5 Biggest Changes Superman: Earth One Made To The Man of Steel

One of Superman’s greatest comic book stories is the three-volume Elseworlds epic Superman: Earth One, which makes some big changes to the Man of Steel’s backstory. DC Earth One began with the first volume of Superman: Earth One in 2010, with the Earth One stories taking place in an alternate reality from DC’s main comics continuity. As with any DC Elseworlds story, this gave the writers overseeing the stories great freedom to significantly re-imagine the origins and character arcs of DC’s most iconic heroes. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and the Teen Titans each had their own Earth One books, but despite similar plans for The Flash and Aquaman, Earth One rather unceremoniously came to a stop after Batman: Earth One Vol. 3 in 2021.

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Superman: Earth One not only presents a younger Clark Kent making his way in the world, but tells a wholly new Superman origin story that had never been seen in the comics before (and which also served as one of the key source material stories for Zack Snyder’s 2013 movie Man of Steel). Additionally, once the young Kal-El finally does become Superman, his adventures are radically different from any Superman fans had ever seen before. Here are the 5 biggest changes Superman: Earth One makes to Superman.

1) Clark Kent Flies Under the Radar Until Circumstances Force Him To Become Superman

While most versions of Superman involve Clark Kent donning the cape and immediately taking up a life of protecting his adoptive home world, Superman: Earth One depicts Clark as much more reclusive about revealing his powers and alien origins to the world. Clark bounces around without ever settling into a career or long-term residence until the arrival of the alien Tyrell and his army forces him to act. With Tyrell demanding Earth’s Kryptonian refugee turn himself over in 24 hours and threatens to wipe out humanity if he doesn’t, Clark puts on his classic suit and flies into action as Superman, ultimately stopping Tyrell and saving Earth after a calamitous battle.

2) Lois Lane Has a Much More Acrimonious Relationship With Clark Kent

Superman and Lois Lane are as inseparable as any comic book couple, so it’s a big twist for Superman: Earth One to introduce them on less than friendly terms, with Lois viewing Clark as a duplicitous rookie reporter for the Daily Planet, eventually coming to be envious of how much is attention he gets as the journalist covering Superman’s exploits. Eventually, Lois softens in her antagonistic attitude towards Clark, but Superman: Earth One never brings the two together as a romantic couple, a major change from Lois and Clark’s traditional relationship (while their initial animosity is something Absolute Superman would also present it own portrayal of in a different way).

3) Clark Has a New Love Interest

While Clark Kent never enters into his traditional romance with Lois Lane, he does have an all new romantic interest in Lisa Lasalle, a neighbor in Clark’s apartment complex. As Superman: Earth One progresses, Clark learns some heartbreaking details about Lisa’s life, including that she works as a prostitute in order to make ends meet. Despite this and Lisa even being badly injured at one point by General Zod, she and Clark overcome their challenges and essentially become the exact couple that Clark traditionally is with Lois, with Clark even introducing Lisa to his adoptive mother Martha Kent, suggesting that the two may have eventually tied the knot in a story similar to Superman and Lois Lane’s canonical wedding had the Man of Steel’s DC Earth One story continued beyond Superman: Earth One Vol. 3.

4) Lex Luthor Is a Woman (& Has a Different Vendetta Against Superman)

Superman’s archnemesis Lex Luthor gets both a throwback and a makeover in Superman: Earth One, with Alexandra “Lex” Luthor and her husband Alexander portrayed as scientists similar to Lex’s early mad scientist portrayal before his evolution into a billionaire tycoon. The two Luthors are recruited to try to devise a means of killing Superman by Major Sandra Lee, with the two discovering the de-powering effects red ultraviolet light has on Kryptonians. However, in Superman’s battle with General Zod in Superman Earth One Vol. 3, Alexander is killed. Because of this, she bears a major grudge towards Superman for Alexander’s demise, which she holds him accountable for, and vows to take her revenge, the former scientist fully transformed into Superman: Earth One‘s version of Lex Luthor.

5) General Zod Is Superman’s Uncle

Superman: Earth One includes one of Superman’s greatest and most formidable enemies, the ruthless General Zod, introducing him as the primary villain of Vol. 3, but with a big change – not only is his full name Zod-El, but the book’s version of Zod is the brother of Superman’s Kryptonian father Jor-El, and therefore his uncle. Zod’s conflict on Krypton with Jor-El eventually led to him being turned over to the Krpytonian Council, with Zod in turn aiding another alien race known as the Dheronians in destroying Krypton, which Zod managed to escape to Earth from in an effort to find his nephew Kal-El. In the end, Superman manages to defeat Zod, but Superman: Earth One‘s Zod-El makes the enmity between the Man of Steel and one of his arch-enemies into a familial conflict never seen before in Superman comics or really anywhere else before.