Superman: Birthright

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Cover from Superman: Birthright #1, by Leinil Francis Yu.

Superman: Birthright is a twelve-issue comic book limited series published by DC Comics in 2003 - 2004, written by Mark Waid and drawn by Leinil Francis Yu.

The series adds to the origin of Superman as well as the current Superman/Lex Luthor relationship. It returns to accepted DC continuity some of the history established before DC's 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths event and subsequent retcon by John Byrne, including an emphasis on alien heritage over human upbringing, and also introduces elements of the Smallville television series and Superman movies. This series and Superman: The Man of Steel are both accepted by DC as the "official" canon for Superman in modern continuity, although lingering controversy remains over the many conflicting origins of both Superman and Luthor. An intentional 'synergisation' of the traditional "scientist" Luthor and the sleeker "businessman image " Luthor seeks to reconcile at least some of these differences.

The story mostly follows Superman's early years, including meeting Lois Lane and his first encounter with Lex Luthor in Metropolis. In the series, Luthor uses kryptonite and advanced technology to discover the history of Krypton, and then uses that knowledge to fake a Kryptonian invasion and thereby discredit Superman.

The series was collected in a hardcover (ISBN 1-4012-0251-9) with trade paperback edition released September 2005.

[edit] Birthright

[edit] Krypton

Jor-El and Lara

Birthright begins with Superman's iconic origin: the destruction of planet Krypton. Jor-El laments the fact that his world accomplished "miracles no one will remember" while preparing infant Kal-El's voyage. Kal-El's shuttle pod fires into space moments before the planet's destruction. Jor-El and wife Lara regret that they will never know if Kal-El survives the journey.

[edit] West Africa

Time winds forward to present day West Africa, where an ethnic conflict between the fictional Ghuri and Turaaba clans is claiming lives (this conflict is very reminiscent of the Hutu and Tutsi wars in Rwanda). Clark Kent, a freelance reporter in his twenties, arrives to cover the conflict, and to meet with the Ghuri representative and activist, Kobe Asuru. Although suspicious of the foreigner at first, Kobe and his family trust Clark after he helps them escape from a Turaaba ambush aimed at Kobe (using his body to shield them from the barrage of bullets).

Upon speaking to Kobe and becoming friends with him, Clark gains a different viewpoint and a new interest in using his gift to make a difference, even if the cause itself seems futile. Later, Clark interviews the Turaaba representative Mr. Kebile who dislikes Kobe and opposes Ghuri rights.

During Kobe Asuru's speech at a Ghuri rally, Clark saves his sister Abana from a thrown bomb and throws the assailants' car. Abana, who previously saw Clark as a friend, is speechless and frightened after witnessing his powers. Before Clark can explain himself however, he hears a commotion and speeds back to the rally where Kobe has already been stabbed. Enraged, Clark grabs the fleeing assassin and throws him into a wall, demanding to know who hired him. The assassin raises his arm -- pointing directly at Rep. Kebile, who is incidentally surrounded by media. Kebile is besieged with questions and is later forced to resign. Clark holds Kobe in his arms and watches him die.

[edit] Smallville

Clark returns to Smallville, Kansas determined to make Kobe's sacrifice matter. He tells his mother Martha that he wants to unearth his spaceship. He digs it out of the floor of the barn and takes a banner from the cockpit with the Superman insignia sewed in. He and Martha use the data tablet that came with Clark from Krypton to examine holographic records of Kryptonian history. Clark realizes the insignia had great significance on Krypton and seemed to symbolize the Kryptonian's hope for a better tomorrow (it is later established that the symbol literally means "hope"). They start to use the images to design a uniform. Disgruntled with Clark's new interest in his alien heritage, Jonathan displays uncharacteristic behavior and goes out to the barn with a bat; he begins smashing Clark's spaceship with it. When Clark stops him, Jonathan realizes he is being foolish. He was worried that he had failed as a father, and that Clark will relinquish his family name and want nothing to do with him. Clark assures him that he will always be Clark Kent, and Jonathan promises to support him in any path he takes.

Clark refuses to wear a mask while taking flight, noting the shock from Abana and others in his past that recoiled in fear when they realized he "was hiding something from them". Martha's solution is that only Clark's human half requires a disguise. She dresses him in professional, nerdy attire that stands apart from his usual casual, sporty look and gives him false glasses to wear. She promises they will refract light so no one will notice his startling blue eyes (which would otherwise give him away). She also teaches Clark to change his mannerisms to further distance his civilian identity from his image as Superman. He learns to slouch, mumble, and act nervous and clumsy, creating further contrast with the tall, confident, and self-assertive Superman.

[edit] Metropolis

Clark travels to Metropolis to work for the Daily Planet. When he arrives, he finds automated anti-terrorist helicopters criss-crossing the sky, and a citizenry wary of the world around them. When he reaches the planet building, he sees the publisher, Mr. Galloway, berating Jimmy Olsen for fetching him the wrong yogurt. Lois Lane appears and verbally castrates Galloway for humiliating Jimmy. When Galloway storms off, Clark introduces himself to Lois. Though she had been impressed with his work on West Africa, she is not impressed with him in person. Clark, on the other hand, is immediately smitten, despite her condescension. He finally meets Perry White, but the interview does not go well; Clark is too meek and non-aggressive to be of any use to him. Clark stands up and asserts that he needs to be at the nerve center of all major events (for his hero work) and that he is an excellent journalist. White is marginally impressed, but not enough to hire. Seconds later, a miniature robo-chopper hovering outside goes berserk and opens fire on the Daily Planet building. Clark dives to push Perry out of the way. When no one is looking, Clark ducks out to change into his costume and flies off to fight the helicopters.

Meanwhile, Lois drags Jimmy along and pilots a helicopter to record the assault. One of the haywire choppers clips the blades of her aircraft and sends it spiraling downward, throwing Jimmy out of the helicopter. At the last minute Clark (disguised as Superman) appears and, to their astonishment, catches the falling Jimmy and lifts the damaged helicopter with one hand, setting the reporters down on a rooftop. When Clark stops to make sure they are both all right, Lois orders him to forget her and go save people, before giving him her card. Clark flies off and notes with a smile that "She's not afraid."

The rogue choppers are speeding through streets and parks, gunning down innocents. Clark attacks and takes them apart one by one. When he rips a radio transmitter off one of the wrecked units, he uses his super-hearing and vision to follow the signal to the incomplete skyscraper in the distance: LexCorp HQ. He bursts into Lex Luthor's office, just as Luthor is speaking to someone via radio. Clark knows Luthor from a point in their past, but is so disgusted with him at this moment that he disguises their familiarity. He tells Luthor he saw the signals and knows he sabotaged the Army choppers. Luthor is amused that he thinks anyone could possibly convict him on such evidence and demands to know who designed the technology that allows him to fly. Clark remains silent, angering Luthor with his impudence. At that moment, LexCorp's armored security barges in, with Lois and Jimmy right behind them. When Lois asks what Lex's connection is to Metropolis' new hero, Lex pretends to endorse the caped figure, saying, "He is a friend to Lex Luthor." Luthor becomes angry once again when Clark refuses to shake his hand and he throws them all out after confiscating Jimmy's camera. Jimmy is devastated at the loss of his camera since he now has none of the spectacular photos of the mysterious flying man when the camera miraculously falls into his outstretched hands. Jimmy looks up and sees Clark flying away from LexCorp.

The next day, the Daily Planet webpage dubs the hero "SUPERMAN." It shows the picture of the hero side by side with Luthor, and prints Superman's accusations against Luthor. Naturally, Luthor is ready with a cover story: A disgruntled Army employee was really behind the attacks. LexCorp has stepped in to produce the robotic helicopters now that the Army's model has been recalled. But the LexCorp connection is an unprecedented black mark on Luthor's sterling reputation; Perry decides that Clark has earned his shot.

Luthor touches down at one of his astronomic research outposts in Colorado. He dismisses everyone who works at the base (putting them on paid leave), then examines a crystal kept hidden in the vault. It has the Superman insignia engraved on it. Luthor dials his phone and smugly tells his secretary he wants to meet with Clark Kent.

[edit] LexCorp

Lois and Clark visit Luthor at the massive towers that form his corporate headquarters, which are still under construction. Luthor greets them both, but when Clark extends his hand as if they are old acquaintances, Luthor coldly dismisses it. He claims to have never met him. Luthor presses a button on the console in his desk and the room transforms into a holographic theater. Luthor asserts that he is first and foremost an astrobiologist, and describes many lucrative LexCorp inventions that were designed solely on his theories of possible space life. He then pulls up images of Superman and makes an official statement; Superman is not of this Earth. When Clark asks for his proof, Luthor promises everything will be made clear, just before showing images of Superman on an autopsy table, being sawn open by scientists. A sickened Lois takes Clark by the hand while Luthor gleefully looks forward to learning just how Superman flies.

Over coffee, Clark explains that he and Lex were old friends once, but is mystified that Lex doesn't seem to remember. When asked about Luthor's motives, Clark remembers Lex's isolated, lonely life and simply states, "I think he wants someone to talk to."

Clark reports Luthor's findings to Perry, who orders he write it up. Clark protests, knowing that the revelation that Superman is an alien will drive people away and points out that they have no real proof. Perry insists, saying Luthor is the leading authority on this matter, which is proof enough. When Superman now goes out to rescue those in need, he notices how fearful people are to even go near him. Making matters worse, in order to disguise himself amongst other people, Clark has blended in too well -- no one regards his existence in the office and he is left out of social meetings. When the staff goes out to a bar to toast Lois, Clark is intentionally given the wrong address so his co-workers can ditch him. While sulking in an empty restaurant, Clark hears a commotion as a suspension bridge across town inexplicably blows up. Superman speeds off to reconnect the bridge cables, but another explosion rocks the bridge. In his office, Lex Luthor watches the disaster and triggers bombs along the support column, making it appear that Superman is the one tearing it down. As the finishing touch, a mechanical drone in the water aims kryptonite radiation at Superman, causing him to collapse while in the middle of saving the trapped civilians. He passes out and falls into the water. The next day, Luthor announces he will match the funding of any effort to investigate the "alien".

[edit] Smallville (Past)

Martha and Johnathan, with revised continuity. Both Johnathan and Martha closely resemble their Smallville counterparts, Annette O'Toole and John Schneider.

Realizing he has a new enemy, Clark looks back on his childhood in Smallville when Lex Luthor arrived in town. Lex was a quiet genius, but anything that came out his mouth was generally insulting. He bred dislike from everyone around him and his intelligence alienated him from both students and teachers. Clark describes how Lex's parents were unloving and ruthlessly trained him to become the next Einstein. Clark observes that "they were underestimating him". While in Smallville, he repels everyone he meets. Without human connections, Lex's patience with people in general dwindles to practically nothing.

Despite his contemptuous exterior, Lex warmed to Clark when he discovered they shared a common interest: astronomy. Unfortunately, Lex was so fundamentally disturbed that he started spending increasing amounts of time locked in his makeshift laboratory next to the Luthor mansion. During one of these periods of seclusion, Clark visited Lex and saw his appearance shockingly changed; he was unshaven and disheveled. Lex allowed Clark inside to unveil his new invention, a sub-space communicator. Lex hoped that with a piece of meteor rock (kryptonite), he would finally be able to open a wormhole into visions from an alien civilization. While aware of the radiation emanating from the rock, Lex assured Clark that it was perfectly harmless. Clark, stricken with sudden pain, staggered back looking ghastly; he was experiencing his first bout of kryptonite poisoning. Lex misread Clark's expression and believed Clark had become afraid of him like everyone else. Lex threw Clark, yelling "nothing good will ever come out of this hick town but Lex Luthor!" Locked outside and still weak from the kryptonite, Clark pounds on the door while Lex commenced with his experiment. He managed to open a portal into events and times of the planet Krypton for a moment, but his generator overloaded and exploded, apparently destroying any hope of finishing his greatest breakthrough. The house caught fire but Clark was still too weak to stop it. Lex, his hair burned off, staggered through the flames to uncover the piece of kryptonite that was integral to his machine. In his pursuit, he neglected his father who was buried beneath rubble and burning alive.

By the time the fire fighters came, the house was in ruins and Lex's father was dead. Lex screamed that the fire trucks had intentionally come late and refused to accept responsibility for the fire. Fast forward to present day, Lex remains bald but seems to have restored his eyebrows via transplant, rendering them black. He begins piecing together instruments to recreate his failed experiment from long ago in the bowels of the research facility, hoping to retrieve the alien visions he saw before. As expected, the kryptonite creates a wormhole and Luthor is greeted with a wealth of visions from the history of Krypton.

[edit] Colorado

The next day the newspapers blare warnings of an upcoming alien invasion, showing photos of alien warships bearing the Superman insignia. At the Daily Planet, Clark hears that the footage has been analyzed by experts and has been confirmed to be un-doctored and 100% legitimate. Having seen footage from the data tablet that was in his spacecraft, Clark knows Luthor must have used similar methods to uncover these images.

At the Colorado facility, while Luthor is discussing plans with Army officials over selling LexCorp technology to combat this new "threat", Superman barges in and confronts him. He allows everyone but Luthor to leave, and demands to know what Luthor is plotting. Luthor reveals the name of Project: Krypton. Superman demands to know what that means. Luthor, suddenly realizing that Superman knows little or nothing about his homeworld, laughs in his face. He tells him his planet and race are all gone. The entire room turns into a whirling tunnel of holographic images, all displaying the Kryptonian footage Luthor has been abusing. Luthor gloats that he was the one who paralyzed Superman with kryptonite and that his entire outpost has become the property of the U.S. military. After their earlier encounter, where Superman publicly humiliated him, Luthor dedicated all his energy and resources to discrediting and destroying Superman. Once he has destroyed Superman, Lex is hopeful the lesser minds of Earth will turn to him as their savior. Superman speeds out of sight as Luthor's armored troops burst in to save him.

[edit] Van-gar

Metropolis is besieged by giant, monstrous-looking warships that bear Superman's logo on their face, including a giant mechanical spider. They begin killing indiscriminately. Troops empty out of the vehicles in Kryptonian garb, all bearing red capes and S-shields with their faces covered. Just as Superman is about to intervene, Luthor uses the spires of his skyscraper to project a city wide "web" of kryptonite radiation from which Superman cannot hide. When the city police start firing on the vulnerable Superman, he assumes his Clark guise and meets up with Lois, who comments on how sick he looks.

Upon returning to the newsroom, which is in chaos, Perry yells at Clark for coming to the office without a story on this crisis. Stripped of his powers and faced with imminent dismissal, Clark leaves a notice of resignation on his desk. When Lois catches him leaving, she is disgusted with him and berates him for his cowardice.

The "alien commander", a man dressed in armor, calls himself "Van-gar" and declares war on Earth. He proclaims that the S-shield will forever represent Krypton's rulership on Earth. Clark, his confidence restored by Lois' sermon, dons his costume and goes to confront Van-gar. Van-gar tells a crowd of innocents that what he is doing is beyond their comprehension and orders his men to execute them. With Luthor's krypto-web still sapping his energy, Superman charges Van-gar's troops just as they begin to shoot. Van-gar talks to Superman as if he is an insubordinate member of the invasion. When Superman accuses him and his men of being actors, Van-gar beats downs the weakened hero and whispers to him they're not in it for the money. They know Luthor is right and that Superman will turn on those weaker than him. A giant mobile tank with a huge metal S-shield barrels toward more people. Superman tears the giant metal "S" off the tank and dives in front of a lone child just before he is hit by an energy blast, blocking it with the shield and saving the child. Jimmy Olsen captures a dramatic photo of Superman blocking the energy blast and broadcasts it to every news station in the world.

Upon seeing the iconic footage of Superman shielding the boy with his symbol being broadcast in every language, Luthor loses his temper. His private army mobilizes downstairs with advanced weaponry, ready to repel the invaders. Despite his general's pleas, Luthor orders him to hold. He then contacts Van-gar and tells him he has 60 seconds to break Superman's spine. Van-gar obliges, smashing through the S-shield and engaging Superman once more. Meanwhile, Lois sneaks back into the LexCorp building, which Luthor ordered abandoned. She sees Luthor giving orders to his men over his tele-screen and grabs his priceless shard of the kryptonite with the "S" engraving out of its energy core, disabling the entire machine.

With the kryptonite removed, most of the robots attacking Metropolis are revealed as holograms and vanish, along with the kryptonite web over the city. A horde of vengeful citizens, led by Jimmy, assault the "Kryptonians" while Superman punches out Van-gar.

Back at LexCorp, Luthor grabs the kryptonite crystal from Lois's hands and demands she tell him how much she knows. When Lois tells him everyone will know about his hoax, Lex smacks her across the face and drags her by her neck, telling her his real intention was never to merely view old recordings of Krypton, but to establish contact. He assures her that unlike the warships, the LexCorp army downstairs is perfectly authentic. However, when his soldiers try to leave, they find the shutter doors stuck; Superman has blocked them off with the wreckage of the tank from earlier. Luthor drags Lois to a wall, where he uses a remote control to open out to a balcony. He reveals that he placed a kryptonite bomb inside the suit of every "Kryptonian" soldier and that they are primed to go off and take out Superman in the blast. However his men don't know about the bombs, since Luthor "sort of left that part out of the hiring brief." He guarantees Lois that even if Superman survives, he will be much too preoccupied to help her. He then casually shoves her off the skyscraper balcony.

Superman is still down below and grappling with Van-gar, whose armor suddenly starts glowing green. Superman soars up with Van-gar in his grip, pointing out to him that Luthor was willing to sacrifice his men, bystanders, and entire city blocks for nothing. He rips the bomb off of Van-gar moments before it explodes. In the instant before Lois hits the ground, Superman rushes up and catches her just in time.

[edit] LexCorp Revisited

The only threat left is Luthor. Superman returns to Lexcorp, where Luthor is feverishly trying to reconnect with the static images to Krypton, this time to establish direct contact. Luthor screams into the green wormhole and Superman remembers "he just wants someone to talk to." Luthor begins requesting to be sent weapons before the machine overloads in his face, sending him flying back and shouting in pain. Superman grabs him and tells him it's over. Luthor turns to him with kryptonite shards imbedded in his face and a maddened glare. The two engage in a fistfight, with the radiation coming from the console draining Superman's powers and putting them on a level playing field. The two struggle against each other as visions of the imminent destruction of Krypton swirl on the viewscreen. Back on Krypton, many years in the past, one of the Kryptonians points to the sparring adversaries and says he can see them on his viewing screen, he wonders if they are real. A desperate Luthor screams out that he is real, and that they can save each other. Superman refuses to let him carry through and throws him across the floor. Just then, Jor-El and Lara appear seconds after they have launched baby Kal-El and say goodbye to one another. An awestruck Superman realizes that is his name: Kal-El. Luthor attacks Superman from behind, telling him he's doing him a favor, it's agony to be alone in the world. Superman tells Luthor he wasn’t always alone, he made his choice, and punches him several times across the jaw. A bloodied Luthor falls defeated as Superman runs up and calls out something into the void; but the transmission is cut off too soon, and Superman thinks his parents never heard what he was trying to tell them. He collapses, grief-stricken.

In the aftermath, Luthor is scarred from the kryptonite that sprayed in his face and facing indictment. Clark Kent writes the article that ruins Luthor's reputation, although Luthor has already assembled an army of lawyers who claim Luthor was suffering from radiation poisoning. "Van-gar" was actually the leader of a group of extremist survivalists. Clark and Lois resolve their differences, with Lois revealing she intercepted Clark' resignation letter, knowing he wouldn't quit. She says that people will know what the Superman symbol means from now on: it means hope.

[edit] Krypton (End)

During the last moments of Krypton, Jor-El and Lara look at a viewing screen with a static image crackling from it. A figure, barely visible and wearing the S-shield on his chest, says, "Mother...Father...I made it." Realizing that their efforts were successful, Jor-El and Lara kiss as the building collapses around them.

[edit] Changes in Continuity

The notion that Clark Kent and Lex Luthor were friends in Smallville is brought back. In this version, Luthor loses his hair in a fire and leaves Smallville after erasing any evidence that he was there in the first place. This was not shown in Man of Steel, but it adds to the continuity of the comics.

Among other changes made, the "birthing matrix" explanation was replaced by the more well-known rocket ship explanation, with Kal-El sent from Krypton as an infant, not a fetus. There are two sides to Clark Kent's personality--"Smallville Clark" and "Metropolis Clark". "Smallville Clark" is Clark/Kal's real persona, while "Metropolis Clark" is the mild-mannered persona he uses to blend in with other people. The "Superman" persona has also been revised; where previously Superman had been marked by extreme politeness in his treatment towards others, the persona shown in Birthright is much more aloof, distant, and even violent from time to time - albeit still as good as his previous counterparts.

Also, in stark contrast to some parts of Byrne's Man of Steel mini-series where Clark thought of Lana Lang as the girl next door, here Clark is portrayed (in his senior high school year) as being mutually attracted to Lana, instead of her merely pining after him in vain, though their feelings remain unconsummated. However, the full extent of their relationship prior to this series is never fully explored, although Waid insists that Superman: Birthright still just as canon as The Man of Steel, and that he is a fan of Byrne's work himself. He maintains that DC did not want him to retcon that work.

In this series, Clark has the power to see the "aura" that surrounds all living things and fades away at the moment of death, something not shown in the Man of Steel. Clark can literally "see" when a person or animal dies, an experience that he finds profoundly disturbing. Because of this, Clark refuses to take a life, making him a vegetarian. This move has created controversy among fans.

Among alterations to Superman's power spectrum, Superman's enhanced vision was strengthened, capable of detecting X-Rays (hence his ability to see through walls), as well as "seeing" the transmissions and detection radii of satellites, enabling him to fly between and around their fields of vision to avoid being seen (as he does to travel incognito).

As in the Silver Age comics, Superman uses his eidetic memory combined with his super-speed to learn and comprehend vast amounts of knowledge.

[edit] Superman: Birthright Trivia

• This is the second Superman origin 'revamp', the first Superman origin retelling is the The Man of Steel by John Byrne which ran in 1986. Both are now accepted as official comics continuity.

• Lois had a restraining order against Jimmy because he was apparently stalking her.

• Franklin Stern, a character from the original continuity, is no longer publisher of the Daily Planet. That position belongs to Mr. Galloway, a rotund, obnoxious man who bares a striking resemblance to Dr. Eggman.

• Lex Luthor is stated several times during the story to be an astrobiologist, as well as the leading name in the field. Previously, Luthor was a scientist with no specific specialty (pre-Crisis), then later an industrialist (post-Crisis). Birthright's Luthor is a combination of both, and though his knowledge as a general scientist is apparently unmatched (he is referred to as the smartest man in the world), Astrobiology is his particular forte.

[edit] Explanations

On Superman vol. 2 #200 and Infinite Crisis, The Birthright continuity was the result of Superman's time-travel, and Superboy-Prime's reality-altering ripples.

[edit] External links

• Discussion of Birthright's implications for continuity (by Neal Bailey)