On July 17th of 2021, writer Tom Taylor and artist John Timms pulled the rug out from under readers when they had Clark Kent pass the mantle of Superman down to his son Jonathan. Superman: Son of Kal-El caught fans off-guard, but that has not always been the case with Superman comics.
Not every swerve surrounding the character of Superman has caught readers off guard, as many readers saw the final outcomes of these stories coming long before they were revealed. In fact, one of Superman’s most famous storylines is built on two separate plot twists that everyone saw coming.
Superman’s Life On Krypton Was All A Dream
Among Superman’s most iconic comic stories, “For The Man Who Has Everything” by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons ranks higher than most. The opening scene that depicts a grown-up Kal-El living a happy life on a thriving Krypton with a wife and child caught many readers by surprise, with most readers quickly putting together that this is some sort of dream.
That off feeling was proved accurate when it was revealed that Superman was ensnared in The Black Mercy, placed into a false reality by the evil Mongul. This reveal meant Superman’s supposed fantasy world would only end in tragedy.
Christopher Kent Is General Zod’s Son
“Last Son” was ahead of its time in many ways. Written by Geoff Johns, as well as the late Richard Donner, along with art by Adam Kubert, the story showed fans what Superman and Lois Lane would be like as parents before Jon Kent entered the picture. That said, their charge who they’ve named Christopher has a dark secret that most readers had put together by the time it was revealed.
Not long after they take Christopher in, General Zod and his forces make their presence known, making it rather obvious what Christopher’s origins are. It’s soon revealed that Christopher is Zod’s son, something a lot of fans predicted, but that does little to squander the story’s impact.
Mr. Mxyzptlk Was Pretending To Be Clark Kent
When the classic Superman and his family returned to The DC Universe in DC Rebirth, Lois soon began encountering another Clark Kent. From the beginning, fans knew there was something off about him, and one obvious answer prevailed in fan discourse. The list of usual suspects was fairly lengthy, but it didn’t take much to put together that Mr. Mxyzptlk was behind all of this.
After kidnapping Clark and Lois’ son Jon, Mxyzptlk revealed himself, explaining that he posed as Clark and later attempted to wipe the real Clark’s happy life out of existence to get revenge on him. It was then revealed that Mxyzptlk was captured by Mr. Oz, another character fans had theories about. Though fans knew Mxyzptlk was responsible, “Superman Reborn”, the story where he revealed himself, is still a beloved story.
Doctor Manhattan Created The New 52
While Doomsday Clock is not specifically a Superman story, he plays a key role in the story. From the very beginning of DC Rebirth, Doctor Manhattan’s best quotes began being used, hinting that one of DC’s most acclaimed stories tied into their wider universe.
From the very beginning, fans cottoned on to the fact that Doctor Manhattan was involved, quickly speculating that he was responsible for the controversial New 52 reboot. In Doomsday Clock, this was stated to be the case, but the character set things right at the end of the story. Not only did everyone see this coming, muddying Doomsday Clock’s impact, but fans have always been apprehensive to see a sequel to Watchmen, which ultimately didn’t do this story any favors.
Rogol Zaar Destroyed Krypton
When Brian Michael Bendis’ divisive runs on Superman and Action Comics kicked off at the end of Action Comics #1, the writer debuted a new villain for The Last Son of Krypton. Rogol Zaar made many claims during his battle with Superman in the mini-story, including wiping out the plague of “Kryptonians.”
It’s easy to see what was implied, that Rogol Zaar had destroyed Krypton in the past. This might have had more of an impact if fans had gelled with Zaar, but the character was met with little more than apathy, as he isn’t one of Superman’s best villains. Thus after he was defeated, he was committed to the dustbin of history, likely never to be heard from again now that Bendis has moved to Dark Horse.
Superman & Wonder Woman’s Relationship Wasn’t Permanent
Despite being financially successful, The New 52 was not a popular era in DC Comics, with one of its most derided creative choices being pairing Superman and Wonder Woman together in a romantic relationship. While DC’s writers did their best to sell the pairing, fans knew it wasn’t built to last.
This was confirmed when the classic Superman and Lois Lane made their home in The New 52 continuity, raising their son Jon in Hamilton County. With fans reacting positively to this development, the writing was on the wall for the less popular love story. After the New 52 Superman’s demise, this love story was more or less forgotten by both writers and fans, as both Superman and Wonder Woman moved on to better things.
Superman Would Marry Lois Lane
Being comic’s most iconic couple, everyone saw Superman and Lois’ wedding coming, but that isn’t to say people weren’t happy about it. After having the single longest will they, won’t they relationship in history, Superman and Lois Lane finally tied the knot in Superman: The Wedding Album, with the moment still having an impact to this day.
While DC seemed trepidatious about the marriage, it was something that fans held close, something that even a universe-wide reboot couldn’t change their mind on. Superman had proposed to Lois not long after revealing his identity to her, so fans knew they’d get married soon, though a fairly significant road bump delayed the wedding for a while.
The Death Of Superman
“The Death of Superman” is quite controversial, as it brought DC lots of attention, but many feel the story is a bit too much of a publicity stunt for its own good. Nonetheless, fans got several teases of the outcome of Superman’s battle with Doomsday, with the brute’s fist smashing against the wall of his prison cell at the end of several preceding issues.
No one can argue that it didn’t work, as the issue that saw Superman’s demise sold like gangbusters and created a publicity wildfire unlike anything comics had ever seen up to that point. The image of a sobbing Lois Lane holding a dying Superman in her arms is burned into many fans’ memories, no matter whether or not they saw it coming.
Superman Would Be Resurrected
Superman’s death was quite heartbreaking, but even back in the day, death was rarely permanent in comics. There wasn’t a doubt in anyone’s mind that The Man of Steel was going to come back to life, as it was too much of a risk for DC to kill him off for good.
Even the “Reign of The Supermen” arc that saw four replacement Superman analogs enter the fray couldn’t convince fans it was real. Those fans were proven right when Superman returned to life not too long after his death, but that triumphant moment for the character did little more than slightly dull the impact of his death.
New 52 Superman Was Going To Die
When DC announced that their new Rebirth initiative would feature the classic Superman as their lead Man of Steel, fans began to speculate the fate of The New 52 version. Though fans hated this Superman, the fact that he was still present had many readers confused.
Fans knew that this Superman was going to die, which turned out to be the case. At least this less-than-stellar Superman got a solid ending when he sacrificed his life to save the world from a solar flare and passing the mantle to the real deal. Though it was a cool story, New 52 Superman wasn’t mourned by too many people as many were too glad about having their classic hero back to care.
