Warning: Spoilers for Superman: Lost #3 ahead!Black Adam's origin has him endure Superman's torturous isolation hundreds of times over.
Superman: Lost by Christopher Priest, Carlo Pagulayan, Jason Paz, and Jeremy Cox tells the story of Superman's 20 years lost in space after an accident with a wormhole spits him out into an unknown portion of the universe. Gifted with a personal survival kit (PSK) named "Marquis" in Superman: Lost #2, Superman struggles to use the device to plot an efficient route to either Earth, or a sufficiently yellow sun to recharge his drained powers. When Marquis questions Superman's decision to hitch a ride off the back of some (adorable) cosmic Space Dolphins, Superman has Marquis run some calculations to determine that, without recharging or relying on outside help like the Dolphins, it would take him approximately 1,400 years to return home.
Superman Struggles With the Enormity of Space
While it's shown that Superman will ultimately complete his journey after 20 years, there is someone who ended up making a similar trip the long way around: the wizard Mamaragan's first champion, Black Adam. Initially instructed to use his power to serve the Pharaohs, "Mighty Adam" ended up usurping the throne and becoming a dictator before the wizard stripped him of his title, renamed him "Black Adam," and banished him "to the farthest star in the universe." Although Black Adam would eventually return, he ended up drifting through space for 5,000 years before arriving back on Earth.
By the third issue of Superman: Lost, Superman has been trapped in space for almost a year, and the isolation is already beginning to take its toll. He becomes noticeably anxious when musing about how slim the margin of error is when Green Lantern would take them through space with his ring, emphasizing how the tiniest slip could have left them all stranded in the void. When the Space Dolphins abandon him (accidentally snaring his propulsion rig in the process), Superman crushes Marquis in an uncharacteristic outburst of frustration.
Although this new series attempts to play Superman being stranded in space for pathos amidst the isolation, what it actually shows is the enormity of Black Adam's punishment. Although Superman is one of the most resilient and stable heroes in the DC Universe, he's largely unresponsive by the time he makes it back to Earth, occasionally forgetting to breathe and sleeping on the floor in the fetal position. For his part, Black Adam was left with nothing but his hate and rage to keep him company for the 5,000-year journey back home. Superman is left struggling under the mental weight of a mere fraction of Black Adam's torture - showing just how horrific his origin truly was.
Superman: Lost #3 is now available from DC Comics.
