Superman and the Men of Steel

{{DC Database:Storyline Template
 * Title                  = Superman and the Men of Steel
 * Image                  = Superman Prime Earth 0002.jpg
 * OfficialName           = Superman and the Men of Steel
 * Aliases                =


 * Universe               = Prime Earth
 * Locations              = Metropolis, Krypton, The Phantom Zone, Smallville, Fortress of Solitude


 * Heroes                 = Superman
 * Villains               = Anti-Superman Army, Brainiac, Erik Drekken, Glen Glenmorgan, Kryptonite Men, Lex Luthor, Metallo, Nimrod, Sam Lane, Terminauts, Vyndktvx, Zod
 * Others                 = Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Mrs. Nyxly, Sergeant Casey, Pandora, Steel, Emmett Vale, Jor-El, Lara Lor-Van, Jonathan Kent, Martha Kent, Krypto, Legion of Super-Heroes, Pete Ross, Lana Lang, Natasha Irons, George Taylor


 * Titles                 = Action Comics
 * Collected              = Superman and the Men of Steel
 * Creators               = Grant Morrison; Sholly Fisch; Rags Morales; Brent Anderson; Gene Ha; Andy Kubert; ChrisCross; Brad Walker
 * First                  = Action Comics Vol 2 #1
 * Last                   = Action Comics Vol 2 #8


 * HistoryText            = Superman and the Men of Steel is a retelling of Superman's origin story, establishing the character's history in Prime Earth continuity following timeline changes caused by Flashpoint. It is Grant Morrison's debut arc in his Action Comics volume published as part of The New 52, with illustration by Rags Morales, Gene Ha and Andy Kubert. This succeeds the previous established origin story presented in Geoff Johns' Superman: Secret Origin.

Continuity
This series drastically changes Superman's origin story. His early years as Superboy are eliminated from continuity. It's said that he recently developed powers, and they greatly increased over time. Clark Kent begins his career as Superman as an adult wearing a t-shirt and jeans with his cape. His career as a reporter begins at the Daily Star working for George Taylor. His cape is shown to be made of indestructible Kryptonian fibers. Krypton is redesigned to more closely resemble modern society.

Synopsis
Superman attacks the corrupt businessman Glen Glenmorgan to scare a confession out of him. He beats up Glenmorgan's thugs and shrugs off police bullets, then leaps into the night. General Sam Lane sends the U.S. Military after Superman, using Lex Luthor as a consultant. They attack with tanks and helicopters, forcing Superman to rescue tenement squatters as their building is destroyed. Clark Kent escapes back to his tiny apartment, where his landlord Mrs. Nyxly asks for the rent. Clark calls his best friend Jimmy Olsen at a rival paper to alert him of Glenmorgan's plans. Jimmy's partner Lois Lane insists that they ignore him, and she follows Glenmorgan's men onto a train. The train goes out of control and Superman is forced to stop it, knocking him unconscious. It is revealed that this was Luthor's plan, and he enlisted Glenmorgan to help him.

Luthor attempts to torture Superman for information. They run tests on his physiology, and Luthor insists that as an alien Superman has no rights. John Henry Irons quits Sam Lane's "Steel Soldier" project in protest. Luthor mentions the planet Krypton, but Superman has never heard of it. The military is unable to contain him for long, and Superman easily breaks out of his restraints. Superman calmly walks through the building while they're shooting at him, and sees the rocket he was found in as a child. Sam Lane tries to keep his daughter Lois from getting in, and they're surprised to see Superman getting out. John Corben volunteers to fight Superman wearing a metal suit designed by Emmett Vale. Luthor is shown to be getting his information about Superman from Brainiac.

In a flashback to Krypton before it exploded, Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van deal with the "Collector of Worlds" known as Brainiac. Lara barely escapes from Kandor with her baby before the Collector steals the city. Back in the present, Clark is hassled by cops for investigating Glenmorgan. They ransack his apartment, and Mrs. Nxyly discovers that Clark is Superman. Glenmorgan uses his influence with Galaxy Broadcasting and the Daily Planet to drive the public against Superman. The anti-alien sentiment leads to riots in the streets, and people begin attacking him on sight. Jimmy and Lois try to get Clark to move to the Daily Planet, but he refuses to let Glenmorgan buy him out. Brainiac takes control of the technology in Metropolis, and sends his Terminauts to destroy the population. Corben enters the "Steel Soldier" suit and becomes possessed by Brainiac, demanding to know where Superman is.

The Terminauts begin terrorizing Metropolis, as they spawn and self-replicate. Kent turns into Superman to fight the robots. John Henry Irons begins wearing his own metal suit to help. Brainiac uses Corben to find Lois and demand to see Superman. Superman battles Corben, but is beaten to the ground. Irons arrives to help and shuts down the warsuit he created, defeating Corben. Superman returns to the fight, but finds that Brainiac has bottled and stolen Metropolis. Sam Lane asks Superman to help save his daughter.

With the Science Council refusing to hear Jor-El's plan for evacuation, he and Lara decide to take their baby and escape into the Phantom Zone. Unfortunately, the criminals inside are waiting for them. Krypto saved them from being dragged in by Xa-Du, but was himself dragged in. Unseen, a red streak zips out of the Phantom Zone as they escape. Lara and Jor put Kal in a prototype evacuatory rocket run by a Brainiac intelligence. Kal is saved just as the planet is destroyed. John and Martha Kent discovered the rocket just after being to the adoption agency following a miscarriage. Seeing it as a sign, they took the child from the rocket. To throw the government off the scent of the child, John replaces the boy with a miscarried and deformed calf. Later, the Anti-Superman Army discovers the Rocket, and steal the Kryptonite Engine from it. Superman and the Legionnaires are too slow to stop them. Backup: John and Martha tried for three years to have children, but it wasn't happening. After saving up for it in vitro, the process failed and they decided to try adoption at great cost. On their way home from the agency, the Kryptonian Rocket crashed near their truck, which was caught in a snowbank.

Vndy attempts to auction off the Kryptonite engine he had them steal in the future. He has them do a task in his name in exchange for a piece of it. In the remains of COMPUTO's satellite, the Legion brings Superman back to what he had then kept as a Fortress of Solitude. They are back to prevent the Kryptonite engine from being stolen, because if the Kryptonian Rocket dies due to its absence, COMPUTO will return. The Legion's Time Bubble is out of juice, and they are attacked by Erik Drekken, from whom Saturn Woman learns that the thieves are hiding in superman's Brain.

Superman gets onto COMPUTO's satellite. The residents of New Troy realize they've been shrunk. Luthor angrily calls COMPUTO, and learns that his deal is being honoured - just not how he expected. Clark learns that COMPUTO has been to Krypton, and was known as Brainiac 1.0 - and it wants the Rocket. Rather than allow COMPUTO to destroy Kandor or New Troy, Superman steals the indestructable armour, and challenges the intelligence to a fight. Backup: Steel is a cool guy who helps people.

Glen Glenmorgan admits that Vndy influenced him to get into this situation. Lois calls COMPUTO: Brainiac. COMPUTO admits that it is collecting worlds in order to save them from something called the Multitude. Superman saves New Troy by flicking the Kryptonian Rocket into COMPUTO's brain, and causing it to encase him in crystal, allowing him to shut down the preservation process and return his friends to Metropolis. Lex Luthor has been acting as an informant to Clark Kent all this time. Superman comes out as an alien to Metropolis and decides to use COMPUTO's satellite as a base, thanks to the rocket's technology taking over its systems. Meanwhile, Vndy recruits Maxim Zarov into his army.


 * Issues                 =
 * -- Superman Versus The City of Tomorrow
 * -- Superman in Chains
 * -- World Against Superman
 * -- Superman and the Men of Steel &bull; Hearts of Steel
 * -- Rocket Song &bull; Baby Steps
 * -- When Superman Learned to Fly &bull; Last Day
 * -- Superman's Doomsday Decision &bull; Meanwhile...
 * -- The Collector of Worlds


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 * Notes                  =
 * Pandora makes a cameo appearance to witness the events of this storyline, as she does every #1 issue published as part of The New 52. This is directly following her first appearance in the pages of Flashpoint. She can be seen on the train next to Jimmy and Lois while it's about to crash.
 * The younger Superman presented in this story is a clear homage to the Golden Age of comics, similar to how Morrison wrote All-Star Superman as a Silver Age tribute. Superman's attitude towards fighting crime is presented the same way as it was in his first appearance.
 * Trivia                 =
 * This story establishes that Lois Lane gave Kal-El the name "Superman."
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