I'm Lex Luthor. I'm never finished. Oh, and Kent...I always knew you had a glass jaw. 
Superman #650 is an issue of the series Superman (Volume 1) with a cover date of May, 2006. It was published on March 15, 2006.
Synopsis for "Up, Up, and Away! (Part I of VIII) - Mortal Men"
Citizens of Metropolis hold a Superman retrospective in Metropolis Park honoring the Man of Steel, who has been missing for over a year. Clark Kent, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen attend, and Clark feels completely relaxed living the life of a civilian. He notices that the retrospective film is wrong on certain key details of Superman's life, but maintains that the spirit of the movie is complimentary.
At the criminal courts building, Lex Luthor, having been exonerated on 120 counts of criminal misconduct, walks out a free man. A crowd of people gathers around the courthouse and begins screaming at him. One even manages to throw a rock, striking Luthor in the forehead. His bodyguards push him into a limousine and they speed off. Luthor's mind is not on the attack, but rather a strange blue crystal he holds in his hand.
Later at the Daily Planet, Perry White compliments Clark Kent on his recent journalistic endeavors. He assigns him a piece covering the resurgence of Intergang activity in the local area. On his way out, Clark find Lois on the elevator. Lois tells him of her most recent interview with a scientist named K. Russell Abernathy who is attempting to turn Kryptonite into an energy resource.
At a science research firm on the Avenue of Tomorrow, Professor Abernathy's experiment goes awry. There is an explosion in the testing zone, and Abernathy is bathed in green radiation, transforming him into a Kryptonite Man. Crazed from the pain, the Kryptonite Man goes on a rampage through the streets of Metropolis firing blasts of Kryptonite energy from his eyes. Clark witnesses the scene, but is powerless to act. He no longer has his former abilities as Superman. He activates a stud on his special wristwatch, signaling the super-hero known as Supergirl.
Supergirl swoops down out of the sky and begins fighting the Kryptonite Man. He manages to burn her with his radioactive touch, but Supergirl uses her heat vision to fuse him into the side of a dump truck. She then carries the truck off to an SCU facility.
After the battle is over, Clark walks down an alleyway. At the end of the alley is Lex Luthor and a gang of thugs waiting for him. Luthor blames Kent for writing the exposés that ruined his career and begins beating him up. After kicking down into the dirt, Luthor quips that Clark has a glass jaw.
Appearing in "Up, Up, and Away! (Part I of VIII) - Mortal Men"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Kryptonite Man (K. Russell Abernathy) (First appearance)
- Lex Luthor
- Bruno (First appearance)
- Doomsday (On a TV or computer screen)
Other Characters:
- Gotham Knights (Mentioned only)
- Jared (First appearance; dies)
- Jonathan Kent (film representation)
- Jor-El (film representation)
- Dr. Kennedy (First appearance; dies)
- Lara Lor-Van (film representation)
- Martha Kent (film representation)
- Mahjoub
- Metropolis Police Department
Locations:
- Krypton (film representation)
- Metropolis
- 1938 Sullivan Place
- Avenue of Tomorrow
- Criminal Courts Building
- Daily Planet
- Metropolis Park
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- The issue received a second printing on April 5th, 2006.
- This issue is reprinted in the Superman: Up, Up, and Away trade paperback.
- With this issue, Adventures of Superman returns to its original title, Superman (Volume 1).
- This issue is part of the One Year Later event, which follows the Infinite Crisis limited series, and the 52 maxi-series.
- This is the first appearance of K. Russell Abernathy, the new Kryptonite Man. The original Kryptonite Man first appeared in Superman #299.
- Mahjoub the pretzel vendor appears next in Action Comics #840.
Trivia
- Superman appears as Clark Kent only in this issue. He lost his powers from red solar radiation in Infinite Crisis #7.
- This issue establishes that Krypton exploded sixty-eight years ago, in the year 1938. This is the same year that National Periodical Publications published Action Comics #1, the first appearance of Superman. Ever since the Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC Comics has consistently maintained that Krypton was destroyed in 1938.
- In this issue, Clark uses a special signal watch to contact Supergirl. This is a nod towards two different sets of circumstances popularized during the Silver Age. Superman often relied upon Supergirl as his "secret weapon" for the first few years that she was on Earth. Also, Jimmy Olsen classically used a specially modified signal watch to contact Superman in times of need.
- The title for this story arc, Up, Up, and Away! was a quote often used by the Man of Steel just before taking flight. It was first used in the 1940 Adventures of Superman radio dramatization.
See Also
Recommended Reading
Links and References
| Up, Up, and Away! | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Part I: Superman #650 | Part II: Action Comics #837 | Part III: Superman #651 | Part IV: Action Comics #838 |
| Part V: Superman #652 | Part VI: Action Comics #839 | Part VII: Superman #653 | Part VIII: Action Comics #840 |
 The events from this issue take place one year after the events of the 2006 limited series Infinite Crisis. This template will categorize articles that include it into Category: 1 Year Later Crossover. |