John Byrne's The Man of Steel: the 1986 reboot in six issues explained
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Everything on John Byrne's The Man of Steel, the Superman reboot in six issues, on sale in the United States from June to September 1986. Cover dates run from October to December: that is not the same calendar. You will understand what each installment changes — Krypton, Lois, Batman, Luthor, the « bizarre » clone — and why this is not the 2013 film Man of Steel.
📋 Contents
- John Byrne's The Man of Steel: six issues in 1986
- Issues 1 and 2: Krypton, the Kents and Lois
- Issues 3 and 4: Batman, then Luthor as a businessman
- Issues 5 and 6: the « bizarre » clone and Krypton
- What John Byrne's The Man of Steel changes, and what it keeps
- January 1987: Superman vol. 2, Action #584, Adventures #424
- What The Man of Steel is not: the film, Birthright, the monthly
- French editions: Panini 2006, Urban 2018
- FAQ — Frequently asked questions
- Conclusion
John Byrne's The Man of Steel: six issues in 1986
John Byrne's The Man of Steel is a six-issue miniseries, shipped biweekly. Byrne writes and pencils. Dick Giordano inks. Tom Ziuko colors. John Costanza letters. Andy Helfer edits. Wikipedia EN sums the run as « July–September 1986 »: that is the on-sale window. Cover dates run from October (#1) to December 1986 (#5 and #6). Direct and newsstand editions do not fall on the same day: Direct #1 is indexed to June 17, newsstand #1 to July 10.
The series follows Crisis on Infinite Earths. We do not retell it: one sentence will do. DC wanted a Superman easier to pick up. Byrne, free from Marvel in spring 1985, takes the character. After the Challenger shuttle accident, a planned shuttle rescue becomes an « experimental space-plane ». The #1 cover shows the explosion of Krypton.
Six issues, 1986 covers
Issues 1 and 2: Krypton, the Kents and Lois
In #1, Kal-El is not a baby already born in a rocket. Byrne has him travel as a fetus, in a « birthing matrix », and be born on arrival in Kansas. Jonathan and Martha Kent pass him off as their son: Martha had miscarriages, a blizzard isolates Smallville. Clark's powers grow little by little; flight comes last. There is no Superboy career. He reveals himself in public in Metropolis by saving the experimental plane. Lois Lane gives him the name Superman. The costume is spandex; an aura protects the cloth against his body, not the rocket blankets.
#2, The Story of the Century!, puts Lois on the hunt for the scoop. Perry White sends her after the new hero. She dumps her car in the harbor to draw him out. Superman confirms the name, then leaves. The next day, Clark Kent, new reporter at the Daily Planet, has already published the interview. Byrne writes Lois as an aggressive reporter, auburn hair, with no obsession about the secret identity.
Issues 3 and 4: Batman, then Luthor as a businessman
#3 is the first meeting with Batman. Superman arrives in Gotham for a vigilante he treats as an outlaw. Batman is on Magpie. To keep Superman from touching him, he talks about a bomb on an innocent: the hostage is himself. They end up arresting Magpie together. Batman read the Planet pieces eight months earlier. Byrne tautens the relationship: no longer the easy pre-Crisis friendship, a cautious respect.
#4, Enemy Mine..., rebuilds Lex Luthor. He is no longer the mad scientist. He is the most powerful CEO in Metropolis. He lets terrorists hit his liner so he can see Superman, then wants him on the payroll. Superman refuses. The mayor has him arrested for endangerment. Luthor's lawyers have him out in a few hours. Clark notes that almost eighteen months have passed since his scoop. LexCorp, under that name or another depending on the version, starts from this idea: Luthor no longer needs armor to weigh on the city.
Issues 5 and 6: the « bizarre » clone and Krypton
In #5, Luthor has Dr Teng scan Superman. The machine can only clone known life-forms. The double looks perfect, then crystallizes. Luthor has it dumped. The creature comes back, takes itself for Superman, scares bystanders, saves Lucy Lane — Lois's sister, blind, who was jumping from a building. Superman fights it. The body shatters; the dust restores Lucy's sight. The text says « bizarre ». The name Bizarro is not yet attached: it will come later, on another double from the same process. Luthor already knows Superman is not human. Clark, at this stage, still does not.
#6, The Haunting, brings Clark back to Smallville. Lana Lang has known since the night he showed her his powers, before leaving. A « ghost » of Jor-El touches him; he sees Lara. This is not an attack: it is a download. The rocket has vanished from its hiding place. Clark is 28 at the end; the six issues cover about ten years. He knows where he comes from. He still chooses to be human.
What John Byrne's The Man of Steel changes, and what it keeps
Byrne cuts Superboy. He cuts the other Krypton survivors: no more Krypto, no more Supergirl in this origin. The Kents stay alive into adulthood. Luthor becomes a businessman. Powers are capped: no more unlimited survival in vacuum. Clark is the person; Superman is the suit. Green kryptonite becomes rare, a single rock that came with the rocket; Byrne shelves the other colors for a time. Krypton is cold, sterile, in the line of the 1978 film.
He keeps Lois, Metropolis, the Planet, the S, the last-son idea. This origin holds from 1986 to 2003. Superman: Birthright is added in 2003, without retelling Mark Waid here. After Infinite Crisis, Superman: Secret Origin (2009) takes over. Superman for All Seasons (1998) enriches Smallville without erasing Byrne. If you place the character across the eras, 1986 is the clean cut, not a touch-up.
January 1987: Superman vol. 2, Action #584, Adventures #424
The three monthlies resume with a January 1987 cover date. Superman volume 2 #1, Heart of Stone, goes on sale Direct on September 16, 1986 and newsstand on October 9. Byrne stays on it. Action Comics #584, a team-up with the Teen Titans, goes on sale September 30, 1986. The old Superman volume 1 becomes The Adventures of Superman #424, written by Marv Wolfman. Byrne holds Superman and Action. Wolfman holds Adventures.
Byrne follows with three miniseries: The World of Krypton (December 1987 – March 1988), The World of Smallville (April – July 1988), The World of Metropolis (August – November 1988). The Legion of Super-Heroes, built on the Superboy legend, creates a continuity problem: Byrne will later invent a « pocket universe » to explain it. That is no longer The Man of Steel: we flag it, we do not tell it. Among the essential stories, the six 1986 issues remain the threshold.
What The Man of Steel is not: the film, Birthright, the monthly
The 2013 film Man of Steel reuses the title and a harsh Krypton. It is not the miniseries. We set no link there: the subject, here, is 1986. The monthly Superman: The Man of Steel (1991-2003) reuses the name, not the format. In 2018, Brian Michael Bendis again gives that title to another miniseries. Three objects, one name.
Birthright does not wipe Byrne out in one stroke in 2003: DC sometimes presented the two as an extended origin, before Secret Origin became the reference again after Infinite Crisis. We give the dates, and we send you to Birthright for the other origin story. DC moved that status more than once. Jimmy Olsen is barely in the six issues: Byrne puts him back later in the monthlies, not in this miniseries.
French editions: Panini 2006, Urban 2018
Panini France publishes Superman – L'homme d'acier volume 1 on January 23, 2006 (ISBN 9782845386341): the six issues, plus essays. Urban Comics publishes Superman Man of Steel volume 1 on June 8, 2018 (EAN 9791026814641, 480 pages): the miniseries and the relaunch — Superman #1-4, Action Comics #584-587, Adventures of Superman #424-428. The French date is not 1986. If you want only the six, Panini is enough. If you want Byrne continuing, take Urban.
A radio edition also exists: BBC Radio 4, 1990, Dirk Maggs, The Adventures of Superman, with Stuart Milligan. That is not a comic. In US collections, the 1987 then 1993 TPB precedes Superman: The Man of Steel vol. 1 (2003). None of these albums is the film. And none is Moore's farewell, even if they sit next to each other on the 1986 calendar.
FAQ — Frequently asked questions
Is John Byrne's The Man of Steel the 2013 film?
No. It is a six-issue miniseries, on sale in the United States from June to September 1986, covers October-December 1986. Zack Snyder's film reuses the title, not these six stories. The monthly Superman: The Man of Steel (1991-2003) is yet another object.
How many issues, and who draws them?
Six. John Byrne writes and pencils. Dick Giordano inks. Tom Ziuko colors. John Costanza letters. Andy Helfer edits. The pace is biweekly.
Why does Superboy disappear?
Byrne has Kal-El born on arrival in Kansas and gives him his powers gradually, flight last. Clark only takes the name Superman as an adult. There is no Superboy career in this origin. That will later cause a problem for the Legion of Super-Heroes.
Is Lex Luthor still a mad scientist?
Not in this miniseries. Issue 4, Enemy Mine..., makes him a businessman who lets his liner be attacked so he can see Superman, then has him out of jail in a few hours. He no longer needs armor to weigh on Metropolis.
Does Bizarro appear in The Man of Steel?
An imperfect clone appears in issue 5, created by Dr Teng. The text says « bizarre ». The name Bizarro is only attached later, on another double from the same process. Dust from the body restores Lucy Lane's sight.
When do the monthlies resume after the miniseries?
January 1987 cover date: Superman volume 2 #1 (Heart of Stone, Direct on September 16, 1986), Action Comics #584 (September 30, 1986), Adventures of Superman #424. Byrne holds the first two. Marv Wolfman writes Adventures.
Which French edition should you read?
Panini, L'homme d'acier volume 1, January 23, 2006, for the six issues. Urban, Man of Steel volume 1, June 8, 2018, for the miniseries plus the 1987 relaunch. Those dates are not the United States dates.
Does The Man of Steel stay the origin after 2003?
Birthright (2003) is added. After Infinite Crisis, Secret Origin (2009) takes over. Loeb and Sale, in For All Seasons (1998), give a seasonal Kansas that completes the miniseries without replacing it. DC moved the word origin more than once: we keep the dates, not a single seal.
Conclusion
John Byrne's The Man of Steel is six issues in 1986, Giordano on inks, a Superman born in Kansas and a Luthor in a suit. The covers say October-December. American newsstands say June-September. The 2013 film is not this story.
If you chain the reboots, put Moore just before, Crisis still before that, Birthright well after. The January 1987 monthlies (cover date) take over. Byrne does not close the character there: he opens the character for twenty years of canon, until another origin story comes to argue with his.