''All-Star Superman'' is a twelve-issue

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

series featuring

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

that was published by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

. The series ran from November

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

to October

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. The series was written by Grant Morrison, drawn by Frank Quitely, and digitally inked by Jamie Grant. The series revolves around Superman, who is dying due to overexposure to the Sun, as he accomplishes many heroic feats (The Twelve Labors of Superman) and attempts to make peace with the world before his imminent death. The origin of the series started with Morrison's desire to tell a "timeless" Superman story that wasn't an origin story or followed a classic narrative. Morrison originally planned a revamp of the Superman character, titled "Superman Now", but after the approach was declined, decided they wouldn't write anything related to Superman until DC Vice President

Dan DiDio Dan DiDio (; born October 13, 1959) is an American writer, editor, and publisher who has worked in the television and comic book industries. From February 2010 until February 2020, he was the co-publisher of DC Comics, along with Jim Lee. '' Wizar ...

contacted them. Some of the ideas planned for "Superman Now" were subsequently reused for ''All-Star Superman''. The series was the second to be launched in 2005 under DC's All-Star

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

, the first being ''

All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder ''All Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder'' is an American comic book series written by Frank Miller and penciled by Jim Lee. It was published by DC Comics, with a sporadic schedule, between 2005 and 2008. The series was to be rebooted under the ti ...

''. These series were attempts by DC to allow major comics creators a chance to tell stories showcasing these characters without being restricted by

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lant ...

continuity. ''All-Star Superman'' received overwhelming critical acclaim for its emotional story, characterization, writing, and artwork, and is considered to be one of the best Superman stories and one of the greatest comic books of all time.

Publication history

Grant Morrison's approach to writing this series was to make the reading as universal as possible. They stated that they were not interested in "re-doing origin stories or unpacking classic narratives" but instead wanted to do "a total update, rehaul and refit". However, rather than just creating a "fresh and relevant" update for new readers, Morrison wanted to write a "collection of 'timeless' Superman issues". The origins of this lie in a revamp of Superman, ''Superman Now'', which began when Morrison and editor

Dan Raspler Dan Raspler is an editor and writer of comic books for DC Comics. In the late 1990s, he created the series ''Young Heroes in Love''. Awards * 1997: Won "Best Editor" Eisner Award, for '' Kingdom Come, Hitman'', '' The Spectre'', ''Sergio Aragon� ...

were unsuccessfully brainstorming ideas for a new take on the character outside the San Diego Comic Con, when they had a "

shamanic Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...

" encounter with a man dressed as Superman which helped spark the creative process and inspired the cover to the first issue. Morrison states in an interview: The ideas generated by that meeting were refined and pitched to DC in 1998 by Morrison,

Mark Millar Mark Millar (; born 24 December 1969) is a Scottish comic book writer and television producer who first came to prominence with a run on the superhero series '' The Authority'', published by DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint. Millar has written ex ...

Mark Waid Mark Waid (; born March 21, 1962) is an American comic book writer best known for his work on DC Comics titles ''The Flash'', '' Kingdom Come'' and '' Superman: Birthright'' as well as his work on ''Captain America'', ''Fantastic Four'' and '' Dar ...

and

Tom Peyer Tom Peyer (born February 23, 1954) is an American comic book creator and editor. He is known for his 1999 revisioning of Golden Age super-hero Hourman, as well as his work on the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 1990s. An editor at DC Comics/Vertigo ...

. They picked up on the fifteen-year cycle of reboots to the character, the previous one being John Byrne's '' The Man of Steel'', and suggested a new approach: Although initially greenlit, it was eventually turned down and Morrison said that they "didn't expect to be doing any further work on Superman" but the chance came as they were finishing their run on '' New X-Men''. In an interview with Matt Brady from

Newsarama Newsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews, and essays about the American comic book industry. It is owned by Future US. In June 2020, Newsarama was merged with the website GamesRadar+, also owned by FutureUS. History N ...

, Grant Morrison said that they were contacted by DC Vice President

and asked "if I'd like to come back to DC to work on a Superman project with an artist of my choice". They mentioned it worked out well since they were also planning to return to DC "to do the ''

Seven Soldiers ''Seven Soldiers'' is a 2005–2006 comic book metaseries written by Grant Morrison and published by DC Comics. It was published as seven interrelated Limited series (comics), mini-series and two bookend issues. The series features a new version of ...

'' project and the Vertigo books". Morrison has confirmed that they made use of some of their ''Superman Now'' ideas for ''All-Star Superman'', like "Luthor’s heart-stopping moment of understanding", as well as drawing on their original proposal for elements later included in the " DC One Million" storyline. In writing the character Superman, Morrison identifies different aspects of his personality: "'Superman' is an act. 'Clark Kent' in Metropolis is also an act. There are actually two Kents, at least – one is a disguise, a bumbling, awkward mask for Superman. The other is the confident, strong, good-hearted Clark Kent who was raised by his surrogate Ma and Pa in Kansas and knows how to drive a tractor. I think he's the most 'real' of all". As the series drew to a close, writer Grant Morrison conceived of a series of one-shot specials, loose in continuity from the original series, that would depict or pay tribute to the

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...

Superman, the

Super-Sons The Super-Sons are a pair of fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The characters were created by Bob Haney and Dick Dillin and first appeared in ''World's Finest Comics'' #215 (January 1973). The character ...

World's Finest Comics ''World's Finest Comics'' was an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1941 to 1986. The series was initially titled ''World's Best Comics'' for its first issue; issue #2 (Summer 1941) switched to the more familiar name. Michael ...

'' team, the Superman Squad, the Superman of the 853rd Century, and the

Superman dynasty The Superman dynasty, an extension of the House of El, is a lineage of DC Comics superheroes. The term is used for the descendants of Kal-El, the original Superman, who continue to uphold his legacy of heroism well into the 853rd century, as dep ...

. Publisher

has stated that there are no current plans for the specials. Morrison would later become involved as writer on a 2011 relaunch of ''Action Comics'' where they used their ideas about the Golden Age Superman.

Plot

rescues Dr. Leo Quintum and his P.R.O.J.E.C.T. team from an exploration mission to the Sun that was remotely sabotaged by Lex Luthor, and acquires the ability to project his bio-electric aura. Luthor orchestrated this event to overwhelm Superman's cells with massive amounts of solar radiation; Quintum determines that Superman's new level of power is also killing him, and that he has one year left to live. Luthor is arrested after the publication of a Daily Planet article written by

Clark Kent Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publish ...

, while Superman decides to keep his impending death secret from the public. Nonetheless, Superman reveals his secret identity to Lois Lane in order to spend his remaining time with her. Although Lois initially refuses to believe this, Superman treats her to a birthday dinner in the Fortress of Solitude. Superman's furtive behavior and an airborne chemical in the raised and restored

RMS Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

rouses a fit of paranoia in Lois and she accidentally attacks Superman with a Kryptonite laser, but he is unharmed by it due to his new powers. Superman calms her down and reveals that he had been preparing her birthday present: a liquefied form of his DNA that will grant her all his superpowers for 24 hours, as well as a leotard for her costume. Using the name " Superwoman", she joins Superman as he stops a monster attack in

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...

involving Samson,

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...

and an Ultra-Sphinx. Superman drives Samson and Atlas away and he and Lois spend an eventful day that ends with them kissing on the moon before her powers fade and she falls asleep. Superman flies her back home. Meanwhile, Luthor is convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death. Clark meets with Luthor for an interview at

Stryker's Island This page list the locations in the DC Universe, the shared universe setting of DC Comics. Sites * the Arrowcave – The former base of operations of the Green Arrow and Speedy. * Avernus Cemetery – A burial ground located in Central City for t ...

. Following a violent encounter with the

Parasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...

in which Clark manages to conceal his identity, Luthor reveals that he respects Clark as a journalist and that he has no desire to escape because he has fulfilled his dream of killing Superman. Nearing death, Superman accomplishes the "Twelve Labors of Superman" – a variety of tasks that significantly help both humans and Kryptonians – and completes his last will and testament. Meanwhile, Luthor survives and escapes his execution after taking a formula similar to what Superman made for Lois, and he begins razing Metropolis with the aid of

Solaris Solaris may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature, television and film * ''Solaris'' (novel), a 1961 science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem ** ''Solaris'' (1968 film), directed by Boris Nirenburg ** ''Solaris'' (1972 film), directed by ...

, an artificial star that corrupts the Sun and turns it blue. After Superman defeats Solaris, Clark returns to the Daily Planet to submit his article, but falls dead. As the staff tries to save him, Superman awakes on his home planet of Krypton and meets his Kryptonian father Jor-El, who reveals that Superman's body is converting itself to a solar radio-consciousness. He offers him a choice; remain among the dead or return to life long enough to defeat Luthor. Clark wakes up, and confronts Luthor, firing a gravity gun at him. The gravity gun warps time for Luthor, speeding up the exhaustion of his powers. As his powers fade, Luthor briefly sees Superman's vision of Earth, and weeps before Superman knocks him out. Superman proclaims his eternal love for Lois and kisses her before becoming solar radio-consciousness and repairing the Sun. One year later, Lois admires a monument dedicated to Superman and tells

Jimmy Jimmy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Jimmy'' (2008 film), a 2008 Hindi thriller directed by Raj N. Sippy * ''Jimmy'' (1979 film), a 1979 Indian Malayalam film directed by Melattoor Ravi Varma * ''Jimmy'' (2013 f ...

that she believes Superman will

return Return may refer to: In business, economics, and finance * Return on investment (ROI), the financial gain after an expense. * Rate of return, the financial term for the profit or loss derived from an investment * Tax return, a blank document or t ...

if he can create an artificial heart for the Sun. Superman, now a solar being, lives inside the Sun and maintains machinery to keep it alive. Meanwhile, Quintum reveals a new P.R.O.J.E.C.T in case something happens, and unveils it by standing before a door with Superman's characteristic emblem, with its usual "S" replaced with the number "2".

Reception

Sales

The first issue was released in November 2005 and was a sales success, ranking second in the top 300 comics for that period, with ''Infinite Crisis'' #2 being the top seller. The second issue also ranked second in the top 300 comics for the January 2006 period, with pre-order sales of 124,328; ''Infinite Crisis'' #4 being the top seller that month. The series completed its run upon publication of its final issue in October 2008.

Critical response

Jeremy Estes, an early reviewer from

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

, notes the difficulty in revamping the character Superman in his review of the first issue of the series. The ''All-Star'' continuity allowed the writer Grant Morrison much more writing freedom. Frank Quitely's art is praised as "fresh and modern", while still "evoking the classic hero known around the world". At the time of writing only the first issue had been released, and so Estes was unsure of the direction of the story, noting the creative team "have set up a promising tale, but only time will tell if they take the last train to Memphis or head West, all the way to Vegas". Nicholas Labarre, writing for Sequart, argued that ''All-Star Superman'' "confidently exploits the near omnipotence of the main character" in contrast with other Superman stories. He compared the series favorably with Morrison's other work. Ed Mathews from PopImage reviewed the first collected

trade paperback Trade paperback may refer to: * Trade paperback, a higher-quality softcover version of a book * Trade paperback (comics) In comics in the United States, a trade paperback (shortened: TPB or trade) is a collection of stories originally published ...

, which collects the first six issues, and praised the creative team, stating the art is "the most elegant work out of Frank Quitely I've seen to date". Mathews also singled out Grant Morrison's, saying that the series adds to the Superman mythos "by tweaking bits and parts from the character's rich history just enough to make old concepts fresh again". He recommended Volume 1 of the collected editions, and stated that "''All Star Superman'' sings a hit". Another review of Volume 1 came from Danny Graydon of '' The First Post'', who stated that Grant Morrison's writing is "the most vigorously entertaining take on the "Man of Steel" in decades" and that the "nuanced artwork is to be savoured". ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' magazine's Lev Grossman ranked the graphic novel third in Top 10 Graphic Novels of 2007. He praised the storyline, noting that due to the character's strength and morality, he is a difficult character to write for.

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

's list of top 25 Superman stories ranked'' All-Star Superman'' as number one, describing it as "a loving and affectionate celebration of everything that Superman stands for". The pop culture commentator Comic Book Girl 19 praised the series suggesting that Grant Morrison had portrayed Superman as "emotionally intelligent, thoughtful" and "compassionate".

Awards

''All-Star Superman'' won the

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

for "Best New Series" in 2006, as well as "Best Continuing Series" in 2007 and 2009. It also won the Harvey Awards for "Best Artist" and "Best Single Issue" in 2008. In 2006 it won the Eagle Award for "Favourite New Comic book" and "Favourite Comics Cover" (for the first issue), as well as the 2007 "Favourite Colour Comicbook - American" Eagle.

In other media

* ''

All-Star Superman ''All-Star Superman'' is a twelve-issue American comic book series featuring Superman that was published by DC Comics. The series ran from November 2005 to October 2008. The series was written by Grant Morrison, drawn by Frank Quitely, and digita ...

'', a film in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies series, is an adaptation of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's comic book. It was written by writer Dwayne McDuffie and directed by Sam Liu. It was released on February 22, 2011. It stars James Denton as Superman, Christina Hendricks as Lois Lane,

Anthony LaPaglia Anthony LaPaglia (, ; born 31 January 1959) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his role as Jack Malone in the television drama ''Without a Trace'' (2002–2009), for which he received a Golden Globe Award in 2004. LaPaglia won a Prim ...

as Lex Luthor, Edward Asner as Perry White,

Obba Babatundé Obba Babatundé (born Donald Cohen; December 1, 1951) is an American actor. A native of Queens, New York City, he has appeared in more than seventeen stage productions, thirty theatrical films, sixty made-for-television films, and two prime-time ...

as Judge, Steven Blum as Atlas,

Linda Cardellini Linda Edna Cardellini (born June 25, 1975) is an American actress. In television, she is known for her leading roles in the teen drama ''Freaks and Geeks'' (1999–2000), the medical drama '' ER'' (2003–09), the drama thriller ''Bloodline'' (2 ...

as Nasthalthia "Nasty" Luthor, Frances Conroy as Martha Kent, Alexis Denisof as Dr. Leo Quintum,

Michael Gough Francis Michael Gough ( ; 23 November 1916 – 17 March 2011) was a British character actor who made more than 150 film and television appearances. He is known for his roles in the Hammer Horror Films from 1958, with his first role as Sir Arthu ...

as Parasite,

Matthew Gray Gubler Matthew Gray Gubler (, ; born March 9, 1980) is an American actor, filmmaker, fashion model, painter, illustrator, director, and author. He is best known for his role as criminal profiler Dr. Spencer Reid in the CBS television show ''Criminal Min ...

as Jimmy Olsen,

Finola Hughes Finola Hughes (born 29 October 1959) is an English actress, best known for her role as Anna Devane on the ABC soap operas ''General Hospital'' and ''All My Children'', and her portrayal of Laura in the 1983 film '' Staying Alive'', the sequel ...

as Lilo,

Kevin Michael Richardson Kevin Michael Richardson (born October 25, 1964) is an American actor. Known for his distinctively deep voice, he has mostly voiced villainous characters in animation and video games. In film, Richardson voiced Goro in ''Mortal Kombat'' (1995) ...

as Steve Lombard, and Arnold Vosloo as Bar-El. * The 2013 film '' Man of Steel'' features a monologue spoken by Jor-El (

Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent ten years of his childhood in Australia, and moved there permanently at age twenty one. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maxi ...

) taken almost word-for-word from the comic. * The 2017 Arrowverse crossover "

Crisis on Earth-X "Crisis on Earth-X" is the fourth Arrowverse Crossover (fiction), crossover event, featuring episodes of the live-action television series ''Supergirl (TV series), Supergirl'', ''Arrow (TV series), Arrow'', ''The Flash (2014 TV series), The Flash ...

" loosely incorporates several elements from ''All-Star Superman''; the Nazi Supergirl is shown to be suffering from the same condition Superman is in the comic, and her cells are mentioned to be overloaded with solar radiation. When asked about this, she says "like

Icarus In Greek mythology, Icarus (; grc, Ἴκαρος, Íkaros, ) was the son of the master craftsman Daedalus, the architect of the labyrinth of Crete. After Theseus, king of Athens and enemy of Minos, escaped from the labyrinth, King Minos suspe ...

, I flew too close to the sun", further referencing the events of the comic.

Collected editions

The series has been collected into following formats:

English version by DC Comics

*''All-Star Superman Volume 1'' (collects #1–6, 160 pages) :*hardcover edition (, January 2007) :*hardcover edition (ISBN /, 2007-04-11) :*softcover edition (ISBN /, 2008-08-27) *''All-Star Superman Volume 2'' (collects #7–12, 160 pages) :*hardcover edition (ISBN /, 2009-02-11) :*DC softcover edition (ISBN /, 2010-02-10) :*Titan softcover edition, September 2009, *''

Absolute Absolute may refer to: Companies * Absolute Entertainment, a video game publisher * Absolute Radio, (formerly Virgin Radio), independent national radio station in the UK * Absolute Software Corporation, specializes in security and data risk manage ...

All-Star Superman'' (collects #1–12, bonus sketchbook section, 320 pages) :*1st print (?, 2010-11-03) :*2nd print (ISBN /, 2011-10-26) *''All-Star Superman'' (collects #1–12, 304 pages) :*DC softcover edition (ISBN /, 2011-10-05) :*

DC Black Label DC, D.C., D/C, Dc, or dc may refer to: Places * Washington, D.C. (District of Columbia), the capital and the federal territory of the United States * Bogotá, Distrito Capital, the capital city of Colombia * Dubai City, as distinct from the ...

softcover edition (ISBN /, 2018-11-28) *''All-Star Superman: The Deluxe Edition'' (collects #1–12, extras, 328 pages) :*hardcover edition (ISBN /, 2022-01-25)

Dutch/Flemish version by Lion

*''

All-Star Superman'' (collects #1–12, bonus sketchbook section, 320 pages) :*2nd print (ISBN /, 2013-07-01?)

Spanish version by ECC Cómics

*''All-Star Superman Parte 1'' (collects #1–6) :*DC edition (, 2017-04-01?) *''All-Star Superman Parte 2'' (collects #7–12) :*DC edition (, 2017-04-01?) *''All-Star Superman'' (collects #1–12) :*quarter edition (, 2018-04-10) :*DC Black Label edition (, 2020-10-06) :*Deluxe Edition (, 2019-06-04)All-Star Superman (Edición Deluxe)
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