Man of Steel Vol 1 1
From DC Database
| Alternate Covers
|
|---|
| Alternate Cover
|
So, from now on, whenever there are people who need my very special kind of help, it won't be a job for plain, ordinary Clark Kent... it'll be a job for Superman. 
- -- Superman
Appearing in "From Out the Green Dawn"
Featured Characters:
- Superman (First appearance chronologically)
Supporting Characters:
Other Characters:
- Kelex
- Kelor
- Lana Lang
- Emmett Vale (Cameo)
Locations:
Items:
- Kryptonite (First appearance chronologically)
- Kent Family Scrapbook
Vehicles:
- Kryptonian Birthing Matrix
- U.S.S. Constitution
Synopsis for "From Out the Green Dawn"
Prologue
On the planet Krypton, scientist Jor-El returns home to inform his wife, Lara, that their world is doomed. A geological chain reaction has fused the planet's core elements into a new radioactive compound. This new compound is destroying their world and they only have hours left to live. Jor-El tells Lara that he has devised a way for their son, Kal-El, to escape Krypton's destruction. The rocket has been programmed to land on Earth, a planet not too different from Ancient Krypton, where due to the Yellow Sun, Kal-El will have vastly increased physical abilities. He places him inside of a specially designed birthing matrix equipped with hyper-drive capabilities. As Krypton explodes, the gestation chamber launches itself into hyperspace; its destination – Earth.
Chapter One: The Secret
Years later in Smallville, teenager Clark Kent single-handedly wins the high school football championship for Smallville High. As the crowd carries him off on their shoulders, his father Jonathan Kent approaches and beckons him away. He drives Clark back to the Kent family farm and warns him about showy displays of his powers. As they return home, Jonathan takes him to an abandoned section of field, where he reveals the buried remains of the Kryptonian Birthing Matrix Clark landed in. Jonathan explains how his wife Martha and he found the birthing matrix in their field eighteen years ago, and had been concealing it ever since. Dealing with not only being an alien, but also being adopted, Clark determines that his days of irresponsible usage of his abilities must come to an end. He decides to leave Smallville, in search of places where he can do greater good.
Chapter Two: The Exposure
At the 250th anniversary celebration of Metropolis, where Clark Kent has been making his home for the past several years, a special NASA shuttle-craft named the Constitution prepares to land at Metropolis International Airport. Suddenly, a passenger plane enters the no-fly zone and collides with the Constitution. The shuttle goes into a tailspin and begins to falter. From the assembled crowd below, Clark Kent realizes that he has no choice but to save the people on board, even if it means revealing himself to the world. He flies upward and saves the shuttle. One of the passengers is Daily Planet reporter, Lois Lane. An interaction almost occurs between the two as she's about to begin asking him questions, but they are swarmed by a crowded mob, which Superman flies away from and escapes. He returns to Smallville and confides in his parents, upset that despite his desires for secrecy, he was treated terribly like any commercial celebrity.
Epilogue: The Super-Hero
Jonathan concocts a way that Clark can continue to publicly use his abilities while simultaneously concealing his true identity. Martha Kent sews together a colorful, symbolic uniform for Clark to wear, using a gigantic "S" logo created by Clark and Jonathan. Although it is created with normal cloth, Martha long ago noticed that any fabric pressed right up close against him never tears anyway (although this will not protect his cape). Clark reinvents himself as Clark Kent into a humbler and meeker public identity with which to disguise himself, so he can lead a normal life. When it's finished, he dons his costume for the first time, becoming... Superman.
Notes
- The first issue of this limited series was published with two variant covers of roughly equal distribution ratio. One cover featured a close-up of Clark Kent pulling open his shirt revealing the Superman symbol on his chest beneath. The variant cover featured a full-bodied illustration of Clark Kent with a picture of Krypton exploding behind him.
- The character Superman was originally created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
- This is the first appearance of the Post-Crisis version of Superman. Historically, Superman made his first appearance in Action Comics #1 (June, 1938).
- This is the first and technically final canonical appearances of the Post-Crisis appearances of Superman's birth parents, Jor-El and Lara. The flashback scenes involving the destruction of Krypton coincide with events revealed in World of Krypton (Volume 2) #4.
- This is the first Post-Crisis appearances of Jonathan Kent, Martha Kent, Lana Lang and Lois Lane.
- Scientist Emmett Vale makes a cameo appearance in Chapter III of this issue. Emmett appears next in flashback in Superman (Volume 2) #1. The character is based on Professor Vale, a Silver Age character who appeared in Action Comics #252.
- This issue was reprinted in the Man of Steel trade paperback.
- This series was published on a bi-weekly schedule.
Trivia
- As a teenager, Clark Kent owned a Cocker Spaniel named Rusty.
- The number on Clark Kent's High School football jersey was 15.
- Clark Kent is twenty-five years old by the end of this issue.
- Metropolis celebrates its 250th anniversary in this issue. This date contradicts information provided by other sources.
- Although Superman is conceived on the planet Krypton, he is not actually born until he reaches Earth. This is a major departure from all previous versions of the character wherein he was physically born on Krypton.
- The date of Krypton's destruction is intended to coincide with the real-world publishing date of Superman's first appearance in Action Comics #1. This will not be officially established until Action Comics #600.
See Also
- Discuss Man of Steel Vol 1 1 on the forums
- Cover gallery for the Man of Steel series
- Images from Man of Steel Vol 1 1
Recommended Reading
Links and References
- Superman article at Wikipedia
- Superman article at Supermanica
- Jor-El article at Wikipedia
- Lana Lang article at Wikipedia
- Lara article at Wikipedia
- Lex Luthor article at Wikipedia
- Lois Lane article at Wikipedia
- Smallville article at Wikipedia
- Man of Steel series index at the Grand Comics Database
- Man of Steel series index at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
  After the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a 1985-1986 maxiseries which completely reset the continuity of the entire DC Universe, all of DC's major characters and franchises needed to be updated to reflect the changes in the events of their lives. Multiple story arcs were put out to explain these rebooted versions of popular characters. Man of Steel #1 • Man of Steel #2 • Man of Steel #3 • Man of Steel #4 • Man of Steel #5 • Man of Steel #6 |
