And we’re down to our #1 book. If you’ve been following along, you should know what it is, but it’s unfortunately out of print. Superman: Last Son of Krypton by Eliot S! Maggin is our #1 Superman book. It was released at the same time as Superman: The Movie and tells the story of Superman’s origin. But this is so much more and any true Superman fan should hunt this book down. Maggin has given us a story of Superman, his origin, his friends and family, his archenemy and Albert Einstein. And the story brings out the best of Superman, Lex Luthor and makes us truly believe a man can fly.

Our story starts with Krypton exploding and Superman being sent to Earth. Then we switch to Earth and find the person that Jor-El wanted to raise his son, Albert Einstein. But Einstein knew that there would be better people to raise a child on Earth, goes in disguise to Smallville and arranges for the Kents to find and raise Superman.

Coming back to present day, Jimmy Olsen is on his way to the unveiling of a sealed Einstein paper. As the reporters watch, Lex Luthor flies in and steals it. This sets our plot in motion. We learn of Lex Luthor’s hidden inventions (hidden in plain sight as museum sculptures), an eight-billion year old prophecy (by a seer who has never been wrong) of Superman dying and an alien villain who not only steals Xerox copiers but who is out to take control of part of the galaxy. The only people who can stop the villain is the dynamic duo of Superman and Lex Luthor.

Like he would do in Miracle Monday, Maggin weaves the main plot with looks back at Superman (and Lex Luthor) in childhood. He shows how they grew up to be who they are and uses those interludes to flesh out the characters. You find out, if you didn’t already know, how Superman and Lex Luthor met and what came between them. This book is the best introduction to Superman. It shows his history, his powers, his morality and his heroism. Superman: Last Son of Krypton is the ultimate Superman book and is a well deserved #1 on my Superman countdown.