The Super Network

Rating: 5/5

‘This is awesome’ is what I kept repeating to myself as I was reading Superman: Secret Origin. Obviously Superman is a character that has been done so many times, over and over. He is an icon that is known so well, and even if you’re a person who doesn’t read comics, you’ll know the basics about the character. This is why reading this was so refreshing; yes I know the story but this was told in such a great way that it felt new. The overall story is told in different chapters, starting from a young Clark Kent still in school finding out the truth about himself. This leads us to see him as Superboy, and his contact with the Legion of Superheroes from the future. A parallel story is also being told about a Smallville resident called Lex Luthor, we see him as a poor young man who has clear scientific aspirations. The story then continues to show us Clark Kent going to Metropolis, and getting a job as a reporter. Lex Luthor also now rules the city, and the Daily Planet Newspaper is on his black list. Naturally Clark Kent ends up introducing the world to his alter-ego Superman, and Lex Luthor has found himself an enemy.

The story does give us the main points to Superman, being this is an origin story. It gives depth to each of the main characters, we actually get to known Clark as Clark. Lex Luthor is also fleshed out a little bit, and given actual motivations and he doesn’t feel like some one-dimensional villain. Lois Lane is a foxy woman, getting herself into all sorts of trouble but she isn’t really one who needs saving. She is a strong woman, and it’s nice to see a character like that. I really have to give it to Geoff Johns, he is a genius! The artwork by Gary Frank is truly stunning, he brings something new to something we’ve already seen, while still giving it a taste of stuff we are familiar with. Superman: Secret Origin is a story that anyone can get into, you don’t have to be a Superman fan to enjoy this. It is something that can be picked up by anyone, and understood without any kind of confusion to other story lines or realities. I really can’t recommend this enough, both for the story and the artwork.