Top 10 Superman Stories

A huge hit from Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. This is the story that single-handedly made Brainiac one of the greatest villains in the DC Universe and one of Superman's most personal enemies. Superman realizes he never really fought Brainiac before and the people he thought were Brainiac were just one of his probes, so he tracks him down in order to end his threat and save the captured cities aboard his ship. At the end, victory is achieved but at a great cost.

I started to get interested in the Superman series around the One Year Later era, which was also the time where Superman Returns got released on theaters. Superman Returns was average but Up, Up and Away was an incredible experience that got me reacquainted with Superman, who I admit, was only familiar with because of his movies and TV shows. After losing his powers after the battle with Superboy Prime and suddenly regaining them, Superman has to confront Lex Luthor and stop his scheme to destroy Metropolis. The story is a good throwback to '70s stories, with Lex being his mad scientist self and acting in a more overtly criminal manner. The fight against the giant crystalline robot was beautifully drawn and the story itself is a great exploration of the Superman-Luthor dynamic.

The New 52 wasn't a good time for Superman, as it delivered some of the worst and most boring stories starring the Man of Steel (Scott Lobdell's run and Truth come to mind), but The Final Days of Superman was a beautiful and poignant farewell to the New 52 version of the character. After exposing himself to several different kinds of dangerous radiation, Superman discovers he is dying and sets out to save the world and give hope to humanity one last time. Fortunately, the pre-Flashpoint Superman happens to be nearby and ready to take the torch from his fallen predecessor. This is one of the very few stories in the New 52 that do the Man of Steel justice and properly convey the ideals he represents and the relationships he has with other characters.

A beautiful and poignant story that retells Superman's origin from the perspective of four different people: Jonathan Kent, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor and Lana Lang. Throughout the four seasons, we see Clark go from humble farmboy to a great superhero. Tim Sale's art, inspired by Norman Rockwell, beautifully illustrates this emotional and nuanced reinterpretation of Superman's journey. Overall, Superman for All Seasons is a must-read for Superman fans. The only downside is that it inspired Smallville.

Much like "What's so Funny About Truth, Justice and the American Way?", All-Star Superman was an excellent read, but I had to go with the animated adaptation because of its streamlined narrative, excellent animation and amazing performances. This movie, much like the book it was based on, is an absolute masterpiece and a brilliant exploration of what makes Superman great. I particularly enjoyed James Denton's performance. He might not have George Newbern's energy or Tim Daly's maturity, but he certainly holds his own as the Man of Steel.

I liked the original story, "What's so Funny About Truth, Justice and the American Way?", but the animated adaptation is better in almost every way. Aside from expanding the personalities of the Elite, the movie also shows the validity of both their and Superman's opinions. The movie is filled with amazing visuals and great performances and I highly recommend it to anyone who read the original story.

My favorite Superman origin story. This version of events takes places from Clark Kent's perspective, spanning from his childhood in Smallville to his arrival at Metropolis and conflict with Lex Luthor. Geoff Johns is one of the best Superman writers and shows his love for the character by making the story as fun and heartwarming as possible, as well as referencing the movies and TV shows that made Superman great over 60 years. Throw in Gary Frank's amazing pencils and you've got perhaps the definitive Superman origin story.

I might upset a lot of people with this entry, but please hear me out. This movie does an excellent job at deconstructing and reconstructing Superman for a new modern era. I enjoyed that Man of Steel asked the hard questions about Superman, namely what is so iconic about this character and what do we, as viewers, love about him. Sometimes legends have to be torn apart and rebuilt from the ground up so that people can understand why are they legends in the first place and that a symbol is only as good as the man wearing it. Man of Steel proves that Superman is more than his powers, his symbol or the ideals that he embodies; he is first and foremost, a man trying to do the right thing. All of this is capped off by an excellent leading performance, but then again, did you expect anything else from Henry Cavill?

Set in the young and still-developing Earth-1 of DC's new multiverse, this version of Superman's origin story sees an insecure rookie Superman trying to find his place in a world not too different from our own. This Superman is very grounded and human, trying to do better whenever he screws up and finding it hard to open up to other people, but when trouble comes knocking, he has to become the hero the world needs, ultimately proving that, even if he doesn't have the same lofty ideals and aspirations as his mainstream counterpart, he is still every bit as brave and heroic.

After Mr Mxyzptlk escapes from the mysterious Mr. Oz, he is angry that Superman didn't bother to rescue him, so he kidnaps Superman's son Jon and challenges him and Lois Lane to a freaky and psychedelic cosmic game to get him back and recover the history they lost due to the New 52. This story is just Superman having fun with the two eras of his history: pre-Flashpoint and New 52. At first, I had my reservations about this story because I thought it would screw up Superman's history even after Rebirth had already delivered a likeable and more traditional Superman but after reading it in full, I ended up enjoying it and I definitely recommend to all Superman fans.