Superman (2018-) 025

Superman (2018-) #25 ("Mythological, Part One") is an issue of the series Superman (Volume 5) with a cover date of November, 2020. It was published on September 8, 2020.

synopsis
Many years ago, the leaders of planet Synmar are watching the destruction of Krypton and wonder what could have caused such an event. They take a notice of a small spacecraft departing from the dying planet, and from their analysis, they determine the craft's sole occupant to be an infant, the sole survivor of Krypton. The ship is headed towards Earth, a small, primitive planet with a yellow sun. This causes concern amongst the rulers of Synmar, as they know that a Kryptonian exposed to the light of a yellow sun could become a light-god, an entity of fantastic power and a threat to Synmar's way of life. Some of the Synmar consider killing the child before that happens, but their suggestion is quickly shot down by President Dreti, who tells them that the murder of a child, an innocent child, is something strictly forbidden by the Lords of Light, the deities worshipped by Synmar. Instead, the Synmar shall wait and see what happens to the child, and they will take preventive measures.

Years later, Clark Kent, the Kryptonian child, has become a teenager and become friends with Lana Lang. He tries to invite her to the school's upcoming dance, but she turns him down, saying that she doesn't want to ruin their friendship and she is already dating someone else, much to Clark's disappointment.

Meanwhile, the Synmar have chosen a young, promising soldier called Eisno Alkor to be their weapon against the Kryptonian threat. President Dreti goes to have a personal conversation with Eisno and tells him that he would be chosen to represent Synmar across the galaxy. Eisno feels honored and accepts his new duty.

Years later, Lana has reached adulthood and become a special science correspondent at the Daily Star. She is talking to her employer about her personal relationship with Clark Kent and has become acquainted with Bethany Snow, when suddenly, they all watch Superman fight Lex Luthor right outside the Daily Star building. The Daily Star's reporters point their cameras at Superman and, in that moment, Superman and Lana briefly stare at each other's faces.

Meanwhile, the leaders of Synmar have become occupied with monitoring Superman's activities on Earth. While Superman had indeed become powerful thanks to Earth's yellow sun, the leaders of Synmar were surprised to learn that instead of becoming ruler of Earth, Superman had become a protector. President Dreti and his associates have started to consider that Superman would not become a threat to Synmar as they have previously feared, but they still agree to keep monitoring him. Doro, Synmar's military commander, suggests to Dreti that they should send some of their warriors in order to make Synmar's intentions clear, but Dreti shoots that request down, as he does not believe that antagonizing a Sol-powered Kryptonian is a good idea. Communicator Oclblumm then asks Dreti about the Earth-deterring program they are developing and suggests that perhaps Synmar should have its own Superman.

In the present, Lana goes to the Kent apartment in order to have a private talk with Clark. She is surprised at how clean the apartment looks and Clark replies that he keeps it clean with super speed. She asks about Clark about the last time they saw each other and Clark remembers it with perfect clarity: it was a time when Lana had superpowers and was active as Superwoman. She was trying to save a cruise full of passengers in Puerto Rico and felt like she couldn't lift the entire cruise all by herself. Fortunately, Superman happened to be nearby and helped her take the cruise to a beach, where the passengers were safely disembarked. One of the passengers, a boy, asked Superman if Superwoman was his wife and Superman had to clarify that Superwoman was just a friend and nothing more, an answer that disappointed the boy.

Although she was glad the passengers were safe, Lana began to think that, maybe, superhero work wasn't her life's calling. Clark asks Lana about her powers and she says that she feels a small portion of her powers within her, but doesn't know if they will ever return. Clark is forced to interrupt the conversation in order to put out a fire in Star City, leaving Lana to explore the Kent apartment. She finds Clark's old Smallville yearbook and finds pictures of Clark and herself in their teenage years. Clark returns and, as the two friends are about to drink some coffee, Lana asks him if he is afraid of something. Clark answers that he fears the unknown. Lana is surprised by that answer, because a lot of people fear the unknown, but Clark's line of work forces him to confront the unknown over and over and over again.

Meanwhile, Eisno has become a powerful super-soldier and Synmar's most powerful defender. The people of Synmar celebrates Eisno's return from another succesful space mission and the leaders of Synmar declare this celebration to be "Synmar Utopica". President Dreti invites Eisno to his balcony and congratulates Eisno for his service, but Eisno asks why is he the only one of his kind. Dreti says that Eisno was originally selected to fight a threat known only as "Superman", but that threat turned out to be irrelevant. Dreti feels tired and leaves the balcony with his companions and a confused Eisno is left alone to think about the "Superman" Dreti had just mentioned.

Later that night, Eisno stares at an open field, still thinking about Dreti and the "Superman", until his friend Galana asks him to join the Synmar Utopica celebration. Eisno does not feel comfortable with hundreds of people celebrating his accomplishments. Instead, he feels that he is no longer in control of his life. Before he can elaborate, however, a sphere of light appears in front of Eisno and plays a transmission from the leaders of Synmar: they are under attack and they request Eisno's assistance immediately. Eisno flies towards Synmar's palace and finds the planet's leaders dead, while images of Clark Kent and Superman are displayed around their corpses. One of Synmar's leaders clings to life long enough to tell Eisno that he was always meant to be the Superman, but he dies before he can talk any further. Surrounded by the corpses of his leaders, Eisno is left to wonder who is the Superman.