Superman's Life and Career Timeline

[stargazer01]

I'd like to hear from the Superman experts here about Superman's life and career timeline. The main events in his life so far and the main enemies he has fought. What are the highlights of his life as a man and as a superhero?


I have some ideas, but I'm far from an expert on the comics, so please help me here. Try to make it as concise as possible. Thanks!

[Miles To Go]

Refusing to kill Mongol on Warworld to end his space exile was always a big highlight for me, his big moment of redemption after he killed the Kryptonians of the alternate dimension

[Kuwagaton]

To cross section in a manner of speaking

1. This is technically outside of his life, but still important in his timeline: prophecy in general and Jor El's inspiration in particular. The usual timeline of recorded El history generally goes back 10000 years. Jor El was a man with great knowledge and pride in the contributions of his clan. We have been given Van-L, his scientist ancestor, and information on others in his lineage, like an ancestor who drafted the Kryptonian constitution years before his time. The Kal El we know is named after a great ancestor, with the name meaning "star child." Jaf El was the ancestor who predicted the significance of the dawn of a yellow sun. Meanwhile on earth in other continuities, clandestine groups like the Seven and the skyfathers of earth diety populations divined the coming of Superman. You can see these in Krypton Chronicles, both volumes of World of Krypton, and the 1995 year one annuals as well as Action Comics 794. His grandfather Seyg El appeared in the 90s Starman. I still have to see the tv show variation on this.

2. The birth of Kal and his voyage to earth are rather well covered I think. The timelines vary as some would place the explosion of Krypton anywhere from thousands of years ago like in Man of Steel to 50 years ago in the Zero Hour comic and 27 years ago in the new 52.

3. Same with his various adoptions by the Kents. 1986 brought about a twist as the Kents were changed to be able to pass him as a natural son. The discovery of his powers as an infant or toddler is obviously a huge point of his life's trajectory.

4. Meeting and befriending Lana is quite overlooked. As a Lois competitor she should be seen as a big deal, whereas Pete is just sort of a washed out Jimmy. Lana's friendship into adulthood and insight into his secret make her one of his truest friends, and the most persistent. She really is a great comic example of the concept where someone is "too" perfect for you, the inverse of opposites attracting. In time you can see her come to Metropolis through the 70s comics or Superman III, or in the name of business during the early 2000s under writers like Rucka.

4. The original Superman spin off was Superboy. This headed up the most significant section of his life before Superman. This all goes back to the late 40s early 50s, but the Superman concept was inactive in the main comics from about 1986 to 2006. You would have had to watch the late 80s tv show or read its early 90s comic adaption to see him, aside from alternate reality tangents in the regular comics.

5. Pre Superman. The tv show I mentioned had Shuster college in Florida, but the regular comics had him attend Met U. This is where Superboy transitioned to Superman, and where a younger Clark began operating in secret in the timelines with no Superboy. You can see this in The Secret Years and World of Metropolis as well as the recent Man and Superman 100 page special. One significant college event was dating Lori Lemaris, a telepathic mermaid. The proto Superman embarks on a world tour to become who he is in Superman 1978, the 2013 Man of Steel, and throughout his post college career in stories like the Man of Tomorrow collection, The Odyssey, Birthright, and Camelot Falls.

6. Of very many allies and foes there are six very important ones: Batman, Lois, Kara, Lex, Mxy, and Brainiac. These are very major relationships as far as his stories go and have virtually the same impact on his career within the story.

7. His death against Doomsday. This story is just too big. Aside from the original in 1992, we had several implied and direct equivalents in later continuities like the New 52.

8. His marriage to Lois. Yes he has been married hundreds of times in "imaginary stories" but the ones to Lois stand out because they're revisited in long running stories. In the highly recommended Superman newspaper strip, they were married for a few years beginning in 1949 until it was written out a few years later. The Mr and Mrs Superman feature from the 70s kicked off with Action Comics 484. They were engaged in Superman #50 from 1990 and married in a 1996 special, the last time legend Curt Swan got to do the character iirc.

9. The birth of Jon Kent in Convergence so far has been a very major change to the character. Now he is a true father, by blood for a change, to the current Superboy.

10. The death of his father, an earlier Jon Kent. The death of Martha would prove to be a major thing in some stories, but in the golden age comics, the 60s Superboy due to hazardous pirate treasure, the 1978 movie and 2008 Brainiac story due to heart attack, Man of Steel due to tornado, and probably a few others (the new 52 and current versions are a little tricky to define), this is a stand out. Superman cannot save this one person when the time comes and it's a powerful life lesson.

[Superlad93]

Off the top of my head

* His parents telling him he's an alien.

* Making friends with Lana and Pete, and them finding out he's an alien.

* Doing good around Smallville

* Meeting Lex as a kid

* Meeting the Legion and going to the future

* The prom night when both Ma and Pa die in a car crash

* Going to the big city, and getting a job at the Planet.

* Meeting Lois and Jimmy

* showing the world Superman

* The interview with Lois

* Making a long term foe out of Lex

* Making friends with Jimmy

* First time meeting another Kryptonian from the Phantom Zone

* Meeting Batman and Wonder Woman, and forming the Trinity

* Forming the JL

* Falling for, dating, and telling Lois the secret identity.

* Fighting and falling in combat with Doomsday

* Coming back to life

* The wedding of Lois and Clark

* Kara coming to Earth

* Lois tells Clark she'd pregnant

* Birth of Jon Kent

* Seeing Jon go into the family business

* Jor-El not being dead

* Jon and Lois asking to go off with Jor-El

* Jon coming back several years older

_________

That's all the basics life changing moments, I think

[Vordan]

Everyone here has done a great job nailing the big moments. To what has been mentioned above I would add the discovery of the Bottled City of Kandor, as here is a problem that Superman can’t easily solve, and his inability to reverse what was done to the Kandorians haunts him to some degree.

[qwertyuiop1998]

My list:
1 From Superman blood of my ancestor, Supes ancestor who creating the house of El legend( And this ancestor story reference Sam Son)
2 From Many worlds of krypton, One of Superman ancestors joining clone wars, And later Supes father Jor-el born
3 Jor-el Falling love with Lara, And find out Krypton will doom so when he failed convincing the council he send his son to earth
4 Kents found Clark, This incident also have effect to conduit
5 Supes teenager life: 1 Meeting Lana and conduit 2 Meeting Legion of Super-Heroes and go to future become Superboy 3 Manhunter brainwashing most Smallville become they agents 4Meeting LEX 5 Find Krypto
6 Supes travelling the world and first time encounter with Batman(Also falling love with a chinese woman, But I cant remember her name.......)
7 Supes become Superman and battle with Metallo Parasite, Humiliating Lex
8 Helping the first JLA many times
9 In COIE, Tossing AM to the Anti-Universe sun
10 Meeting Matrix, Travelled to pocket universe which created by Time Trapper
11 Travelling the universe, Meeting Mongul and beating him and bring the Eradicator to earth
12 Possessed by Eradicator, But at Kents help him breaking it possessing and tossed it into sun
13 Eradicaotr return, And superman beating him again, But this time have some benefit---Eradicator built the Fortress Of Solitude
14 Superman joining JLA
15 Superman battle with Doomsday
16 Superman return and become more powerful after Return Of Superman
17 Superman's power increasing too much out of control, But after parasite incident his power become normal( But still increased, Just not out of control)
18 H/P, Superman battle Doomsday again and seemingly permanantly killed Doomsday
19 Brainiac take control of the Warworld And attacking earth
20 After Zero Hour, Superman battling Doomsday possessed by Brainiac
21 Forming classic JLA
22 Become Superman blue