Chapter Summaries

Clark went to school in Luke’s car and embarrassed himself when he approached Lana, while Luke recognized that her kryptonite necklace was causing Clark’s weakness. Luke left to attend the library donation ceremony and planned to train Clark and collect kryptonite.

• Clark arrived at school in Luke’s Chevrolet, drawing attention from Chloe, who questioned why the wealthy Luke had taken an interest in him.
• Chloe pointed out Lana, and Clark walked toward her before his legs gave out and he fell, scattering his books.
• Luke returned Clark’s books and explained that he was at school for the library donation ribbon-cutting ceremony.
• Luke realized Lana’s kryptonite necklace had triggered Clark’s weakness and noted that kryptonite from the meteor shower could harm people and cause mutations.
• Luke left with the school leaders, thinking that he would train Clark and collect kryptonite.

After feeling uncertain about his powers, Clark was struck by Lex Luthor’s speeding car but emerged unharmed and saved Lex from drowning. Luke introduced Lex as his godson, and the awkward rescue left Clark and Lex with an unexpected connection.

• Clark left school feeling dejected about Lana and wondered why his parents had taught him to hide his powers.
• A speeding Porsche hit Clark on a bridge, sending him and the car into the lake.
• Clark tore open the car roof, pulled the unconscious driver out, and performed first aid until help arrived.
• Luke arrived and introduced the driver as his godson, Lex Luthor, then scolded Lex for speeding.
• Luke realized Clark had given Lex mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, while Clark and Lex awkwardly discussed the accident and their first kiss.

Luke advised Lex on how to build an independent reputation by reviving abandoned factories, while explaining that he had come to town to collect meteorite fragments. As Lex considered his plans, Luke anticipated that Clark would soon question Jonathan about his identity, setting up Luke’s own intervention.

• Lex told Luke that Clark had survived being hit by a Porsche and had rescued him from underwater.
• Luke teased Lex about the danger of reckless driving and urged him to prove himself apart from his father’s name.
• Luke suggested that Lex reopen abandoned factories to create jobs and strengthen the town’s economy.
• Luke declined Lex’s offer to partner with him and said he was surveying the area to collect meteorites.
• Luke ended the conversation, expecting Clark to press Jonathan about his identity and preparing to make an entrance.

After learning from Jonathan that he was an alien, Clark struggled to accept his origins until his neighbor Luke claimed to be his long-lost Kryptonian big brother. Luke instead told Clark that he was a Saiyan named Kakarot and urged him to dye his hair green.

• Clark argued with Jonathan after Jonathan objected to Lex's sports car gift, and Clark complained that he could not live like a normal teenager.
• Jonathan revealed that Clark had arrived in a spaceship during the meteor shower seventeen years earlier, and Clark fled after learning he was an alien.
• Luke met Clark outside and demonstrated that he could fly, then claimed they shared the same origins and abilities.
• Luke told Clark that he was his long-lost big brother and had arrived on Earth before him.
• Luke claimed Clark was a Saiyan named Kakarot, a Lower-Class Warrior sent to Earth on a mission, and told him to dye his hair green.

Luke took Clark flying and urged him to broaden his horizons, but Clark misunderstood and decided he should join the football team to impress Lana. Luke began planning special training for Clark, while Dr. Manhattan sensed a faint disturbance in the multiverse and Barry brought Batman a letter.

• Luke flew Clark above the clouds and told him to leave Kansas and connect with the wider world.
• Clark decided that joining the football team would help him fit in and attract Lana, but Luke told him that women only slowed down his punches.
• Luke learned that Clark had not developed a Bio-Force Field and arranged to train him at his house every day.
• Dr. Manhattan sensed a faint spacetime disturbance, found no abnormalities across the fifty-two Earths, and resumed observing the universe.
• Barry appeared in the Batcave and handed Bruce Wayne a letter as a gift.

Barry told Batman about Flashpoint and delivered a letter from Thomas Wayne, while searching for the missing Kryptonian Luke. In London, Diana felt uneasy about lost memories and studied an old photograph of herself with an unidentified man, determined to find him.

• Barry found the Justice League members safe in the restored timeline but could not remember what had happened to Luke.
• Barry told Batman how his attempt to save his mother had changed the world and asked him to find Luke, Superman's cousin.
• Barry left Batman a letter from Thomas Wayne, whose words made Batman remove his cowl and cry.
• Diana declined a young professor's invitation, reflected on her recurring nightmares, and suspected that something unknown had changed.
• Diana examined an old photograph of herself beside an unidentified man and resolved to find him.

Clark trained with Luke to control his strength, then stopped a bank robbery when the bandits took his mother hostage. After surviving a shotgun blast and overpowering the robbers, he faced a police officer’s questions about his abilities.

• Luke trained Clark in combat and strength control, telling him to call for help if strange dangers arose around town.
• A week later, Clark accompanied his mother to the bank, where three masked bandits robbed the customers and took Lady Kent hostage.
• Clark knocked down the bandit who grabbed his mother, then survived a shotgun blast and defeated the armed leader.
• One bandit fled, while Clark stayed behind with his mother and was hailed as a hero by the bank’s customers and staff.
• A police officer questioned Clark about the robbery and pointed out the shotgun hole in his clothes, asking whether his strength had also protected him.

After Clark exposed his superhuman strength while stopping a bank robbery, Luke helped shield him from police scrutiny and urged him to stop hiding. Clark faced the loss of his quiet life and considered revealing himself to the world, while Luke proposed a fabricated Super Soldier Serum origin and the codename Homelander.

• Clark failed to convince the police that ordinary farm work explained how he bent a shotgun and survived a blast, but Luke arrived and persuaded the officer to focus on the escaped robber instead.
• Luke took Clark and his unconscious mother to the hospital, where Jonathan arrived and stayed by his wife's bedside.
• Luke reassured Clark that he had dealt with the bank's surveillance footage, but warned that witnesses would spread rumors and his peaceful life was over.
• Luke urged Clark to embrace being a public symbol rather than hide, and Clark asked whether he should admit he was an alien.
• Luke suggested claiming that Vought Corporation's Super Soldier Serum had given Clark his powers, then proposed the codename Homelander.

Luke helped Clark decide to become a public hero, then temporarily appeared as Superman to distract the town from Clark’s growing reputation. He gave Clark a Superman uniform and welcomed him as a superhero intern, leaving him to prepare for his own debut.

• Luke advised Clark that he could show people his goodwill by stepping forward, and Clark chose to become a hero.
• Rumors about Clark stopping two armed robbers spread through town, troubling Jonathan and Martha and making Clark feel isolated for a week.
• Luke appeared in Metropolis as Superman, drawing the media’s attention away from Clark and allowing the rumors about him to fade.
• Clark discovered Luke’s Superman uniform in the basement, and Luke told him they were both Superman and that Clark would take over after his temporary debut.
• Luke handed Clark a Superman uniform and named him Superman Reserve, Metropolis’s superhero intern.

Luke gave Clark the Superman suit and assigned him patrol duties in Metropolis as Clark began balancing school, training, and hero work. Meanwhile, Lex grew resentful of Superman’s fame and vowed to steal the spotlight, though he was currently focused on helping Clark with his love life.

• Luke gave Clark the Superman suit, welcomed him into the Superman Family, and warned him about the burdens of public attention.
• Luke assigned Clark patrol duty in Metropolis and told him to minimize collateral damage and learn to fly.
• Clark spent his days at school and football practice and his nights flying to Metropolis to handle cases and earn headlines in the Daily Planet.
• Lex complained to Luke that Superman had overshadowed his achievements and argued that people should be wary of the powerful stranger.
• Luke suggested Lex create publicity for himself, and Lex vowed to compete for attention after helping Clark solve his singlehood problem.

Lex took Clark to prepare him for a local equestrian competition where he could impress Lana, while Bruce Wayne returned from years abroad and learned how much Gotham had changed. Bruce planned to return to Gotham and make changes there.

• Lex drove to the Kent home and persuaded an exhausted Clark to attend the equestrian competition and learn to ride so he could impress Lana.
• Lex told Clark that he would teach him to ride and revealed that horseback riding was among the skills he had learned as a child.
• Alfred welcomed Bruce Wayne at Lukla Airport after Bruce returned from years of traveling and training with the League of Assassins.
• Alfred told Bruce that the world believed him dead and that a new flying superhero called Superman had appeared in Metropolis.
• Bruce asked about Gotham, and Alfred said it had never changed, prompting Bruce to say it was time for Gotham to change.

Luke considered the hunt for different Kryptonite varieties and the emerging Justice League, then planned to return to the Marvel Universe after Clark’s training. In Universe 1024, Peggy Carter managed S.H.I.E.L.D. in Luke’s absence and learned that Howard Stark had located Wakanda.

• Luke approved Clark’s leave to train with Lex and read that Bruce Wayne had returned to Gotham, while deciding not to approach the wary Batman.
• Luke reviewed the Kryptonite varieties his archaeological team had found and studied the Justice League locations on a map, reflecting on Diana and Wally West.
• Peggy Carter discussed S.H.I.E.L.D.’s academy, Hydra, and political pressure with Nick Fury, insisting that the organization’s authority came from Superman’s role in protecting the world.
• Peggy asked Natasha for news from Howard, who had found Wakanda and reported its vast vibranium reserves and isolationist stance.

Clark trained in horseback riding and entered Smallville’s equestrian competition on Luke’s champion thoroughbred, hoping to impress Lana. When an armed criminal attacked the event, Clark protected her and defeated him after discovering the man had a steel body.

• Clark practiced riding with Lex, and Lex suggested he enter beginner-friendly events to impress Lana.
• Luke lent Clark his thoroughbred, Lightning Barry, and warned him to watch for newly mutated residents and Lana’s necklace.
• Clark entered the town competition and began the sprint race on Lightning Barry.
• A masked criminal shot Clark’s horse and moved toward Lana, prompting Clark to leap in and attack him.
• The criminal revealed his steel body and overpowered Clark until Clark adapted, countered his attacks, and knocked him unconscious.

After Clark exposed his powers at the racetrack, Luke explained Kryptonite and Lex traced the mutant’s powers to a cave filled with green ore. Lex later found a black crystal that corrupted him and provoked Clark’s violent impulses, leaving Clark having knocked Lex unconscious.

• Clark defeated the Kryptonite-mutated bandit at the racetrack, and Lana saw him use his powers.
• Luke told Clark that Lana’s necklace contained Kryptonite and that its radiation weakened him, while Luke was unaffected as a Super Saiyan.
• Lex questioned the paralyzed bandit and learned that he had gained his powers after hiding in a cave covered with glowing green ore.
• Lex recalled the bandit had hidden an unusual mineral in a Jeep’s trunk and later obtained a dark, irregular black crystal.
• The crystal’s influence made Lex attack Clark with a sword and urged Clark to give in to his violent impulses.
• Clark snapped the sword, struck Lex into a wall, and left him unconscious.

Luke discovered a Kryptonite cave near Smallville and arranged for Vought Corporation to claim its contents. When he found Clark rampaging under the influence of Black Kryptonite, Luke fought him and launched him from the atmosphere toward Earth.

• Luke warned Professor Bass that the Kryptonite belonged to Vought Corporation, then allowed him to keep a mineral as a memento.
• Luke found only Green Kryptonite in the cave and left after instructing the staff.
• Luke learned Lex was investigating the bank robber and suspected Clark, then teleported to Smallville after hearing explosions.
• Luke confronted Clark, whose negative personality had taken control, and knocked him down with a punch and a kick.
• Luke seized Clark, carried him into space, and kicked him back toward Earth to try to break the corruption.

After Black Kryptonite gave Clark and Lex negative personalities, Luke subdued them and kept them under observation until Clark recovered. He then coached Clark to address the public, and Superman made his debut at a Vought Corporation press conference.

• Luke beat Clark into obedience, concluded Black Kryptonite had caused his negative personality, and returned him to Lex's estate with the unconscious Lex.
• Over the following days, Luke repeatedly stopped Clark from escaping while Lex quietly encouraged Clark's schemes; after nearly two weeks, Clark's negative personality disappeared.
• Clark worried that he had harmed innocent people, and Luke reassured him that no casualties had been reported and Vought Corporation would cover the property damage.
• Luke told Clark to restore public trust with a press conference and encouraged him to present himself honestly as a symbol of hope.
• A week later, Luke introduced Superman at a Vought Corporation press conference, where Clark stepped onto the stage and declared, "I am Superman."

Clark revealed to the world that he was Superman, and Luke explained the pressures and consequences of living as both Clark Kent and a superhero before bringing in Lex to help manage Superman’s public image. In Gotham, Bruce began planning how to fight the city’s criminal networks, found a potential ally in James Gordon, and added Superman to his notebook as someone worth watching.

• Clark identified himself as Superman at Vought Corporation’s press conference and revealed his name and Kansas upbringing, prompting worldwide debate about his origins and power.
• Clark worried about the public backlash, and Luke explained the strain of balancing his ordinary life with his responsibility as a superhero.
• Lex arrived after recovering from Black Kryptonite’s effects, and Luke appointed him to help shape Superman’s image and handle the public pressure.
• Bruce studied Gotham’s mob bosses and decided that political office could not defeat the corrupt system, while Alfred confirmed that James Gordon was an upright officer.
• Bruce chose Falcone as his first target and, after watching news coverage of Superman, wrote his name in his notebook as worth watching.

After Clark revealed his identity, he and Lex discussed the government’s efforts to claim control over Superman while Luke negotiated for Vought Corporation. An unidentified spacecraft appeared near the Moon, and General Zod broadcast a worldwide ultimatum demanding that Earth surrender Carl-El within twenty-four hours.

• Clark learned that reporters were overwhelming Jonathan and Martha in Kansas, while Lex argued that the government’s attitude mattered more than the public reaction.
• Lex told Clark that Luke was negotiating to make Superman Vought Corporation’s debut idol, but Clark rejected becoming a weapon for the Federal Government.
• General Swanwick learned that an unresponsive spacecraft had entered synchronized lunar orbit and reported the discovery to the White House and The Pentagon.
• General Lane revealed that a spacecraft had been found beneath an Arctic glacier and that the surrounding ice suggested it had been there for at least eighteen thousand years.
• General Zod hijacked global television and radio signals, identified himself as an alien, and demanded that Earth hand over Carl-El within twenty-four hours.

Luke activated the Kryptonian spaceship and corrected Jor-El’s assumption that he was Clark, then used the ship to show Jor-El information about Clark. The activation alerted General Zod and his followers to Earth, where Zod intended to rebuild Krypton using the Codex of Birth held by Clark.

• Luke activated the Kryptonian spaceship and used his knowledge of Kryptonian language to understand its controls.
• Jor-El mistook Luke for his son, but Luke introduced himself as a survivor from a Kryptonian outpost and showed him information about Clark Kent.
• Luke explained that he had obtained Clark’s master key to draw attention to Superman and pressure the Federal Government during negotiations.
• The spaceship’s activation revealed Earth’s location to General Zod and his followers.
• General Zod resolved to rebuild Krypton and sought the Codex of Birth that Clark possessed.

As General Zod’s ultimatum put Earth’s leaders on edge, Luke learned from Joe-El that Zod had escaped the Phantom Zone and was searching for Carl-El. Luke spotted a Kryptonian craft heading toward Kansas to confront Clark, setting the next part of his plan in motion.

• World leaders failed to agree on a response to General Zod’s ultimatum, while rumors accused Superman of bringing the aliens to Earth.
• Clark returned to Kent Farm, ignored government summonses as Luke had advised, and waited for his brother’s instructions.
• Luke told Joe-El that Zod had escaped the Phantom Zone, and Joe-El warned that Zod had to be stopped.
• Luke reassured Joe-El, removed the master key from the Kryptonian spaceship, and ended their conversation.
• Luke saw a smaller craft leave Zod’s ship and head toward Kansas, led by a female commander and accompanied by two other Kryptonians.