Alternative versions of Superman establish a new continuity for DC, affecting not only Superman, but all of the DC Comics characters. The versions of Superman from this time period are traditionally divided into three main periods. The first version of Superman began being published by DC Comics in 1938 appearing in "Action Comics" #1. To explain discrepancies in the aging of Superman across several decades, his earliest stories were retroactively portrayed as having taken place on an alternative world called Earth-Two. These stories take place from 1938 until the late 1950s, although the exact dividing line is unclear and some stories happened identically to
Superman in film with Cadmus to defeat Brainiac. Powerless, Superman wears a robotic suit until his powers, which, according to the script, are a mental discipline called "Phin-yar", return. At Peter's request, Poirier had Superman wear an all-black suit at the end of the script. Other villains included Parasite and Silver Banshee. Poirier's script impressed Warner Bros., but Kevin Smith was hired to rewrite. Smith thought that Poirier's script did not respect the Superman mythos properly. Kevin Smith pitched Peters his story outline in late 1996, and was allowed to write the screenplay under certain conditions. Peters did not want Superman to fly,