Read beyond this point at your own risk! |
- The interview can wait. Fly with me.
Superwoman Special #1 is a one-shot with a cover date of February, 2025. It was published on December 11, 2024.
Synopsis for "Secret Origin"
Lois Lane has been trying to write the story of how she got superpowers, but is suffering from writers block and unable to get the words out. Supergirl and Lana Lang come to her office at the Daily Planet and invite her to go out with them. She refuses, but agrees when they ask her if she wants to fight crime. The three of them fly around the world, fighting villains and saving people, before stopping in Paris for coffee. At the top of the Eiffel Tower Lois shares her frustration and tells them that whenever she had trouble writing a story before she would talk to Perry White; but now that he has left the Planet she has lost her sounding board. Supergirl and Lana suggest she try pitching her story to them, and so she begins to tell her tale.
During the battle between the superheroes and Amanda Waller's forces, Lois had put on the armour she had taken from Supercorp and flown towards Gamorra to join the fight. Her armour was still tied into Waller's network, and so when Task Force VII were destroyed she was electrocuted by the armour and knocked unconscious. The last thing she remembers is falling out of the sky towards the sea; but then suddenly woke up on the roof of the Daily Planet, unhurt and in civilian clothes, after Waller had been defeated. She initially assumed Clark had saved her, but he told her he hadn't. Clark theorised that the armour had a failsafe that had returned her to Metropolis, but before they could investigate further he needed to go into the Phantom Zone.
After a staff meeting, Lois lost her favourite pen and searched her office for it, spotting it under a couch. Without thinking, she lifted the couch over her head to get the pen back and realised she had powers. She rushed to Supercorp and told Mercy and Lena what had happened. They ran tests on her and determined that she had gained superpowers via the armour when Task Force VII were destroyed and the powers were released. Mercy told her that the armour had disappeared and they had not been able to find it, and have assumed it was destroyed. Lena said that it was unclear if Lois would be able to absorb yellow sunlight to charge her powers like a Kryptonian, so it was possible her powers were finite and could be used up. Mercy told her not to use the powers until they knew more, but on the way home Lois saw police cars racing down the street and followed them to a gunfight between cops and armed criminals. She disarmed and knocked the bad guys out at super-speed, unable to stand by.
When Clark returned from the Phantom Zone, she revealed what had happened. After they flew together, Clark took her to the Watchtower to be checked out by Mister Terrific and the Atoms. They said the same as Lena: she has all the powers of Superman, but she could potentially burn them out if she overuses them. Nevertheless, Lois insisted on using her powers to help people while she had them and Clark trained her to use them. She joined her family in fighting off a new Brimstone, revealing that there was a new Superwoman in town.
As they return to the Daily Planet, Supergirl and Lana tell Lois that she is struggling with writer's block because she doesn't want to admit she enjoys having powers. Lois says they're right, as the powers feel like a privilege and enjoying them makes her feel guilty, but they tell her they feel the same and it is okay to have fun with being a hero. She runs back to her office and writes the whole story at super-speed. She considers deleting the file but hears a cry for help and flies out as Superwoman, leaving the document open on her desktop.
At Supercorp, it is revealed that the armour was not destroyed: Mercy and Lena have it and are keeping it a secret from Superman and Lois. Lena asks why they can't tell Lois about the armour, or that it was designed for space travel and was reaching out for signals in deep space. Mercy tells her that Lois can never know what Lex Luthor actually built the armour for. Meanwhile on the Watchtower, Ryan Choi and Ray Palmer wonder who Lois' powers came from, when every Kryptonian on Earth still has their powers, and what the original owner will do when they learn what happened.
On board the UPCC Dereliction, General Zod glares through a viewscreen into space.
Appearing in "Secret Origin"
Featured Characters:
- Superwoman/Superwoman Blue (Lois Lane) (Flashback and main story) (First appearance as Superwoman Blue) (Origin)
Supporting Characters:
- Daily Planet staff members
- Cat Grant (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Jimmy Olsen (Flashback and main story)
- Ron Troupe (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Steve Lombard (Flashback only)
- Justice League Unlimited
- The Atom (Ray Palmer) (Flashback and main story)
- The Atom (Ryan Choi) (Flashback and main story)
- Mister Terrific (Michael Holt) (Flashback and main story)
- Metropolis Police Department (Flashback only)
- Siobhan Smythe (Flashback only)
- Supercorp (Flashback and main story)
- Super-Family (Flashback only)
- Steel (John Henry Irons II)
- Steel (Natasha Irons)
- Superboy (Conner Kent)
- Supergirl (Kara Zor-El) (Flashback and main story)
- Superman (Clark Kent)
- Superman (Jon Kent)
- Super-Man (Kong Kenan)
- Superwoman/Superwoman Red (Lana Lang) (Flashback and main story) (First appearance as Superwoman Red)
Antagonists:
- Brimstones (First appearance) (Flashback only)
- Unknown spider-like creatures (Single appearance) (Cameo)
- Unnamed Metropolis Bank robbers (Single appearance)
- Unnamed superpowered rider (Single appearance) (Cameo)
- Vampires (Cameo)
- General Zod (Cameo)
Other Characters:
- Amanda Waller (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Task Force VII (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Booster Gold (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Donna Troy (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- The Flash (Wally West) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Lucy Lane (Cover only)
- Martian Manhunter (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Metropolis Fire Department (Cameo)
- Wonder Woman (Diana of Themyscira) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Amazo (Mentioned only)
- Barry Allen (Mentioned only)
- Bibbo Bibbowski (Mentioned only)
- Fire (Beatriz da Costa) (Mentioned only)
- Green Lantern Corps (Mentioned only)
- Ice (Tora Olafsdotter) (Mentioned only)
- Lex Luthor (Mentioned only)
- Parasite (Rudy Jones) (Mentioned only)
- Perry White (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Earth 0
- Earth
- France
- Paris
- Arc de Triomphe (Cameo)
- Eiffel Tower
- Paris
- Pacific Ocean (Flashback only)
- Gamorra Island (Flashback only)
- Metahuman Detention Center (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Gamorra Island (Flashback only)
- United States of America
- Metropolis (Flashback and main story)
- 3822 West Main
- Kent Home
- Daily Planet (Flashback and main story)
- Supercorp Tower (Flashback only)
- Ace o' Clubs (Mentioned only)
- 3822 West Main
- Smallville (Mentioned only)
- Metropolis (Flashback and main story)
- Arctic Circle
- Fortress of Solitude (Mentioned only)
- Skartaris (Mentioned only)
- France
- The Watchtower
- Earth
- Sphere of the Gods
- The Dreaming
- Gemworld (Mentioned only)
- Underworld
- Phantom Zone (Mentioned only)
- The Dreaming
Items:
- Bio-Belts
- Flash's Tactical Suit (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Kinetic Hammer (Flashback only)
- Lois Lane's Super-Armor (Flashback and main story)
- Steel's Armor
- Superman's Recovery Suit (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Wonder Woman's Tactical Suit (Flashback only) (Cameo)
Vehicles:
- UPCC Dereliction (Cameo)
Events:
- Absolute Power (Flashback only)
- Superman's Phantom Zone Journey (Mentioned only)
Concepts:
Notes
- This story takes place between the events of Action Comics #1081 and Superman (Volume 6) #19.
- The flashbacks take place during Absolute Power #4, and during and immediately after the Phantoms storyline.
- This issue confirms that Lois gained her "Superwoman" powers at the climax of Absolute Power.
- It also reveals that her powers were stolen from General Zod who seems to have healed himself some time between the events of Kneel Before Zod #8 and this issue.
Trivia
- Lena Luthor briefly mentions the Skartaris samples which may be a reference to the events of The Flash (Volume 6) #14.
See Also