Action Comics Annual #10
In "The Many Deaths of Superman," a mysterious boy crash-lands near young Clark Kent, speaking Kryptonese and claiming to be the son of Jor-El—though he remembers nothing. Written by Geoff Johns and Richard Donner, with art by Eric Wight and colors by Lee Loughridge, this 2007 Annual explores Clark’s bond with the amnesiac boy, who takes the name Mon-El after recognizing the S symbol of the House of El. As strange dreams and a growing sense of displacement lead Mon-El to confront his past, he recalls being Lar Gand, a Daxamite seeker who followed a Kryptonian signal—only to crash on Earth, now dying from lead exposure. The story ends with a heart-wrenching choice, as Mon-El asks to be sent to the Phantom Zone, leaving Clark to vow he’ll find a way to save him. Cover by Adam Kubert and Joe Kubert.
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Young Clark Kent tries to stop a rocket from crashing. Out steps a floating boy, speaking Kryptonese, and then English. He said "Son of Jor-El," but doesn't remember anything. Clark takes him home, and the boy sees the S shield, and recognizes it as the symbol of the house of El. He doesn't remember his name, so they make one up for him: Mon-El. They both operate under cover for a while, but Mon-El starts dreaming in a weird language, and saying "You don't belong here." So together they decide to test his Kryptonian heritage by exposing him to Kryptonite. Clark takes a lead box out of the safe, but before he can open the Kryptonite, Mon-El collapses, and regains his memory, remembering he was Lar Gand. He remembers being a seeker on Daxam, and researching data from Krypton's destruction. A rocket that left just before had a message; of which all that could be made out was "Son of Jor-El." Lar decided to follow the path of that rocket, to see if any Kryptonian artifacts could be found, but when he approached Earth's solar system, a sunspot disrupted his ship, so that he crashed. Now he realizes he is dying, as lead is toxic to his people. They try to figure out what to do, when Mon-El spots the phantom zone projector, and asks to be put in the zone. Clark does so, vowing to find a cure one day.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).