The cover of the first issue of The Man of Steel, Superman's new origin in the Modern Age continuity. | |
| Modern Age | |
| Duration | 1985-present |
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Additions to the Superman Mythos |
Cold, logical version of Krypton; Lex Luthor as a corrupt businessman; Eradicator, Doomsday, Maxima, Matrix (version of Supergirl), Superboy (Kon-El), Steel, Cyborg Superman, Christopher Kent, New Krypton, Electric Superman, Strange Visitor, Preus, Kelex, Natasha Irons, Steelworks |
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Subtractions from the Superman Mythos |
Silver age version of Krypton; Lex Luthor as a mad scientist. (Many other elements were removed in the early Modern Age but subsequently reintroduced). |
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Superman's Power Level |
high. While still lower than the godlike power of Silver Age superman, Modern Age Superman has steadily increased in power and is currently extremely powerful. |
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Regular Superman Comic Series |
Action Comics, Superman, Adventures of Superman, Superman: The Man of Steel, Superman: The Man of Tomorrow, Superboy, Supergirl, Adventure Comics, Power Girl, Superman/Batman |
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Previous era |
Bronze Age |
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Next era |
Unknown as of yet. |
The Modern Age is an era in the history of Superman comics, and of DC comics in general. It began in 1985 following the Crisis on Infinite Earths story, which rebooted continuity, and ended in 2011 with the Flashpoint storyline, which again rebooted continuity.
The Superman comics of this era began by doing away with many of the "campier" elements of the Superman Mythos, and reinventing his story in many ways. However, over the years since, various writers have reintroduced some of the elements from the previous continuity, such as Supergirl and Krypto. However, as some of these concepts were reintroduced a few times in different versions (Such as Supergirl, who was first brought back as Matrix, then as Linda Danvers, then Cir-El, and finally as the familiar Kara Zor-El from the Silver Age), it led to a somewhat convoluted universe. This may have been one of the factors in its 2011 reboot.
This era includes the Death of Superman, one of the best-selling comic stories of all time, introducing Doomsday.
In 2013, a book was published collecting Superman's entire Modern Age history from the perspective of Brainiac 5, entitled "The Superman Files".