Brainiac 13’s attack on Metropolis has resulted in its transformation into a true City of Tomorrow. Lex Luthor has already started turning this situation to his advantage. Lois Lane has only just found out that Superman recently spent 1000 years in another dimension with Wonder Woman, and the secret is impacting their marriage. But Lois has been keeping a secret of her own. And Superboy has begun to figure out the connection between Clark Kent and the Man of Steel…
Related Events: These stories largely revolve around Superman hiding out in Smallville while Lois Lane is angry with him and are otherwise unconnected.
Must-Reads: Issues marked with a ✔are essential to the story.
Anthology Issues: When an issue contains multiple stories, the relevant story is denoted with square brackets. For example, [2/5] refers to the second story of the five stories in that issue.
Spoilers: The issue descriptions and fallout section contain spoilers, so be warned!
Previous events that directly impact this story:
- Y2K (2000) – Brainiac 13 takes over Metropolis
Want to keep it simple? Here’s the chronological reading order without story descriptions, or spoilers:
- Superman #155
- Adventures of Superman #577
- Superman: Man of Steel #99
- Action Comics #764
| Must Read | Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| ✔ | Superman #155 Clark Kent drops in on his parents’ farm in Smallville, only to find Superboy having supper there (finally accepting the offer he was given during ZERO HOUR: CRISIS IN TIME!, 1994!). Jonathan Kent convinces Clark to be there for the boy, so he decides to hint very heavily to Superboy that he’s secretly Superman. After making the decision to help rebuild Gotham City (during NO MAN’S LAND, 1999-2000), Lex Luthor uses his position there and in Metropolis to further expand his horizons. Lois Lane asks for time off work, hinting at problems with her marriage to Clark. When Clark gets home, Lois decides to go out on Valentine’s Day without him. |
| ✔ | Adventures of Superman #577 Clark has been spending a few days in Smallville, while trying to figure out what’s made Lois so angry. Young environmental protesters led by Brett DuChamp from out of town generate hostility from Smallville locals. When there’s an explosion at the ice cream factory, Superman puts out the fire and finds evidence that Sheriff Cal Neusbaum and the factory owner set the bomb that caused it. Luthor starts to coerce Metropolitan business owners into carrying out his needs. |
| Must Read | Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| ✔ | Superman: The Man of Steel #99 [1/2] Superman rescues Lana Lang when her car crashes into Smallville’s Drear Lake. The monstrous spirit of a drowned girl calling itself Unketeli tries to keep passenger Pete Ross in the water, but Superman saves him, too. In Metropolis, Steel tests his new armour while tackling terrorists attempting to blow up the city’s power supply. |
| ✔ | Superman: The Man of Steel #99 [2/2] Superman returns to Metropolis in time to assist Steel with a thermodynamic fluctuation caused by Brainiac’s manipulation of the city, causing the creation of a tesseract. Superman asks Steel to help him rebuild the Fortress of Solitude… |
| ✔ | Action Comics #764 Hope Taya and Mercy Graves suppress the reports of the existence of Lex’s daughter, Lena Luthor (lost during Y2K, 2000). Superman rescues people from a fire in Smallville. Clark tries to make up with Lois, but she tells him she needs to be away from him for a while. Superman reveals to Martian Manhunter that he’s become unwell… |
| Must Read | Issue & Fallout | Event/ Crossover |
| ✔ | Superman: The Man of Steel #100 (2000) Superman and Steel complete the construction of the new Fortress of Solitude. | |
| ✔ | Superman #157 (2000) Superman finds out the reason ‘Lois Lane’ is acting so strangely is because she’s actually the Parasite. | THE SEARCH FOR LOIS |
| ✔ | Action Comics #767 (2000) Superman is cured of the Kryptonite poisoning, caused by Encantadora without her knowledge. | CRITICAL CONDITION |
| Superman: Lex 2000 #1 (2001) Lex Luthor becomes President of the United States of America. | PRESIDENT LEX | |
| Superman #171 (2001) Lena Luthor returns to Earth. | OUR WORLDS AT WAR | |
| ✔ | Teen Titans #5 (2004) After his suspicions that Superman is Clark Kent are confirmed, Superboy takes the name Conner Kent while living on the Kent family farm. |
| Collected Edition Title | Collecting… |
| Superman: The City of Tomorrow vol.2 | Action Comics #764-768 Adventures of Superman #577-581 Superman #155-159 Superman: Man of Steel #99-103 |
| Superman: The City of Tomorrow Compendium | Action Comics #760-768 Adventures of Superman #573-581 Superman #151-159 Superman: Man of Steel #95-103 Superman: Y2K #1 |
Reading Order © Omniverse Comics Guide 2024
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