Superman #61 (Nov.-Dec. 1949): "Superman Returns to Krypton"
In the comics, Superman was unaware of his own origins until writer Bill Finger and artist Al Plastino crafted "Superman Returns to Krypton" in 1949's Superman #61. Finger, most known for co-creating (or, according to many accounts, creating) Batman, Wildcat, and Green Lantern, was arguably the greatest writer of superhero detective stories of the Golden Age of comics. That's what "Superman Returns to Krypton" is: a detective story without the levels of sentiment and pathos that would later come in co-creator Jerry Siegel's return to the Man of Steel. When Lois Lane goes undercover to expose a fake swami, Superman swoops in for the rescue and is stopped in his tracks when Swami Riva "hexes" him, and he is left weak and knocked out. The Swami succeeds again the next time, but Superman discovers something: his strength and vigor return when he's away from the turbaned villain. And so, Superman begins tracking down Riva's past, learning