Originally Posted by
Bored at 3:00AM
Here's the broad strokes of what we know about Superman's history thus far.
Krypton is an updated version of Johns merged Krypton that combines elements of the Pre-Crisis, Post-Crisis, and Donner versions, but now with some of Morrison's additions. Kara Zor-El's origin has been sorted out thanks to the influence of the CW show.
Clark's rocket arrived on Earth and raised to believe in Truth & Justice in America's heartland by Ma & Pa Kent. He was best friends with Pete Ross and the girl next door, Lana Lang, who was also aware of his secret abilities. Young Lex Luthor once lived in Smallville for a time with his drunken father Lionel, but he eventually disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
Clark moved to Metropolis and eventually joined the Daily Planet as a reporter, where he met Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen & Perry White. He debuted as Superman, fell in love with Lois Lane, and became the arch-enemy of billionaire tycoon and inventor Lex Luthor. Superman met Batman & Robin, formed the Justice League and earned his reputation as the World's Greatest Hero. Over the next few years, Superman fought a variety of villains from Metallo to Parasite, Toyman, Prankster, Titano, various incarnations of the alien collector Brainiac, and Mongul. At some point, Morgan Edge bought the Daily Planet and enlisted Lois & Clark as TV news reporters on Galaxy Broadcast News. Following the Crisis, the Daily Planet was sold off again and they returned to print journalism.
Lois & Clark's courtship culminated in him revealing his dual identity to her. However, soon after they got engaged, Superman was killed battling the Kryptonian monster Doomsday. In the aftermath, four different Supermen appeared to fill the void until the true Superman returned with his glorious 90s mullet. Lois & Clark were married, Superman Red/Blue happened, yada, yada, yada. Pretty much all the major events that took place over the last couple decades still took place in the broad strokes.
The New 52 reboot is where it gets complicated, but I think it's best for them to be as straight-forward about it as possible. Just stick to what actually occurred. Time was altered by outside forces and everyone momentarily forgot a decade of their lives and relived key moments of their pasts, but in new and different ways. However, gradually this wore off and everyone's memories of their old lives returned when time was slowly reset during Rebirth, Superman Reborn, and Death Metal. During this tumultuous period, Lois & Clark had a son named Jonathan Samuel Kent, but time shenanigans led to him growing up much faster than normal, so he's now 18 years old.
The key points for me are the following:
When did Supergirl first appear? Before Crisis, in which she died and was later resurrected post-Crisis? Or are we still going to pretend she didn't exist until recently?
When did Superman first fight Zod and the Phantom Zone criminals?
If Clark was operating in secret as Superboy, was he in costume or not? Was he a member of the original LSH?
Were young Clark and Lex ever friends?