Comic Book / Krypton No More

Face it, Clark — you've been ill! You created the whole Krypton fantasy to escape the reality of your life — a reality you couldn't face!

"I thought we'd come to this someday! Well, now that we have, I've got to tell you, Superman — There is NO planet Krypton! Moreover, Clark — There never WAS!"

— Supergirl

Krypton No More is a Superman story arc published in 1976 in Superman (1939) #307-309, written by Gerry Conway with art by José Luis García-López. Legendary artist Neal Adams illustrated two covers.

Superman's Survivor Guilt and issues of loss and isolation are aggravating, placing him under tremendous stress and on the verge of a mental collapse. Fearing pollution could destroy the Earth, and unwilling to lose another home planet, Superman goes on a rampage, destroying real or perceived environmental threats.

However, his cousin Kara Zor-El/Linda Lee Danvers alias Supergirl stops him before he destroys a supertanker. Supergirl tells Superman that he cannot make decisions for humanity, he cannot interfere with mankind's evolution… and his memories of Krypton are a lie. Krypton, she explains, never existed, and both she and he are only powerful human mutants who were born on Earth.

Supergirl's words cause an upheaval in Superman. Is Supergirl telling the truth? Is he mourning a world he never lost and a heritage never existed? Does he have a home and belong with humans after all? And maybe he should prioritize helping the Earth people and concerning himself only with local crime instead of traversing the galaxy?

As Superman is trying to figure things out, the coming of two new super-villains and an Alien Invasion will make his life harder.

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Krypton No More provides examples of:

• After the End: Super-villain Radion plans to cause a nuclear holocaust and rule the survivors.
• Alien Invasion: At one point the Super-family has to fight the J'ai, a belligerent warrior race who intends to massacre a peaceful race called the Xonn.
• Alien Non-Interference Clause:
  • Supergirl stops Superman when he decides that being an eco-terrorist is the best way to protect the planet, declaring that neither of them has right to impose their will on humans.
    Supergirl: And just where do you think you're going, cousin?
    Superman: Supergirl! Glad you're here! You can help me! This ship is a danger to all mankind — So we have to—
    Supergirl: Wrong! We aren't doing anything! We have no right to interfere!
  • Later she reiterates her position:
    Supergirl: The way you were acting towards Earth — trying to protect it from mankind, interfering in matters which were none of your business... matters which should rightfully be decided by humanity itself!
• Alliterative Name: Samuel Simeon, a mob boss whose operations Superman bust in #309.
• All Your Base Are Belong to Us: Super-villain Protector storms the Fortress of Solitude when both Superman and Supergirl are in home. Let's say it wasn't a very brilliant plan.
• And This Is for...: When Superman fights the J'ai for second time, he thinks: "This time, I'm going to win the skirmish… for Xonn… and for Krypton!"
• Angry Fist-Shake:
  • Superman does this — combined with Skyward Scream — after visiting a chemical plant. He lifts his fist and swears that he will not let Earth die.
  • In the next issue, Protector strikes Supergirl and her cousin with lightning bolts before hightailing it. Angry, Supergirl shakes her fits as she cries out: "Wait till I get my hands on that guy!"
• Animal Wrongs Group: The story opens up with Superman destroying a factory because it makes vinyl chloride, a known carcinogen. Later he throws the crew of an oil tanker into the sea and decides to toss the damned thing into orbit so there is no chance of it crashing and dumping its oil into the ocean.
• As You Know: Protector spends one whole page explaining to his partner Radion how Radion gained powers, how his powers work and how they first met.
  Protector: I know how you found yourself alive after the explosion which destroyed all your co-workers... I know how you climbed from the rubble... and found your body altered!
• A Planet Named Zok:
  • Krypton, of course.
  • Superman and Supergirl have to protect Xonn (a planet located in Cygni-Gi system) from the J’ai army.
• Badass in Distress: Superman, Supergirl and Krypto are defeated and captured by the J'ai army.
• Bash Brothers: Bash Cousins, in this instance. Clark and Linda fight together several menaces such like the J'ai.
• Berserk Button: Linda hates people hurting or slighting Clark. However she also hates when he behaves as a lunatic or a coward.
• Beyond the Impossible: The narrator makes clear that travel faster than light should be impossible… but somehow Kryptonians do it.
• Big Bad Wannabe: the Protector boasts about being invincible and actually thinks that he can defeat Superman. It's true he is powerful and hits hard, but he is nothing but a dumb, reckless, impulsive thug, and Superman defeats him as soon as he gets serious.
• Bio-Augmentation: Linda tells that Clark and she have powers because their fathers worked with radioactive materials which changed their DNA and gave their children powers.
• Bizarre Alien Psychology: Kryptonian therapists have very weird ideas about proper ways to deal with trauma:
  Supergirl: Kandorian psychologists — unlike Earth psychologists — feel than an emotional problem should be removed, rather than solved!
• Breath Weapon: Superman blasts Protector with a blow of super-heated air when they fight in the Fortress.
• Brought to You by the Letter "S": Both Superman and Supergirl wear an "S"-shield. Back then it was a mere Chest Insignia, instead of their family crest.
• Bullying a Dragon: Common sense should advice Protector against antagonizing and pissing off Superman. Still he defies him openly, constantly attacks him and even breaks into his home.
• Canine Companion: Krypto joins Supergirl when she goes to fight the J'ai.
• Chest Blaster: Protector shoots energy blasts from his belt.
• Chest Insignia:
  • Superman and Supergirl wear their S-shield.
  • Protector's insignia is a flaming sword.
  • Radion's emblem is a big red circle crossed by several black lines.
• Chronic Hero Syndrome: If Clark — self-controlled, neurotic and a loner — and Linda — short-tempered, emotionally stable and adapted to life on Earth — have something in common, is they are determined to fight injustice, not matter where it strikes. However, when Clark decides that he will not stop an alien genocide because he is more concerned with Earth matters, she gets mad at him.
• Chronoscope: Kara uses one to show her cousin a scene of their fathers' working in a lab before their births.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Protector and Pre-Crisis Radion were never heard from after this story. A Post-Crisis Radion showed up during the "Up, Up and Away" storyline and he hasn't been seen since.
• City in a Bottle: Kandor. Kara appears to smash it when she tries to convince her cousin that Krypton is not real, but in reality she destroyed a replica.
• Combo Platter Powers: Clark and Linda have a very diverse power-set which includes super-strength or freezing breath. Linda tells they are due to genetic mutation.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: Morton Kalmbach, president of Metro Chemical. He admits that his factory is unsafe to work in, but he considers that it is a "socially acceptable risk".
• Crystal Prison: After being defeated by the J'ai, Superman, Supergirl and Krypto are thrown in a cell which is a hollow, multi-faceted crystal sphere.
• Cue the Sun: When Superman decides that he has got enough brooding and he flies away to face up to Protector and Radion, the Sun rises above the clouds.
• Deadpan Snarker: Superman has some good lines in issue #309:
  Superman: I heard you were hiring out-of-town talent, Simeon — to use in your so-called war against the Skull Organization! But I never thought you'd pay money for thugs so — stupid!
• Designer Babies: Linda claims that she and Clark have powers due to genetic modification.
• Didn't Think This Through: The Protector bursts into the Fortress of Solitude and attacks both Superman and Supergirl. He gets his butt royally kicked and has to run away at the first opportunity.
• Domed Hometown: The Bottled City of Kandor. Supergirl smashes it after declaring that it was not real.
• Domino Mask: Radion wears a brown-orange one.
• Doomed Hometown: Krypton, of course. Clark is so frightened of losing Earth after losing Krypton that he is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Supergirl and the Kandorians are so worried about him that they lie to him about his origins.
• Earth-Shattering Kaboom: Superman #308 starts with a beautiful scene of Krypton exploding.
• Easily Forgiven: Superman finds out that his cousin lied to him because the Kandorians talked her into it. At the beginning he is furious, but he says he'll get over it in a few days.
• Evil Is Hammy: The Protector likes being overly dramatic:
  Protector: I warned you, Superman! I told you to leave the polluting industries alone! But no — you wouldn't listen! You've set yourself up as judge, jury, and executioner — and to that, the Protector says NO!
• Exactly What I Aimed At: When Superman joins the battle, a J'ai warrior shoots him. Though his laser beam strikes a meteor and Superman thinks that he missed… until said meteor hits him from the back.
• Facepalm: Linda does this when Clark reveals that he knows her "Krypton never existed" story was a lie.
• Fight Off the Kryptonite: Superman and Supergirl have to fight the J’ai invaders even though orange sunlight has rendered them blind and cut their powers in half.
• Finger-Tenting: Radion steeples his fingers while listening to his partner-in-crime Protector describing his clash with Superman.
• Flying Brick: Superman, Supergirl and Krypto are the obvious — and classic — examples (since they are super-strong, super-fast and can fly) but most of the villains found in this story — Protector, the J'ai — count.
• Flying Firepower: Again, Clark and Linda are classic examples, being flying bricks with Eye Beams, but Protector also shoots energy blasts powerful enough to shoot Superman down.
• Fridge Logic: Invoked in-story by Superman as the main reason why he realized her "human mutants" account to be false; her alleged backstory left no room for Krypto (a super-powered alien dog) existing, nor presented it a reason for her to keep calling him 'cousin' and 'Kal-El' as she did even after the revelation.
• Gaslighting: Linda did this in the Fortress of Solitude and Clark's home. She switched the Bottle City of Kandor, the Phantom Zone projector and anything that could prove the existence of Krypton with dummies.
• Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: In Superman #307 Supergirl does this when she tells Superman that Jonathan and Martha are his biological parents and he is not Kryptonian but a human mutant.
• Gotta Get Your Head Together: Clark does this twice: when Linda tells him that they are Earth-born human mutants and later when he's going blind because of orange sunlight.
• Green Aesop: Protecting the environment, necessary and cool; Eco-terrorism, not cool.
• Green and Mean: The J'ai soldiers wear dark green Powered Armor.
• Green-Eyed Monster: When Terri Cross — a co-worker — wraps her arm around Clark's and flirts with him, Lois is not happy. She isn't happy at all.
• Ground Punch: In issue #309 Superman is not in the mood to chase a group of thugs, so he violently punches the ground, bringing them all down◊.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Blond Linda Danvers will fly across a galaxy to save lives because it's the right thing to do.
• Handicapped Badass: Superman and Supergirl were rendered blind as they were fighting the J’ai. Even so, they managed to win.
• Heel Realization: After talking to Linda, Clark thinks maybe she is right and he has been behaving as a menace when he tried to bring a factory down and throw a super-tanker out of the planet.
• Heroic BSoD: Superman is about to have a breakdown because of him feeling lonely and isolated. And then he is told that his life is a lie, and he just doesn’t know what to do…
• Heroic Build: García-López's gorgeous art reinforces that fact that Superman is buff and Supergirl is an Amazonian Beauty.
• Heroic Dog: When Superman will not help fight an alien invasion back, Supergirl turns to Krypto for assistance.
• Hero Insurance: After defeating the J'ai army, Superman, Supergirl and Krypto helped clean up the devastation caused by the battle.
• Hive Mind: Superman deduces that the J'ai soldiers are like this.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: When Superman fights Protector and Radion, he tricks the Protector into becoming a reflecting surface, and Radion into shooting at him. Radion's beam knocks Protector out before bouncing back to Radion.
• Home Base: The Fortress of Solitude. Clark and Linda fly to their Fortress after Linda tells him that Krypton never existed. Linda states that Clark built it because he was becoming delusional.
• Hostile Terraforming: Both Kryptonian cousins fight two villains with radiation-fueled powers who intend to turn Earth into a radioactive wasteland to suit them.
• Hot-Blooded: Kara is pretty temperamental and impulsive in this story. She will yell to whoever slights her cousin and by the same token she will slap him if he is doing something wrong.
• Human Aliens: Double-Subverted. Linda tells Clark they look human because they are humans, no Kryptonians. Which is a lie.
• Humans Need Aliens: Subverted. Supergirl stops her cousin's rampage, reminding him that they have no right to make decisions for humanity or interfere with man's evolution and development.
• I Am Who?: Linda tells Clark he isn't really Kryptonian but a mutant human.
• Incest Subtext: Superman #309 has this scene◊ in which Gerry Conway seems completely oblivious to the tone he is setting. Superman drying off after taking a shower, Supergirl's long legs highlighted, her face in the shadows... Even the line 'hope you don't mind me waiting for you' sounds suggestive. At the very least, she is an adult in this story.
• Incredible Shrinking Man: In Superman #309 Linda shrinks her body to meet up with the Kandorian council and hear about the J'ai invasion.
• Insecure Love Interest: Clark doesn't get that his female co-workers like him since he thinks he is an outcast that can't have a healthy relationship with a woman.
• Intangibility: Super-villain Protector can change the molecular density of his body to turn himself intangible.
  Protector: Not so long as I can change the molecular density of my body, Superman! Now you can't touch me... or harm me... But I can harm you!
• In Medias Res: The story starts out with Superman trying to demolish a factory. Next the story jumps back in time and tells what happened previously.
• Interspecies Romance: Clark and Lois. Clark loves Lois but he thinks he can't have a relationship with an Earth woman because he's an outcast alien. When Linda tells him he is human he reconsiders.
• It's All My Fault: When Clark watches the J'ai warships striking Supergirl and Krypto down, he blames himself because he didn't go with her.
  Superman: There! I can see Supergirl — and Krypto?! Great Scott, what's he doing there? Supergirl must have summoned him — and now they're fighting those warships against impossible odds! NO! They're hit! They're going down — And it's MY FAULT!
• It's Not You, It's Me: Clark has several reasons to resist a romance. One of them is he considers himself an outsider.
• It's Not You, It's My Enemies: In issue #308, Clark thinks as he eats that he resisted a romance due to the danger it might cause Lois◊.
• Just Between You and Me: After imprisoning Superman in an energy bubble, Radion starts monologuing about causing a worldwide nuclear disaster and lording over the mutated survivors of the fallout.
• Kill It with Fire: In issue #309, a crook tries to torch Superman with a flamethrower. It doesn't work.
• Kryptonite Factor: As Superman, Supergirl and Krypto fight the J'ai, Xonn's orange sun makes them blind and cuts their powers in half.
• Last of His Kind: Double subversion. Superman is having a breakdown because Krypton is gone and he and his cousin are the last Kryptonians. Then Supergirl tells him they are actually Earthlings. Then it turns out that she was lying and they are the last of their kind.
  Superman: I'm an orphan... Perhaps the most total orphan the world has ever known... The orphan son of an entire world!
• Late-Arrival Spoiler: As given by the fact this was published 1976 and given that Krypton is still a part of Superman lore, the fact that the title is based on a lie that Kara and the city of Kandor devised as a (quite frankly really screwed-up) idea to get Clark to quit stressing out.
• Lilliputians: People from the Bottle City of Kandor. They were worried about Superman's deteriorating mental stability, and talked Supergirl into convincing him that Krypton never existed for his own good.
• Male Gaze: A number of panels focus on Supergirl's bust or legs.
• The Masquerade Will Kill Your Dating Life: Superman avoids romantic relationships because he fears that his enemies will target his love interest. Anyway, his Secret Identity really interferes with his social life. In Superman #309 he is having lunch with Lois when he realizes he has to help his cousin fight an alien army, and he shoves Lois out of his apartment.
• Modesty Towel: In one scene, Superman is stepping out of the shower plate, wearing a tower wrapped around of his waist, when he unexpectedly bumps into Supergirl.
• Multi-Armed and Dangerous: The J'ai warriors have four arms.
• Named After Their Planet: The Xonnians come from planet Xonn.
• Nigh-Invulnerability: Superman and Supergirl are nearly invulnerable. Throughout the story their bodies endure radioactive energy blasts, lightning bolts, freezing beams, flames and faster-than-light space travel.
• Nobody Calls Me "Chicken"!: When Clark refuses to undertake a space mission, Linda slaps him and calls him a coward. Several hours later, Clark is still brooding about it.
• Non-Human Sidekick: Krypto The Super Dog joins Clark and Linda when they fight the J'ai.
• No OSHA Compliance: Superman looks into the case of a plastic fabric when a worker tells him of the non-existent safety standards:
  Milton: Like I tell ya, Mr. Kent — the company knows that this vinyl chloride we work with may cause cancer. It knows that some of the guys are dying 'cause they work with the stuff — yet they don't do nuthin'! No safety standards, no special benefits — Nuthin!
• No Sense of Personal Space: Clark's co-worker Terri invades his personal space and clings to him as soon as she sees him.
• No-Sell: Superman hits Protector with a giant pipe, but Protector changes his body into diamond and the pipe shatters upon impact.
• Nothing Can Stop Us Now!: After trapping Superman in an energy globe, Radion explains his and Protector's plan and brags that no one can stop them, not even him. Bad idea.
  Radion: We can't be stopped — Not even by you, Superman!
• "Not So Different" Remark: After beating Protector and Radion, Superman thinks that they are not so different:
  Superman: The ironic part is... They and I have so much in common! We were all victims of mutation, yet they turned their powers against the normal world...
• Oh, My Gods!:
  • Superman uses exclamations such like "Great Galaxies!"
  • And Kara exclaims "Great Krypton" during the battle in planet Xonn.
  • Kandorians also say "Thanks to the stars!"
• One-Man Army: An entire army of alien conquerors against two Earth-One Kryptonians and their dog? Pfffft!
• Parental Abandonment: Kal feels at some subconscious level that his birth parents abandoned him.
• Parental Substitute: Double subversion. Superman thought Pa and Ma Kent were his foster parents and Fred and Edna Danvers his cousin's ones. However Linda tells him they are their birth parents. And later she admits that it was a lie.
• Percussive Therapy: In Superman #307 the Protector storms the Fortress of Solitude right when Superman is feeling confused and mad. Clark decides that punching Protector out may be a good way to vent.
  Superman: In a way, I feel sorry for you, Protector! You picked the wrong moment to challenge me! I'm bewildered and I'm mad — and I'm just aching to work off steam! Unfortunately, I'm going to work that steam off on you!
• Possessive Wrist Grab: Superman grabs Supergirl's arm when she is smashing his Fortress' statues to bits to make a point, but he relents when she asks him point-blank if he is threatening her.
• Powered Armor: The J'ai warriors are clad in green power armor.
• Power Glows: Protector's body glows when he uses his powers and alters his molecules.
• Power Loss Makes You Strong: In Superman #309 orange sunlight has made Clark, Linda and Krypto blind and cut their powers in half. However Superman comes up with a way to defeat the alien invading army using his brains.
• Pre-Asskicking One-Liner:
  • In issue 309:
    Crook: Nobody can take a faceful of flame! But nobo—ddnnnh!
    Superman: Just call me nobody, punk!
• Primary-Color Champion: Superman and Supergirl, the latter wearing her iconic hot-pants costume.
• Prophet Eyes: Superman and Supergirl get blank eyes when an orange sun makes them blind.
• Proud Warrior Race Guy: The J'ai people are a war-like race. They have no alternative to war because they don’t know anything else.
• Psychic Powers:
  • Protector has telepathy, pyrokinesis and cryokinesis.
  • Xonnians have no vocal cords, so they use a form of telepathy.
• Punched Across the Room: In Superman #309, Supergirl slugs her cousin when he refuses to help the Xonn. She hits him so hard than he goes flying and crashes into the wall.
• Quit Your Whining: Linda tells Clark stop complaining after he repeats that Krypton must be real because otherwise he is either mad or living a lie.
  Supergirl: Shove it, cousin! We've gone over this a half dozen times! There never was a planet called Krypton, so stop being so maudlin!
• Radiation-Induced Superpowers: Radion's powers were caused by a nuclear accident at an atomic power plant. He possesses radioactive powers and the ability to cause atomic decay.
• Rage Breaking Point: After Linda explained why the Kandorians decided to deceive him, Superman explodes and vents his anger on the J'ai.
  When the pressure on a valve becomes too great, the valve explodes... The same is true, even of a Superman!
• Ramming Always Works:
  • Protector charges at Superman to knock him down from the sky when they first meet.
  • Superman also charges headfirst against the J'ai warships in order to blow them up.
  • And a J'ai warrior charges against him, slamming both of them into a warship to take Superman down.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Superman gives the speech to a corrupt businessman who is more concerned with making a profit than his employees' health:
  Superman: Hold it! Men are dying, Kalmbach — getting cancer from working in your vats — and you say that risk is acceptable? NO! People like you are destroying this planet, killing its people, ruining its future — and for WHAT? Profit — Greed — and some sick illusion called "Progress"!
• Sanity Slippage: Radion got radioactive powers because of an accident. His sanity has been deteriorating since, and he has become a raving, murderous, megalomaniac lunatic.
• Saving the World: Superman and Supergirl are determined and committed to save the world and protect people for reasons that go beyond simple justice or righteousness: they are the only survivors of a dead world. It's because that Superman is having a breakdown and gets obsessed with protecting Earth from mankind. And it's because that Linda gets mad when he declines to help her save Xonn. Worldwide genocide and planetary destruction are some of her Berserk Buttons.
• Scene Cover: The cover of Superman Vol 1 #307 features Supergirl smashing the Bottle City of Kandor. In the story that scene happens, indeed: Kara smashes... a replica of Kandor.
• Sculpted Physique: Xonnians are crystalline beings. They look humanoid glass shards with eyes and no mouth.
• Secret Identity Change Trick: In Superman #309, Clark pretends he is sick to push Lois out of his apartment and go to help Linda.
  Lois: Clark...? Clark, are you all right?
  Clark: Oh... as a matter of fact. Lois... I'm not! I've got a splitting headache, a bad stomach, trick knee... Pick any of the above! In a word, I can't have dinner with you — So please, go home! I'll explain tomorrow!
• Secret-Keeper: Protector and Radion kept each others' existence secret for years.
• Secret Test of Character: Linda refuses to help Clark when he fights Protector, telling "It's [not my] fight!" Her real reason to sit it out was testing him, "trying to see if [he] can still function after all these revelations".
• Series Continuity Error: An orange sun halving Kryptonian powers and causing them blindness contradicts previous story "The Unknown Legionnaire", where Superboy states an orange sun has no effect on him at all.
• Shooting Superman: Lampshaded by Kal-El in issue 309.
  Simeon: Move, you mugs! Shoot him!
  Superman: You're simple, Simeon! If flames can't hurt me — What good are bullets going to do?
  Crook 1: They guy ain't human!
  Crook 2: The slugs bounce offa him like popcorn!
• Ship Tease: Clark/Lois. Lois is jealous when a co-worker flirts with Clark and decides to pursue him aggressively. She even calls him her man.
• Single Tear: Supergirl cries one teardrop after her cousin talks about how much he loves Earth.
• Skyward Scream: Superman does this — combined with shaking his closed fist heavenwards — when he screams that he will not let Earth die.
  Superman: Hear me, world! I won't let you commit planetary suicide! I swear I won't let you die — I swear it!!
• Smug Snake: The Protector has a cool power but he is arrogant, cocky, and underestimates his enemies. He picks a fight with Superman, and when he loses, he runs away and begs Radion to help him.
• Star-Crossed Lovers: Superman believes any romance between him and an Earth woman is doomed to failure.
• Superdickery:
  • In Superman #307's cover, Supergirl is apparently smashing Kandor and killing seven million of Kryptonians.
  • Supergirl was convinced that the best way to help with her cousin's mental issues is lying to him and making him believe his life is a lie, confirming that when it comes to super-dickery, no one beats the Last Children of Krypton.
• Super Hero Origin: Subverted when Supergirl claims she and Superman are genetically-engineered humans and "Krypton" is nothing but a Superman's delusion. Superman comes to believe it until he realizes several details don't hold up, confronts Kara and she admits she was cajoled into lying to him.
• Supervillain Lair: Radion has a secret base built on the face of a cliff.
• Survivor Guilt: Superman feels guilty for being unable to save Krypton.
• Tender Tears: In the last scene Supergirl cries when her cousin tells she should love Earth as much as him.
• There Was a Door:
  • Protector breaks into the Fortress of Solitude by blasting a wall (and an armored door).
  • Later Superman bursts in Radion's base by flying through the floor.
  • Issue #309. First panel. Superman bursts in Simeon's lair by demolishing a wall.
• Through His Stomach: Lois decides to "get" Clark by cooking his favorite dinner.
• Trespassing to Talk: In Superman #309, Clark walks out of the shower and finds his cousin sitting on his couch and waiting for him to discuss a space mission.
• Troubled Fetal Position: Superman does this in Superman #307, as sitting on a mountaintop and reminiscing about Krypton's destruction.
• Twisted-Knee Collapse: Supergirl collapses in this position -facepalming for further effect- when her cousin admits he knows she has lied to him and demands an explanation.
• Two First Names: Superman and Supergirl's civilian names are Clark Kent and Linda Danvers.
• Underestimating Badassery:
  • Radion traps Superman in an energy sphere which increases his atomic weight to a hundred thousand tons. He thinks Superman is helpless, but he manages to rip his prison apart.
  • One of thugs hired by Simeon thinks Superman's reputation is overblown and he can kill him with a flamethrower.
• Unstoppable Rage: After finding out that the Kandorians talked his cousin into lying to him, Superman is so furious he flies to fight the J’ai army because he aches to punch something.
• Unknown Rival: Protector is quite annoyed because Superman doesn't take him seriously.
  Protector: Is it possible you've already forgotten me, Superman? What a shame — For as you can see, I haven't forgotten you!
• Up, Up and Away!: Superman and Supergirl pose like this in flight constantly. Two◊ examples◊.
• Villain Has a Point: Protector is slimy, violent and entirely self-serving, but he has a point when he tells Superman that "[He's] set [himself] up as judge, jury and executioner" when he decides to behave as an eco-terrorist.
• Wake Up, Go to School & Save the World: Superman is the world's greatest and most powerful hero… and he has little social skills, feeling isolated and unable to have normal relationships.
• We Have Reserves: The J'ai warriors don't care about casualties because every time a warrior dies, eight new soldiers are born.
• Wham Line: Supergirl in Superman #307:
  Supergirl: I thought we'd come to this someday! Well, now that we have, I've got to tell you, Superman — There is NO planet Krypton! Moreover, Clark — There never WAS!
• What the Hell, Hero?: Supergirl gets angry at her cousin when he refuses to undertake a space mission to save a planet from an Alien Invasion.
• X-Ray Vision:
  • Superman uses it to scan Protector and figure out a way to beat him.
  • Later on, his X-Ray vision warns him that he mustn't fly in his apartment through a window because Lois is inside.
• You Are Not Alone: Even if her method was misguided, Linda made her cousin realize he is not alone.
• You're Insane!: Radion gets this reaction from Superman when he explains his master plan: he wants to cause a meltdown in all the world's nuclear reactors because he thinks the resulting Armageddon will lead man to the next level of evolution. Many will die. Many will become twisted mutations, but some will become supermen. And he will rule them. Superman's reaction is understandable:
  Superman: Great Galaxies... The man's INSANE!
• Zerg Rush: This is the J'ai's favorite strategy: multiplying until they overwhelm their enemy by sheer weight of numbers.

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I love this world, Supergirl... as much as I ever loved Krypton! Perhaps, in certain ways, I love it more... because it adopted me when I was lost and alone! It made itself my home, when I had no home! It gave me life... when my life could have been over! If I'm obsessed with Earth, it's not because of Krypton — It's because of Earth, my home!

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