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Cover of Superman: Birthright
Superman, Batman and the League · 2003–2004

Superman: Birthright

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Inspired Man of Steel: Superman's origin retold for the 21st century, from Smallville to his first clash with Lex Luthor; collects the 12-issue miniseries

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Do you need to read it?

Yes. It's in the Main story, the list of only what moves the plot forward to the end of the saga.

Where it falls in the order

  • Main story1 of 8
  • Chronological3 of 15
  • Everything6 of 15
Spoilers for this title

Quick recap

Fresh out of Smallville, Clark Kent is working as a freelance reporter in Africa when he sees violence against an activist up close and decides to act. With Martha's help he designs the suit from his Kryptonian heritage and heads to Metropolis, where he joins the Daily Planet and meets Lois Lane. Lex Luthor, who knew Clark as a kid in Smallville, is now the city's most powerful man and sees the new hero as a threat. He fakes a Kryptonian invasion to turn the public against Superman. In the end, Superman exposes the hoax in front of everyone, saves the city and wins Metropolis's trust, while Lex becomes his sworn enemy.

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4 trivia

Trivia

  1. ReferencePieces of Man of Steel

    Wikipedia notes that elements of Birthright were folded into Man of Steel (2013), and later into James Gunn's Superman (2025).

    source ↗
  2. Behind the scenesOfficial origin, briefly

    It started as an out-of-continuity retelling but became Superman's official origin, replacing John Byrne's The Man of Steel. Then Infinite Crisis shook everything up again.

    source ↗
  3. Behind the scenesWaid pitched the movie

    When Warner was hearing ideas to reboot Superman on film, Mark Waid was one of the comic writers who pitched. His take was close to Birthright.

    source ↗
  4. Behind the scenesA Smallville foreword

    The collected edition opens with an introduction by Al Gough and Miles Millar, the creators of Smallville.

    source ↗
No spoilersThe easter eggs give away parts of the title. They open once you mark it as seen.

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