It All Comes Back to Superman

Michael Bailey
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Michael Bailey likes Superman. A lot. So much so that From Crisis to Crisis, the other Superman show he co-hosts with his friend, was not enough to contain his fandom for the Man of Steel. This erratic reaffirmation of Michael's Kryptonian faith covers everything about Superman that Michael loves about the character. Comics. Animation. Live action. Prose. Everything is on the table because no matter what it all comes back to Superman.

  1. Episode 40 - A Conversation With Mark Waid

    25 FEB

    Episode 40 - A Conversation With Mark Waid

    This time out I finish my look at Superman: Birthright by having a conversation with the man who wrote it! That's right, I got the chance to sit down (so to speak) with Mark to talk about Birthright. We talked about other things as well, but most of the conversation was about that series. We go over why DC wanted a new origin in 2003, why Mark kept the Kents alive despite his personal feelings on their deaths in previous versions of the origin, why Clark and Lex were friends during their time in Smallville, the "controversy" over making Clark a vegetarian, his take on Lois Lane, and what it was like seeing parts of this series end up in Zack Snyder's Man of Steel. You'll also get to hear the sad story of what happened to his first comic book collection, which of his stories he might want to see adapted into audio form, and which friend, Jimmy Olsen or Pete Ross, is the better friend to Clark. I'd once again like to thank Mark for agreeing to be on the show and being so generous with his time. Feedback for the show can be sent to itallcomesbacktosuperman@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Audible. This show is part of The Fortress of Baileytude Podcasting Network, which is on Patreon. This is a tip jar as I have no time for extra content at the moment, but if you like content I produce please consider contributing a dollar a month if you can. The opening and closing theme is titled Journey and was composed by Pontus Rufelt. It is licensed from Shockwave-Sound. Next time: If I can find the time this week I might have a fun episode dropping this weekend. If not, you'll hear the penultimate installment of Moving Kryptonian Images!

    1hr 9min
  2. Episode 39 - Many Lives, Many Origins Installment 2 - Superman: Birthright Part 2

    18 FEB

    Episode 39 - Many Lives, Many Origins Installment 2 - Superman: Birthright Part 2

    Many Lives, Many Origins, the series exploring the various versions of Superman's origin that I'll be doing off and on throughout 2026, continues with the second part of my look at Superman: Birthright. Which, as I said during the last episode, is my favorite version of Superman's origin. Full stop. After a bit of housecleaning where I talk about the promo poster that was released to promote this series (which I really should have done last time but didn't) I get into issues six through twelve of the series. I talk about a scene involving a school shooting which I am surprised hasn't gotten more traction on social media, the pitfalls of Clark's secret identity, the origin of this version of Lex Luthor, Lex's plan to turn the world against the Man of Steel, a "Kryptonian" invasion, and the final battle in Metropolis. I also go into why I prefer to version of the origin over the 2013 film Man of Steel. Along the way I get into Lex's Silver Age origin, the fact that the Kryptonian writing no longer translate to literal gibberish, some of the fun Easter eggs Waid threw into the story, the covers, and why I used to be completely wrong about Leinil Francis Yu's art. Shows promoted during this episode. Justice Society Presents The Sandman Slept Here - Hosted by Ryan, Paul, and Max Doomspeak -Hosted by Alan Middleton Marvel Star Wars: From Empire to Jedi - Hosted by Shag Feedback for the show can be sent to itallcomesbacktosuperman@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Audible. This show is part of The Fortress of Baileytude Podcasting Network, which is on Patreon. This is a tip jar as I have no time for extra content at the moment, but if you like content I produce please consider contributing a dollar a month if you can. The opening and closing theme is titled Journey and was composed by Pontus Rufelt. It is licensed from Shockwave-Sound. Next time: I close out my Birthright coverage with an interview with Mark Waid!

    1hr 33min
  3. Episode 38 - Many Lives, Many Origins Installment 1 - Superman: Birthright Part 1

    10 FEB

    Episode 38 - Many Lives, Many Origins Installment 1 - Superman: Birthright Part 1

    This time out I'm starting a new series that will run irregularly through 2026 called Many Lives, Many Origins. Superman has one of the best origins in comics. It's up there with Batman and Spider-Man as having a backstory that is timeless and just about perfect. Rocketed as a baby when his home world exploded, found by a kindly couple and raised as their son, Superman discovered that he possessed powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men and decided to use those powers to help mankind. Those basic elements have been part of Superman's backstory since his first appearance in Action Comics #1. While those elements and that basic overview have been a constant in Superman's life, the particulars of those elements have changed. Evolved in some cases, regressed in others. The names of his birth parents have undergone small changes. The names of the kindly couple that found him have changed. Is Krypton a pulp, science fiction wonderland full of rhondors and jewel mountains or is it a cold, sterile place that "deserved to be blown up"? Was Superman ever Superboy? Did he have his powers as a baby, or did they take years to develop? The differences are what I find fascinating, and I thought it would be fun to look at those origins, whether it's in comics, in live action, in animation, in audio, or prose, and a do a deep dive into them. To kick things off, I decided to look at Superman: Birthright. Published from July 2003 to July 2004 and written by Mark Waid with art by Leinil Francis Yu, this 12 issue maxi-series was supposed to be a new origin for a new age. I wasn't the biggest fan of this series when it first came out, but over the years I've softened on it and this most recent re-read really opened my eyes to how good this retelling of Superman's origin was, so I thought it would be a good way to kick this series off. In this first part of a two part look at the series I go over what was going on with Superman in the comics when the series was published, Waid and Yu's take on Krypton, the idea of Superman being a lonely character, how this version balances that loneliness with Clark's desire to help people, Jonathan and Martha Kent, the new take on Lois, Superman's grand reveal, his first confrontation with Lex in costume, and more. Or, more succinctly, I talk about the first five issues of the series. Below are the covers to those issues. Feedback for the show can be sent to itallcomesbacktosuperman@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Audible. This show is part of The Fortress of Baileytude Podcasting Network, which is on Patreon. This is a tip jar as I have no time for extra content at the moment, but if you like content I produce please consider contributing a dollar a month if you can. The opening and closing theme is titled Journey and was composed by Pontus Rufelt. It is licensed from Shockwave-Sound. Next time: I finish my analysis of Superman: Birthright. Spoiler warning...I really liked it.

    1hr 5min
  4. Episode 36 - Mike's Year In Superman (2025 Edition)

    12 JAN

    Episode 36 - Mike's Year In Superman (2025 Edition)

    It's a new year, so I'm going to start things like I did last year...by looking back at the previous year.  It's worked pretty well for the past few years and I actually put out a bunch of shows in 2025 and a certain film came out, so there's actually stuff to talk about, which, as you can imagine, makes putting out this episode a lot easier. Anyway, in this off the cuff, unscripted, and increasing congested episode I talk about watching the final few episodes of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, why I stopped watching Season 7 of Smallville, why I let new books stack up for months before reading them, why I liked the whole Superwoman storyline,  the stuff I re-read for shows this year, the podcasts I guested on and more.  I also take about 20 or so minutes and get real honest about what happened to me as a Superman fan towards the end of the year. I know that not everyone is into this sort of thing, so I give plenty of notice before I launch into the naval gazing, so if you want to bail before that I understand. But through this part of the episode I talk about my current thinking on how I want to approach this show and my (lack of) plans for 2026. Next Time: No clue, but it will be out in a couple of weeks.  Thanks for listening. And eat your Kellog's Pep. If you still have some.

    1hr 16min
  5. Episode 35 - The Superman Family in Crisis

    16/12/2025

    Episode 35 - The Superman Family in Crisis

    Forty years ago DC Comics published Crisis on Infinite Earths. That twelve issue series (plus a handful of crossover issues) was part celebration of DC's fiftieth birthday and part house cleaning. Worlds lived, worlds died and the DC Universe was never the same. To celebrate what was, at one point, a holy text to my generation of comic book fans I thought it would be fun to look at what the Superman family was up to during the story.  Joining me on this journey is three time Eisner award winning journalist (for Women Writing About Comics) Cori McCreery. Cori and I have been friends for years and I thought it was high time that I had her on the show, especially considering one of the Super Family members we discussed. See, Cori loves Supergirl and considering Crisis was a big story for the OG Kara Zor-El it seemed like "sitting down" with Cori would be a good idea. While the bulk of the episode (the back half, as a matter of fact) concerns Supergirl, we also discuss two Supermen and a Superboy. We go over my love of the Earth-2 Superman, how the Earth-1 Superman didn't play a huge part in this extremely important story, and the introduction of the Superboy of Earth-Prime, who also didn't play a huge part in this Crisis, but would go on to be part of another Crisis two decades later where things...happened. Then we go into Supergirl and why her death in this story was so important. We also go on a few tangents, which is almost required on one of my shows. Many thanks to Cori for coming out to play on this one.

    2h 21m
  6. Episode 31 - Moving Kryptonian Images Interlude - Superman (2025) First and Second Impressions

    14/07/2025

    Episode 31 - Moving Kryptonian Images Interlude - Superman (2025) First and Second Impressions

    Welcome to a very special, off the cuff, and completely spoiler filled installment of the podcasting maxi-series called Moving Kryptonian Images: The Live Action and Animated Adventures of Superman! The purpose of this series is to celebrate the release of the new Superman film, written and directed by James Gunn and starring David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor! This time out I am solo to discuss my first (and second) impressions of the new Superman film. I cannot express how spoiler filled this episode is. I talk about key moments and plot points from the film, so if you haven't seen it, you might want to hang on to it until you have. Are you cool with that? Good. So...yeah. I talk about what I thought of the movie. I go through the very few problems I had with the movie and everything I loved about it. Superman. Lois Lane. Lex Luthor. The Daily Planet staff. Lex's people. The Justice Gang. The themes of the films. The score. I go through everything in the most off the cuff and unedited way possible. Again...spoilers. Feedback for It All Comes Back To Superman Series 2 can be sent to itallcomesbacktosuperman@gmail.com. At the end of this series I will be doing a feedback special going through all of the emails and comments that are left or sent! You can subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts/iTunes or stream it through Spotify, iHeart Radio, and Audible. The Fortress of Baileytude Podcasting Network is on Patreon. It's mostly a tip jar as I have no time at the moment to produce exlcusive content, but if you like the content I do produce please consider contributing a dollar a month. The opening and closing theme to the show is titled Journey and was composed by Pontus Rufelt. It is licensed from Shockwave-Sound. Next Time: Jon Bogdanove joins me to talk about the animated Reign of the Supermen movie. Promise. It's recorded and everything.

    56 min
  7. Episode 29 - The Fantastic Four Connection

    30/06/2025

    Episode 29 - The Fantastic Four Connection

    For various reasons, the next installment of Moving Kryptonian Images has been delayed. But...that doesn't mean that I don't have a new episode of the show to release. Because I care. Recently I sat down with Andrew Leyland (you know, my co-host on The Overlooked Dark Knight and the co-host of Hey Kids Comics and the host of The Amazing Spider-Man From The Beginning) and we talked about three times where Superman, either directly or indirectly, crossed paths with The Fantastic Four. Why? Because the FF are getting a new movie a few weeks after Superman gets his new movie and I like jumping on bandwagons. Mercenary? Yes. Do I care? Not really. Anyway, Andy used to co-host a Fantastic Four show and we're friends, so this episode seemed like a good idea. We have a brief chat about our histories with the Fantastic Four, our thoughts on their previous cinematic efforts, why you shouldn't watch the 2015 film, and then we get into some comics. First up are Adventures of Superman issues 466 and 468, which feature Superman going up against a very Fantastic Four like team, one of which ends up being a pretty big deal. Then we talk about the Superman/Fantastic Four treasury crossover from 1999, which features the previously mentioned big deal. Finally, we talk about Fantastic Four issues 249 and 250 where the FF go up against Gladiator in a story that came about because John Byrne had beef with E. Nelson Bridwell. No. I'm not kidding about that. But...level with me...are you really surprised? Many thanks to Andy taking time out of his Saturday to talk with me about Superman and the Fantastic Four. Check out his shows. They are keen. Feedback for It All Comes Back To Superman Series 2 can be sent to itallcomesbacktosuperman@gmail.com. At the end of this series I will be doing a feedback special going through all of the emails and comments that are left or sent! You can subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts/iTunes or stream it through Spotify, iHeart Radio, and Audible. The Fortress of Baileytude Podcasting Network is on Patreon. It's mostly a tip jar as I have no time at the moment to produce exlcusive content, but if you like the content I do produce please consider contributing a dollar a month. The opening  theme to the show is titled Journey and was composed by Pontus Rufelt. It is licensed from Shockwave-Sound. The closing theme is a surprise. Next Time: Hopefully I'll be getting back to Moving Kryptonian Images. If not, I'll either cover some of the feedback I'm getting or maybe I'll talk about my thoughts concerning the new Superman film since we're so close to it being released.

    2h 12m
  8. Episode 28 - Moving Kryptonian Images Part 20 - The Death of Superman (2018)

    23/06/2025

    Episode 28 - Moving Kryptonian Images Part 20 - The Death of Superman (2018)

    Welcome to a very special installment of the podcasting maxi-series called Moving Kryptonian Images: The Live Action and Animated Adventures of Superman! The purpose of this series is to celebrate the release of the new Superman film, written and directed by James Gunn and starring David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor! In 2018, the most famous (or, as some would say, infamous) Superman story of all time got a second chance at an animated film. Despite looking more like a New 52 story, The Death of Superman was a closer adaptation to the original comic book story than the 2007 version. Because of that, I wanted to do something special with this episode and the next one and having one of the architects of said original comic book story seemed like the way to go. Joining me for this episode is Jerry Ordway and the conversation we had touches on the animated film but goes far beyond it as well. Jerry shares his thoughts on the movie, but also what it was like attending a screening in New York City where he got to meet some of the cast and crew. We also touch on the behind the scenes of the original comic book version of the death of Superman, how Jerry broke into comics, his early career and how quitting DC led to him getting more work, the early days of the Post Crisis era, and so much more. He also talks about his visit to the set of the new Superman film and what it was like meeting the new Superman and Lex Luthor. I cannot thank Jerry enough for appearing on this episode. It meant a lot to this Post Crisis fan. Feedback for It All Comes Back To Superman Series 2 can be sent to itallcomesbacktosuperman@gmail.com. At the end of this series I will be doing a feedback special going through all of the emails and comments that are left or sent! You can subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts/iTunes or stream it through Spotify, iHeart Radio, and Audible. The Fortress of Baileytude Podcasting Network is on Patreon. It's mostly a tip jar as I have no time at the moment to produce exlcusive content, but if you like the content I do produce please consider contributing a dollar a month. The opening and closing theme to the show is titled Journey and was composed by Pontus Rufelt. It is licensed from Shockwave-Sound. Next Time: A slight detour from Moving Kryptonian Images. Andy Leyland joins me to talk about the times that Superman met the Fantastic Four (and vice versa) both directly and indirectly.

    2h 57m
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About

Michael Bailey likes Superman. A lot. So much so that From Crisis to Crisis, the other Superman show he co-hosts with his friend, was not enough to contain his fandom for the Man of Steel. This erratic reaffirmation of Michael's Kryptonian faith covers everything about Superman that Michael loves about the character. Comics. Animation. Live action. Prose. Everything is on the table because no matter what it all comes back to Superman.

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