Superman Inspired by Geoff Johns' Superman: Secret Origin

"There is a heart breaking moment halfway through the first chapter in which young Clark is told the truth about his heritage. He races out into the night, sobbing, stumbling through the cornfields. Eventually, his foster father, Jonathan, finds him.

'I don't want to be someone else,' says Clark. 'I don't want to be different. I want to be Clark Kent.'

[And here's the kicker...]

'I want to be your son'

Right there in that moment, Geoff Johns contextualized Superman in a way that I'm not sure has ever really been done before. I had an 'aha' experience when I read that. For the first time I was able to grasp how lonely Clark must have been when he was growing up. And what a sacrifice Clark must continually make by being Superman.

As I write this, I am midway through my first draft of a new Superman screenplay. It's a task that has stymied many talented filmmakers in the years since Richard Donner's film. And for all I know, it will end up stymieing me as well.

But I've got one advantage that the screenwriters who came before me didn't have-- and that's access to all the wonderful Superman stories written by Geoff Johns-- first and foremost being the Secret Origin issues reprinted in the very volume you are now holding."

"Chronicling Clark Kent's journey from the cornfields of Smallville to the skyscrapers of Metropolis, you'll witness a whole new look at the beginnings of Lex Luthor, the Legion of Super-Heroes, Lois Lane, Metallo, Jimmy Olsen, the Parasite and more of your favorite characters from the Superman family! It's a look at the mythic past of the Man of Steel with an eye toward the future!"