Superman: Distant Fires

In this 1998 DC one-shot, writer/artist Gil Kane (with co-writer Howard Chaykin) presents a stark, alternate-future vision of the Man of Steel. After a nuclear holocaust leaves Earth in ruins, Superman emerges from a strange cocoon with drastically reduced powers, forced to navigate a desolate world where his old certainties no longer apply. Kane’s distinctive, kinetic artwork grounds a grim meditation on heroism in a post-apocalyptic setting, making Distant Fires a notable, standalone what-if story from a legendary creator.