History ComicBook / SupermanPhillipKennedyJohnson

* {{Bookends}}: The first and last arcs of the run deal with Superman suffering from reduced power levels.

* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler: Manchester Black joined Superman on Warworld and fought alongside him as he views slowly changed despite supplying Lex with intel. By the time he comes back, he admits to Lex that Superman really did make a believer out of him and doesn't want to work with Luthor anymore. For that, Lex takes him out and has him killed to power Project Blackout]].

* StagedPopulistUprising: [[spoiler: Norah doesn’t actually care about the anti-alien xenophobia gripping Metropolis. Her intent is to take advantage of the tension to turn everyone against Metropolis and clear the way for her true master: her father, an alternate universe Batman and his Empire of Shadows.]]

* TheCorrupter: [[spoiler: Norah aims to be this to Otho, trying to turn her against the Superfamily by exploring her past as a killer on Warworld, her struggle to stand out amidst the large Superfamily, and her protectiveness towards her brother.]]

** [[spoiler: After Superman realizes that Norah was one of the Al Ghuls from the Empire of Shadows, we get a brief flashback to the events of the ‘’Batman/Superman & The Authority Special’’.]]
* CameBackStrong: [[spoiler:Osul-Ra dies trying to escape Mongul's attempt to coerce Superman into giving away the Fire of Olgrun. Superman saves Osul-Ra by gifting the boy the Fire of Olgrun. This restores Osul-Ra to life and gives him a fragment of the power that can bring even a New God like Desaad to his knees.]]

** [[spoiler: After realizing that Norah was one of the Al Ghuls from the Empire of Shadows, we get a brief flashback to the events of the ‘’Batman/Superman & The Authority Special’’.]]

* EurekaMoment: Osul's offhand comment that Metallo sounds like an Unmade causes Superman to realize that someone is manipulating Metallo into attacking him and his family.

* OhCrap: Kalibak's face when Superman demonstrates his post-''Warworld Saga'' power level comes with new "tricks" says it all.

** On a world where Batman accepted Ra's offer to be his heir, Bruce has spawned several offspring with Talia who are just as evil and committed to conquest as their parents. [[spoiler:One of those is Norah Stone, the leader of Blue Earth]].

** On a world where Batman accepted Ra's offer to be his heir, Bruce has spawned several offspring with Talia who are just as evil and committed to conquest as their parents.

* HumansThroughAlienEyes: In "Panic at the Parade", Osul and Otho get into a lot of trouble due to their misunderstandings about Earth culture and being too LiteralMinded. What's supposed to be a fun outing goes wrwy when they're unimpressed by a glacier-shaped float and decide to flash freeze it to make it more like the actual Arctic. They also fail to understand what mascots are and harass a man in a cartoony Superman costume, resulting in security coming after them. The twins mistake the guards for "berserkers" like those on Warworld and get lost while giving the guards the slip. At the end of the story, Bibbo introduces them to hot dogs, and both kids love the "salted meat tubes" they're given.

* HumansThroughAlienEyes: In "Panic at the Parade", Osul and Otho get into a lot of trouble due to their misunderstandings about Earth culture and being too LiteralMinded. What's supposed to be a fun outing goes wary when they're unimpressed by a glacier-shaped float and decide to flash freeze it to make it more like the actual Arctic. They also fail to understand what mascots are and harass a man in a cartoony Superman costume, resulting in security coming after them whom they mistake for "berserkers" like the guards on Warworld. At the end of the story, Bibbo introduces them to hot dogs, and both kids love the "salted meat tubes" they're given.

* HowWeGotHere: The ''Kal-El Returns'' one-shot explains what happened to Superman between the events of the ''Kal-El Returns'' storyline and the start of ''ComicBook/DarkCrisis''

* LockedOutOfTheLoop: In issue #1058, it's revealed that Kong Kenan is [[spoiler:acting as a spy for the Bat-Man of China to figure out what caused a major reporter in China to suddenly die]]. While they both know that [[spoiler:the reporter died from DeathBySecretIdentity]], they both fear that [[spoiler:Superman might have tried to kill him to save his identity, not knowing about Luthor's mental block]].

** [[spoiler: Superman and Metallo form a temporary alliance in order to rescue Metallo's sister, and put down their mutual foe Hank Henshaw, the Cyborg Superman.]]

* FasterthanLightTravel: Kryptonians, as per usual, are capable of ludicrous feats of speed. Kennedy's run begins with Clark and Jon flying through space at speeds many times faster than the speed of light to soar through the Andromeda Galaxy.

* GeniusBruiser: The story emphasizes that Clark is incredibly intelligent and experienced in addition to his vast powers. He's the first to realize that the Thakkramites have been overtaken by the Shadowbreed and what's needed to beat them, understands the struggles of the Warzoon to rally them to action, and solves the riddle of the Fire of Olgrun.

* BroughtDownToBadass: Clark notes in his journal that the feats he was able to perform with ease at full power, "may be beyond me now" in his depowered state, but that doesn't stop him from kicking the asses of '''two''' giant monsters that threaten to kill his fellow slaves.

* PowerIncontinence: The Doppelgänger loses control of Superman's super hearing and heat vision after Clark tricks him into pushing those powers beyond his ability to control.

* Bookends: The first and last arcs of the run deal with Superman having reduced power levels.

Johnson wrote the main ''Superman'' title for issues 29-32 before the book ended to make way for [[ComicBook/SupermanSonOfKalEl Tom Taylor launching a new Superman book starring Jon Kent as the Superman of Earth in his dad's absence]]. Johnson was also the writer of ''Action Comics'', up until December 2023, and followed the adventures of Clark Kent and the Authority out in space. Aside from a brief two-part crossover between ''Superman'' #29 and ''Action Comics'' #1029 which covers Clark and Jon dealing with the Breach, the two series were separate and neither was required reading for the other.

Johnson wrote the main ''Superman'' title for issues 29-32 before the book ended to make way for [[ComicBook/SupermanSonOfKalEl Tom Taylor launching a new Superman book starring Jon Kent as the Superman of Earth in his dad's absence]]. Johnson is also the writer of ''Action Comics'', which is still ongoing, and follows the adventures of Clark Kent and the Authority out in space. Aside from a brief two-part crossover between ''Superman'' #29 and ''Action Comics'' #1029 which covers Clark and Jon dealing with the Breach, the two series are separate and neither is required reading for the other.