What are the comics that best define Superman for you?

[nightwing]

Superman #156: "The Last Days of Superman"

Superman #158: "Superman in Kandor"

Superman #164: "The Showdown Between Luthor and Superman"

Superman #187: 80-page Giant w/focus on the Fortress of Solitude

Superman #296-299: "Who Took The Super Out of Superman?"

Superman #400: "The Living Legends of Superman"

Superman Annual #11: "For the Man Who Has Everything"


...and happily, I own them all, so I'd just put 'em in a Tupperware container with a note that said, "Read these."

Or if it's not cheating, maybe I'd just re-read "Superman from the 30s to the 70s."  That did it the first time.

[Super Monkey]

Superman Annual #11: "For the Man Who Has Everything"  was a beautiful story to be sure.

I pick the stories that best define Superman for me personally as a character not my all time favorite Superman stories in general or that Alan Moore tale would have been right up there.

[Great Rao]

I agree with Beppo about The Man Who Stole The Sun.  An absolutely fantastic and fun story that as far as I am concerned is the definitive Superman tale.

and I agree with nightwing about Superman 400 and Who Took the Super out of Superman?

Issue #400 in particular was pretty much the inspiration for this entire site.  I might add The Day The Cheering Stopped because it's also part of Maggin's epic mythos.

Additional stories:

Superman's Phantom Pal which is a short tale but shows the incredible friendship between Jimmy and Superman;

Superman Red and Superman Blue;

The Team of Luthor and Brainiac;

almost all of Maggin's later works (like The Man Who Murdered Evil and We Are The Dreamers of the Dreams);

and The K-Metal From Krypton, although I admit I might be a bit biased on this last one.

[Uncle Mxy]

Lets say you're about to have your mind wiped clean (:lol:) but you want yourself to know when you come to that you loved Superman.

If my mind were wiped clean and I wanted to make a quick impression, I'd start with tabloid-sized comics that got me into Superman growing up...  stuff like "Superman vs. Muhammed Ali" and "Peace On Earth".  

(not to say that there aren't many fine stories, many of which are mentioned, but I latched onto the "have your mind wiped clean" bit for some reason)

[nightwing]

Actually, if my mind was wiped clean I'd probably enjoy anything from the last 20 years.  I figure the key to loving the modern DCU is maintaining a blissful lack of brain activity.

[Permanus]

Well said, Nightwing! (Though to be honest, I've quite enjoyed the latest offerings of Superman and Action.) Defining stories for me would be just about anything from the glorious Maggin/Bates/Swan era of the 1970s. The first Superman story I ever read was "The Luthor Nobody Knows", and I suppose it continues to define Superman for me: powerful, resourceful, but nevertheless hounded by tragedy, regrets and sadness. The man's been through a lot; it's amazing he didn't turn out more like Bruce Wayne.

Much of what defines Superman to me comes from the artwork, too. Swan really was a hugely talented artist, who managed to capture Superman in believable, realistic settings. You knew what sort of place the WGBS newsroom was, what sort of city Metropolis was. It was the same world you lived in, only with this enormously colourful character effortlessly grafted onto it.