Days after Superman's funeral, reports began coming in that suggested the Man of Steel may have returned to life.

Various sources all claimed that they had seen a familiar-looking figure in blue costume and red cape performing miraculous rescues. However, the subjects of these various sightings were varied.

One person claimed to have been rescued by a grim figure wearing a strange visor, who killed her attacker.

Another described her rescuer as somewhat smaller than she'd thought he would be.

One group of people claimed to have been rescued from a tenement fire by a man in shining armor.

A family who happened to be visiting the Daily Planet claimed that they saw a robotic Superman.

Lois Lane investigated the various sightings and met with the men claiming to be Superman returned from the grave. Both the visored Superman and the robotic Superman struck her as disturbingly close to the man she loved, but there was still something not quite right about either one. Even the younger version, who claimed to be a clone of the original Superman, had much in common with Kal-El of Krypton--although Martha Kent was quick to point out (privately) that he was nothing like her son had been when he was a boy! Only the so-called "Man of Steel" did not claim to be Superman returned from the grave.

Fighting soon broke out between the four "replacement Supermen" over which of them had the right to wear the hero's emblem. The visored Superman--who called himself the Last Son of Krypton--claimed to have a direct connection with Kal-El's Kryptonian heritage. The young Superman made a deal with GBS Broadcasting that gave him lots of public exposure. The so- called Man of Steel felt that all the others were disgracing the name Superman by their actions.

Only the cyborg Superman seemed to have any verifiable claim to the title. Thorough examination of his cybernetic components revealed them to be of Kryptonian origins. And a DNA scan proved a match with Superman's. These elements, combined with a daring rescue of the President during an assassination attempt, led the White House to officially recognize the cyborg Superman as the genuine article.

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