New Creative Teams

No longer branded as "One Year Later", Superman and most of DC's line of comics continue with new creative teams.  52 continues every week to fill in the missing year without Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.

Superman #654

New writer Kurt Busiek and artist Carlos Pacheco begin their run on the main Superman series.  A fight with Neutron makes Clark late for a Daily Planet staff meeting.  Perry White assigns all the stories nobody else wants to Clark, on the condition that if he completes them all in time he can have two stories he really wants.  Superman is distracted by more Intergang operations while he struggles to do his job as Clark Kent.  The return of Intergang's boss Mannheim causes Clark to miss hid deadlines and the anniversary of his first flight with Lois, but when he gets home he finds out Lois secretly finished his stories for him.

Though Intergang had been seen occasionally, Bruno Mannheim hadn't been seen since his last appearance over 15 years ago.  He would play a part in the Crime Bible story line in 52.

The two stories Clark really wanted were both about former girlfriends.  Lana Lang has been selected as the new CEO of LexCorp after Luthor's ouster, and a never-before-mentioned arcanobiologist named Carolyn Llewellyn specifically asked for Clark to cover a story in Kazakhstan. 

Action Comics #841

Kurt Busiek also joins fellow writer Fabian Nicieza and artist Pete Woods, who had been drawing the book since Up, Up, and Away.  Pete Woods would only be around for this 3-part story, but would return for another run years later.

Although people in Metropolis have accepted that Superman is back, the rest of the world is skeptical.  Superman is bothered than people seem more ready to accept the new Firestorm than him.  A new villain called the Auctioneer makes his debut, collecting Earth buildings similar to the way Brainiac stole cities, for the chance to sell them to the highest bidder.  When Alcatraz Island is mysteriously taken by the Auctioneer, the Teen Titans show up to assist the Man of Steel.  Detecting something of far great value, the Auctioneer teleports to Earth to target Superman himself.

Superman/Batman #28

The Enemies Among Us part 1

In a 5-part story by Mark Verheiden and Ethan Van Sciver, Batman is attacked in the Batcave by the Martian Manhunter.  Superman and Batman find themselves up against a shape-shifter who takes the form of several classic villains who haven't been seen in years, like Titan and Doctor Phosphorus.  

The story is mostly fan service to give an excuse for the former Green Lantern artist, Ethan Van Sciver, to portray a wide range of characters.  Van Sciver would become a rising star in the next few years, until falling out of favor after revealing his toxic political and sexist viewpoints after comicsgate.  His art was pretty to look at, but the less said about him, the better.