Superman, one of the World of Comic Books most iconic superheroes will be reincarnated once again on the silver screen under the direction of Jack Synder. Will this new incarnation of the ‘Man of Steel’ live up to and possibly exceed our expectations — or will this re-boot be an utter dissapointment? Will an all-star cast including Henry Cavill (Cark Kent/Superman), Russell Crowe (Jor-El) and Amy Adams (Lois Lane) capture the essence of the Man of Steel? The screenplay has been written by David Goyer and Christopher Nolan, known for their Dark Knight movies and is based on the characters created by Jerry Siegel (1914-1996) and Joe Shuster (1914-1992).

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To fully appreciate Superman, we need to look back at his genesis. Who is this half Canadian ‘Man of Steel’? Superman was created by writer Jerry Siegel (Cleveland, Ohio) and his friend and artist Joe Shuster, a native of Toronto, Canada who moved to Cleveland at the age of 10. Superman first appears in 1933 under The Reign of the Superman, where he is showcased as a villain. Siegel and Shuster then decided to drop him as a villain and made him into a superhero for his first real appearance in Action Comics #1 (1938 June cover date). That Action Comics #1 (1938) Superman is considered the most valuable comic book of all time. It is the only comic that has commanded a price of over two million dollars for a single original copy.

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This original treasure introduces Clark Kent/Superman and fellow reporter Lois Lane. The first monthly edition sold 200,000 copies (at 10 cents a piece) and by issue #7, half a million copies had sold. From there on, Superman never looked back and established the golden age of comics; immortalized in many comic books by writers and artists like Curt Swan, Murphy Anderson, Stephen Skelton, Max Waid, Michael Straczynski, John Byrne, Alan Moore, Frank Miller and many others. With so many storytellers and illustrators, it is hard to pick a favorite. Here are our all time 4 top choices for incarnations of Superman.

All-Star Superman (2005-2008)

Superman: Red Son (2003)

Superman Earth One (2010)

Batman The Dark Knight Returns (1986)

ALL-STAR SUPERMAN

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By Grant Morrison, Neal Adams (illustrator), Frank Quitely (illustrator)

All-Star Superman is a twelve DC issue series published between November 2005 and October 2008. A collectors’ edition was also printed Volume #1 (1-6) issued in 2007 & Volume #2 (7-2) issued in 2009. The “Absolute All-Star Superman” was released in 2010, regrouping all 12 issues together.

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Grant Morrison shows us a superhero with heart. His work on All-Star Superman stands as the ideal story of the Man of Steel. He takes on the Superman character not by reinventing or modernizing, but by treating the character with the utmost of respect and love. All-Star is another “final” story, one that presents Superman faced with the specter of his own mortality. In facing this challenge, Morrison has Superman perform his greatest achievements. All-Star stands outside of the normal publishing line by presenting a Superman who is supremely powerful, but humble and selfless. Morrison effectively grounds the character not with guilt or tragedy or personal baggage, but in personal relationships.

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Frank Quitely’s breathtaking and sensitive artwork masterfully brings Superman to life. His presence is almost palpable, giving Superman a human side in a way no other Superman illustrator has achieved to date.

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All-Star Superman tells such an affecting story it acts as a moving love letter, not just to Superman and his universe, but also to all comic fans.

SUPERMAN: RED SON (2003)

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By Mark Millar, Dave Johnson (illustrator), Killian Plunkett (illustrator)

What if Superman had landed in Russia instead of Smallville, Kansas? DC Comics’s “Elseworlds” series imagines an alternate take on the Superman story with “Comrade Superman” becoming ruler of Soviet Russia. He slowly takes over the world while an independent America led by Lex Luthor fights against an increasingly unbalanced and totalitarian-minded Man of Steel.

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Mark Millar has written no less than a masterpiece with Superman: Red Son. We see the character of Superman evolve from an idealistic young man to new ruler, to an increasingly isolated and intolerable megalomaniac who takes his god-like powers and status and tries to shape the world into his ideal of Utopia.

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There are great moments throughout the book that make it a non-stop thriller; the re-imaginings of Wonder Woman, Bizarro, and Green Lantern are excellent but the Russian Batman wins it all. Red Batman is an urban terrorist living in the sewers, going to extremes to destroy the invincible Superman. There is one momentous scene evocative of Frank Miller‘s “The Dark Knight Returns“.

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Red Son is easily one of the best Superman books out there and might be Mark Millar’s best work ever. He’s on top form throughout, his effervescent imagination bursts out on the page, supported by amazing art from Dave Johnson and Kilian Plunkett. This is a must-read for all superhero fans.

SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE (2010)

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By J.Michael Straczynski, Shane Davis (illustrator)

This Superman is an icon. Nobody has managed to creatively capture the myth of Superman like writer J. Michael Straczynski, and artist Shane Davis, who’s art is nothing short of amazing.

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Straczynski has taken a story fans never tire of, The Origin of Superman’, and done some intriguing things with it. Clark‘s path to his choice of career, the origin of the “S” symbol, and the cause of Krypton‘s destruction are all very different than they ever were before. But they are different in ways that actually work, are highly inventive and do not feel forced.

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This isn’t necessarily the Superman that you are used to. This isn’t the Superman who faces apocalyptic dangers with a silent, confident smile. Really, it’s more about the man than the “super”. This is about a Clark Kent who isn’t sure about his place in the world, who is an outsider looking in. Shane Davis‘ artistic take on the character is the perfect complement to the one imagined by the writer Straczynski. Davis’s detailed artwork with astonishing coloring blends makes it one of the better reboots of any super hero tale. His costume design honors the original, but definitely stands apart just enough.

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This is definitely one of the best Superman books.

BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS (1986)

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By Frank Miller, Klaus Janson (illustrator), Lynn Varley (illustrator)

The Dark Knight Returns tells the story of a 55-year-old Bruce Wayne who comes out of retirement to fight crime, only to face opposition from the Gotham city police force and the United States government.

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President Ronald Reagan himself orders Superman to talk to Batman in an effort to shut him down. The face off between Superman and Batman is mesmerizing as well as the forever-taboo question: Who is stronger, Batman or Superman? People always argue about who would win this fight, Superman or Batman, but it all depends on which age Superman or Batman are fighting each other in. I mean by ‘age’ the Comic book period: Golden age from 1930 to mid-1950s, Silver Age 1956-1970 followed by the Bronze Age and Modern Age.

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In some ages Superman is strong enough to destroy an entire galaxy and in others, he is barely strong enough to survive a nuke. It really all depends on the storyteller. The same may be said for Batman, meaning the different ages affect him just as much. At the end of the day these are both fantastic characters with their weaknesses and strengths. In a face to face combat, who would win? See our full review of Batman: the Greatest Comics of All Time

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-Christophe Chanel & Max Romano