WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Action Comics #1036, on sale now from DC Comics.
Those who have been following the various ongoing Superman titles closely since the Infinite Frontier relaunch will know the shocking truth about Superman's powers. However in many comics, for example, the ongoing Justice League series, the Man of Steel seems to be as powerful as ever. Even now, he's showing immense strength like he always has with no signs of stopping. Unfortunately, all is not what it seems, and the truth has been brought to light at the worst possible moment.
Superman is finally setting off on his quest to free Warworld with the newly assembled Authority in Action Comics #1036 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Daniel Sampere, Adriano Lucas, and Dave Sharpe. When they get there, they are greeted by a sickening display of Mongul's cruel regime and decide to put on a display of their own. The Authority crash into one of the planet's arenas, tearing everything apart on their way. The Man of Steel himself rips the head of a statue of Warworld's dictator and flings it into the stadium - letting them know that he's as powerful as he's ever been. Too bad his enemies have already seen through his facade.
The team is greeted by Mongul's most loyal servant, Chaytil, who calls forth the dictator's most fearsome forces. Revealing that they've known all along about Superman's waning powers, they expose the truth for all to see. In Superman and the Authority, the Man of Steel was sporting grey hair, struggling to fly and had little of his incredible strength left. Yet this never featured in any other comics. The reason for this is two of the Authority's most cunningly powerful members.
As the illusion is broken and the Man of Steel's weakness is revealed in front of Warworld, Manchester Black and the Enchantress come clean. Since they were recruited, they've been using their powers to mask the truth of Superman's condition. Enchantress used her magic to perform all the big feats that Superman is expected to pull off, all while Black made it look to everyone that it was business as usual with no magical assistance, as well as hiding that grey streak in his hair.
This all started back in Superman #29 when the Man of Steel was defending Earth from an extra-dimensional rift. The creatures that emerged from it, shockingly, were able to wound him. The effects of this strange attack were greater than what they initially seemed too. As well as making him bleed, it also gave him radiation poisoning, something which has slowly been draining his powers. The greatest minds of the DC Universe, including Batman and Mr. Terrific, had tried to find a way to reverse the effects, to no avail. His son Jon even warned him about how fatal this incident could be, telling him that this is the time when Earth's greatest hero disappears from the history books. Despite all this, Superman insisted on continuing his mission to free the slaves of Warworld.
Now that the truth is out this changes everything. Usually, the Man of Steel can hold his own, even when his powers are diminished. His reliance on magic to mimic his strength and telepathy to mask the ruse shows that things are much worse than anyone initially thought. Given how committed Superman has been to the truth lately, to hide it now from even his Authority teammates speaks volumes about his desperation.
Even worse, it changes the entire view of the mission. Liberating Warworld was always going to be hard. Even with a team, Superman would have counted as a large portion of their overall power. Finding out that he's essentially powerless, relying solely on the abilities of others, means that this could very well be a suicide mission.