The Superman # 1 Tangent Comics 1998 VF/NM

The Superman # 1 Tangent Comics (September 1998) is a landmark one-shot issue from DC Comics' innovative alternate-universe imprint. Masterminded by Dan Jurgens, the Tangent Comics line completely flipped the traditional DC mythos upside down—retaining familiar character names but creating entirely original origins, powers, and identities.

Core Plot & Synopsis

Titled "Future Shock," the issue completely discards the classic Kryptonian origin story. Instead of Kal-El from space, the "Man of Tomorrow" is Harvey Dent, a normal African-American police officer living in New York.

Looking into his past, Dent discovers a terrifying secret conspiracy: back in 1973, a rogue government scientist named Professor Joseph Chill (working for a radical black-ops organization known as Nightwing) attempted to engineer superhumans to counter Soviet aggression. Chill laced the water supply of a small, mostly Black town in South Carolina with a compound called the "Miraclo Solution." Half the town died, and the rest suffered severe deformities. The only baby born unaffected was Harvey Dent.

Though he showed no outward symptoms as a child, the latent formula eventually triggers in adulthood, causing Dent to suddenly evolve millions of years ahead of the human race. He develops god-like telepathic, telekinetic, and psionic abilities, alongside near-limitless intellect and massive physical strength.

Using his powers, the newly crowned Superman effortlessly dispatches local threats like a master-of-disguise version of Two-Face and the gravity-controlling Doctor Polaris (Professor Martin Stein). However, as his brain evolves further, he begins to perceive reality on a completely cosmic scale. The core tragedy of the issue explores his rapidly growing detachment from normal human emotion. The world is left wondering if this new, god-like Superman will use his boundless intellect to save humanity, rule over it as an absolute arbiter, or abandon it entirely.

Key Comic Information

• Release Date: September 1, 1998
• Creative Team: Written by industry heavyweight Mark Millar (Kick-Ass, Civil War), with artwork by Jackson "Butch" Guice and colors by Lovern Kindzierski.
• Character Milestone: Features the definitive origin and first appearance of the Earth-9 variant of Superman.
• Legacy: This version of Harvey Dent became the central antagonist a decade later in the 2008 continuation maxi-series, Tangent: Superman's Reign, where he takes over his Earth to enforce absolute global peace.