Superman Reborn

With everything in Superman's world so shaken up by the "Superman Reborn" storyline, it's no surprise that the effects would leak into a book like Superwoman. Superwoman, if you didn't know by now, is currently Lana Lang. That's specifically the Lana of the New 52 reality, although recent events imply that she might also be the previous Lana as well. In any case, she's been Superwoman since Rebirth, but as of Superwoman #9, by writer K. Perkins and artists Stephen Segovia and Art Thibert, it looks like she might not be Superwoman anymore, as the new "Super Women" storyline begins.

This week saw the final part of "Superman Reborn", the crossover that answered a number of pressing questions about The Man of Tomorrow's status in the DC Universe, but also left readers with a good number more. The end of "Superman Reborn" had some huge consequences for DC Rebirth and Superman's continuity, but what exactly happened, and what does it mean for the future of the DC Universe?

"Superman Reborn" has been a wild ride full of surprise returns, emotional action, and huge status-quo shifts for The Man of Tomorrow. Action Comics #976 --- the conclusion to "Superman Reborn" --- is in stores today, and ComicsAlliance had the chance to talk exclusively to Dan Jurgens and Peter J. Tomasi about what its events mean for Superman, his roster of supporting characters, and the ongoing mystery of DC Rebirth.

If you've been following the current "Superman Reborn" crossover, you know that The Man of Tomorrow's entire world has been turned upside-down and inside-out by the revelations regarding his place in the DC Universe, but there's still more to come! Everything comes to a head with some major shocks and surprises in week's Action Comics #975 by Dan Jurgens, Doug Mahnke, Jaime Mendoza, Christian Alamy, Trevor Scott, Wil Quintana and Rob Leigh, and we have an exclusive preview of the "Superman Reborn" finale.

Since the start of DC Rebirth last year, one of the biggest mysteries has revolved around the identity of the mystery Clark Kent that appeared following the death of New 52 Superman and re-emergence of his pre-Flashpoint predecessor. However, in the pages of this week's Action Comics #975 by Dan Jurgens, Doug Mahnke, Jaime Mendoza, Wil Quintana and Rob Leigh, the answer is laid out bare for all to see and while it's someone you'll recognize, it is not someone you'd expect.

So here's the short version if you haven't been keeping up: As The New 52 era came to a close and DC Rebirth began, the version of Superman that we'd been following for the past 5 years was apparently killed, leaving a void that would be filled by his predecessor from the previous DC continuity. See, the pre-52 Superman -- you know, the one who come to Earth from Krypton in John Byrne's Man of Steel and fought Doomsday back in 1994 -- managed to survive the destruction of his universe due to the events of Convergence, spending a year in the Bottle City of Metropolis, having a kid with Lois Lane, and then somehow winding up in the current DC Continuity where he lived a quiet life on a farm until he was needed. If it sounds complicated, that's because it is, but that also makes it one of the most compelling mysteries in superhero comics right now. And there's one additional wrench in the works: Clark Kent, a mild mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper who exists completely separately from Superman. Now, as "Superman Reborn" is set to kick off in this week's Superman #18, we're about to get the answer to one of DC's most compelling questions: Who the heck is Clark Kent?!

The "Superman Reborn" arc that launches this Wednesday in Superman #18 is shaping up to be the culmination of a lot of plot threads that have been building since Rebirth, both in the Superman books and elsewhere. As we saw in an earlier preview, someone who appears to be obsessed with Superman has escaped from the mysterious Mr. Oz. And now, in these new unlettered preview pages shared exclusively with ComicsAlliance by DC, we learn that the apparent antagonist of the story is none other than... Clark Kent. Specifically the non-Superman Clark Kent who mysteriously appeared after Rebirth.

The threads left dangling in DC Rebirth are being picked up in Superman #18, written by Peter Tomasi with art by Patrick Gleason and Mick Gray. It's the first part of "Superman Reborn," a crossover running through Superman and Action Comics, and it sees the return of Mr. Oz, the mysterious figure who's been meddling in the DC Universe and kidnapping people who seem to have something to do with the pre-Flashpoint timeline.