Starting with the Flash in Showcase #4 in 1956, new versions of DC's former heroes were gradually introduced as completely separate characters with no connection to previous incarnations.

[5] As recounted in these retellings, Superman was born Kal-El on the planet Krypton to the illustrious El family whose genealogy had been manipulated for centuries by the Guardians of the Universe in the hope of one day creating the perfect hero.

Krypton, however, was unstable and despite the best attempts of the Green Lantern of that sector they were unable to save the planet nor were warnings of Kal-El's father, Jor-El heeded.

Landing outside of the town of Smallville, the three-year-old Kal-El was found by elderly farming couple Jonathan and Martha Kent who sought to adopt him.

[11] By this time, Clark had started school and his parents had sold their farm, moving into Smallville, where they opened a general store where he had a part-time job stacking shelves for his father.

[13] He was also reunited with his Kryptonian dog Krypto whom Jor-El had placed in a test rocket whilst preparing the vehicle that would take his son to Earth.

[15] They were initially friends but after Superboy unintentionally destroyed one of Luthor's science experiments, the young scientist grew bitter, thus leading to a rivalry and eventually a grudge that turned into a life of crime.

[17] Superboy made Smallville famous but always saw it as a training ground for his eventual career as Superman, something he was aware of due to having used recovered Kryptonian technology to see the future.

Shortly after Clark's high school graduation, both Jonathan and Martha Kent died of natural causes, though not before Jonathon made his son swear to use his powers for good as Superman.

[20] His failure to save the people he loved the most despite all his power, had a profound effect on Kent and while in college, he even considered abandoning his heroic career.

[21] After graduating from college, Clark obtained employment as a reporter with The Daily Planet though editor-in-chief Perry White was initially reluctant to hire him[20][22] and even after giving him a job was still leery of Kent.

[25] She was a friendly rival to Lois for Superman's affections but while he loved both women, a recurring theme in Silver Age stories was his refusal to marry either one for fear that his enemies would take revenge on him by killing a non-super spouse.

[28] Soon after Supergirl's arrival on Earth, Superman became a founding member of the Justice League of America, Earth-One's most prominent superhero team.

[29] In 1971 with the advent of the Bronze Age of Comics, Clark began working as the evening news anchor for WGBS-TV after his new boss Morgan Edge purchased the Daily Planet.

Whereas the more whimsical Silver Age uncritically showed him solving every problem he came across—no matter how small—and regularly raising billions for charity, writer Elliot S. Maggin addressed this in his "Must There be a Superman".

There, the Guardians of the Universe (whose own Green Lanterns cannot directly interfere in mundane affairs) took note of all this and began to worry that he was robbing humanity of its initiative by solving every problem.

In fact, whilst Superman would ultimately die, his descendants would continue the never-ending battle for truth and justice as they shepherded humanity in its exploration of the universe, intermarrying with mortals thus raising it to the next level of evolution.

[43] The career of the Earth-One Superman came to an abrupt end, however, with the release of Crisis on Infinite Earths, an event meant to redefine DC's characters with the main villain Anti-Monitor attempting to destroy the universe but instead altering its history completely.

In 2011, however, years after it was published, Marv Wolfman revealed that just prior to the events in Crisis, which he wrote, that Superman was approached by a woman named Harbinger who explained to him that even if the Anti-Monitor was defeated, that the surviving reality would be left deformed.

He saw his own death, his fellow heroes in an identity crisis, Wonder Woman summarily executing people on live TV, the Amazons attack, Batman betraying the Justice League, etc.

In the end, Anti-Monitor was defeated and the remaining universes saved but many heroes died in the struggle including his friend the Barry Allen Flash and his cousin Supergirl.

The ending strongly implies that Lois' husband, Jordan Elliott is a de-powered Superman in disguise as their infant son squeezes a lump of coal until it becomes a diamond.

[46] The Earth-One Superman was long thought erased but in the years since Crisis glimpses of parallel dimensions, alternate timelines, and the restored multiverse shows, that however remote, he and the Earth One universe still exist.

As the first prominent superpowered superhero of Earth-One, Superboy met few other peers his own age outside of his trips to the 30th Century to serve as part of the Legion of Super-Heroes.

[47] After Superman reached adulthood, other superheroes made their debuts, including Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, the Flash, and the Martian Manhunter.

Writer John Byrne acknowledged that he intended to reintroduce several modified Silver Age aspects such as Superboy to the comics, but he was fired after two years due to "creative differences" with DC.

According to Clark, he met Mon-El and wrongly assumed him to have been his long-lost brother from Krypton, based on their similar names, and Superman still has a Legion flight ring in his possession.