Superman had a banner year in 2025. In the theaters, the Man of Steel thrilled audiences, making him and his DC Comics compatriots more popular than ever. Meanwhile, at the comic stores, we’ve been getting some of the best Superman comics of all time. The modern version of the Metropolis Marvel is amazing, because he mixes elements of the character from throughout his 87 year existence. However, that wasn’t always the case. For years, parts of the character’s history weren’t always part of his stories and readers never really got a full picture of the character. However, 19 years ago, we got one of the first stories that brought together the past and present of the character beautifully.
Infinite Crisis changed DC history, leading a lot of classic elements of the publisher’s characters back to the fore. In 2006, writer Geoff Johns was joined by his mentor, Superman director Richard Donner, and artist Adam Kubert for a story that melded the past of the character with the present perfectly in “Last Son”. The story gave pre-Crisis vibes, Superman: The Movie vibes, and modern Superman vibes to the greatest story starring General Zod. This story is a legitimate masterpiece, and it honestly doesn’t get as much praise as it should.
“Last Son” Was the Superman Movie We Never Got
Once upon a time, Richard Donner brought one of Superman’s greatest enemies to the big screen in Superman II, but wasn’t able to make the movie he wanted. Warner Brothers would never let him make his Superman vs. General Zod movie, because of the budget if nothing else, and he would leave the project. Although years later a Richard Donner cut of the film was edited together, even it wasn’t what it could have been. That’s one of the main reasons that “Last Son” is such a masterpiece: it’s the perfect Donner Superman film, down to the way that Adam Kubert drew the characters to echo the movie versions.
“Last Son” saw a young Kryptonian boy crash to Earth. As Superman and Lois fight for the boy against both Lex Luthor and the government, the truth rears its ugly head: the boy is the son of General Zod and sending him to Earth opened up the Phantom Zone. From there, it’s a three-way smackdown as Zod, Ursa, and Non attack the Man of Steel, with Kubert’s gorgeous pencils givings readers some of the most perfect imagery ever. There are lots of reasons to love this comic, and the art is one of the best parts. Kubert is a master and DC let him take his time with this story; there were months between parts 4 and 5, but it was worth it because the art was immaculate.
Superman was just entering a new renaissance in this period; 2005 saw the beginning of All-Star Superman and DC was pushing the character to the fore again across the line. Putting Geoff Johns on Action Comics, along with A-list director Richard Donner and comic artist royalty in the person of Adam Kubert, was a huge push for the character and it led to a story that is one of the best of all time. DC continuity was going through one of its foibles, and “Last Son” was the first major Superman story of a new era (technically, before it, we got “Up and Up Away”, but we didn’t know the extent of the Infinite Crisis changes yet) and it was huge.
This is exactly the Superman movie every fan ever wanted. Adding Donner to the mix gave the story just the right oomph. There are a lot of great Superman stories out there that we talk about all the time, but honestly, it’s about time we add “Last Son” to those conversations. It’s one of the greatest Superman stories of all time, and it deserves its flowers.
Credit: comicbook
