Superman and The Authority #1 (2021)

In 1963, Superman has a meeting with President Kennedy at the White House. Kennedy congratulates Superman for truly representing the spirit of America even in the harshest of times and calls him "The Man of Tomorrow". Kennedy himself is committed to the advancement and progress of America just like Superman is and tells Superman that should anything happen to him, Superman and his allies will be entrusted in leading the way towards a better world and Superman agrees. Superman helps with the Moon landings, but unfortunately, during a visit in Dallas, Kennedy is assassinated by an unknown assailant. In present-day London, Manchester Black is sleeping at a rundown apartment until he is awakened by the sounds of the British police, who have discovered his location. As the special teams break into his apartment, Black is unworried and uses his telepathy against them, forcing the special teams to shoot each other while Black attempts to escape. Unfortunately, he takes shots from gunmen on helicopters and falls to his knees, until the United Kingdom's mysterious ally tells the special forces to stand down because he will take it from here. Sometime later, Black awakens at the Fortress of Solitude and discover that Superman himself helped the United Kingdom in his defeat. Superman reveals that his own powers are diminishing and that he failed to deliver on his promise to President Kennedy to create a better world. Even so, he is committed towards fulfilling that promise and now, he needs Black's help. Superman used Kryptonian science to nurse Black back to health and save him from paraplegia and Black will only need a wheelchair for a few moments before Kryptonian nanomachines finish fixing his spine. Until the process is complete, however, Superman takes Black to observe a red sphere, which Superman explains is a portal to the Phantom Zone, the ancestral prison to all of Krypton's criminals. When the Phantom Zone was first discovered, Kryptonian scientists used robots to explore and map the Zone, but now, those robots have gone rogue and they will break into normal space in just 12 minutes. Superman still remembers the times where Kryptonian criminals have broken out of the Phantom Zone and tried to take over Earth and destroy Superman. Now, Superman needs Black's help in stopping them. Black is angry that Superman has the gall to ask for his help even when the world now hates Superman as much as it hates Black. Despite this, Superman believes that, under the right conditions, Black can do good, which is why he asked for Black's help in the first place: to stop the Zonedroids from causing damage. This is Black's chance to become a hero, but Black rejects it and leaves the Fortress. The Phantom Zone portal opens and, sure enough, the Zonedroids break out and attack Superman. Superman recognizes Ursa and Xa-Du as some of the Zonedroids' pilots and continues to fight, even with his reduced powers. The Zonedroids overwhelm Superman through superior numbers, but suddenly, Black returns to the Fortress and saves Superman. With the Zonedroids destroyed, the prisoners are forced back into the Phantom Zone and Superman thanks Black for his assistance, as he never lost hope that Black would return. Meanwhile, on Earth's orbit, a legion of villains is gathered by a mysterious leader who claims that Superman has grown weaker while the leader himself has grown stronger. According to the leader, Superman has lied about so many things: his secret life, his son and even about Kryptonite; but the leader knows the truth about Kryptonite and he knows how to destroy Superman. Superman takes Black to King Arthur's Round Table, the actual Round Table, which Superman took with Arthur's permission. He tells Black that Superman made Arthur the same promise he made to Kennedy. The Justice League failed in this regard, but Black can truly make a difference. Black has a few contacts that could help on Superman's mission but still is upset that Superman doesn't want revenge on the people who badmouthed him and wronged him. Superman, however, is still committed to his mission to create a brighter and finer world and shares a toast with Black. Unfortunately for Black, the cups are filled with mineral water, which causes Black to vomit.