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Superman: Birthright #1/2

Superman: Birthright - Part 1

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VOLUME 40

SUPERMAN: BIRTHRIGHT
Originally published as Superman: Bightright #1-6,
September 2003 - February 2004

The world knows that Superman fights for truth and justice... but what droe a farmboy from Kansas to divide his life between posing as a mild-mannered reporter for The Daily Planet and embarking on a career as Metropolis' heroic Man of Steel?

ACTION COMICS #245
Originally published in October 1958

The evil alien Brainiac reduced the Kryptonian city of Kandor and kept it imprisoned in a bottle. For the first time since saving the city, Superman shrinks down for an adventure in this miniature slice of his home world. Meanwhile on Earth, a renegade scientist poses as the Man of Tomorrow.

Hardcover

Published October 1, 2017

3 people are currently reading
57 people want to read

About the author

Mark Waid

3,192 books1,274 followers
Mark Waid (born March 21, 1962 in Hueytown, Alabama) is an American comic book writer. He is best known for his eight-year run as writer of the DC Comics' title The Flash, as well as his scripting of the limited series Kingdom Come and Superman: Birthright, and his work on Marvel Comics' Captain America.

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
Profile Image for Vinicius.
822 reviews27 followers
December 3, 2024
Uma ótima história do Superman escrita por Waid, que traz brevemente sua origem, mas que da ênfase aos anos em que Clark busca entender seus poderes e como irá atuar como Superman.

Nesse primeiro volume, temos as primeiras 6 edições dessa minissérie se Waid, e pode-se dizer que a qualidade é bem boa, além de trabalhar aspectos do superman de maneira diferente do que estamos acostumados.

Após Waid mostrar a origem do Superman com Krypton, o roteirista rapidamente traz a história para a terra e com Clark já sendo um jovem adulto, buscando entender os segredos de Krypton e seu lugar na terra, tendo em vista que ele ainda não se vê como pertencente 100% a terra.

O diferencial de Waid é justamente conseguir trabalhar o Superman como uma figura que traz a esperança e busca realmente ajudar a população, se preocupando com o bem estar das pessoas.
Profile Image for Owen.
157 reviews
November 27, 2025
Superman: Birthright, Part 1 is a truly awesome origin story, and I had a lot of fun reading this first part.

The story starts a bit slow, with Clark’s early adventures in Africa not particularly appealing to me. However, from the point he arrives home, this story really takes off.

It’s exactly what you expect from Superman’s origin, but it is written flawlessly. Clark is brilliant as both himself and Superman, Jimmy and Lois are both instantly likeable, and Lex is already establishing himself as such an intimidating villain.

I can’t believe how much this comic has taken it up a gear in such a short space of time. This volume delivers a near-perfect modernization of the core mythos. Don’t be surprised to see 5 stars come for Part 2!
Profile Image for Francisco Becerra.
868 reviews10 followers
July 4, 2022
It’s almost sad that some of the best stories about Supes are retellings about its origins. This one makes a leap and tries very successfully to connect modernity with Superman morals. Its depiction of Lex Luthor is also very good, much in the vein of Lex Luthor: Man of Steel with a bit less of humanity. The drawing style is not much of my liking, but is spectacular as it can be on heavy action scenes.
Profile Image for Paweł.
452 reviews5 followers
May 29, 2018
Głównym spoiwem tej serii jest relacja Supermana i Lexa Luthora, która ma tu korzenie jeszcze w ich dzieciństwie. Trochę to sztucznie wyszło, ale postać Clarka się dzięki temu rozwija.
Profile Image for Ondra Král.
1,451 reviews122 followers
August 29, 2018
Nemám moc rád Supermana. Jeho origin je většinou nuda a je jedno, jestli ho píše Stračena nebo Johns... A pak si přijde Waid, a naprosto mě dostane.
Profile Image for Ian.
1,332 reviews7 followers
December 5, 2020
Part of the DC Comics Graphic Novel Collection.
In the title story we get to see how Clark Kent made the choice to create a public persona in order to use his superpowers to help people. As Superman goes into action in Metropolis for the first time he meets lifelong friends and his most determined enemy.
Also included is 'The Shrinking Superman' from 1958 in which the Man of Tomorrow is confronted by an impostor from the shrunken Kryptonian city of Kandor.

I've never been a huge Superman fan, but Mark Waid's main story here is a solid and enjoyable retelling of how the character started his career as a superhero, sort of a 'Superman: Year One' type of thing (Hmm. I'll have to check to see if there is an actual 'Superman: Year One' out there...).
Suitably, there's a real tone of hope to this story and whilst there are occasional dark undertones, it feels upbeat and positive in a way that the 'introduction' of Superman should. Although the introduction in the book singles out 'Man of Steel' as being the movie equivalent, I don't think Zack Snyder's colourless, dour interpretation is anywhere near as good as this. Instead, this story put me in mind of the Christopher Reeve Superman movies that I adored as a kid (and have a great deal of nostalgia for as an adult).

Nostalgia also worked to the benefit of the back-up story in this book too.
Often in these Graphic Novel Collection books the throwback story marks an interesting point in comics history but serves as a reminder of how far comic book writing has come on in the intervening years. Here, however, I totally managed to embrace the campy storytelling of 'The Shrinking Superman' because it fondly reminded me of an old Superman annual that I read over and over as a kid.
Sure it's not a sophisticated story but you've got to love the ironic humour of the scene where the impostor Superman tries to disguise himself by putting on a suit and glasses, convinced that the real Superman couldn't possibly recognise him now.

* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.com/ *
497 reviews8 followers
December 27, 2021
Siento que esta es de las mejores historias de Superman, sobre todo debido a la forma en la cual Clark se encontraba averiguando que hacer con el legado de su familia junto también a la orma en que los ent reaccionaron a su iniciativa de partir hacia Metrópolis para ondear el emblema de la casa de los El. Tenemos también el inicio de la enemistad con Lex al menos en el caso de Lex y Superman, también se me hizo que Lex es de los mejores villanos de Superman no solo debido a que es imponente sino también debido a su inteligencia que maneja la cual le hace planear varias cosas a su favor provocando también que tenga a la ciudad en la palma de su mano debido a la forma que el tiene de manejar a los medios sin contar al Daily Planet. Otra cosa que también me gusto fue que plantearon las bases de Lois Lane y Clark pero que las cosas no van apresuradas sino que se toman con calma y de una forma realista.
Profile Image for Gustavo.
901 reviews16 followers
August 27, 2020
Por alguna razón los que hicieron esta colección de Salvat, pensaron que era necesario poner OTRA historia sobre el origen de Superman, "actualizada a los tiempos que corren", o lo que sea. Se que es solo la primera parte, pero hasta ahora no suma nada nuevo, más que tecnología actual y que el Daily Planet tenga un sitio web. Igual no es que no sea una buena historia, solo me parece un poco innecesaria.
Profile Image for BP.
7 reviews
October 9, 2025
This was my introduction to American comics, and I think it served as a great entry point into Superman. Along with his origin story, you get introduced to the main players without lingering too long on any one character. The pacing is solid, and the dialogue feels natural enough—aside from a few awkward exchanges. Most panels were illustrated well, but I found the artist's style distracting in parts due to the way they accentuate facial musculature. This occasionally resulted in Lois Lane having a gigachad jawline, the teenage villains looking like AARP members, or Superman having a chipmunk-like, toothy smile. In some places, there’s just a lack of diligence—for example, the text and logo on Lois Lane's business card floating in the air or Superman's mom being cockeyed. Overall, nothing groundbreaking, but a great starting point.
Profile Image for Valeria.
55 reviews15 followers
November 2, 2018
Pues vaya con la originalidad. Lo recomiendo si eres un ser de otro planeta que nunca ha escuchado la historia del origen de Superman.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews

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