The Man of Steel. The Last Son of Krypton. The Man of Tomorrow. Superman. (Spoilers within)

“I stand for truth and justice, and the American way.”

In the endless reaches of the universe, there once existed a planet known as Krypton, a planet that burned like a green star in the distant heavens. There, civilization was far advanced and it brought forth a race of “supermen,” whose mental and physical powers were developed to the absolute peak of human perfection. But there came a day when giant quakes threatened to destroy Krypton forever. One of the planet’s leading scientists, sensing the approach of doom, placed his infant son in a small rocket ship and sent it hurtling in the direction of the Earth just as Krypton exploded. The rocket sped through star-studded space, landing safely on Earth with its precious burden: Krypton’s sole survivor. A passing motorist found the uninjured child and took it to an orphanage. As the years went by and the child grew to maturity, he found himself possessed of amazing physical powers. Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound… the infant of Krypton is now the Man of Steel, SUPERMAN. To best be in a position to use his amazing powers in a never-ending battle for truth and justice, Superman has assumed the disguise of Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper.

Until recently the greatest modern icon of all has been closed off to Iconomancers, save for a brief period in 1993 when a cynical ploy for sales killed the beloved Man of Steel. In early 2006, however, the DC crossover “Infinite Crisis” killed off the Golden Age Superman, Kal-L, making the Iconomancy school viable once more.

For 1 minor charge Big Blue Boyscout feeds off of Superman’s archetypical affability, giving the Iconomancer a +10% to their Charm skill for a number of minutes equal to their roll. Use of this formula has the side-effect of causing the caster’s bangs to curl into Superman’s famous spitcurl. Consequentially, bald Iconomancers cannot use this ability without a wig.

For 2 minor charges, Mild-Mannered Reporter allows the Iconomancer to conceal their identity, provided they make use of the flimsiest disguise available to them. This effects last until the physical disguise is discarded.

For 3 minor charges More Powerful Than A Locomotive causes the Iconomancer’s muscles to ripple and expand, allowing them to reroll any Body roll or body-based skill check.

For 1 significant charge, It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! gives the Stalker the skill “flight” at a level equal to his Iconomancy skill. Every two minutes this skill goes down by 1 point. As long as it is above 50% the Iconomancer’s top speed is roughly 60 miles per hour. This slows down as his skill dwindles, becoming a mere 10 mph at 25%, 3 mph at 15%, and requiring a land- or a crash- before the Iconomancer reaches 0%. Note: If you want to avoid waking the tiger, it’s best to do this where no one can see you, or with “Mild-Mannered Reporter” to make you resemble some sort of large bird.

For 4 significant charges the Iconomancer can summon the power of The Man of Tomorrow to inspire his allies. For a number of minutes equal to the Iconomancer’s roll all of his allies gain a +5% shift to all checks.

Drawing on the negative side of Superman, for 2 significant charges Last Son of Krypton allows the Iconomancer to gain a permanent +2 to a given skill. Unlike normal permanent skill bonuses, these can stack indefinitely, however the only way this spell can work is if someone close to the iconomancer (such as a family member, close friend, or loved one) dies.

Major Effects: Gain one of Superman’s powers permanently. Make yourself naturally likeable or awe-inspiring. A few crackpots believe that a major charge along with a disaster powerful enough to make one the last member of one’s race could even grant them Supe’s full power.

What You Hear: Geoff Johns had a ghost-writer for the issue wherein Kal-L was killed off. Someone unassuming that no one’s ever heard of. Where is this mystery writer now, and what’s he going to do with his major charge?