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in: Issues Rated T, Marie Javins/Executive Editor, Carlo Pagulayan/Cover Artist,
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Superman: Lost Vol 1 4

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"The Edge of Forever - Superman: Lost, Book Four": Many years ago, after his graduation from high school, Clark sits alone in his room, staring at the suit that would become the uniform of Superman. His parents, Jonathan and Martha, watch him from the door of his room, visibly worried about hi

Quote1 You risked everything-- to find a man you met for thirty seconds back when you were a child. Quote2
— Superman (Clark Kent)

Superman: Lost #4 is an issue of the series Superman: Lost (Volume 1) with a cover date of August, 2023. It was published on June 13, 2023.

Synopsis for "The Edge of Forever - Superman: Lost, Book Four"

Many years ago, after his graduation from high school, Clark sits alone in his room, staring at the suit that would become the uniform of Superman. His parents, Jonathan and Martha, watch him from the door of his room, visibly worried about him.

In the present, at the Kent apartment, Clark tries to get some sleep but suddenly finds himself holding his breath again. He has spent such a long time holding his breath that he has trouble remembering to breathe when he actually needs to. Needless to say, Lois rushes to his side, holds in her arms and tells him to breathe.

In the past, Clark had returned to the planet he had dubbed "Kansas" and built a house, an almost exact replica of the Kent farm, for himself there. As Clark silently drinks a cup of coffee, he is visited by a masked stranger, who is revealed to be the boy who found Superman back when he first arrived at Kansas. Clark initially mispronounces the boy's name as "Jimmy", but the boy says his real name is "Szhemi", but he does give permission to Clark to call him "Jimmy", as the two names sound similar. Szhemi is surprised that Clark can speak his native language without a translator and Clark replies that Szhemi's language isn't that hard to learn.

Szhemi asks Clark why he is living on this planet now and Clark explains that after he lost a good opportunity to return to Earth, he had nowhere else to go. He travelled a vast distance to recover his luggage, which contained his classic uniform and the crushed remains of Maquis, the small device that had monitored Superman's journey since his departure from Kansas. Superman regretted crushing Maquis in a fit of anger because, despite not providing any useful information on how to return Earth, Maquis was still company, something Superman desperately needed to keep his sanity.

It took Superman two Earth years to return to Kansas and since he built his home there, he had been trying to help the downtrodden people of New-Ark by giving them food and medicine. Still, Clark is surprised that Szhemi risked his life and traversed half a planet to find him, so Clark asks what's happening on New-Ark. He is shocked by what he learns and quickly rushes off to find the Victor, who explains that the Contrectatio have come to collect what they are owed.

According to the Victor, the Contrectatio are scavengers. They collect industrial waste, like abandoned buildings and scrapped metal, from the planet because they were given permission by the people of the Republic. The Victor admits the Contrectatio are pirates, but when the Republic proposed a planetary defense system against such aggression, the Arkasians, the people who are currently enduring an attack from the Contrectatio, voted it down; just like they voted down a space exploration program, environmental safeguards and even school lunch. The Arkasians, stubborn conservatives that they are, refused to leave their ancestral homes, so the Republic stopped interfering in their affairs

As Superman puts on his white suit, given to him by the Victor himself, he insists the Republic could use their resources to help them, but Victor insists that the New Arkasians do not want the Republic's help, even when their homes was on the brink of total destruction. The people of the Republic, sick of the New Arkasians' societal ignorance, exiled them to the surface of the planet. The Victor says that the Contrectatio will probably help Superman find his home, but only if he allows them to take what was promised to them.

Despite his reduced powers, Superman reaches the surface of the planet and intercepts the Contrectatio's ships, only to be surprised when he learns that the Contrectatio are in fact the small, orange-skinned aliens who found him when he was stranded in space. He attempts to reason with Max, the fleet's commander, and asks him to relocate the New Arkasians to a healthier planet; then, the Contrectatio will be allowed to take whatever they want. Max, however, says that the New Arkasians don't want to be moved from their homes for, even now, they believe the Contrectatio are nothing more than a hustle fabricated by the Republic to drive them underground. The planet itself orbits a star that will become a red giant in a few decades, maybe sooner, meaning that, either way, no one will be able to live on this planet. Despite this terrible outcome, Superman refuses to abandon the New Arkasians and gets unexpected assistance from a female Green Lantern.

Appearing in "The Edge of Forever - Superman: Lost, Book Four"

Featured Characters:

  • Superman (Clark Kent) (Flashback and main story)

Supporting Characters:

  • Arkasians (Future) (First appearance) (Flashback only)
    • Szhemi/"Jimmy" (First full appearance)
  • Hope (Future) (First appearance; unnamed) (Cameo)
  • Lois Lane (Cameo)

Antagonists:

  • The Contrectatio (Future) (Flashback only)
    • Max (Flashback only)
  • The Republic (Future) (Behind the scenes)
    • The Victor (Flashback only)

Other Characters:

  • Jonathan Kent (First appearance) (Flashback only)
  • Martha Kent (First appearance) (Flashback only)
  • Space Dolphins (Flashback only) (Cameo)
  • Marquis A.I. (Mentioned only)

Locations:

Items:

Vehicles:

  • The Contrectatio's Spaceships (Flashback only)

Concepts:




See Also


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