Man of Steel.

Best of Superman: Birthright

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“He doesn’t need our science now. He needs our courage.”

Mark Waid was given one job: make a Superman comic anyone could walk into and get every single major point within the Superman mythos. It’s an origin story, which ordinarily I find boring as hell, but there’s heart here. Let’s be fair, how many variations can you give “doomed planet, desperate scientists, last hope, kindly couple, Superman?” So Waid stuck to the basic formula, with some interesting twists. Clark and Lex went to school together (Lex was held back a few years as punishment for being too smart). They both dreamed of the stars, Clark so he could find out where he came from, Lex so he could find someone to talk to. But despite Clark’s best efforts, Lex in his arrogance rejects his friendship and leaves Smallville, ultimately becoming a major businessman in Metropolis.

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We’re introduced to Clark as he covers an ethnic conflict between two tribes. After a peaceful protest goes disastrously awry, he is forced to publicly use his powers and is ultimately alienated from the people he helped. Despite his attempts to help and be accepted, he is once again rejected, and that’s a key plot point. Anytime he gets close to someone, if he ever tells someone about his abilities, they “get retroactively paranoid, wondering what else Clark Kent is hiding from them.” In fact, the first person who doesn’t panic, who doesn’t reject him, is Lois Lane. She makes him better than he already was. Metropolis turns on him, his childhood friend turns on him, he turns on himself, but she doesn’t.

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The story focuses on Superman’s attempts to earn trust and Clark’s attempts to integrate with his co-workers and humanity in general. There’s very little action, but it doesn’t need it. The sight of Clark Kent sitting alone in a restaurant while his co-workers mock him next door hits us far harder than yet another fist fight with an alien invader. While it was possible to avoid people in Smallville or by globe trotting as a journalist, it’s much harder to remain aloof in a major city. Aliens are forced to integrate with a new society. Metropolis is as alien to him as he is to everyone around him.