After Nearly 20 Years, All-Star Superman Remains Undefeated As Clark Kent's Greatest Adventure

While there have been many great Superman stories throughout the decades, one in particular stands head-and-shoulders above the rest as the best of them all. All-Star Superman is officially twenty years old this year, and Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s masterpiece has stood the test of time as not just the greatest Superman story, but one of the all-time greats in the DC Comics canon.

Launching in November 2005, All-Star Superman #1 by Morrison, Quitely, Jamie Grant, and Phil Balsman was the second in a proposed line of out-of-continuity stories aiming to present superstar creative teams on all-time classic characters. Morrison and Quitely teamed up again following their well-received We3 miniseries, and anticipation was high leading up to All-Star Superman’s release.

It took a couple of years for all twelve issues to come out, but the eventual series was more than worth the wait. Telling the story of a dying Man of Steel with only a year left to live, All-Star Superman sees the title character attempt to make the most of the time he has left.

All-Star Superman Is an All-Time Great Story About the Man of Steel

Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely Craft the Quintessential Superman Tale

The initial concept for All-Star Superman flies in the face of the Man of Steel’s most ardent critics, who claim that a character as powerful as Superman can’t be an interesting character in a story. Morrison and Quitely tackle this criticism head-on by making the Man of Steel even more powerful, the result of Superman getting supercharged with solar energy following the rescue of the first manned mission to the Sun. While his power levels increase to newfound highs, they also come at a cost, as Superman is given only a year to live as his solar-charged cells begin erupting from within.

The twelve issues that follow show what Superman chooses to do with his last year, as he attempts to leave the world a better place before all is said and done. These attempts lead to the hero accomplishing what soon come to be known as the “Twelve Labors of Superman,” which include everything from defeating the Tyrant Sun Solaris to answering the Unanswerable Question. Superman also attempts to set his personal life in order, as Clark Kent finally reveals his true identity to Lois Lane and professes his love for her.

To understand why All-Star Supermanhas become a quintessential DC story, all one really has to do is look at the now-famous opening page. Morrison and Quitely condense Superman’s origin story into four distinct images, each accompanied by their own caption boxes that boil Superman’s origin down to a mere six words. In a single page, Morrison and Quitely convey everything readers need to know before the real story begins, setting up the perfect blend of “widescreen” comics with a hyper-condensed approach to storytelling.

All-Star Superman Includes Several Unforgettable Moments from Superman History

Morrison and Quitely Plumb Emotional Depths with the Man of Steel

The clarity of the storytelling makes All-Star Superman an easy recommendation for new fans, as Quitely’s crisp, evocative renderings never leave the reader in doubt as to what is happening on the page. Yet it’s the emotional content that makes it an all-timer, as the story effectively portrays Superman’s final year in moving, mythic fashion. Perhaps the most famous example is the now-famous scene in All-Star Superman #10, in which Superman takes time out of his busy schedule to prevent a young woman from jumping to her death.

“You’re much stronger than you think you are. Trust me,” Superman tells the woman, the perfect example of how Morrison finds the exact right words to accompany the imagery. Again, it’s a simple scene that plays out on a single page, yet the combination of Quitely’s evocative renderings with Morrison’s sparse (but considered) captions speaks to everything that makes Superman not simply a comic book superhero, but a vital piece of pop culture iconography. Instead of mere schmaltz or empty pandering, Morrison and Quitely create a story in which the sentimentality is earned through the careful application of craft.

All-Star Superman #10 also has a running subplot concerning Earth-Q, an experiment the Man of Steel conducts on a baby universe to see what an Earth without Superman would look like. As Earth-Q develops, readers get a brief glimpse of Italian philosopher Pico della Mirandola in the 15th century, delivering a public discourse that would later be published as the Oration on the Dignity of Man:

“Let us not yield sovereignty even to them, the highest of the angelic hierarchies! Become instead like them in all their glory and dignity.Imitation is man’s nature, and if he but wills it, so shall he surpass even imagination’s greatest paragons.”

That quote, perhaps more than any other, sums up the thesis of everything that Morrison and Quitely attempt to achieve with All-Star Superman, in which Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s creation inspires those around him by being an avatar that represents the best of humanity.

Superman Represents the Best of Humanity

All-Star Superman Is Everything the Character Should Be

After twenty years, All-Star Superman has still yet to be matched as a modern classic of the DC canon. In marching right up to the common criticisms of the character and subverting them, Morrison and Quitely boil the greatest superhero of them all down to his essence, creating an unforgettable portrait of humanism and a reflection on the importance of hope. For new fans looking for Superman comics to read, All-Star Superman is the perfect place to start.

All-Star Superman is available now from DC Comics.

All-Star Superman

Writer

Grant Morrison

Penciler

Frank Quitely

Colorist

Jamie Grant, Neal Adams

Publisher

DC Comics

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN! Topsy-turvy madness on the backwards Bizarro planet. A bottled city that proves you can never go home again. A living sun hell-bent on destroying humanity. A world without the Man of Steel. Twelve impossible labors and mere moments to save the Earth.

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