An alien named TheMaster plots to take over the galaxy, and {{Superman}} must join forces with his worst enemy and childhood friend LexLuthor to stop him.

A 1970s {{Superman}} novel by ElliotSMaggin. It was originally proposed as the idea for a Superman movie, and the novel was released as a companion to the first Superman movie - although the plot and characterization (especially that of Luthor) differ greatly from the movie. (Even the location of Krypton is different; in the movie, Superman claims he comes from another galaxy, while in this novel Krypton is said to have orbited Antares.)

As this novel was written prior to ''CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', Superman's powers reach near-ridiculous levels at some points. He flies through the core of the sun to take a refreshing bath. He fires a blast of air between his front teeth that disables a helicopter several blocks away, yet doesn't even affect anything else nearby. He takes out an entire mob of Lex Luthor's goons, one man at a time and in a different and inventively nonlethal way with each man, before a ten-second countdown finishes. It doesn't quite reach the truly insane levels shown in some episodes of the ''WesternAnimation/SuperFriends'' ("With Colossus distracted, I'll pick the Earth out of his pocket and put it back in orbit around the sun"), but it comes close.

There's also a sequel called ''MiracleMonday''.

The book can be read online [[http://superman.nu/thebook/lsok_contents.php here]].

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!! This book provides examples of:
* AmbiguouslyJewish
* AuthorAppeal: This book contains an awful lot of a)Luthor and b)Einstein.
* BadassBoast: How Superman persuades [[spoiler:Luthor to give himself up at the end of the book.]]
* BigBad: The Master
* CardboardPrison
* ChronicVillainy
* CoolStarship The Black Widow
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: The Master
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Clark's discussion with Steve Lombard sounds like it's about something other than drinking.
* DressingAsTheEnemy
* EnemyMine: Most of the first book's plot.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Why Luthor doesn't bother to try and figure out Superman's secret identity
* EvilVersusEvil: The Master and Luthor
* FasterThanLightTravel
%% FoeYay is on YMMV/LastSonOfKrypton
* AGodAmI: Luthor's eventual aim.
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Jor-El contacts AlbertEinstein, the greatest mind on ''his'' planet, to be Kal-El's foster father. Einstein says he's much too old and goes incognito to Smallville to pick out the Kents instead.
* HoldingOutForAHero
* {{Jerkass}}
* TheMaster
* PerkyFemaleMinion: BJ
* RousseauWasRight
* SecretIngredient: Clark makes a bet with his rival Steve Lombard that Mrs. Kent's soft drink is the best drink ever. While on the planet Oric, he obtains a spice so powerful that a drop of it added to his mother's drink would make it irresistible to the human palette.
* SubspaceOrHyperspace
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: As stated above, this was originally a movie treatment.