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As the last son of Krypton , there are times when bothSupermanand his readers wonder what his life sentence would have been like if the planet had never been destroyed . WriterAlan Mooreexplores this construct in the classic story"For The Man Who Has Everything " . In this now dear upshot , we see the lifespan on Krypton Superman had stargaze of , only to have it all ripped away , giving readers a glimpse of a Krypton that had yet to be seen .
The story opens with a man walk home from body of work in a Kryptonian city , only to be surprised by his family , who are throw him a birthday company , revealing the man ’s name to be Kal - el , Superman ’s Kryptonian name . The story then cuts to Wonder Woman , Batman , and the second Robin Jason Todd landing their aircraft out of doors of theFortress Of Solitude . The three then make their way inside where they explain that they are there to celebrate Superman ’s natal day and compare giving . In finical , Batman vaunt that his natural endowment is a new genetically engineered breed of pink wine which he call the Krypton . The group continue their casual conversation until they ’re shocked to discover Superman in a comatose state with a outlandish plant embed on his chest .
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As Batman , Robin , and Wonder Woman attempt to help oneself Superman , the fib cuts back to Kal - el , aka Superman , on Krypton who is upset that his father Jor - el did n’t number to his natal day , due to a competition within the family . Kal - el meets his father the next Clarence Shepard Day Jr. , who introduces him to a man bring up Lor - em , the leader of a prejudiced ultra political mathematical group known as the “ Sword of Rao ” . When Kal - el asks why Jor - el would associate with such a person , Jor - El explicate that he needs the grouping ’s political influence to indue his “ Old Krypton Movement ” . After Kal - el scolds his father , Jor - el reveal that his lifespan was in shambling after being kvetch off the science council for predict Krypton ’s wipeout , an event that never happened in this aspiration .
Enter Mongul
The narration returns to Batman and Wonder Woman attempting to help Superman , who are then surprised by the villain Mongul , who had been hiding there all along . Mongul explains that he taint Superman with a plant known as the Black Mercy , which incapacitates its horde and have them to have their cracking desires . Mongul say that now Superman is out of delegacy , he intends to take over the Earth after killing Batman and Wonder Woman . In an attempt to hold him off , Wonder Woman fights Mongul as Batman struggles tofree Superman from the Black Mercy .
The report shifts back to Kal - el , who arrives at a hospital and is horrified to determine his cousin Kara Zor - el , aka Supergirl , had been brutally beaten by political rivals of his family . With the realisation that the actions of his don have made his home a target , Kal - el attempt to pass on the city with his son Van . However , before they can leave , they ’re treat to more terrifying imagery when they come across members of the Sword of Rao dressed in KKK - like robe and holding a ceremonial occasion known as a “ Torch - Procession ” . When Van asks about what he ’s escort , Kal - el lie to him , saying it ’s just a parade . However , Kal - el is most horrified when it is revealed that his father Jor - el is the new president of the Sword Of Rao , which then causes the crowd around the ceremony to bacchanal .
finally , Kal and Van take flight the city to a lieu called Kandor Crater , where once stood the mighty city of Kandor before being funk by the villain Brainiac . While Kal and Van take the air around the crater , he unwrap to his Logos that he loves him , but does n’t think he ’s existent . As Kal commence to realize he ’s in a dreaming - like state , Batman begin to pull the Black Mercy off of Superman . This causes the delusion around Kal - El to light apart , and just as he tries to reach for his son one last time , Batman express the Black Mercy from Superman , unexpectedly infect himself in the process .
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Superman Awakens
Just as Superman ’s fantasy conclusion , Batman enters a aspiration about his parent agitate off the mugger that kill them in substantial life . After Robin reveals that it was Mongul that subject him to the agonising ambition , an enraged Superman shouts his foe ’s name so loud it nearly throws Robin off - panel . Superman then confronts and fight Mongul , brutallyscorching him with his high temperature vision . While Superman and Mongul fight , Robin finds a pair of gloves that Mongul had used to extend to the Black Mercy without being infect . Robin then proceed to press out the black mercy from Batman and then runs to avail Superman . Just as Mongul get the upper hand on Superman , Robin confound the Black Mercy at Mongul , infecting him and saving the day .
As Mongul falls to the earth , he woolgather his phantasy of killing all the superheroes and take on over the Earth . Later on , as Superman and the grouping recover , he muses about throwing the comatose Mongul into a opprobrious hole . Wonder Woman then reveals her endowment , which is a bantam duplication of the withered city of Kandor , causing Superman to practice his tiptop - speed to get rid of the one he already built for himself . Wonder Woman then snog superman , in a sweet and rare moment prior to their romancebefore DC’sNew 52era . Afterwards , Batman explains that his gift , the Krypton rose , was destroy in the conflict , leading Superman to put forward , “ Perhaps it ’s for the in force ” .
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The best Superman story?
The level end with Superman and his superhero friends leave to get coffee , while Mongul continues to stargaze about astronomic supremacy . There ’s a lot to take out here , though what stands out the most is the concept that even with all of Superman ’s desire being run across , there wasstill a wad of hardship in his life . Because he lived a normal life as Kal - el on Krypton , it also meant that he would n’t be able to strike his own world the way that Superman did on earth . Superman ’s wonderment of his father was also throw into enquiry when realizing how desperate Jor - el was in ordering to keep political power in this pipe dream . However , the most tragical part was that so as to return to his life as Superman , his raw family had to be rend away from him .
What ’s even more profound is the impact that " For The Man Who Has Everything " had on the Superman mythos . Typical of an Alan Moore story , every element has since been picked clean for story potential . The Justice League drag with a Black Mercy that had overtaken a whole planet , Superman really met and dislike his partisan father , and the whole arc of Superman ’s living bent towards the desire for family and transparency depicted in the story , with elementsfrequently adapted for film and television . Both writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons constructed possibly the capital Superman story of all time . Though it was originally published in the ’ 80s,“For The Man Who Has Everything " still feels relevant to this day due to the themes and melodic theme it explore . It ’s a story that defined whoSupermanwas , and a must - read for those front to get into comics .
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