Superman #1
Superman #1 (vol. 4, 2016) is the opening chapter of DC's Rebirth-era Superman, the first issue to establish the post-Crisis Man of Steel as the primary Superman of the main DC continuity following the death of his New 52 counterpart. More than a relaunch, it introduced a bold new storytelling premise — Clark Kent as a father actively raising a half-Kryptonian son — that gave the character a domestic, emotionally grounded dimension largely absent from the title for decades. The issue seeds the earliest on-page development of Jonathan Samuel Kent as Superboy-in-waiting, a character who would go on to become the third person to hold the Superboy mantle and, later, Superman himself. Its 'Son of Superman' arc placed family legacy and the weight of inherited power at the center of the franchise in a way that resonated loudly enough to spin off the Super Sons series and eventually Jon's own solo title.
More listings for this title
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
DC's editorial team used the 2016 Rebirth initiative — architected by Geoff Johns — to retire the New 52 line and restore the pre-Flashpoint Superman to main continuity; writer Peter Tomasi had actually penned the crossover that killed the New 52 Superman, making him an unusually positioned choice to then launch the replacement title. DC publicly announced Tomasi and artist Patrick Gleason as the creative team for the biweekly ongoing during a Rebirth livestream event, directly trading on their acclaimed Batman and Robin partnership, which had also centered on a father-son dynamic. The issue was preceded by a transitional one-shot, Superman: Rebirth #1, and launched on June 15, 2016, shipping twice-monthly — a schedule that, by some critical assessments, placed significant strain on artistic consistency across the run. Mick Gray served as inker on Gleason's covers and interior pages, with a variant cover by Kenneth Rocafort, and a convention-exclusive silver foil cover by Jim Lee was also produced.
Trivia · 10 facts
- Superman vol. 4 #1, titled 'The Son of Superman' Part One, was written by Peter J. Tomasi with art and cover by Patrick Gleason and Mick Gray; published June 15, 2016 (cover-dated August 2016).
- The issue is the first chapter of the DC Rebirth era's Superman ongoing series, Volume 4, which ran 45 issues through April 2018.
- Jon Kent (Jonathan Samuel Kent) appears prominently in this issue as Clark's young son with Lois Lane; the issue depicts his earliest power manifestations, including a notorious scene in which he accidentally kills a cat with his heat vision while testing his abilities.
- Jon Kent was created by Dan Jurgens and first appeared in Convergence: Superman #2 (July 2015); Superman #1 (2016) is his first major ongoing-series spotlight, setting the stage for his formal debut as Superboy in Superman vol. 4 #2.
- The series shipped twice-monthly; this issue was preceded by the transitional one-shot Superman: Rebirth #1, which DC positioned as the true entry point before the ongoing.
- Tomasi and Gleason reunited specifically because of their Batman and Robin run — DC promoted them as 'the team supreme that brought fans the adventures of Damian Wayne' — directly linking the father-son dynamic of that book to this one.
- The first arc ('Son of Superman,' issues #1–6) introduces the Eradicator as the primary antagonist threatening the House of El; Vol. 1 collecting those issues was published in January 2017.
- Jon Kent's trajectory out of this series — aging up, joining the Legion of Super-Heroes, taking on the Superman mantle in 2021, and coming out as bisexual — makes this issue the foundational text of one of DC's most discussed character arcs of the 2010s–2020s.
- The full Tomasi/Gleason run has been collected in multiple formats: seven paperback volumes, four Rebirth Deluxe Edition hardcovers, and an omnibus collecting Superman: Rebirth #1 plus Superman #1–25, #27–28, #33–39, and #42–45 among other tie-in issues.
- A second printing of Superman #1 (2016) was published in September 2016 due to demand.
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.