It's Superman
two covers from the hardcover and paperback editions of the novel
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| Author | Tom De Haven |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Superhero fiction |
| Publisher | Chronicle Books & Ballantine Books |
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Publication date
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September 15, 2005 (hardcover) August 29, 2006 (paperback) |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 384 (hardcover) 432 (paperback) pp |
September 15, 2005 (hardcover)
It's Superman! is a novel by Tom De Haven based on the comic book superhero Superman. It was released on September 15, 2005 in hardcover and August 29, 2006 in paperback. The premise tells the tale of Clark Kent's beginnings into becoming Superman, set in the 1930s, where Clark befriends a wrongly convicted photographer named Willi Berg, and is then taken from Kansas to Hollywood and finally in New York where he meets Lois Lane, fights Lex Luthor, as he debuts in his superhero persona. Despite the setting, this is not about the Golden Age Superman also known as the Superman of Earth-2; as Perry White, the Daily Planet, Lex Luthor's position and his trademark powers (including flight) are not part of that alternate Earth. Rather, it's a Superman period piece set in the 1930s.
In Smallville, Kansas, in 1935, Clark Kent is interviewed by the local sheriff over the death of a wanted man whom Clark confronted at a movie theatre. He died from, what everyone agrees to be, his handgun firing backwards. Clark and his father, Jonathan Kent, know the real story: he shot Clark, and the bullet bounced off Clark's forehead, and killed the wanted man instead. Clark is scared over what he is becoming. Matters worsen when Clark's beloved mother, Martha Kent, dies of a terminal illness. In Manhattan, Willi Berg storms out from Lois Lane's, his girlfriend's, apartment because she could not help him buy back his camera, so he intends to steal it. Arriving at the pawn shop, he discovers several men dead, and gets wounded trying to escape when he sees the ringleader of the gang: Lex Luthor. Because he is an alderman, Lex frames Willi for the murders and a henchwoman attempts to murder him at the hospital days later until she is stopped by federal agents, led by Meyer Lansky. With their help, and Lois's, Willi goes on the run, finding himself in Smallville as a member of the WPA. There, he meets Clark, who is now a reporter for the Smallville Herald Progress, and befriends him after he shows off his superspeed. After solving the crime of a kidnapped child that ends unhappily; Clark quits the paper and Willi discusses with him the idea of leaving Smallville to travel. Because he wants to see what else is out there, Clark agrees.
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