616 SUPERMAN: BIRTHRIGHT
Glenn, ed. Th e Man from Krypton: A Closer Look at Superman. Dallas: Benbella,
2005.
Jackson Jennings
SUPERMAN: BIRTHRIGHT. Superman: Birthright was a 12-issue limited series published
by DC Comics from 2003 to 2004, written by Mark Waid and penciled by Leinil
Francis Yu, which updated Superman’s origin story, giving it a more modern context.
Th e series begins traditionally on Krypton where Jor-El, Superman’s father, sends
his son to Earth to escape the cataclysmic explosion that obliterates his birth planet,
before immediately switching scenes to an African village where a 25-year-old Clark
Kent, now a reporter, is investigating a story about a young a political leader fi ght-
ing for representation for his tribe in their nation’s parliament. Th e story of Clark’s
life on Earth only unfolds gradually through dialogue and fl ashbacks, as the issues
explore the connection between heroism, identity, and belonging. It is not until issue #4
that Superman appears in full costume, his dual identity undertaken in order to both
achieve his full potential as a superhuman being and belong to society in a way that
he never felt he could, having been perceived solely as a savior. Th e main plot of the
story, revealed in issue #7, involves Lex Luthor planning to discredit the Man of Steel
as an alien spy by staging a Kryptonian invasion using advanced holographic technol-
ogy and a small army of thugs dressed as Superman’s long dead kinsmen. Waid sets
up Luthor as a foil to Superman in this and the subsequent issue, showing fl ashbacks
of their childhood friendship in their hometown of Smallville, and revealing that Lex,
due to his staggering intellect, also felt like an outcast, who, unlike Superman, decided
to reject society and instead work merely for individual gain. Th e climax of the story
reaffi rms Superman’s heroic status to the public after he and Lois expose the invasion,
smashing Luthor’s machinery and foiling his forces.
Superman: Birthright is not the fi rst comic detailing Superman’s origin, nor is it
even the fi rst comic to retcon his origin: John Byrne’s 1986 miniseries Th e Man of
Steel is Birthright’s predecessor in that respect. Waid’s retcon diverges greatly from
Byrne’s, however, and is the longest Superman origin story ever produced as a Super-
man comic. Th e most notable change is in the character of Superman, who is now
deeply concerned with his place in society. Instead of gradually gaining his powers
throughout puberty, Waid shows Superman as having grown up with them, forc-
ing much of his life to be spent hiding his true nature from the rest of the world.
Consequently, Clark Kent returns to the timid bumbler familiar from the Silver Age
of comics. Jonathan and Martha Kent appear to be younger than their previous incar-
nation and have a more active role in helping Superman both come to grips with his
origin, and guard his secret. Lex Luthor is also modifi ed, growing up alongside Clark
and returning to his roots as more of a mad scientist than Byrne’s previous conception
of Lex Luthor as the industrialist fat-cat. Leinil Yu’s designs also restore Krypton to
its more colorful pre-Byrne aesthetic (albeit, with its projection screens and sleeker
corners, a more technologically modern one), featuring the classic Superman “S” as
Superman’s family crest.
