YMMV / Action Comics

• Harsher in Hindsight: In issue #275, Kara dreams that Superman never turned up and she lived her cousin's life. In Elseworld's Finest: Supergirl & Batgirl, written 37 years after, Superman never turned up and Supergirl was the world's greatest hero... because Lex Luthor found Kal-El's rocket and murdered the baby.
• Signature Scene:
  • The cover of Action Comics #1, featuring Superman smashing a car to the crooks bewilderment and horror, is not only the most famous image in the Superman series, but one of the most famous comic book images of all time.
  • The cover of Action Comics #252, featuring Supergirl flying out of her rocket ship in front of an amazed Superman is also one of the most iconic comic-book covers ever done.
• Signature Series Arc:
  • The Unknown Supergirl was the first lengthy story arc in the Superman family of books (spanning nine issues), and changed irreversibly Supergirl's status quo in favor of giving Kara Zor-El her own setting and supporting cast, as well as her first nemesis. Metropolis holding a parade in honor of Supergirl is one of the most iconic moments in the character's decades-long history.
  • Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?: Written by Alan Moore, it was the Grand Finale for the Pre-Crisis Superman, and one of his most iconic story arcs.
  • Superman: Brainiac was the storyline which effectively defined Post-Crisis Brainiac. Every appearance of the villain Coluan in other media since 2008 have been influenced or based in this story, including an animated adaptation (Superman Unbound).
• Strawman Has a Point: From the Silver Age #176 Muscles For Money, where Superman decides to start charging money to save people. While it's certainly true that Superman was doing some reprehensible things (charging insane amounts, forcing people to sign contracts before he'll save their lives, etc) the primary argument seems to be that Superman doesn't deserve any sort of reward for the good he does. The worst part is when Superman politely requests the $10,000 reward for two criminals he brought in only to have everyone declare him a money-grubber for it, despite the fact that this is a reward the police themselves had offered and which anyone else besides Superman would have been given happily.

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