Four Superman storylines that between them cover reboot, death, farewell, and definitive character study. Editorial reading picks, not first-appearance keys; for the 1938 debut and $6M Action Comics #1 valuation see the [Superman character page](/characters/superman/). Entries are ordered chronologically. All four are complete stories you can read without prior Superman context.
4 picks
Key
01 · 1986
Superman #423 + Action Comics #583
Alan Moore, Curt Swan, George Perez, and Kurt Schaffenberger. The 'last' Silver Age Superman story, published immediately before the Crisis-era reboot. Written as an in-universe folk tale. Moore's two-issue farewell is often named the single best Superman story ever published.
Key
02 · 1986
The Man of Steel #1-6
John Byrne's six-issue reboot. Redefined the character for the post-Crisis DC Universe. Clark Kent as the primary identity, Superman as the mask. The Man of Steel origin held as canon for roughly two decades.
Key
03 · January 1993
Superman #75
Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding. Doomsday beats Superman to death over the course of a multi-issue arc that concludes in Superman #75. One of the best-selling single issues in American comics history. Cover image of Superman's torn cape on a flagpole is one of the most-reproduced in the character's publishing run.
Key
04 · 2005
All-Star Superman #1-12
Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. Twelve self-contained issues, each built around a Superman myth: the twelve labors of Superman facing his own terminal illness. Widely considered the modern definitive Superman story. Animated adaptation released in 2011.