What do you think?
Rate this book
Superman: Past and Future
Follow Superman's greatest time travel adventures as he experiences eras he never thought possible! This time warping collection features stories originally published from the '40s through the '80s including the classic tale "Superman Under the Red Sun" among many, many others!
192 pages, Paperback
First published December 23, 2008
25 people want to read
About the author
Cary Bates
704 books13 followersCary Bates (born 1948) is an American comic book, animation, television and film writer. He is best known for his work on The Flash and Superman.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Read
July 5, 2020A decent collection of Superman stories (for the most part) that either involved time travel or were set in the future. The stories are (I think) in chronological order, though not in publication order as the book leads off with a Superboy story from I suspect the late 50s or early 60s. That story is followed by a Superman story from the 40s. Besides the Superboy story there is one each featuring Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane. There is also a four-story sequence featuring the Superman of 2965, one of which sees him team up with that eras Batman. Included is a story which had Superman arriving on Earth in 1976. The final story of the book has Superman team up with Superwoman, a character introduced in that story. Though there was a hint that the character might make a return appearence to the best of my knowledge she never did. I had read most of the material in this collection but not all of it. Even so this was an enjoyable volume and one I would definitely not mind adding to my library. For those readers who enjoy Superman, particularily his earlier appearences this will be a delightful volume. As well those readers interested in stories featuring time travel. Personally I might have made different choices if I had been putting this volume together (I am sure I could have found a better Lois Lane story for instance) but this is still a good volume. Highly recommended.
July 24, 2025
For nearly nine decades, Superman has had a long superpowered life in the comics and beyond. One of those powers, more rarely used than most, has been his ability to break the time barrier and travel through time. Or, indeed, to have stories where time travel played a prominently role or gave us glimpses of the tomorrow of the Man of Tomorrow. 2008’s Superman: Past and Future brought together thirteen tales from the Golden, Silver, and Bronze Ages in one wild volume.
Wild in no small part to the quality of the stories gathered. The reader’s ability to suspend disbelief to accept the antics (not to mention dialogue) of the Golden and Silver Ages in particular will undoubtedly influence one’s enjoyment of the stories gathered given there’s three Golden Age tales and seven from the Silver Age. Tales which involve Superboy trying to stop the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Jimmy Olson inadvertently becoming Nazi Germany’s chief military advisor, and Lois Lane’s attempt to save Krypton seeing her romance Jor-El instead among others. Stories that, while at times simple or hammy, represent the fun of their eras.
Something that can also be said for a Silver Age trilogy that make up the middle portion. Starting with “The Superman of 2965!" and carrying into two more issues, readers are introduced to a 30th century descendent of the Man of Steel carrying on his legacy in a future tomorrow. Along with a follow-up featuring a World’s Finest team-up with a future Batman as they face their respective foes, these are pure Silver Age. Full of futuristic for the time but subsequently dated science fiction ideas, plot contrivances, and corny dialogue by modern standards. Even so, and not being time travel tales, they remain as fun to read as they were to readers in the mid-1960s.
The collection is rounded out by Bronze Age tales running from 1976 to 1983. The first sees Superman traveling to a dystopian future to fight for the right to wear his own costume that, despite its plot, has elements that feel like a holdover from the Silver Age. There’s also “The Last Secret Identity!” in which time travel shenanigans create a predestination paradox involving a previously unknown superhero, a time traveler, and the Man of Steel himself.
Between those Bronze Age tales is “Superman 2001!” which is the standout story of this section (and potentially the entire collection). It’s a reimagined origin story that sees him land in the midst of the Cold War and carries on through to 2001 involving the threat of nuclear war, the rise of an unnamed third world power, and what Superman’s role in the modern world might be. Like its Silver Age counterparts, it’s easy to look back on the vision of the future as overly optimistic and a little out of touch with the real years involved but the characterization of this alternate Superman and the strength of the writing otherwise sell it, even if it crams what a couple of decades later would have been an entire Elseworlds miniseries into a single issue. That it inspired the famed Superman: Red Son series from that run makes it a worthwhile read, as well.
Is this the greatest collection of Superman tales ever published? Probably not. But for fans of science fiction and the Man of Steel (or those interested in seeing where the seed for Red Son was first laid), it’s a worthwhile read. Especially amid the summer of Superman.
Wild in no small part to the quality of the stories gathered. The reader’s ability to suspend disbelief to accept the antics (not to mention dialogue) of the Golden and Silver Ages in particular will undoubtedly influence one’s enjoyment of the stories gathered given there’s three Golden Age tales and seven from the Silver Age. Tales which involve Superboy trying to stop the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Jimmy Olson inadvertently becoming Nazi Germany’s chief military advisor, and Lois Lane’s attempt to save Krypton seeing her romance Jor-El instead among others. Stories that, while at times simple or hammy, represent the fun of their eras.
Something that can also be said for a Silver Age trilogy that make up the middle portion. Starting with “The Superman of 2965!" and carrying into two more issues, readers are introduced to a 30th century descendent of the Man of Steel carrying on his legacy in a future tomorrow. Along with a follow-up featuring a World’s Finest team-up with a future Batman as they face their respective foes, these are pure Silver Age. Full of futuristic for the time but subsequently dated science fiction ideas, plot contrivances, and corny dialogue by modern standards. Even so, and not being time travel tales, they remain as fun to read as they were to readers in the mid-1960s.
The collection is rounded out by Bronze Age tales running from 1976 to 1983. The first sees Superman traveling to a dystopian future to fight for the right to wear his own costume that, despite its plot, has elements that feel like a holdover from the Silver Age. There’s also “The Last Secret Identity!” in which time travel shenanigans create a predestination paradox involving a previously unknown superhero, a time traveler, and the Man of Steel himself.
Between those Bronze Age tales is “Superman 2001!” which is the standout story of this section (and potentially the entire collection). It’s a reimagined origin story that sees him land in the midst of the Cold War and carries on through to 2001 involving the threat of nuclear war, the rise of an unnamed third world power, and what Superman’s role in the modern world might be. Like its Silver Age counterparts, it’s easy to look back on the vision of the future as overly optimistic and a little out of touch with the real years involved but the characterization of this alternate Superman and the strength of the writing otherwise sell it, even if it crams what a couple of decades later would have been an entire Elseworlds miniseries into a single issue. That it inspired the famed Superman: Red Son series from that run makes it a worthwhile read, as well.
Is this the greatest collection of Superman tales ever published? Probably not. But for fans of science fiction and the Man of Steel (or those interested in seeing where the seed for Red Son was first laid), it’s a worthwhile read. Especially amid the summer of Superman.
March 7, 2014
i liked it it was good reading those stories as i like reading the superman stories from the 60s,70s and the 80s
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews