5 Great Superman Moments That Defined The ‘10s

Superman was a character who had some tremendous peaks and valleys from the ’80s to the ’00s. The first superhero, at times, was selling well and a big part of the DC Universe, playing a key role in numerous stories. As the ’10s dawned, the character was in a pretty good place; much of the best parts of his history were restored and some of the worst changes to the Man of Steel were taken away. Fans were looking forward to the new directions the character was going to be taken, and the ’10s felt like a place where we could have more great Superman stories. And then the New 52 happened.

Hatred of the New 52 can be overblown, but it mostly wasn’t great for Superman at all.There were some cool moments and stories, but there was also a lot of dross. However, things did get better in the last few years of the decade, leading to the success we’re having right now. These five moments defined Superman in the ’10s, helping redeem a decade that wasn’t the best for the hero.

5) “Superman Reborn”

DC Rebirth was a great time for DC fans, fixing a lot of problems with the New 52. Superman got the most rehab, with the pre-Flashpoint Superman, Lois Lane, and Jon Kent returning. However, this was still the New 52 universe, so everyone remembered the New 52 Superman’s adventures and not the old one’s. “Superman Reborn”, by Pete Tomasi, Patrick Gleason, Dan Jurgens, and Doug Mahnke, fixed all of this. This story saw Jon kidnapped by a mysterious villain, with Superman and Lois trying to find him. The story would see the two timelines merged, re-establishing the pre-Flashpoint Superman as the one who had been there all along, and it was pretty awesome to boot.

4) Action Comics #1000

Superman first appeared in 1938’s Action Comics #1, and in 2018, the character celebrated his 80th year anniversary with Action Comics #1000, an amazing comic from a small army of the best creators that DC has access to. The book has multiple short Superman stories, all of which focus on the character from numerous eras. It was a book with banger after banger, and while one can argue that the last story that kicked off the maligned Bendis run, it’s still a great read. This is an amazing comic (and the hardcover companion about the history of the Man of Steel is also fantastic), and it showed off why the Last Son of Krypton has been an icon for almost a hundred years.

3) Grant Morrison’s Action Comics

Grant Morrison wrote the Superman masterpiece All-Star Superman, so when it was announced that they were going to write Action Comics in the New 52, fans were excited. Morrison had wanted to write a Superman ongoing for years and this was their big moment. Luckily, they more than delivered The writer brought back the Golden Age “man of the people’ Superman, and it was delightful. Their 19 issues were one long story, telling a flawless tale with the Man of Steel. It was the best way to kick off the hero in the New 52, and remains the only great Superman story of those five years.

2) DC Rebirth

After Morrison’s run ended, the rest of the New 52 was a failure for the Man of Steel, with the New 52 version of the hero dying right before DC Rebirth #1 came out. This comic basically brought back as much of the pre-Flashpoint DC Multiverse as it could, and a big part of that was the old Superman coming back as the main Man of Steel. Basically, if you love Superman’s comics right now, you have Rebirth to thank. Lois became a much bigger part of her husband’s superheroic adventures, and of course, there was Jon Kent…

1) The Birth of Jon Kent

Jon Kent has become a crucial part of the success of Superman in the last decade, and he was born in the ’10s in Covergence: Superman #2. Convergence was a bad DC event book, but it did have really good tie-in series, and Convergence: Superman gave readers something they had always wanted: Clark and Lois as parents. DC knew they had gold on their hands, and got the Convergence: Superman team of Dan Jurgens and Lee Weeks to do another series starring the family. The birth of Jon led to fantastic books like Superman: Lois and Clark, Superman (Vol. 4), and SuperSons. Jon helped make the end of the 2010s so much better for the Superman comics, and has been a great part of DC since his introduction.

What’s your favorite ’10s Superman moment? Leave comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!

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