Action Comics Rewrites Everything Superman Knows About His Own Father

Superman just discovered a whole new side to his own father, and it changes everything he thought he knew.

Action Comics #1074 finds the Man of Steel shortly after having quite literally punched his way out of the Phantom Zone and into the Krypton of decades past. There, Superman has only one place he can possibly turn to if he wants any hope of getting back to his own time — the House of El. Unfortunately, it is there where Superman discovers that his ingenious father was less of a renowned scientist and more of an unhinged inventor, albeit one who may have actually been able to save his entire planet if anyone in charge of it had listened to him.

Written by MARK WAID Art by CLAYTON HENRY & MICHAEL SHELFER Colors by MATT HERMS Letters by DAVE SHARPE Main cover art by CLAYTON HENRY & TOMEU MOREY Variant covers by SEBASTIAN FIUMARA, IBRAHIM MOUSTAFA, and MARK SPEARS

Superman’s father, Jor-El, is a classic DC Comics character, with his first appearance dating all the way back to an edition of the original 1939 Superman comic strip. It was Jor-El who first prophesied the destruction of Krypton, only to have his research rebuked by the leaders of his world. In the hopes of saving some semblance of Krypton, Jor-El and his wife decided to send their infant son away in an escape pod, kicking off the origin of Superman that fans know best.

Superman’s journey through the Phantom Zone began after an amalgamated trio of Kryptonian prisoners broke free from the interdimensional realm, leading to a brutal confrontation across the city of Metropolis. It was only through the use of Gold Kryptonite that Superman and his allies were able to put an end to the fight. To make matters worse, Superman’s subsequent journey into the Phantom Zone resulted in a disastrous confrontation with its true ruler, the god-like Aethyr.

While Superman initially arrived in the Phantom Zone only to be beset upon by the Phantom King’s minions, he soon discovered that the status quo of the realm had demonstrably changed in the years since his last visit. Rather than being lorded over by a villainous Phantom King, Superman’s own friend and ally Mon-El had usurped that very mantle for himself. Unfortunately, neither Mon-El nor the Man of Steel were capable of standing up against Aethyr, leading the latter to be subjected to what should have been an eternity drifting through the deepest corners of the Phantom Zone.

Action Comics #1074 is on sale now from DC Comics.

Source: DC Comics