“Look! Up in the sky!” 

“It’s a bird!” 

“It’s a plane!” 

“No, it’s…” 

	The Man of Steel..... "A New Era"
Superman #1 - January, Year One	by Dino Pollard

He flew across the Metropolis skyline, with no particular place to go. It was such a nice day out, and since he didn’t have any deadlines, he thought it would be nice to just go out for a weekend flight. The wind blew through his hair and he shut his eyes, a smile on his face. 

The sun empowered him, granting him abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Even among his fellow superheroes he’s considered to be one of the most powerful. For another person, it may have gone to their head. But not Clark Kent. Not the epitome of human decency—which was ironic since he wasn’t even human. He was born Kal-El, on the doomed planet called Krypton. 

The yellow sun affected his Kryptonian physiology, granting him invulnerability, flight, superspeed, awe-inspiring strength, heat vision, telescopic vision, x-ray vision, uncanny hearing, and super breath. Using these powers, he became Superman. Leader of the JLA. Defender of Metropolis. Former martyr. 

He swooped down towards a nearby building, accelerating faster than the speed of sound to avoid being seen. He dove in through an open window, moving quickly. When he stopped, his costume was hung within a secret compartment inside his closet, and he was dressed in sweat pants and a t-shirt. A pair of glasses were perched on his nose. Now, he became Clark Kent, Daily Planet reporter. 

He heard a sneeze coming from the other room and walked in. His wife, Lois Lane, lay in bed, a box of tissues and a glass of water sitting on her nightstand. He sat down on the bed beside her and patted her leg. 

“How’re you feeling?” 

“Lousy,” she replied. “I haven’t stopped coughing since I got up, my nose feels like it’s filled with cement, and Rachel just found out that Michael was cheating on her with Jennifer.” 

“What?” Clark asked. 

Lois pointed to the soap opera on TV. Clark grinned and turned back to her. 

“I don’t see how you can watch that.” 

“What else is on?” Lois asked. “Springer?” 

“You’ve got a point, there.” 

“Shouldn’t you be working, Clark?” 

“Shouldn’t you be resting?” 

“Touche—ey—CHOO!!” 

She reached over for a tissue and wiped her nose. 

“I can’t stand this co—oh… Sorry about that.” 

Clark grabbed a tissue and wiped off his arm. “It’s all right. I’m gonna jump in the shower, have a quick shave, then I’ll run out to the pharmacy to pick something up.” 

“Ugh… make sure it’s strong…” Lois said. “Something that’ll knock me out.” 

********** 

The metal gate tore open seemingly on its own.  

The magnetic villain who called himself Dr. Polaris stood there, arms crossed as his companion flew in. His partner was a being composed completely of energy. One who began to absorb the electricity from Metropolis Electric. 

He began to grow larger as he did, his body expanding. Energy surged forth from him, and he loved every minute of it. 

********** 

Clark exited the Walgreen’s not far from the apartment he and Lois shared. He carried some anti-histamines in a bag. As he walked back to the apartment, he noticed something unusual coming from afar. It was some sort of strange energy signature. 

It was probably nothing, but he thought it would be best to check it out. He ducked into an alley, removing his glasses and moving at super-speed. Clark Kent went in, but Superman flew out in a blur. 

The source of the energy was ahead, and he sped up, accelerating to light speed. 

********** 

Dr. Polaris watched with a grin beneath his armored mask at his new companion who sucked up the energy. Then, a blur of red and blue passed by, slamming into him hard. 

“Very impressive, Superman…” Polaris stated, climbing to his feet. “But I’m afraid that same attack will have little effect on my ally here…” 

Superman’s eyes went to the energy being who faced him. He spoke no words, but his appearance was all that Clark needed to see. He was extremely bulky in appearance, energy practically bursting from his massive frame. Before Clark could do anything, energy blasts hurled from the being’s eyes, slamming hard into Superman. 

“Call me Shockwave!” he exclaimed, towering over Superman. 

Clark instinctively threw a punch, which traveled right through Shockwave. The massive creature simply laughed at the attempt. 

“Nice try, blue,” Shockwave said. “Too bad you can’t hit energy.” 

Superman’s only response was a face full of heat vision, causing Shockwave to back off. The Man of Steel got to his feet, eyes glowing red. He unleashed another blast of heat vision. 

Polaris began to move forward, clenching a hand as energy began to encircle it. But, he stopped. He would prefer to see this play out first. 

Before Clark unleashed another dose of heat vision, Shockwave’s arm connected with Superman’s head, sending him flying into electrical wires. As Shockwave came closer, Superman grabbed one of the wires, and slammed it into Shockwave. The behemoth simply grew larger. 

Dammit Clark! he thought. Should’ve realized that he was here to absorb the electricity… but why did the heat vision hurt him? 

Clark pushed the questions to the back of his mind. Instead, he fired a long stream of the beams that came from his eyes, causing Shockwave to fly back once more. Superman began to fly in closer when suddenly, without warning, he dropped down to the ground. 

What in the world…? 

He tried to fire his heat vision again, but with no luck. Shockwave began to approach, as Dr. Polaris watched with a grin on his face. 

Just great… I’ve got a giant energy creature ready to kill me, and my powers are gone! 

NEXT ISSUE: Without the use of his powers, how can Superman stand up to Shockwave?