Superman is quite possibly the most popular superhero there is, and we get it. He’s of another world, has crazy powers, love and affection for humans, to boot. He might be uber-popular, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t worth a good ‘old synopsis write up.
Here’s the rundown on what makes Clark Kent the one and only Superman.
Origin Story
The one and only survivor of Krypton, Kal-El left his home without so much as a memory. When his father, Jor-El discovered that their home planet was on the verge of exploding— literally— he devised a plan to send his son off into the ether rather than let him disintegrate with the rest of the planet.
Jor-El and his wife bid farewell to their little boy strapped him into an experimental spacecraft and sent him hurling through space just as Krypton exploded. The ship landed somewhere in rural, midwest America and was discovered by the Kents. Jonathan and Martha decided to raise the baby as their own, and thus, Clark Kent was born.
In the early days, Clark showed no signs of superpowers, and the Kents thought they were raising a perfectly normal boy. As a preteen though, things started happening, and Clark quickly realized he was different. Still, it wasn’t until he turned 18 that his parents took him to the field where they found him and explained the details of his arrival. Talk about an identity crisis.
Kent eventually made postmortem contact with his father and had a decision to make: stay on earth and protect the humans from all of the chaos that would likely ensue, or leave and… well, who knows. Lucky for us, he decided to stay, and Superman was born.
Villains
One of the world’s most famous superheroes has fought too many villains to name in one write-up, but we’ll definitely get to the most infamous.
Lex Luthor is a name all Superman fans know. It doesn’t matter if you’ve read the comics, watched the movies, or followed along with Smallville, Lex is easily the most infamous adversary that Superman was up against. Luthor was a twisted genius with a ton of money, which is always a recipe for disaster. Many don’t know why Luthor hates Kent so much, but the readers of the retro comic books will remember a certain fire and a certain red-haired teenager who goes completely bald. Want to learn more? Check out this article.
After Luthor, Brainiac and Darkseid run a close second and third. Brainiac is another genius, but of the alien species rather than human. Darkseid is the ruler of Apokolips but has big plans to rule all of creation in all of the realms. Tall order.
It’s hard to mention villains without mentioning Doomsday as well. After all, this creature did end up killing Superman both on screen and in the comics.
Powers
Our favorite Kryptonian superhero had a bunch of awesome powers. Flying is definitely at the top of our list. Then there’s the super strength. Oh, and the laser eyes. How about the extra vision and freezing breath? Yeah, Superman has all the good stuff.
Love Interests
Many believe Lois Lane to be the only woman that Superman loved, but that isn’t quite true. She was definitely his greatest love, that’s for sure.
But there also was Lana Lang, who appeared both in the comics and on Smallville. Lang was Kent’s high school crush and likely his first real romance. And then there was Lori Lemaris (anyone else seeing a trend with these names?), a mermaid with which Superman had a brief relationship.
Finally, it’s rumored that Wonder Woman and Superman become an item after Lois dies, but that hasn’t completely been confirmed.
And there you have it: our innocent-farm-boy-turned-superhero synopsis.
Did it have you hankering for some gear to sport? We’ve got you covered. Check out our collection of officially licensed Superman graphic tees.