The Man of Steel #1-6 (1986) is
a monumental six-issue comic book limited series published by DC Comics from October to December 1986. Masterminded entirely by writer and artist
John Byrne alongside legendary inker Dick Giordano, this miniseries fundamentally revolutionized the modern comic book landscape by entirely resetting and modernizing
Superman's origin story following the events of
Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Byrne stripped away decades of convoluted Silver Age continuity to deliver a grounded, definitive blueprint for the modern Man of Steel.
Issue-by-Issue Narrative Breakdown
- Issue #1 ("From Out the Green Dawn"): Explores Kal-El's departure from a cold, clinical Krypton inside a birthing matrix, his wholesome upbringing in Smallville, and his public debut saving a crashing space-plane.
- Issue #2 ("The Daily Planet"): Clark moves to Metropolis, meets Lois Lane (who drives a car into a river just to force an interview with the new hero), and secures his job at the Daily Planet.
- Issue #3 ("One Night in Gotham"): Superman’s first historic encounter with Batman. Rather than instant best friends, they initially clash over Batman’s brutal, unlawful methods, forming a tense working alliance.
- Issue #4 ("Ex-Clusive"): Completely redefines Lex Luthor. Instead of a crooked mad scientist, he is reimagined as a ruthless, untouchable corporate billionaire mogul who controls Metropolis and despises Superman's arrival.
- Issue #5 ("The Mirror, Crack'd"): Lex Luthor attempts to clone Superman, resulting in a tragic, imperfect duplicate that establishes the Post-Crisis origin of the classic villain Bizarro.
- Issue #6 ("The Haunting"): Clark returns to Smallville, clears the air with childhood sweetheart Lana Lang, and accesses a lingering message in his rocket ship to finally learn about his alien heritage on Krypton.
