Dark Nights: Death Metal The Secret Origin #1 is a one-shot with a cover date of February, 2021. It was published on December 22, 2020.
Synopsis for "Secret Origin"
Earth-Prime. 1984. One year before the Crisis on Infinite Earths
He was born Clark Kent. And he was adopted, that's why his parents decided to name him just like Superman, the great superhero of the comics from DC. He was a fan: he passed his time reading those comics, imagining himself as the last son of Krypton. He remembers reading the last published Superman issue at the time, inside the comic store. An idiot called Kenny Braverman picked on him, but he defended himself and his name, he defended Superman. And then Laurie, the daughter of the shop's owner, helped him out of the mess.
Laurie was everything to him: first his best friend, than the girl he loved. But one night, she lost her, just like everybody else: it was halloween, 1985, he went to a party together with Laurie, and then passed some time with her on the beach. They talked about their hopes and dreams, and of their future together. Then, to play a little bit with his costume, Superman's costume of course, he tried to fly. At first he fell, and they both laughed. After some time, something like a shooting star traversed the sky, and Clark could not believe it: he was flying for real. But he discovered that shooting star was the same Superman he knew from the comics: everything he read since he was little was true. He was part of a Multiverse of infinite Earths, and a crisis was happening, with every universe collapsing inside only one.
He lost Laurie then, and when he saw he could bring her back, he tried to. He just wanted his girl, and his people, back. For it, he turned into a monster.
Earth-0, about to collapse. The Metalverse
The heroes, and the villains, must destroy the Earth before the Darkest Knight uses it to create his final Multiverse, the Last 52. As he understood what was happening on the planet, the Darkest Knight threw all his 52 baby worlds at them, so that the nightmares he created inside them could fight the army on Earth and prevent the destruction of the planet.
Superboy-Prime stands among them: that's how they call him now. And they hate him, they do not trust him for what he did back then. Especially the Superman Family, with the exception of Krypto. As he pets the dog, who reached out to him, Superboy-Prime gets scolded by Conner, and so sends Krypto away. Thankfully, the battle is ready to start: Prime sees all this nightmare versions of Superman, and they are so lame. They think they matter,but they do not. And he doesn't care about the fact that many consider him a footnote, a guy who was relevant just once, during a former crisis. They are insignificant, and he will show them.
But as soon as he hits one of them, he feels and sees something: his world changing, becoming a place of happiness. Becoming something good. He realizes that maybe, if he's able to kill the Darkest Knight right now, all these worlds would stop being insignificant, gaining instead value and freedom. He can save other worlds from the doom he felt when they took his planet, and Laurie, away from him. He flies towards the Darkest Knight, and the heroes think he's escaping the battle, taunting him for that. But he does not care: he hits the Darkest Knight with all his might.
And as he hits him, he realizes that with his powers he could obtain all he ever wanted. That if he surrenders to him, he can give him a world where he will be loved, and accepted. But then Krypto comes to him again, and the hate he felt for all those heroes who keep on rejecting him disappeared. Any world the Darkest Knight could give him would not be his world. It wouldn't be the real Laurie, or his real parents. And so, he clenches his fist for the last time, and with all his dreams in his mind, he hits the Darkest Knight. And so, he destroys all the planets of the Last 52, dying in the proces, with no one but Krypto knowing it.
Somewhere else, outside the story
Clark is reading a story, about himself saving the Earth from the Last 52 Multiverse of the terrible Darkest Knight. But, shouldn't he be dead? Then, Laurie comes into his room, telling him if he wants to go outside, with her. Clark cannot understand: she looks, and feels, like the real Laurie. How could it be? The girl thinks he want to finish his comic book, so tells him she will leave him to his reading. But Clark does not want that: he knows how the story will end, with a to be continued. As he decides to go out, a dog comes to him. He never had one. He does have one now.
They go out, and the colors feel so different. Where is him? He's he dead, and living in a paradise? Well, he does not care. He asks Laurie if she remembers the day at the beach, and them talking of their plans. Also, if she remembers him flying through the sky. Laurie laughs: he should stop telling this story, he has no powers. And she likes him powerless. But then, a kid, trying to catch his ball, falls in the middle of the street, with a car almost colliding with him. Clark intervenes, lifting the car over his head, and saving the kid.
Stories are never over. But sometimes, it's good to get out for a walk: you never know what could happen...
Appearing in "Secret Origin"
Featured Characters:
- Superboy-Prime/Kal-El/Clark Kent (Earth-Prime) (Dies) (Resurrected) (Flashback and main story) (Also in a vision) (Origin)
Supporting Characters:
- Laurie Lemmon (Earth-Prime) (Dies) (Resurrected) (Flashback and main story) (Also in a vision) (Also in a comic book)
- Clark Kent and Laurie Lemmon's child (Earth-Prime) (Single appearance) (Unnamed) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Superboy-Prime/Clark Kent's dog (Earth-Prime) (Single appearance) (Unnamed)
- Superman Family (Prime Earth)
- Krypto (Also in a comic book)
- Lois Lane
- Steel (John Henry Irons)
- Superboy (Conner Kent)
- Superboy (Jon Kent)
- Supergirl
- Superman (Clark Kent)
Antagonists:
- Anti-Monitor (Antimatter Universe) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- The Darkest Knight (Earth -22)
- Batmage (Dark Multiverse) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Beyonder (Dark Multiverse) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Groblins (Earth -22)
- The Last Sun (Last 52 Multiverse) (Real name revealed)
- House of El/Church of the Last Sun (First appearance)
- Martian-like Monsters (Last 52 Multiverse) (First appearance; unnamed)
- Robin King (Dark Multiverse) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Kenny Braverman (Earth-Prime) (First appearance) (Flashback only)
Other Characters:
- The Atom (Earth-One) (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Baron Blitzkrieg (Earth-Two) (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Batman/Bruce Wayne (Prime Earth) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Batwoman (Prime Earth)
- Black Bison (Earth-One) (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Black Manta (Prime Earth)
- Blackstarr (Earth-One) (In a photograph only) (Cameo)
- Booster Gold (Post-Flashpoint)
- Captain Atom (Earth-Four) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Cyborg Superman (Prime Earth)
- Demolition Team (Earth-One) (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Rosie (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Steamroller (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Doll Man/Darrel Dane (Earth-Two) (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Emissaries of Doom (Super Friends) (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Eradicator (Prime Earth)
- Firestorm/Ronnie Raymond (Earth-One) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- The Flash/Barry Allen (Prime Earth) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Flash Family (New Earth) (In dream sequence only) (Cameo)
- The Flash (Barry Allen) (In dream sequence only) (Cameo)
- The Flash (Jay Garrick) (In dream sequence only) (Cameo)
- Impulse (Bart Allen) (In dream sequence only) (Cameo)
- Kid Flash (Wally West) (In dream sequence only) (Cameo)
- Gorilla Grodd (Earth-One) (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Green Lantern Corps (New Earth) (In dream sequence only) (Cameo)
- Guy Gardner (In dream sequence only) (Cameo)
- Hal Jordan (In dream sequence only) (Cameo)
- Kyle Rayner (In dream sequence only) (Cameo)
- Harley Quinn (Prime Earth) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Hellgrammite (Prime Earth) (First appearance; unnamed) (Cameo)
- Jade (Earth-Two) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Jimmy Olsen (Earth-One) (In picture only) (Cameo)
- Jonah Hex (Prime Earth) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Jor-El II (Earth-One) (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Justice League of America (Earth-One) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Aquaman (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Elongated Man (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Hawkman (Katar Hol) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Superman (Clark Kent) (Flashback only) (Also in a vision) (Cameo)
- Justice Society of America (New Earth) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Hourman (Rex Tyler) (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- S.T.R.I.P.E (Pat Dugan) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Stargirl (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Wildcat (Ted Grant) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Kryptonite Man (Earth-One) (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Lady Quark (Earth-Six) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Princess Laethwen (New Earth) (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Lara Lor-Van (Earth-One) (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Lex Luthor (Prime Earth)
- Lex Luthor (Super Friends) (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Martian Manhunter (Earth-One) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Metallo (Prime Earth)
- Naomi Kent (Earth-Prime) (Flashback only)
- Negative Man (New Earth) (Flashback only)
- Neutron (Prime Earth) (Cameo)
- Orphan (Prime Earth) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Outsiders (Earth-One) (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Batman (Bruce Wayne) (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Black Lightning (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Geo-Force (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Halo (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Katana (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Metamorpho (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Parasite/Rudy Jones (Prime Earth) (Real name revealed) (First full appearance)
- Power Girl (Earth-Two) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Reactron (Prime Earth) (First appearance; unnamed) (Cameo)
- Robin/Tim Drake (Prime Earth)
- Scarecrow (Earth-One) (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Sgt. Rock (Earth-One) (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Supergirl (Earth-One) (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Superman (Earth-Two) (Flashback only) (Also in dream sequence) (Cameo)
- Swamp Thing/Alec Holland (Prime Earth) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Teen Titans (New Earth) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Cyborg (In dream sequence only) (Cameo)
- Joto (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Raven (In dream sequence only) (Cameo)
- Red Star (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Risk (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Robin (Dick Grayson) (In dream sequence only) (Cameo)
- Robin (Tim Drake) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Starfire (In dream sequence only) (Cameo)
- Superboy (Conner Kent) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Terra (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Wildebeest (Flashback only)
- Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Wonder Girl (Donna Troy) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- The Ray/Happy Terrill (Earth-Two) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Toyman/Winslow Schott (Prime Earth) (Cameo)
- Toyman/Jack Nimball (Earth-One) (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Toyman/Winslow Schott (Earth-One) (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Wonder Woman/Diana of Paradise Island (Earth-One) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Wonder Woman/Diana of Themyscira (Prime Earth) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Arnold Schwarzenegger (Earth-Prime) (In a photograph only) (Cameo)
- Burt Reynolds (Earth-Prime) (In a photograph only) (Cameo)
- Ronald Reagan (Earth-Prime) (In a photograph only) (Cameo)
- Sally Field (Earth-Prime) (In a photograph only) (Cameo)
- Bizarro (Earth-One) (Mentioned only)
- Easy Company (Earth-One) (Mentioned only)
- Jerome Kent (Earth-Prime) (Mentioned only)
- Joker (Prime Earth) (Mentioned only)
- Jon Kent of The Last Sun's Earth (Last 52 Multiverse) (Mentioned only)
- Laurie Lemmon's mother (Earth-Prime) (Unnamed) (Mentioned only)
- Lex Luthor of The Last Sun's Earth (Last 52 Multiverse) (Mentioned only)
- Lori Lemaris (Earth-One) (Mentioned only)
- Superboy-Prime of The Last Sun's Earth (Last 52 Multiverse) (Mentioned only)
- Supergirl/Kara Zor-El of The Last Sun's Earth (Last 52 Multiverse) (Mentioned only)
- Unknown Soldier (Earth-One) (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Last 52 Multiverse (Apparent destruction)
- The Last Sun's Earth (Unnamed) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Post-Flashpoint Multiverse
- Earth 0/Prime Earth/Metalverse (Also in a comic book)
- "Hell"/Themyscira (Also in a vision)
- Earth-Prime (Rebirth)
- Earth 0/Prime Earth/Metalverse (Also in a comic book)
- Pre-Crisis Multiverse
- Antimatter Universe (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Earth-One (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Earth
- Brazil (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- United States of America
- Gotham City (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Justice League Satellite (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Krypton (Destroyed) (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Earth
- Earth-Prime (Destroyed) (Flashback only)
- 1984 (Flashback only)
- United States of America
- USSR (Mentioned only)
- 1985 (Flashback only)
- 1984 (Flashback only)
- Earth-Thirty-Two (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Earth-X
- California (Comic book only) (Cameo)
- Pre-Flashpoint Multiverse
- New Earth (Also in dream sequence)
- Smallville (Flashback only)
- Washington, D.C.
- Hall of Justice (In dream sequence only) (Cameo)
- New Earth (Also in dream sequence)
Items:
- Cosmic Staff (Flashback only)
- Donna Troy's Lasso (In dream sequence only)
- Green Kryptonite (Mentioned only)
- Green Lantern Ring (In a vision)
- Hermes' Helmet (In dream sequence only)
- Kinetic Hammer
- Lasso of Lightning (Flashback only)
- Lex Luthor's Warsuit
- Steel's Armor
- S.T.R.I.P.E. Armor (Flashback only)
Vehicles:
- Kryptonian Rocket (Comic book only) (Cameo)
Concepts:
- Anti-Life Equation
- Crisis on Infinite Earths (Flashback only)
- Death of Superman (Mentioned only)
- Fourth Wall
- Infinite Crisis (Flashback only)
Notes
- The end of the issue implies that Earth-Prime has been restored in the Post-Flashpoint Multiverse and its timeline has shifted by decades as Clark and Laurie now live in modern days.
- Collected in Dark Nights: Death Metal - The Multiverse Who Laughs.
Trivia
- The final page of the issue is a homage to Action Comics #1.
- The comics shown in the beginning in a comic-book store are:
- The young Superboy-Prime is also shown owning:
- The back cover of Dark Nights: Death Metal The Secret Origin #1, which is owned by the restored Superboy-Prime, is the black-and-white cover of Dark Nights: Death Metal #4.
- The variant cover was originally made for the "Generations" event, before the story got reworked.
See Also