#ComicBytes: These are the best storylines of Superman
The first name that comes to the mind when someone says superhero is that of Superman, DC's legendary Man of Steel. This alien from planet Krypton has been the embodiment of righteousness for eight decades and is still going strong with interesting stories. However, there are some unique storylines (both canon and non-canon) that are considered as the best tales of Superman.
The answer to "what if Superman didn't land in the US?" is the storyline called Superman: Red Son. Here, the Kryptonian ship carrying Kal-El lands in Ukraine, instead of Kansas. When the Soviet state discovers his powers, he is trained to become the symbol of communism. Interesting, right? This Elseworlds (a publication which produced non-canonical DC stories) imprint is a unique version of Superman.
In the Secret Identity storyline, Superman is just a comic book character. But, that doesn't make the story less iconic. Here, we have Clark Kent, a guy named after the comic icon. But he grows up hating the character due to being constantly bullied because of it. Interestingly, as a teenager, he gains the powers of Superman, which leads to an amazing coming-of-age journey.
One of the best Superman stories of all time, All-Star Superman is a poignant story of Kal-El's impending mortality. In this plot, Superman has one more year to live due to his excessive exposure to the sun. During this time, he reveals his identity to Lois Lane, becomes quite depressed (obviously), but somehow stays true to his essence and keeps inspiring and saving people.
Before John Byrne rebooted the Superman universe with Man of Steel, Alan Moore wrote Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow story to bid farewell to Clark Kent. Here, Lois Lane recounts the series of events that led to Superman's disappearance, 10 years ago. These events include the public revelation of his true identity, deaths of close friends, and a final mega battle.
Even though deaths in comics are kind of a joke, The Death of Superman shocked the fans of DC comics As the title suggests, this story shows the death of Superman after a fatal battle against Doomsday, who dies as well. Fun fact: In the US, this comic came in a black polybag with a black silk armband for mourning the superhero's death (!).
