What are your Favorite Superman/Superboy/Supergirl stories or Elseworlds?

[LaughingVulcan]

• Superman: The Last Family of Krypton (2010) Cary Bates/Renato Arlem
(Silver-Age Jor, Lara and young Kal land on Earth together.)

• Superman The Man of Steel Elseworlds Annual #3 (1994) Priest, Bright & Shoultz:
The Byrne Kryptonians leave Krypton for Earth...and then...HELP...the humans.
But Kal-El doesn't think things are right...and Batman is fighting the system...

• Elseworlds Finest: Kara (Supergirl) Zor-El and Barbara (Batgirl) Gordon...

• Superman/Batman: Generations John Byrne
I have to find this again...

• Superman: Speeding Bullets
Merging the TWO Big Guns... o_0;;;

• Man of Steel (6 part Miniseries) 1986, John Byrne/Dick Giordano
Could've been better, but I loved this. (Mr. Byrne needed to think out the Krypton society a BIT more, though. THAT Krypton would give VULCANS screaming nightmares...! 0_0;;;

• Death/Funeral for a Friend/Reign of the Supermen/Return (1994?)
This was a bit after I got into comics...It WAS a gimmick, sure, but I LOVED it to death! And we got Kon-El, Cyborg Superman, Doomsday, and Steel out of it! LOVEDLOVEDLOVED it!

• Adventures of Superman #500 - The introduction of Superbo...errr...SUPERMAN <_<;;;; a.k.a. Kon-El...

• Action Comics #252 — The introduction of Kara (Supergirl) Zor-El.
Simple writing but a fun, nostalgic ride.


I may think of more later...

THOUGHTS, everyone?

[DieHard200904]

JLA: Shogun of Steel: Superman if he was raised in feudal Japan as a samurai

Superman: Kal: Superman in Medieval Britain

Kingdom Come: Well, it's Justice League starring Superman, but I consider it Superman.

and it's sequel, The Kingdom

Man of Steel miniseries: Origin Story

Morrison/Morales : New 52 origin story

Trial of Superman: Sort of a sequel to The Death and Return of Superman

Superman: Red Son

[Naruto1996]

-Kingdom Come
and it's sequel, The Kingdom
-Superman: Red Son
-Morrison/Morales : New 52 origin story
-Son of Superman
-All-Star Superman
-SUPERMAN: LOIS AND CLARK(Dan Jurgens,Lee Weeks)
-Superboy Volume 4
-Supergirl Volume 5

[Dispenser Of Truth]

For Elseworlds/Imaginary Stories - leaving out All-Star and American Alien, since I think to quantify those stories in those terms would miss the point of what they're trying to achieve - my top ten:

10. President Superman

This is actually referring to two stories, "Superman in the White House" by Otto Binder and Al Plastino in 1958, and it's 1991 pseudo-remake "Executive Action" by Roger Stern and Tom Grummett. There's no real insight into the character here, it's just pure wish fulfillment of Superman fixing everything, but they're solid in that regard.

9. Superman Red/Superman/Blue

Speaking of wish fulfillment, this is as big as it gets. Superman splits in two with each a hundred times smarter than the original, and he just fixes everything, everywhere, for everyone, and then marries Lois and Lana and lives happily ever after. It's pure fun.

8. The Old Man of Metropolis

This is a cheat, since it's not presented as an imaginary story and really turns out to be a dream, but this stories' vision of a powerless, broken-hearted old Superman who sacrificed everything for his mission, only to find himself useless to his homeworld, is genuinely harrowing.

7. Last Family of Krypton

A lot of the actual storytelling is kind of rocky, but Cary Bates' take on "What if Jor-El and Lara had made it to Earth too?" works on a surprisingly profound level, and is a real gem in hiding.

6. Red Son

Overhyped, but still very good at what it does.

5. Kingdom Come

Ditto

4. Strange Visitor

A sort of attempt to mesh together Golden Age Superman, All-Star Superman, and Jack Kirby's entire developed DC mythology into one coherent version of Superman from 1938 to the end of time, too much of this too nakedly built purely around deifying Superman to fully work unless you already deeply care for the character. But that arguably goes for Kingdom Come as well, and this lacks its flaws; given that this is also so gorgeous, fun and heartfelt, I had to slide it ahead. Like Old Man of Metropolis, one of the great unsung Superman stories.

3. Death of Superman

Toughest decision on the list - this is so purely phenomenal (speaking of course of Siegel/Swan's story, not Doomsday).

2. Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?

This edges "Death" out for the craftsmanship on display, and the fact that for as many heart-breaking moments there are in Siegel's take, none of them quite match "He looked as if he'd been crying".

1. Secret Identity

Still the gold standard for "What if Superman was real?" stories, and an easy victory.

[manduck37]

I'm so glad someone mentioned President Superman (both versions) as I love those stories.

President Superman (both stories)
All-Star Superman
For The Man Who Has Everything
What Ever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow
Kingdom Come
The Super Seven- a two part Elseworlds when they did Elseworlds annuals.
Secret Identity
Superman: Red Son
Superman: For All Seasons
Birthright
Morrison's New 52 run
The Nail-more of a JLA Elseworlds but it all hinges on Superman
The Last Family of Krypton
Superman 659, "Angel" by Kurt Busiek. An elderly woman comes to believe that Superman is her guardian angel. A sweet and touching story that deals with Superman's impact on everyday people. You know, the kind of story Busiek really excels at.
Superman Beyond- The Morrison Final Crisis tie in, not the spin off from Batman Beyond that was a digital first book. Though that one was quite good too.

[t hedge coke]

Just sticking to alternate reality versions/stories...

Kesel's Elseworld's Finest is pure gold.

The old Super Sons stories are all great fun. As are some of the "If Superman married" and other never-to-be futures back in the days when Lois and Jimmy had ongoing titles.

Terra Occulta's Clark Kent is such a mensch.

President Superman and Superdemon are absolute win in The Multiversity.

I'll take Frank Miller's Superman over so many others', including John Byrne's "in continuity" take.

And, The Nail and its sequel are just beautiful comics.

[LaughingVulcan]

I DID forget Kingdom Come...strange, just because I loved the fantastic scene with the battle between Capt. Marvel and Superman, Capt. Marvel and the nuke, Superman in the UN...
Thanks for reminding me of that, guys.

Also forgot The Nail, which I thought was VERY cool...I'd LOVE to see a Multiverse limited series showing us more of that world.

I have Secret Identity...dunno why I didn't think of it either.

Also,
• Superman: Last Son of Earth — I LOVED how they developed Jor and Lara and brought them (emotionally) out of thier shells...

There was a sequel...I was NOT happy with Kal & Luthor's...mutations...but I LOVED what Lara said to Lois at the end of the story.

THIS would be another Multiverse world that would be interesting to do a limited series on...

[Thor-Ul]

Favorite stories? There are so much.

Naturally the Alan Moore penned stories (Whatever happened to the man of Tomorrow? and For the man who had everything)
Also What's so funny about truth, justice and the american way?

Kingdom Come and The Nail are great stories, but I consider them more like DC universe stories and not just Superman. In Superboy's Legion, also from Alan Davis, is more related to the growing of Kal-El as a character. other greats tales are Secret identity, Red Son and Last Son of earth, the first part at least.

I liked also Morrison's All Star and Calvin Ellis story against Superdoom. And had the chance to read the original Superman Red-Superman Blue story and I liked, depiste the dark subtext implied.

[Jim Kelly]

By Mark Farmer and Alan Davis, SUPERBOY'S LEGION was perhaps one of the most bittersweet Elseworlds. Davis so gets the Legion that it makes one weep he didn't take over as artist/writer after the Crisis. His art has aspects of Neal Adams, Curt Swan, Joe Station, John Byrne, George Perez, Keith Giffen, Steve Lightle, Mike Grell, Jim Starlin, Dave Cockrum, Jim Sherman. It's like the most perfect LSH you could ever imagine--albeit married with post-Crisis influences. It reminded me of all we were missing when the old school Legion was trashed. So, bittersweet. Beautiful but incredibly depressing.