You may think you know Superman’s origin story forward and back by now, but there’s always room for a few changes. That’s the takeaway from the first issue of Superman: Year One, as writer Frank Miller and artist John Romita, Jr. chronicle the formative years of the Man of Steel in the Dark Knight Returns universe.
Read on to find out the major changes this story makes to an established formula, and why this version of Superman’s origin is darker than the norm.
Superman’s New Power
Superman is well-known for being one of the strongest heroes in the DC Universe, but it’s comparatively rare for comics to focus on Clark Kent’s heightened intelligence. Miller and Romita depict an infant Kal-El as an unusually self-aware child, one who bears witness to Krypton’s destruction and grows steadily more intelligent as his journey toward Earth unfolds. By the time he arrives, young Kal is already in firm command of his mental faculties. This issue even suggests that he uses telepathy to mentally nudge Pa Kent into deciding to adopt him.
Source: IGN.com How Superman: Year One Adds a Darker Twist to His Origin