This time out I'm starting a new series that will run irregularly through 2026 called Many Lives, Many Origins. Superman has one of the best origins in comics. It's up there with Batman and Spider-Man as having a backstory that is timeless and just about perfect. Rocketed as a baby when his home world exploded, found by a kindly couple and raised as their son, Superman discovered that he possessed powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men and decided to use those powers to help mankind. Those basic elements have been part of Superman's backstory since his first appearance in Action Comics #1.

While those elements and that basic overview have been a constant in Superman's life, the particulars of those elements have changed. Evolved in some cases, regressed in others. The names of his birth parents have undergone small changes. The names of the kindly couple that found him have changed. Is Krypton a pulp, science fiction wonderland full of rhondors and jewel mountains or is it a cold, sterile place that "deserved to be blown up"? Was Superman ever Superboy? Did he have his powers as a baby, or did they take years to develop? The differences are what I find fascinating, and I thought it would be fun to look at those origins, whether it's in comics, in live action, in animation, in audio, or prose, and a do a deep dive into them.

To kick things off, I decided to look at Superman: Birthright. Published from July 2003 to July 2004 and written by Mark Waid with art by Leinil Francis Yu, this 12 issue maxi-series was supposed to be a new origin for a new age. I wasn't the biggest fan of this series when it first came out, but over the years I've softened on it and this most recent re-read really opened my eyes to how good this retelling of Superman's origin was, so I thought it would be a good way to kick this series off.

In this first part of a two part look at the series I go over what was going on with Superman in the comics when the series was published, Waid and Yu's take on Krypton, the idea of Superman being a lonely character, how this version balances that loneliness with Clark's desire to help people, Jonathan and Martha Kent, the new take on Lois, Superman's grand reveal, his first confrontation with Lex in costume, and more. Or, more succinctly, I talk about the first five issues of the series.

Below are the covers to those issues.

Feedback for the show can be sent to itallcomesbacktosuperman@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Audible. This show is part of The Fortress of Baileytude Podcasting Network, which is on Patreon. This is a tip jar as I have no time for extra content at the moment, but if you like content I produce please consider contributing a dollar a month if you can.

The opening and closing theme is titled Journey and was composed by Pontus Rufelt. It is licensed from Shockwave-Sound.

Next time: I finish my analysis of Superman: Birthright. Spoiler warning...I really liked it.

Fifty years ago Marvel and DC teamed up to bring their, at the time, flagship characters together. Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man was a tabloid sized comic that saw Superman and Spider-Man not only fighting each other, but also taking on the titanic team-up of Lex Luthor and Doctor Octopus. To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of this book and to, down the road, ride the coat tails of the new version of Superman and Spider-Man teaming up I did a team-up of my own. Joining me to talk about this book is my good friend and co-host of The Overlooked Dark Knight, Andrew Leyland. Andy is one of the biggest Spider-Man fans I know and this seemed like it would be a fun time.

And a fun time it was. Andy and I go over how this wasn't the first crossover between Marvel and DC, how the book came together, how Stan Lee is a lot wordier than Carmine Infantino, the writing, the art, the bits that eventually ended up in Superman The Movie, how Spider-Man's hero identitification was a bit lackluster, the weird way Lex and Doc Ock escape from prison, the parts they liked, the parts they didn't like, and what it's like when Spider-Man notices how hard Superman has become.

(snicker)

Feedback for It All Comes Back to Superman can be sent to itallcomesbacktosuperman@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Audible. This show is part of The Fortress of Baileytude Podcasting Network, which is on Patreon. This is a tip jar as I have no time for extra content at the moment, but if you like content I produce please consider contributing a dollar a month if you can.

The opening and closing theme is titled Journey and was composed by Pontus Rufelt. It is licensd from Shockwave-Sound.

Next time: The start on an irregular series called Superman: Many Lives, Many Origins where I look at the various tellings and retellings of Superman's origin (it's in the name) starting with Superman: Birthright.

It's a new year, so I'm going to start things like I did last year...by looking back at the previous year.

It's worked pretty well for the past few years and I actually put out a bunch of shows in 2025 and a certain film came out, so there's actually stuff to talk about, which, as you can imagine, makes putting out this episode a lot easier.

Anyway, in this off the cuff, unscripted, and increasing congested episode I talk about watching the final few episodes of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, why I stopped watching Season 7 of Smallville, why I let new books stack up for months before reading them, why I liked the whole Superwoman storyline, the stuff I re-read for shows this year, the podcasts I guested on and more.

I also take about 20 or so minutes and get real honest about what happened to me as a Superman fan towards the end of the year. I know that not everyone is into this sort of thing, so I give plenty of notice before I launch into the naval gazing, so if you want to bail before that I understand. But through this part of the episode I talk about my current thinking on how I want to approach this show and my (lack of) plans for 2026.

Next Time: No clue, but it will be out in a couple of weeks.

Thanks for listening. And eat your Kellog's Pep. If you still have some.