Superman Comic Books -Top Ten Stories Every Super-Fan Should Know

Superman is an iconic hero known the world over, but many people haven't sampled his comic book adventures. Here's the top ten stories you have to check out.

10. "Metropolis Mailbag," Superman #64 by Dan Jurgens: A heartfelt holiday tale in which we find Superman answering letters from the public on Christmas Eve. The conceit of the story is realistic. How many children write letters to Santa or God or the Easter Bunny? With Lois's help, Superman answers these desperate please from sufferers ranging from a Holocaust survivor to a mother who wants her son home for Christmas. This was one of my first Superman comics, and still demonstrates the role of Superman as a helper to humanity.

09. "The Mysterious Mr. Mxyztplk," Superman v1 #30 by Jerry Seigel: The first appearance of my favorite fifth-dimensional imp, Mr. Mxyztplk. The Bugs Bunny of super villains, Mr. Mxyztplk (later changed to Mr. Mxyzptlk) shows up every 90 days or so to play pranks on Superman, or teach him a lesson. Reminiscent of Puck from "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Mxy can only be defeated by tricking him into saying his name backwards. In this first appearance Superman does just that, but not before Mxy achieves a lot of magical mischief, including bringing a statue of "The Thinker" to life. The Thinker's real name? McGurk! This story shows the fun side of Superman that a lot of modern writers seem to forget.

08. The Nail by Alan Davis: The Nail is a story about the history of the Justice League if Superman had never existed. But it really isn't a story about the virtues of the other League members... they quickly fall during the course of the story (to, of all people, Jimmy Olsen). This book shows us that everybody needs inspiration. Even superheroes need a Superman.

07. "The Impossible Mission," Superboy v1 #85 by Jerry Siegel: The Pre-Crisis Kal-El could travel through time on a whim. This left many people to wonder why he wouldn't stop history's greatest mistakes. In this Superboy story from 1960 we find out the answer. Superboy is inspired to travel back in time to stop the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. When he finds out Lincoln is resting at a hotel before his evening outing to the Ford Theater he goes to warn him, only to find an adult Lex Luthor has signed in under the same name as Lincoln: Mr. L. Luthor thinks the adult Superman has sent his younger self to defeat him and exposes Superboy to Red Kryptonite, paralyzing him. Luthor revels in his genius until he hears shots ring out across the street and realizes that Superboy meant to stop John Wilkes Booth. The look of horror that crawls over Luthor's face when he realizes he's responsible for the death of Lincoln is chilling. Even a criminal mastermind has a sense of decency.

06. "Legacy," Action Comics Annual #6 by John Byrne: The best Superman stories in my opinion are the ones that show his heroic nature is not a sun-fueled superpower, but something that resides in the core of his spirit. This is one such tale. In this Elseworlds story Superman's ancestor Gar-El comes to Earth during the Revolutionary war and helps the British defeat the Americans. One striking panel depicts founding fathers swinging from the gallows. The story then jumps ahead two-hundred years and we find Gar-El as supreme ruler, and the world still locked in the trappings of the 18th century. Gar-El's grandson Kal-El has blood which has been so diluted from breeding with humans that he is no stronger than a normal man. However, that doesn't stop him from standing up to his omnipotent grandfather as the behest of the resistance (led naturally by Lois Lane and Ye Daily Planet) to uphold truth, justice, and the American way.

5. "Clark Kent FOREVER - Superman NEVER!" Superman v1 #297 by Cary Bates and Elliot S! Maggin: Due to alien tampering, Superman finds he can only use his powers when his costume is on. Taking this as a sign, he gives up his superhuman identity and lives life only as Clark Kent. While the same subject matter has been approached numerous times (especially in the super-renaissance of the 1950's), this story stands out for one reason. Clark woos Lois Lane and wins her heart. With a sultry kiss on Clark's couch, we are led to believe that they take their relationship to the next level. In this, Superman finally gets his greatest wish: for a woman to love the man he is instead of the things he does. Interestingly, when Lois & Clark are married post-Crisis, their codeword is "beef bourguignon with ketchup," a reference to the meal they share in this classic tale.

04. "The Secret Revealed!" Superman v2 #2 by John Byrne: Many have wondered how a flimsy pair of glasses could conceal Superman from the world. In this story, fresh on the heels of Byrne's reboot, we find the answer. Lex Luthor, in a bid to discover Superman's true identity, commissions a supercomputer dedicated to the task. The supercomputer does not fail him, and reveals Superman to be Clark Kent! Luthor, ever the egotist, will not accept this answer. He reasons that somebody as powerful as Superman wouldn't need or want to walk around with common mortals, and if he were to choose a secret identity, it would be somebody more influential than a newspaper reporter. This story shows both Luthor's greatest folly: his assumption that Superman places himself above humanity

03. "Funeral for a Friend," TPB, Various writers: Screenwriting texts say you can learn a lot about a character by taking him out of the scene. This holds doubly true for Superman, who sustained no less than four ongoing titles for the several months he was in the grave. In "Funeral for a Friend" we get to see how the citizens of Metropolis and the world at large react to his death. The most poignant moments are also the most brutal: Ma and Pa Kent unable to publicly mourn their son, Lex Luthor attacking the body of Doomsday for killing him first, the Justice League answering Superman's Christmas mailbag. In more ways than one, it took Superman's absence to show the impact he had.

02. "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?," Superman v1 #423 and Action Comics #583 by Alan Moore: This tale was intended to be the "last" adventure of the Silver-Age Superman, and it serves that function. While called an imaginary story (but really... "aren't they all?") it serves as a satisfying conclusion, giving closure to everything from Bizzaro to Perry's troubled marriage. Superman's villains start using lethal force, exposing his secret identity and killing childhood friend Pete Ross. In order to protect his loved one, he moves them to the Fortress of Solitude where the amalgamated Luthor/Brainiac team surrounds him and tries to bring him down. In the end, only Superman and Lois are left to face off against the newly malicious Mr. Mxyzptlk.

And finally...

01. "Must There Be A Superman?!," Superman #247 by Elliot S! Maggin: Exploring the same thematic ground as Superman Returns, this classic story (which incidentally was accidentally ripped off from a young Jeph Loeb) questions the very concept of Superman. When Superman is stranded in space the Guardians of the Universe pick him up and bring him back to Oa. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, they subtlety suggest that the help he offers Earth might be holding them back from their destiny. When Superman returns to Earth, he tries to show people that they can do things for themselves. The best thing about this story is it never really answers the question proposed in the title. It hangs in the air at the end, leaving the reader to make up his or her own mind.