Superman's power struggles were seemingly solved when he uncovered the Genesis power, but events back on Earth suggest it could make him an addict. Since Infinite Frontier began, Superman's powers have been growing weaker. By the time he reached Warworld, they were all but gone, with the Man of Steel relying on Enchantress and Manchester Black to make it look like he was still as powerful as ever. Since then, many question exactly how Superman might regain his powers. Well, according to Action Comics, it might be by becoming an addict.
Superman recently regained his powers by absorbing some of the mysterious Genesis power that lies beneath and powers Warworld. This energy is ancient and comes from the equally mysterious Source Wall. When the Kryptonian Warworld refugees landed on Earth at the start of the most recent arc, the Genesis fragment on board their craft kicked up an international incident, leading to Superman's exodus from Earth.
This mysterious energy also gave powers to one of the Kryptonian refugees, Thao-La, who the series just revisited in Action Comics #1042 (by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Riccardo Federici, Lee Loughridge and Dave Sharpe). Using the Genesis power led to her becoming comatose and this is the first time she's been seen since. As it turns out, Lois and Jon have been taking care of her at the Fortress of Solitude, but the effect Genesis had was a little more than just a power boost.
After weeks of nothing, Thao-La was suddenly having flare-ups of her powers and seizures. It was explained that this was most likely withdrawal symptoms from using Genesis. The only way to stop these symptoms, it seemed, was to give the Kryptonian a small amount of Genesis energy. Essentially, Genesis can be likened to a drug that gives the user superpowers -- and a drug that Superman just took a massive dose of.
The Man of Steel used Genesis to regain some of his power and start his Warworld revolution. This issue, he absorbed an even larger amount when he came face to face with Mongul and his forces. The effects were so powerful that they reverberated all the way back to Earth. For that to travel across the vast expanse of space suggests that Superman took a lot more power than Thao-La did. Additionally, Thao-La only ever used Genesis once. This is Superman's second time - and it's a lot bigger than his first. If Thao-La is exhibiting symptoms that suggest she's addicted to Genesis, then Superman is sure to end up far worse.
All the way back in Action Comics #1032, Superman received a warning that he would one day use the power of Genesis and eventually become a servant of the ancient power. Taken another way, this could suggest that the Man of Steel will become desperate to get more of the power granting substance when he runs out. Like some addicts, that could cause him to act out in uncharacteristic ways.
Given that a permanent solution to his power problems has not been found yet, and he needs the power of Genesis to free Warworld now, it looks as though Superman may continue using Genesis for the time being. Given how its affected Thao-La so far, things are bound to get worse for Superman going forward. A story about the Man of Steel succumbing to addiction could be an incredibly dark turn for the character, and take him to narrative places that no one would expect for the character. If that is indeed the case, and he can't live up to his own ideals, then it is possible Jonathan Kent could remain Earth's Superman long after his father returns home.
DC Actually Hired Jack Kirby to Draw Superman
When legendary Marvel artist Jack Kirby jumped ship to draw Superman, DC Comics edited out his work - for the worst possible corporate reason. When legendary comic book artist Jack Kirby was hired to work on Superman titles, many fans in the comic book industry were thrilled that the man who helped build Marvel from the ground up would bring his talents to the Distinguished Competition. DC and Marvel have never seen eye-to-eye, so an artist like Kirby jumping ship to the other side of the industry was seen as a massive event. Unfortunately, a combination of Kirby's own aspirations and corporate decisions resulted in DC stunningly erasing Kirby's work on, of all things, Superman's face.
Dissatisfied with Marvel management and Stan Lee's insistence on taking credit for most of (if not all) of his artist partner's contributions to the story and characters of multiple titles, Jack Kirby decided to leave Marvel Comics in 1970 and work for DC. The editorial staff planned to give Kirby any title he wanted, but Kirby didn't want to oust any existing creative team from their books, and thus chose a book without a regular team: Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen. The series sold very well in the 60s and 70s, and working on the title would allow Kirby to introduce his Fourth World characters in the series before creating their spin-off title. Unfortunately, according to his production assistant Mark Evanier, Kirby's plans were continually meddled with - for numerous reasons.
Jack Kirby's signature style was filled with angles and somewhat severe faces with wide-eyed expressions. This worked well for Marvel and their "realistic" approach when it came to superheroes, but DC felt that Kirby's pass on Superman's face didn't line up with the classic Golden Age style of the character (plus, Kirby had some difficulty recreating Superman's chest symbol). In a stunning move, DC decided to use artists Murphy Anderson and Mike Royer to erase and redraw Superman's face in every Kirby-drawn panel in the book - without telling Kirby.
When Jack Kirby inevitably discovered DC's deception, he said nothing to the editors - but in private, he felt insulted. To make matters worse, his Fourth World books were not the smash hit he desired. Editors were dissatisfied with Kirby's work, and the artist eventually returned to Marvel in 1976 (and many of his Fourth World ideas would later be found in the Eternals series). While his work survives in most of his Superman titles, panels with an unedited Superman face drawn by Jack Kirby are quite rare.
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