As the last son of Krypton, there are times when both Superman and his readers wonder what his life would have been like if the planet had never been destroyed. Writer Alan Moore explores this concept in the classic story “For The Man Who Has Everything”. In this now beloved issue, we see the life on Krypton Superman had dreamed of, only to have it all ripped away, giving readers a glimpse of a Krypton that had yet to be seen.
The story opens with a man walking home from work in a Kryptonian city, only to be surprised by his family, who are throwing him a birthday party, revealing the man’s name to be Kal-el, Superman’s Kryptonian name. The story then cuts to Wonder Woman, Batman, and the second Robin Jason Todd landing their aircraft outside of the Fortress Of Solitude. The three then make their way inside where they explain that they are there to celebrate Superman’s birthday and compare gifts. In particular, Batman brags that his gift is a new genetically engineered breed of rose which he calls the Krypton. The group continues their casual conversation until they’re shocked to discover Superman in a comatose state with a bizarre plant embedded on his chest.
As Batman, Robin, and Wonder Woman attempt to help Superman, the story cuts back to Kal-el, aka Superman, on Krypton who is upset that his father Jor-el didn’t come to his birthday, due to a rivalry within the family. Kal-el meets his father the next day, who introduces him to a man named Lor-em, the leader of a prejudiced extremist political group known as the “Sword of Rao”. When Kal-el asks why Jor-el would associate with such a person, Jor-El explains that he needs the group’s political influence to empower his “Old Krypton Movement”. After Kal-el scolds his father, Jor-el reveals that his life was in shambles after being kicked off the science council for predicting Krypton’s destruction, an event that never happened in this dream.
Enter Mongul
The story returns to Batman and Wonder Woman attempting to help Superman, who are then surprised by the villain Mongul, who had been hiding there all along. Mongul explains that he infected Superman with a plant known as the Black Mercy, which incapacitates its host and causes them to experience their greatest desires. Mongul says that now Superman is out of commission, he intends to take over the Earth after killing Batman and Wonder Woman. In an attempt to hold him off, Wonder Woman fights Mongul as Batman struggles to free Superman from the Black Mercy.
The story shifts back to Kal-el, who arrives at a hospital and is horrified to find his cousin Kara Zor-el, aka Supergirl, had been brutally beaten by political rivals of his family. With the realization that the actions of his father have made his family a target, Kal-el attempts to leave the city with his son Van. However, before they can leave, they’re treated to more terrifying imagery when they come across members of the Sword of Rao dressed in KKK-like robes and holding a ceremony known as a “Torch-Procession”. When Van asks about what he’s seeing, Kal-el lies to him, saying it’s just a parade. However, Kal-el is most horrified when it is revealed that his father Jor-el is the new chairman of the Sword Of Rao, which then causes the crowd around the ceremony to riot.
Eventually, Kal and Van flee the city to a place called Kandor Crater, where once stood the mighty city of Kandor before being shrunk by the villain Brainiac. While Kal and Van walk around the crater, he reveals to his son that he loves him, but doesn’t think he’s real. As Kal begins to realize he’s in a dream-like state, Batman begins to pull the Black Mercy off of Superman. This causes the illusion around Kal-El to fall apart, and just as he tries to reach for his son one last time, Batman extracts the Black Mercy from Superman, accidentally infecting himself in the process.
Superman Awakens
Just as Superman’s fantasy ends, Batman enters a dream about his parents fighting off the mugger that killed them in real life. After Robin reveals that it was Mongul that subjected him to the torturous dream, an enraged Superman shouts his enemy’s name so loud it nearly throws Robin off-panel. Superman then confronts and fights Mongul, brutally scorching him with his heat vision. While Superman and Mongul fight, Robin finds a pair of gloves that Mongul had used to touch the Black Mercy without being infected. Robin then proceeds to extract the black mercy from Batman and then runs to help Superman. Just as Mongul gets the upper hand on Superman, Robin throws the Black Mercy at Mongul, infecting him and saving the day.
As Mongul falls to the ground, he dreams his fantasy of killing all the superheroes and taking over the Earth. Later on, as Superman and the group recover, he muses about throwing the comatose Mongul into a black hole. Wonder Woman then reveals her gift, which is a tiny duplicate of the shrunken city of Kandor, causing Superman to use his super-speed to get rid of the one he already built for himself. Wonder Woman then kisses superman, in a sweet and rare moment prior to their romance before DC’s New 52 era. Afterwards, Batman explains that his gift, the Krypton rose, was destroyed in the fight, leading Superman to state, “Perhaps it’s for the best”.
The best Superman story?
The story ends with Superman and his superhero friends leaving to get coffee, while Mongul continues to dream about galactic domination. There’s a lot to unpack here, though what stands out the most is the concept that even with all of Superman’s desires being met, there was still a lot of adversity in his life. Because he lived a normal life as Kal-el on Krypton, it also meant that he wouldn’t be able to affect his own world the way that Superman did on earth. Superman’s admiration of his father was also thrown into question when realizing how desperate Jor-el was in order to keep political power in this dream. However, the most tragic part was that in order to return to his life as Superman, his new family had to be ripped away from him.
What’s even more profound is the impact that “For The Man Who Has Everything” had on the Superman mythos. Typical of an Alan Moore story, every element has since been picked clean for story potential. The Justice League tangled with a Black Mercy that had overtaken a whole planet, Superman actually met and disliked his zealot father, and the whole arc of Superman’s life bent towards the desire for family and transparency depicted in the story, with elements frequently adapted for film and television. Both writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons constructed possibly the greatest Superman story of all time. Though it was originally published in the ’80s, “For The Man Who Has Everything” still feels relevant to this day due to the themes and ideas it explores. It’s a story that defined who Superman was, and a must-read for those looking to get into comics.
