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During his exile, Superman crossed paths with different aliens. He fought and defeated the champion Draaga in Warworld but refused to kill him, putting the warrior in shame. This battle would be witnessed by Maxima, queen of Almerac, making her interested in Superman. Bef

"The Day of the Krypton Man" was a multi-part storyline published in alternating Superman titles dated from March to April of 1990. The story followed events that first took place during Superman's Exile, with Superman becoming possessed by the Kryptonian artifact called the Eradicator, and Maxima, Draaga, and Lobo all traveling to Earth to battle Superman.

Synopsis

The Days Before

During his exile, Superman crossed paths with different aliens. He fought and defeated the champion Draaga in Warworld but refused to kill him, putting the warrior in shame.[1] This battle would be witnessed by Maxima, queen of Almerac, making her interested in Superman. Before returning to Earth, Superman met an old Cleric who preached on Krypton hundreds of years ago. This Cleric gave him an ancient artifact named the Eradicator as a parting gift. He believed that the device was a weapon, but its purpose was to preserve Krypton’s legacy.[2]

But the Eradicator had some adverse effects on the people around Superman. First, it messed with Matrix's mind, making her believe she was the real Superman.[3] Then, it mutated Jimmy Olsen, turning him into some elastic man. Seeing this device was dangerous to the people around him, Superman buried it in a crater in Antarctica.[4] But far from being inactive, the Eradicator built a Kryptonian Fortress. The device attempted to rebuild Krypton on Earth, but Superman managed to deactivate it by completing a Kryptonian rite of passage. As a result, the Fortress turned into a sanctuary filled with Kryptonian artifacts, a place Superman would visit often.[5]

The Day of the Krypton Man

During one of his visits to the Fortress, the Eradicator activates itself and hits Superman with a static current. Superman seems unaffected but, unaware of it, his mind starts changing drastically. He loses interest in his daily job and adopts a cold, uninterested attitude toward his friends and family.[6]

Hired by some holo-vendors, Lobo arrives on Earth to fight and kill Superman. He sneaks on his Fortress, and Superman fights the intruder using the technology at his disposal, like a Kryptonian war suit controlled telepathically. A trick using the war suit made Lobo believe that Superman was dead, and the invader left the planet.[7]

Superman grows more and more unattached to his human side, giving priority to his Kryptonian endeavors. Meanwhile, Maxima comes to Earth to try to convince Superman to be her mate and become rulers of the empire of Almerac together. But Superman refuses to mix his Kryptonian blood with a race of barbarians, and thanks to the link he has with the Eradicator, he resists Maxima’s telepathic powers. This encounter makes Superman realize what his true destiny is: to become a true son of Krypton.[8]

Kal-El decides to end his “masquerade” as Superman, getting rid of his suit and wearing Kryptonian robes. Draaga arrives on Earth to challenge Superman to a rematch to death, and Kal-El accepts his terms, this time more determined than he was in Warworld. The battle escalates quickly, reaching its climax at Liberty Island. To avoid further collateral damage, Emil Hamilton interferes and teleports both of them to the moon. But he messed up and sent the Statue of Liberty with them. With the whole world watching via live TV broadcast, Kal-El is ready to strike the killing blow.[9] But right before he could kill his opponent, Hamilton teleports him back to Earth, leaving Draaga on the moon.

This battle confuses the people of Metropolis, and some refuse to believe that the man they saw was Superman. His lives as Clark Kent and Superman start to fall apart, and he decides it's time to get rid of his human bonds and focus on his Kryptonian responsibilities.[10]

Martha and Jonathan Kent visit their son at his apartment right before he moves to the Fortress, and Kal-El takes them with him to explain the new path he's taking. He shows that Krypton's culture was so advanced because they got rid of all their emotional weakness, and he will dedicate his life to continue with that culture. His human parents remind him that Jor-El sent him to Earth because Krypton was doomed. While they discuss the matter, an automated Kryptonian war suit attacks them. Kal-El disables it, but the other robots in the Fortress start to attack the Kents. The sudden danger and his quick response to save their lives make him realize he was being controlled by the Eradicator all this time. So he decides to destroy the device for good. Using all of his willpower, Superman resists the Eradicator’s efforts to control him, and with the help of his father, who used Green Kryptonite to disrupt its programming, he destroys the device.

Now free from its control, Kal-El is ready to resume his roles as Superman and Clark Kent. But first, he flies to space and throws the Eradicator and his Kryptonian robes to the sun, destroying another part of Krypton's history.[11]

Issues



Links and References


Superman Our Worlds at War Vol 1 TP
Superman Family Storyline
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This event or storyline is specifically related to Superman, or to members of the Superman Family. This template will automatically categorize articles that include it into the Superman Storylines category.

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The Day of the Krypton Man Crossover
The Day of the Krypton Man is a 1990 Superman Family crossover event. This template will categorize articles that include it into the Category:Superman: Day of the Krypton Man crossover category.

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