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{{Short description|DC Comics superhero}} | |||
{{sprotect}} | |||
{{About|the superhero}} | |||
''{{otheruses4|the character|other uses|Superman (disambiguation)}}'' | |||
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{{Use American English|date = March 2019}}{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}} | |||
{{Infobox comics character <!-- Misplaced Pages:WikiProject Comics --> | |||
|character_name = Clark Kent / Kal-El <br />{{small|Superman}} | |||
|image = Supermanflying.png | |||
|imagesize = | |||
|converted = y | |||
|caption = Superman appearing on a variant cover of ] (April 2018) <br/>Art by ]. | |||
|alt = Superman with his cape billowing | |||
|publisher = ] | |||
|debut = '']'' ] <br/>(]d June 1938; published April 18, 1938)<!-- "Debut" indicates the first appearance of a character, not a change to the character's backstory. Please do not add Birthright here. --> | |||
|creators = ] (writer) <br/>] (artist) | |||
|alter_ego = Kal-El (birth name; Krypton identity) <br/>Clark J. Kent (adopted name; civilian identity)<!-- Do not enter a specific middle name; what the "J." stands for alternates depending on continuity. Also, there is no past or current, dead or alive in fiction from a real world perspective; the infobox should cover the Superman known to the public and not a current comic book storyline. --> | |||
|alliances = {{ubl|]|]|]}} | |||
|homeworld = ] | |||
<!-- * ] / ] (Earth) --> | |||
|species = ] | |||
|partners = {{plainlist| | |||
<!--Please keep this to the established long term sidekicks and partners; don't add any old Justice League member or Action Comics co-star.--> | |||
* ] (various) | |||
* ] (various) | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] (Wife) | |||
* ] (Biological Son) | |||
* ] | |||
* ] ] | |||
<!--Try to keep this list short. No need to fill with Superman supporting characters and Justice League colleagues.--> | |||
}} | |||
|aliases = {{ubl|]|The Man of Steel|The Last Son of Krypton|The Man of Tomorrow|The Big Blue Boy Scout}} | |||
|powers = {{collapsible list | |||
<!--Must be a defining trait: only technology or powers Wonder Woman regularly used are listed here--> | |||
<!--Terminology should mirror "List of superman features and abilities in fiction"--> | |||
| titlestyle = background:transparent;text-align:left;font-weight:normal; | |||
|title = ''See list'' | |||
| | |||
*], ], stamina, ], reflexes, senses, durability, endurance, and longevity | |||
*Heat vision | |||
*Wind and freeze breath | |||
*Solar energy absorption | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*Invulnerability | |||
*Skilled hand-to-hand combatant | |||
*Genius-level intellect | |||
*Expert investigative journalist | |||
}} | |||
|cat = super | |||
|subcat = DC Comics | |||
|hero = y | |||
|sortkey = Superman | |||
}} | |||
'''Superman''' is a <!--Do not add "fictional" as it is tautological; superheroes (and characters in general) are by definition implied to be fictionalized to some extent.-->] who appears in ] published by ]. The character was created by writer ] and artist ], and debuted in the comic book '']'' ] (]d June 1938 and published April 18, 1938).<ref name=actioncomics1copyright>The copyright date of '']'' ] was registered as April 18, 1938. <br />See {{cite book|url= https://archive.org/stream/catalogofcopyrig332lib#page/n141/mode/2up|title= Catalog of Copyright Entries. New Series, Volume 33, Part 2: Periodicals January–December 1938. |publisher= United States ] |year= 1938 |page=129}}</ref> Superman has been adapted to several other media including radio serials, novels, films, television shows, theater, and video games. | |||
{{Superherobox| <!--This box is part of Misplaced Pages:WikiProject Comics. See that article for details--> | |||
image=] | |||
|caption=Cover to '']'' (2nd series) #204 (April 2004).<br />Pencils by ], inks by ]. | |||
|character_name=Superman | |||
|real_name=Kal-El , adopted as<br />] | |||
|publisher=] | |||
|debut='''Historical''':<br />'']'' #1<br />(June 1938)<br />'''Modern''':<br />'']'' #1<br />(July 1986)<!--"Debut" indicates the first appearance of a character, not a change to the character's backstory. Please do not add Birthright here.--> | |||
|creators=]<br />] | |||
|alliances='']''<br> ]<br>] | |||
|species= | |||
|homeworld=] | |||
| Base of operations = ] | |||
|aliases=Gangbuster, ], ], Nova, ], ], ], ]<!--Please do not add nicknames to this list.--> | |||
|powers=<!--Don't change this list-->].<!--Don't change this list-->|}} | |||
Superman was born '''Kal-El''', on the fictional planet ]. As a baby, his parents ] and ] sent him to Earth in a small spaceship shortly before Krypton was destroyed in a natural cataclysm. His ship landed in the American countryside near the fictional town of ], Kansas. He was found and adopted by farmers ], who named him '''Clark Kent'''. Clark began developing ], such as incredible strength and impervious skin. His adoptive parents advised him to use his powers to benefit humanity, and he decided to fight crime as a vigilante. To protect his personal life, he changes into a colorful costume and uses the alias "Superman" when fighting crime. Clark resides in the fictional American city of ], where he works as a journalist for the '']''. Superman's ] include his ] and fellow journalist ], ''Daily Planet'' photographer ], and editor-in-chief ], and his ] include ], ], and archenemy ]. | |||
'''Superman''' is a ] ], originally created by ] writer ] and ]-born artist ] and published by ]. Created in 1932, and rejected by a number of publishers, the character first appeared in '']'' #1 (June 1938). With a premise that taps adolescent fantasy, Superman is born '''Kal-El''' on the ] planet ], before being rocketed to ] as an infant by his ] father moments before the planet's destruction. Adopted and raised by a ] farmer and his wife, the child is raised as ''']''', and imbued with a strong moral compass. Upon reaching maturity the character develops ] abilities, resolving to use these for the benefit of humanity. With the success of his adventures Superman helped to create the superhero genre and establish its primacy within the ].<ref name="TCS11">Daniels (1998), p. 11.</ref> Superman is today widely considered to be both one of the most famous and popular comic book superheroes of all time,<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1521| title = Superman| accessdate = 2007-01-30| author = Ohio Historical Society| year = 2005| work = Ohio History Central: An Online Encyclopedia of Ohio| publisher = Ohio Historical Society| quote = In the early twenty-first century, Superman remains one of the most popular comic book characters of all time. He also has been an immense draw in movies and on television.}}</ref> and an American cultural icon.<ref>{{cite book | last=Holt | first=Douglas B. | authorlink=Douglas B. Holt | year=2004 | title=How Brands Become Icons: The Principles of Cultural Branding | publisher=] | location=] | page=1 | id=ISBN 1578517745 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor= Koehler, Derek J., Harvey, Nigel. (eds.)| year=2004 | title=Blackwell Handbook of Judgment and Decision Making | publisher=Blackwell| page=519 | id=ISBN 1405107464 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Dinerstein | first=Joel | authorlink=Joel Dinerstein | year=2003 | title=Swinging the machine: Modernity, technology, and African American culture between the wars | publisher=University of Massachusetts Press| page=81 | id=ISBN 1558493832 }}</ref><ref name="TCS11"/> | |||
Superman is the archetypal superhero: he wears an outlandish costume, uses a ], is unfailingly good and honest, and fights evil with the aid of extraordinary abilities. Although there are earlier characters who arguably fit this definition, Superman popularized the superhero genre and established its conventions. He was the best-selling superhero in American comic books up until the 1980s.<ref name=DallasEtAl2013p208>], p. 208</ref> | |||
Whilst referred to less flatteringly as "the big blue Boy Scout" by some of his fellow super-heroes,<ref>{{cite news | first=Charlie | last=McCollum | pages= | title=Times change, but Superman endures as an American cultural icon | date=June, 2006 | publisher=The Mercury News | url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_kmtmn/is_200606/ai_n16560106| format=Registration required | accessdate = 2007-01-30}}</ref> Superman is hailed as '''"The Man of Steel"''', '''"The Man of Tomorrow"''', and '''"The Last Son of Krypton"''', by the general public within the comics. As Clark Kent, Superman lives among humans as a "mild-mannered ]" for the ] ] ''The ]'' (called the ''Daily Star'' in original stories)<!--Leave in this order-->. Here Clark works alongside reporter ], with whom he is romantically linked. This relationship has been consummated by marriage on numerous occasions across varying ], and the union is now firmly established within the current mainstream comics ]. | |||
==Development== | |||
The character's cast, powers and trappings have slowly expanded throughout the years. Superman's backstory was altered to allow for adventures as ], and other survivors of Krypton were discovered, including ] and ]. In addition, Superman has been licensed and adapted into a variety of media, from radio to televion and film. '']'' was released in 2006, with a performance at the international box office which exceeded expectations.<ref name="411BryanSinger">{{cite web |author=Epstein, Daniel Robert | url = http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=78755 | title = 4:11 with Bryan Singer |accessdate=2007-01-30 |publisher = Newsarama|date=], ]}}</ref> The character has been revamped and updated, most recently in 1986. ] recreated the character, reducing Superman's powers and erasing several characters from the canon in a move which attracted media attention. Press coverage was again garnered in the ] with the '']'', a storyline which saw the character briefly killed. | |||
{{multiple image | |||
|align = left | |||
|total_width = 230 | |||
|image1 = Jerry Siegel in Uniform ca1943 cropped.jpg | |||
|caption1 = ], writer | |||
|image2 = Joe Shuster.jpg | |||
|caption2 = ], illustrator | |||
}} | |||
]" is a short story by Jerry Siegel, published January 1933.]] | |||
] and ] met in 1932 while attending ] in ] and bonded over their admiration of fiction. Siegel aspired to become a writer and Shuster aspired to become an illustrator. Siegel wrote amateur ] stories, which he self-published as a magazine called ''Science Fiction: The Advance Guard of Future Civilization''. His friend Shuster often provided illustrations for his work.<ref name=Ricca2014/> In January 1933, Siegel published a short story in his magazine titled "]". The titular character is a homeless man named Bill Dunn who is tricked by an evil scientist into consuming an experimental drug. The drug gives Dunn the powers of mind-reading, mind-control, and clairvoyance. He uses these powers maliciously for profit and amusement, but then the drug wears off, leaving him a powerless vagrant again. Shuster provided illustrations, depicting Dunn as a bald man.<ref>Jerry Siegel (under the pseudonym Herbert S. Fine). "The Reign of the Superman". ''Science Fiction: The Advance Guard of Future Civilization'' #3. January 1933 <br />Summarized in {{harvnb|Ricca|2014|pp=70–72}} ''Super Boys''</ref> | |||
Siegel and Shuster shifted to making ]s, with a focus on adventure and comedy. They wanted to become syndicated newspaper strip authors, so they showed their ideas to various newspaper editors. However, the newspaper editors were not impressed, and told them that if they wanted to make a successful comic strip, it had to be something more sensational than anything else on the market. This prompted Siegel to revisit Superman as a comic strip character.<ref>Jerry Siegel, quoted in {{harvp|Daniels|1998}}. ''Superman: The Complete History'', p. 15: "When we presented different strips to the syndicate editors, they would say, 'Well, this isn't sensational enough.' So I thought, I'm going to come up with something so wild they won't be able to say that."</ref><ref>Jerry Siegel. ''Creation of a Superhero'' (unpublished memoir, written c.1978; Scans available from and {{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}).: <br />"...one of the things which spurred me into creating a "Superman" strip was something a syndicate editor said to me after I had been submitting various proposed comic strips to him. He said, "The trouble with your stuff is that it isn't spectacular enough. You've got to come up with something sensational! Something more terrific than the other adventure strips on the market!""</ref> Siegel modified Superman's powers to make him even more sensational. Like Bill Dunn, the second prototype of Superman is given powers against his will by an unscrupulous scientist, but instead of psychic abilities, he acquires ] and ].<ref>]: "The version he was drafting would again begin with a wild scientist empowering a normal human against his will, but this time the powers would be even more fantastic, and rather than becoming a criminal, the super-being would fight crime 'with the fury of an outraged avenger'."</ref><ref>Jerry Siegel. ''Creation of a Superhero'' (unpublished memoir, c. 1978; Scans available from and {{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}).: <br />p. 30: "The hero of 'THE SUPERMAN' comic book strip was also given super-powers against his will by a scientist. He gained fantastic strength, bullets bounced off him, etc. He fought crime with the fury of an outraged avenger." <br />50: "What, I thought, could be more sensational than a Superman who could fly through the air, who was impervious to flames, bullets, and a mob of enraged amok adversaries?"</ref> Additionally, this new Superman was a crime-fighting hero instead of a villain, because Siegel noted that comic strips with heroic protagonists tended to be more successful.<ref>Siegel in {{harvp|Andrae|1983}}, p. 10: "Obviously, having him a hero would be infinitely more commercial than having him a villain. I understand that the comic strip Dr. Fu Manchu ran into all sorts of difficulties because the main character was a villain. And with the example before us of Tarzan and other action heroes of fiction who were very successful, mainly because people admired them and looked up to them, it seemed the sensible thing to do to make The Superman a hero. The first piece was a short story, and that's one thing, but creating a successful comic strip with a character you'll hope will continue for many years, it would definitely be going in the wrong direction to make him a villain."</ref> In later years, Siegel once recalled that this Superman wore a "bat-like" cape in some panels, but typically he and Shuster agreed there was no costume yet, and there is none apparent in the surviving artwork.<ref>{{harvp|Daniels|1998}}. ''Superman: The Complete History'', p. 17: "... usually and Siegel agreed that no special costume was in evidence, and the surviving artwork bears them out."</ref><ref>Siegel and Shuster in {{harvp|Andrae|1983}}, p.9-10: "Shuster: It wasn't really Superman: that was before he evolved into a costumed figure. He was simply wearing a T-shirt and pants; he was more like Slam Bradley than anything else — just a man of action. <br />Siegel: In later years – maybe 10 or 15 years ago – I asked Joe what he remembered of this story, and he remembered a scene of a character crouched on the edge of a building, with a cape almost a la Batman. We don't specifically recall if the character had a costume or not. Joe and I – especially Joe – seem to recall that there were some scenes in there in which that character had a bat-like cape."</ref> | |||
Superman has also held fascination for scholars, with ], ] and ] alike exploring the character's impact and role in America and the wider world. ] was discussing the mythic qualities of the character in the early ], whilst ] has pondered the implications of a sexual relationship the character might enjoy with Lois Lane.<ref>{{cite web| url =http://www.larryniven.org/stories/Man_of_Steel_Woman_of_Kleenex.shtml | title =Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex | accessdate =2007-01-30| last =Niven | first =Larry | authorlink =Larry Niven | year =1971 | work =All the Myriad Ways | publisher =Larry Niven }}</ref> The character's ] has often been the subject of dispute, with Siegel and Shuster twice suing for the return of legal ownership. The ] is again currently in dispute, with changes in copyright law allowing Siegel's wife and daughter to claim a share of the copyright, a move DC parent company ] disputes. | |||
Siegel and Shuster showed this second concept of Superman to Consolidated Book Publishers, based in Chicago.<ref>{{harvp|Daniels|1998}}. ''Superman: The Complete History'', p. 17</ref>{{efn|Consolidated Book Publishers was also known as Humor Publishing. Jerry Siegel always referred to this publisher as "Consolidated" in all interviews and memoirs. Humor Publishing was possibly a subsidiary of Consolidated.}} In May 1933, Consolidated had published a proto-comic book titled ].<ref name=comicbookdate>The copyright date of ''Detective Dan Secret Operative 48'' was registered as May 12, 1933. <br />See {{cite book|url= https://archive.org/stream/catalogofcopyri301libr#page/351|title= Catalog of Copyright Entries. New Series, Volume 30, For the Year 1933, Part 1: Books, Group 2. |publisher= United States ] |year= 1933 |page=351}}</ref> It contained all-original stories as opposed to reprints of newspaper strips, which was a novelty at the time.<ref>{{harvp|Scivally|2007}}. ''Superman on Film, Television, Radio and Broadway'', p. 6: "''Detective Dan—Secret Operative 48'' was published by the Humor Publishing Company of Chicago. Detective Dan was little more than a Dick Tracy clone, but here, for the first time, in a series of black-and-white illustrations, was a comic magazine with an original character appearing in all-new stories. This was a dramatic departure from other comic magazines, which simply reprinted panels from the Sunday newspaper comic strips."</ref> Siegel and Shuster put together a comic book in a similar format called ''The Superman''. A delegation from Consolidated visited Cleveland that summer on a business trip and Siegel and Shuster took the opportunity to present their work in person.<ref>Jerry Siegel. ''Creation of a Superhero'' (unpublished memoir, written c.1978; Scans available from and {{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}): <br />"I do recall, though, that when Mr. Livingston visited Cleveland, Joe and I showed ''THE SUPERMAN'' comic book pages to Mr. Livingston in his hotel room, and he was favorably impressed."</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Beerbohm |first=Robert |date=1996 |title=Siegel & Shuster Presents... The Superman |magazine=Comic Book Marketplace |issue=36 |pages=47–50|publisher=Gemstone Publishing Inc.}}: <br />"So this early ''Superman'' cover was done, replete with a "10¢" plug... and was placed on an entire comic book, written, drawn, inked, and shown to the Humor people by Jerry and Joe when they happened to come through Cleveland (trying to shop ''Detective Dan'' to the NEA newspaper syndicate)."</ref> Although Consolidated expressed interest, they later pulled out of the comics business without ever offering a book deal because the sales of ''Detective Dan'' were disappointing.<ref name=riccap97-98>{{harvnb|Ricca|2014|pp=97–98}} ''Super Boys''</ref><ref>]: "Although the first response was encouraging, the second made it clear that the comic book was so unprofitable that its publishers put on hold any future stories."</ref> | |||
==Publication history== | |||
] | |||
===Creation=== | |||
Siegel believed publishers kept rejecting them because he and Shuster were young and unknown, so he looked for an established artist to replace Shuster.<ref name=riccap99>{{harvnb|Ricca|2014|p=99}} ''Super Boys'': "Jerry was convinced, just as he was in those early pulp days, that you had to align yourself with someone famous to be famous yourself. Over the next year, Jerry contacted several major artists, including Mel Graff, J. Allen St. John, and even Bernie Schmittke "</ref> When Siegel told Shuster what he was doing, Shuster reacted by burning their rejected Superman comic, sparing only the cover. They continued collaborating on other projects, but for the time being Shuster was through with Superman.<ref>]: "When I told Joe of this, he unhappily destroyed the drawn-up pages of 'THE SUPERMAN' burning them in the furnace of his apartment building. At my request, he gave me as a gift the torn cover. We continued collaborating on other projects." <br />In an interview with {{harvp|Andrae|1983}}, Shuster said he destroyed their 1933 Superman comic as a reaction to Humor Publishing's rejection letter, which contradicts Siegel's account in Siegel's unpublished memoir. ] argues that the account from the memoir is the truth and that Shuster lied in the interview to avoid tension. <br />See also ''Creation of a Superhero'' (unpublished memoir by Jerry Siegel, written c.1978; Scans available from and {{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}).</ref> | |||
] and ] first created a bald ] villain bent on dominating the world. He appeared in "The Reign of the Superman", from ''Science Fiction'' #3, a ] ] that Siegel published in 1933.<ref name="TCS13">Daniels (1998), p. 13.</ref> Siegel re-wrote the character in 1933 as a hero, bearing little or no resemblance to his villainous namesake, and began a six-year quest to find a publisher. Titling it ''The Superman'', Siegel and Shuster offered it to Consolidated Book publishing, who had published a 48 page black-and-white comic book entitled '']''. Although they received an encouraging letter, Consolidated never published in the comic book market again. Shuster took this to heart, and destroyed all pages of the story, the cover surviving only because Siegel rescued it from the fire. Siegel and Shuster have both reported this version of the character as being comparable to ], a character the pair created in 1937 for the first issue of '']''.<ref name="TCS17">Daniels (1998), p. 17.</ref> | |||
Siegel wrote to numerous artists.<ref name=riccap99/> The first response came in July 1933 from Leo O'Mealia, who drew the '']'' strip for the ].<ref>]:"Next on the list was Leo O'Mealia, who drew the ''Fu Manchu'' comic and soon found in his mailbox Jerry's more fully developed script for Superman."</ref><ref>Jerry Siegel. ''Creation of a Superhero'' (unpublished memoir, written c.1978; Scans available from and {{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}).: <br />"Leo O'Mealia's first letter to me was dated July 17, 1933"</ref> In the script that Siegel sent to O'Mealia, Superman's origin story changes: He is a "scientist-adventurer" from the far future when humanity has naturally evolved "superpowers". Just before the Earth explodes, he escapes in a time-machine to the modern era, whereupon he immediately begins using his superpowers to fight crime.<ref>]</ref> O'Mealia produced a few strips and showed them to his newspaper syndicate, but they were rejected. O'Mealia did not send to Siegel any copies of his strips, and they have been lost.<ref>Jerry Siegel. ''Creation of a Superhero'' (unpublished memoir, written c.1978; Scans available from and {{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}).: <br />"I no longer have a copy of the script of that particular version of "Superman". I never saw Superman drawings. He did not send me a copy of it."</ref> | |||
By 1934 the pair had once more re-envisioned the character. He became more of a ] in the mythic tradition, inspired by such characters as ] and ],<ref name="TMOS">Petrou, David Michael (1978). ''The Making of Superman the Movie'', New York: ] ISBN 0-446-82565-4</ref> who would right the wrongs of Siegel and Shuster's times, fighting for ] and against ]. It was at this stage the costume was introduced, Siegel later recalling that they created a "kind of costume and let's give him a big ''S'' on his chest, and a cape, make him as colorful as we can and as distinctive as we can."<ref name="TCS18">Daniels (1998), p. 18.</ref> The design was based in part on the costumes worn by characters in outer space settings published in pulp magazines, as well as ] such as '']'',<ref name="TCS19">Daniels (1998), p. 19.</ref> and also partly suggested by the traditional circus strong-man outfit.<ref name="TCS18"/><ref name ="MorrisonHerald">{{cite news | first= Grant | last= Morrison | authorlink=Grant Morrison | title=Seriously, Perilously | date= ], ] | publisher=] |page=14}}</ref> However, the cape has been noted as being markedly different from the ] tradition, Gary Engle describing it as without "precedent in popular culture" in ''Superman at Fifty: The Persistence of a Legend''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Engle |first=Gary |authorlink= |coauthors= |editor=Dennis Dooley and Gary Engle (eds.)|title=Superman at Fifty: The Persistence of a Legend |year=1987|publisher=Octavia |location=Cleveland, OH |isbn=0020429010|chapter="What Makes Superman So Darned American?" }}</ref> The pants-over-tights outfit was soon established as the basis for many future superhero outfits. This third version of the character was given extraordinary abilities, although this time of a physical nature as opposed to the mental abilities of the villainous Superman.<ref name="TCS18"/> | |||
In June 1934, Siegel found another partner, an artist in Chicago named Russell Keaton.<ref>Jerry Siegel. ''Creation of a Superhero'' (unpublished memoir, written c.1978; Scans available from and {{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}). Extract filed under Exhibit A (Docket 184) in ''Laura Siegel Larson v Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., DC Comics, Case no. 13-56243'': <br />"In a letter dated June 9, 1934, he wrote back expressing interesting in the possibility of our teaming-up together on a newspaper syndication comic strip. Russell Keaton's letter to me of June 14, 1934, was very enthusiastic. He stated that in his opinion "Superman" was already a tremendous hit and that he would be glad to collaborate with me on "Superman"."</ref><ref name=jonesp112-113>{{harvp|Jones|2004}}. ''Men of Tomorrow'', p. 112-113</ref> Keaton drew the '']'' and '']'' comic strips. In the script that Siegel sent Keaton in June, Superman's origin story further evolved: In the distant future, when Earth is on the verge of exploding due to "giant cataclysms", the last surviving man sends his three-year-old son back in time to the year 1935. The time-machine appears on a road where it is discovered by motorists Sam and Molly Kent. They leave the boy in an orphanage, but the staff struggle to control him because he has superhuman strength and impenetrable skin. The Kents adopt the boy and name him Clark, and teach him that he must use his fantastic natural gifts for the benefit of humanity. In November, Siegel sent Keaton an extension of his script: an adventure where Superman foils a conspiracy to kidnap a star ] player. The extended script mentions that Clark puts on a special "uniform" when assuming the identity of Superman, but it is not described.<ref>{{harvnb|Ricca|2014|p=101-102}} ''Super Boys'' <br />Excerpts of Siegel and Keaton's collaboration can be found in Exhibit A (Docket 373–3), Exhibit C (Docket 347–2), Exhibit D (Docket 347–2), and Exhibit E (Docket 347–2) in ''Laura Siegel Larson v Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., DC Comics, Case no. 13-56243''. <br />(Compilation available at ).</ref> Keaton produced two weeks' worth of strips based on Siegel's script. In November, Keaton showed his strips to a newspaper syndicate, but they too were rejected, and he abandoned the project.<ref>{{harvnb|Ricca|2014|p=102}} ''Super Boys'': "Jerry tried to sell this version to the syndicates, but no one was interested, so Keaton gave up."</ref><ref>Jerry Siegel. ''Creation of a Superhero'' (unpublished memoir, written c.1978; Scans available from and {{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}). Extract filed under Exhibit A (Docket 184) in ''Laura Siegel Larson v Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., DC Comics, Case no. 13-56243'': <br />"Keaton's next letter to me, sent November 3, 1934, stated "Superman" was in a locker in a bus station, and that he was going to show the feature to ], after that weekend. I got a brief note from Russell Keaton. He wrote that he was completely withdrawing from any participation at all in the "Superman" comic strip and that as far as he was concerned: "the book is closed". Unhappily, I destroyed the letter."</ref> | |||
Although they were by now selling material to comic book publishers, notably ]'s ], the pair decided to feature this character in a comic strip format, rather than in the longer comic book story format which was establishing itself at this time. They offered it to both ], who passed, and to United Features Syndicate, who expressed interest initially but finally rejected the strip in a letter dated ], ]. However, in what historian Les Daniels describes as "an incredibly convoluted turn of events", Max Gaines ended up positioning the strip as the lead feature in Wheeler-Nicholson's new publication, '']''. Vin Sullivan, editor of the new book, wrote to the pair requesting that the comic strips be refashioned to suit the comic book format, requesting "eight panels a page". However Siegel and Shuster ignored this, utilising their own experience and ideas to create ], with Siegel also identifying the image used for the cover of '']'' #1, Superman's first appearance, published in ].<!--whole paragraph sourced from same source--><ref name="TCS2531">Daniels (1998), pp. 25-31.</ref> | |||
Siegel and Shuster reconciled and resumed developing Superman together. The character became an alien from the planet Krypton. Shuster designed the now-familiar costume: tights with an "S" on the chest, over-shorts, and a cape.<ref>Interview with Joe Shuster by Bertil Falk in 1975, quoted in ''Alter Ego'' #56 (Feb 2006): <br />"SHUSTER: I conceived the character in my mind's eye to have a very, very colorful costume of a cape and, you know, very, very colorful tights and boots and the letter "S" on his chest. <br />FALK: You did that, not Siegel? <br />SHUSTER: Yes, yes. I did that because that was my concept from what he described, but he did inspire me "</ref><ref name=TCS18>{{harvp|Daniels|1998}}. ''Superman: The Complete History'', p. 18</ref><ref>Over the years, Siegel and Shuster made contradictory statements regarding when they developed Superman's familiar costume. They occasionally claimed to have developed it immediately in 1933. {{harvp|Daniels|1998}} writes: "... usually and Siegel agreed that no special costume was in evidence , and the surviving artwork bears them out." The cover art for their 1933 proposal to Humor Publishing shows a shirtless, cape-less Superman. Siegel's collaboration with Russell Keaton in 1934 contains no description nor illustration of Superman in costume. ] writes that Siegel and Shuster developed the costume shortly after they resumed working together in late 1934.</ref> They made Clark Kent a journalist who pretends to be timid, and conceived his colleague ], who is attracted to the bold and mighty Superman but does not realize that he and Kent are the same person.<ref>Siegel's unpublished memoir, ({{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913103321/https://www.scribd.com/document/322254278/The-Story-Behind-Superman |date=September 13, 2016 }}), as well as an interview with Thomas Andrae in ''Nemo'' #2 (1983), corroborate each other that Clark Kent's timid-journalist persona and Lois Lane were developed in 1934.</ref> | |||
===Publication=== | |||
{{see also|List of Superman comics}} | |||
] | |||
] | |||
Superman's first appearance was in ''Action Comics'' #1, in 1938. In 1939 a ] was launched. The first issue mainly reprinted adventures published in ''Action Comics'', but despite this the book achieved greater sales.<ref name="TCS44">Daniels (1998), p. 44.</ref> 1939 also saw the publication of ''New York World's Fair Comics'', which by Summer of 1942 became '']''. With issue #7 of ''All Star Comics'' Superman made the first of a number of infrequent appearances, on this occasion appearing in cameo to establish his honorary membership of the ].<ref>{{Comic book reference | Writer = ] | artist = ] | Story = $1,000,000 for War Orphans | Title = All Star Comics | Volume = 1 | Issue = 7 | Date = October-November 1941 | Publisher = ] }}</ref> | |||
In June 1935 Siegel and Shuster finally found work with National Allied Publications, a comic magazine publishing company in New York owned by ].<ref>Wheeler-Nicholson offered Siegel and Shuster work in a letter dated June 6, 1935. See {{harvnb|Ricca|2014|p=104}} ''Super Boys''</ref> Wheeler-Nicholson published two of their strips in ''New Fun Comics'' #6 (1935): "Henri Duval" and "]".<ref>{{harvnb|Ricca|2014|p=104}} ''Super Boys''</ref> Siegel and Shuster also showed him Superman and asked him to market Superman to the newspapers on their behalf.<ref>Jerry Siegel. ''Creation of a Superhero'' (unpublished memoir, written c.1978; Scans available from and {{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}). <br />p. 55: "In addition, I submitted ''Superman'' for newspaper syndication consideration by Wheeler-Nicholson."</ref> In October, Wheeler-Nicholson offered to publish Superman in one of his own magazines.<ref name=riccap146>Letter from Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson to Siegel and Shuster, dated October 4, 1935, quoted in {{harvnb|Ricca|2014|p=146}}''Super Boys'': "...you would be much better off doing Superman in full page in four colors for one of our publications."</ref> Siegel and Shuster refused his offer because Wheeler-Nicholson had demonstrated himself to be an irresponsible businessman. He had been slow to respond to their letters and had not paid them for their work in ''New Fun Comics'' #6. They chose to keep marketing Superman to newspaper syndicates themselves.<ref>Jerome Siegel, in a , filed in ''Jerome Siegel & Joseph Shuster vs National Periodical Publications et al, 69 Civ 1429'': <br />"In 1935 Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, a publisher of comic books, expressed interest in Superman and tried to persuade us that the property would be more successful if published in comic book form where it would be seen in color than it would be in a black and white daily strip. Our experience with him had been such that we did not consider him the publisher to entrust with the property and his proposal was rejected."</ref><ref>Jerry Siegel. ''Creation of a Superhero'' (unpublished memoir, written c.1978; Scans available from and {{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}). <br />p. 57 "Joe and I were not sold on Wheeler-Nicholson and hoped to place "Superman" with what we hoped would be a more responsible organization. I asked Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson to return the "Superman" strips to me. I continued my marketing attempts to place "Superman" with a newspaper syndicate".</ref> Despite the erratic pay, Siegel and Shuster kept working for Wheeler-Nicholson because he was the only publisher who was buying their work, and over the years they produced other adventure strips for his magazines.<ref>]: "So while they continued to write and draw for him, and to live off what payments they got, they determined not to trust him with their prize possession."</ref> | |||
Wheeler-Nicholson's financial difficulties continued to mount. In 1936, he formed a joint corporation with ] and ] called Detective Comics, Inc. in order to release his third magazine, which was titled '']''. Siegel and Shuster produced stories for ''Detective Comics'' too, such as "]". Wheeler-Nicholson fell into deep debt to Donenfeld and Liebowitz, and in early January 1938, Donenfeld and Liebowitz petitioned Wheeler-Nicholson's company into bankruptcy and seized it.<ref name=Ricca2014/><ref>Jerry Siegel. ''Creation of a Superhero'' (unpublished memoir, written c.1978; Scans available from and {{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}).: <br />"On January 5, 1938, Liebowitz wrote to me that the Nicholson Publishing Company had been petitioned into bankruptcy by its creditors. On January 10, Vin Sullivan wrote to me that Nicholson Publishing Company was in the hands of receivers and that "Detective Comics" was being published by the firm for which Liebowitz was the manager."</ref> | |||
Initially ] and ] would provide the story and art for all the strips published. However Shuster's eyesight began to deteriorate, and the increasing appearances of the character saw an increase in the workload. This led Shuster to establish a ] to assist in the production of the art,<ref name="TCS44"/> although he insisted on drawing the face of every Superman the studio produced. Outside the studio, ] began supplying covers and stories in 1940.<ref name="TCS47">Daniels (1998), p. 13.</ref> ], initially employed in Shuster's studio began working for DC in his own right in 1942, providing pages for both ''Superman'' and ''Action Comics''.<ref name="TCS69">Daniels (1998), p. 69.</ref> | |||
In early December 1937, Siegel visited Liebowitz in New York, and Liebowitz asked Siegel to produce some comics for an upcoming comic anthology magazine called '']''.<ref>J. Addison Young, "Findings of Fact" (April 12, 1948), in ''Jerome Siegel and Joseph Shuster vs. National Comics Publications Inc. et al. (New York Supreme Court 1947)'' (): <br />"On December 4, 1937, defendant LIEBOWITZ, representing DETECTIVE COMICS, INC., met plaintiff SIEGEL in New York City."</ref><ref name=siegelmemoir>Siegel, Jerry. Unpublished memoir , registered for U.S. copyright in 1978 under later version ''Creation of a Superhero'' as noted by {{harvp|Tye|2012}}. ''Superman'', p. 309. P. 5. Memoir additionally cited by {{harvp|Ricca|2014}} in ''Super Boys'', and available online at sites including {{cite web |title=The Story Behind Superman #1 |url=https://www.scribd.com/document/322254278/The-Story-Behind-Superman|via=Scribd.com|access-date= December 20, 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151222082230/http://www.superman-through-the-ages.com/t/story_behind_superman_1/ |url-status=live |archive-date= December 22, 2015}} Note: Archive of p. 1 only.</ref> Siegel proposed some new stories, but not Superman. Siegel and Shuster were, at the time, negotiating a deal with the ] for Superman. In early January 1938, Siegel had a three-way telephone conversation with Liebowitz and an employee of McClure named ]. Gaines informed Siegel that McClure had rejected Superman, and asked if he could forward their Superman strips to Liebowitz so that Liebowitz could consider them for ''Action Comics''. Siegel agreed.<ref>Jerry Siegel. ''Creation of a Superhero'' (unpublished memoir, written c.1978; Scans available from and {{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}).: <br />"I received a telephone call early in January of 1938 from Gaines of the McClure Syndicate. This was a three-way call between Gaines, Liebowitz and myself. Gaines informed me that the syndicate was unable to use the various strips which I had sent for inclusion in the proposed syndicate newspaper tabloid. He asked my permission to turn these features, including "Superman", over to Detective Comics' publishers for consideration for their proposed new magazine, "Action Comics". I consented."</ref> Liebowitz and his colleagues were impressed by the strips, and they asked Siegel and Shuster to develop the strips into 13 pages for ''Action Comics''.<ref>Via editor Vin Sullivan, in a letter to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, dated January 10, 1948. Quoted in {{harvp|Ricca|2014}}. ''Super Boys''</ref> Having grown tired of rejections, Siegel and Shuster accepted the offer. At least now they would see Superman published.<ref>Jerry Siegel. ''The Life and Times of Jerry Siegel'' (unpublished memoir, written c.1946; Scans available at and {{Dead link|date=April 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}): <br />"Joe and I talked it over, decided we were tired of seeing the strip rejected everywhere, and would at least like to see it in print. And so we pasted our samples of a SUPERMAN daily strip into comic magazine page form, as request, and sent it on."</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Kobler |first=John |date=June 21, 1941 |title=Up, Up, and Awa-a-ay!: The Rise of Superman, Inc. |url=http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/wp-content/uploads/satevepost/rise-of-superman.pdf |work=] |archive-date= September 13, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160913192904/http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/wp-content/uploads/satevepost/rise-of-superman.pdf |url-status=live }}: <br />", who by this time had abandoned hope that Superman would ever amount to much, mulled this over gloomily. Then Siegel shrugged, 'Well, at least this way we'll see in print.' They signed the form." <br />NOTE: The form mentioned refers to a contract of sale signed on March 1, 1938.</ref> Siegel and Shuster submitted their work in late February and were paid {{USD|130|1938|round=-2}} for their work ($10 per page).<ref>J. Addison Young, "Findings of Fact" (April 12, 1948), in ''Jerome Siegel and Joseph Shuster vs. National Comics Publications Inc. et al. (New York Supreme Court 1947)'' (): <br />"Defendant THE MC CLURE NEWSPAPER SYNDICATE, then submitted to DETECTIVE COMICS, INC. the SUPERMAN comic strip created by plaintiffs, which strip consisted of a few panels suitable for newspaper syndication DETECTIVE COMICS, INC. examined the old material and returned it to plaintiffs for revision and expansion into a full length thirteen-page comic strip release suitable for magazine publication. Plaintiffs revised and expanded the said SUPERMAN material in compliance with the said request of DETECTIVE COMICS, INC. and on or about February 22, 1938, resubmitted such revised and expanded material to DETECTIVE COMICS, INC. On March 1, 1938 DETECTIVE COMICS, INC. wrote to plaintiff SIEGEL enclosing a check in the sum of $412. which included $130. in payment of the first thirteen-page SUPERMAN release at the agreed rate of $10. per page "</ref> In early March they signed a contract at Liebowitz's request in which they gave away the copyright for Superman to Detective Comics, Inc. This was normal practice in the business, and Siegel and Shuster had given away the ] to their previous works as well.<ref name=Jones2004p125>{{harvp|Jones|2004}}. ''Men of Tomorrow'', p. 125: "They signed a release surrendering all rights to the publisher. They knew that was how the business worked – that's how they'd sold every creation from ''Henri Duval'' to ''Slam Bradley''."</ref> | |||
The scripting duties also became shared. In late ] a new ] team assumed control of the character's adventures. ], ] and ] were brought in following Vin Sullivan's departure. This new editorial team brought in ], ] and ], established writers of science fiction.<ref name="60Y28">Daniels (1995), p. 28.</ref> By 1943, Jerry Siegel was drafted into the army in a special celebration, and his duties there saw high contributions drop. ] and ] joined the writing team, Schwartz teaming up with Wayne Boring to work on the ] which had been launched by Siegel and Shuster in 1939.<ref name="TCS69"/> | |||
] | |||
In 1945 ] made his début in '']'' #101. The character moved to '']'' in 1946, and his own title, '']'', launched in 1949. The 1950s saw the launching of '']'' (1954) and '']'' (1958). By 1974 these titles had merged into '']'', although the series was cancelled in 1982. In 1986 a decision was taken to restructure the fictional universe the Superman character inhabited with other ] characters. This saw the publication of "]", a two part story written by ], with art by ], ] and ].<ref>{{Comic book reference | Writer = ] | Penciller = ] | Inker=] & ] | Title = ] | Date = 1997 | Publisher = ] |ID=ISBN 1-56389-315-0}}</ref> The story was published in ''Superman'' #423 and ''Action Comics'' #583, and presented what Les Daniels notes as "the sense of loss the fans might have experienced if this had really been the last Superman tale."<ref name="TCS150">Daniels (1998), p. 150.</ref> | |||
The duo's revised version of Superman appeared in the ], which was published on April 18, 1938. The issue was a huge success thanks to Superman's feature.<ref name=actioncomics1copyright/><ref name=Tye2012/><ref>J. Addison Young, "Findings of Fact" (April 12, 1948), in ''Jerome Siegel and Joseph Shuster vs. National Comics Publications Inc. et al. (New York Supreme Court 1947)'' (): <br/>"The first thirteen pages of SUPERMAN material were published on April 18, 1938, in the June 1938 issue of "Action Comics"magazine".</ref> | |||
Superman was relaunched by writer artist ], initially in the ] '']'' (1986). 1986 also saw the cancellation of ''World's Finest Comics'', the ''Superman'' title renamed '']''. A second volume of ''Superman'' was launched in 1987, running until cancellation in 2006. This cancellation saw '']'' revert back to the ''Superman'' title. '']'' was launched in 1991, running until 2003, whilst the quarterly book '']'' ran from 1995 to 1999. In 2003 '']'' launched, followed by '']'' in 2005 and '']'' in 2006. | |||
===Influences=== | ===Influences=== | ||
Siegel and Shuster read ], and many stories featured characters with fantastical abilities such as telepathy, clairvoyance, and superhuman strength. One character in particular was ] from the novels by ]. John Carter is a human who is transported to Mars, where the lower gravity makes him stronger than the natives and allows him to leap great distances.<ref>{{harvp|Andrae|1983}}: "...when I did the version in 1934, (which years later, in 1938, was published, in revised form, in Action Comics #1) the John Carter stories did influence me. Carter was able to leap great distances because the planet Mars was smaller that the planet Earth; and he had great strength. I visualized the planet Krypton as a huge planet, much larger than Earth; so whoever came to Earth from that planet would be able to leap great distances and lift great weights."</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gizmodo.com/the-history-behind-supermans-ever-changing-superpowers-1684736603|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170326231729/http://io9.gizmodo.com/the-history-behind-supermans-ever-changing-superpowers-1684736603|url-status=dead|title=The History Behind Superman's Ever-Changing Superpowers|archivedate=March 26, 2017|website=Gizmodo}}</ref> Another influence was ]'s 1930 novel '']'', featuring a protagonist named ] who had similar powers.<ref>Jerry Siegel. ''Creation of a Superhero'' (unpublished memoir, written c.1978;Scans available from and {{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}).: <br />"I had read and enjoyed Philip Wylie's book "The Gladiator". It influenced me, too."</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last =Feeley |first =Gregory |date=March 2005 |title =When World-views Collide: Philip Wylie in the Twenty-first Century |journal =Science Fiction Studies |volume =32 |issue =95 |issn=0091-7729 |url =http://www.depauw.edu/sfs/review_essays/feeley95.htm |access-date =December 6, 2006 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130403153230/http://www.depauw.edu/sfs/review_essays/feeley95.htm |archive-date=April 3, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
{{see also|Cultural influences on Superman}} | |||
An influence on early Superman stories is the context of the ]. The left-leaning perspective of creators Shuster and Siegel is reflected in early storylines. Superman took on the role of social activist, fighting crooked businessmen and politicians and demolishing run-down tenements.<ref name="60Y2223">Daniels (1995), pp. 22-23.</ref> This is seen by comics scholar ] as a reflection of "the liberal idealism of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal", with Shuster and Siegal initially portraying Superman as champion to a variety of social causes.<ref name="Sabin"/> In later Superman radio programs the character continued to take on such issues, tackling a version of the ] in a ].<ref>{{cite news | first= Richard | last= von Busack | title=Superman Versus the KKK | date= ]-], ] | publisher=] | url=http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/07.02.98/comics-9826.html|accessdate=2007-01-28 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first=Stephen J | last=Dubner | coauthors=Levitt, Steven D | page = F26 | title=Hoodwinked? | date= ], ] | publisher=The New York Times | url= http://www.freakonomics.com/times0108col.php | accessdate=2007-01-28}}</ref> | |||
Superman's stance and devil-may-care attitude were influenced by the characters of ], who starred in adventure films such as '']'' and '']''.<ref>{{harvp|Andrae|1983}}: "... I was inspired by the movies. In the silent films, my hero was Douglas Fairbanks Senior, who was very agile and athletic. So I think he might have been an inspiration to us, even in his attitude. He had a stance which I often used in drawing Superman. You'll see in many of his roles—including Robin Hood—that he always stood with his hands on his hips and his feet spread apart, laughing—taking nothing seriously."</ref> The name of Superman's home city, Metropolis, was taken from the ].<ref name=Andrae1983>{{harvp|Andrae|1983}}</ref> ] cartoons were also an influence.<ref name="Andrae1983"/> | |||
Siegel himself noted that the many mythic heroes which exist in the traditions of many cultures bore an influence on the character, including ] and ].<ref name="TCS18"/> The character has also been seen by Scott Bukatman to be "a worthy successor to Lindhberg ... (and) also ... like Babe Ruth", and is also representative of the United States dedication to "progress and the 'new'" through his "invulnerable body ... on which history cannot be inscribed."<ref name="MOG">{{cite book | last=Bukatman | first=Scott | authorlink=Scott Bukatman | year=2003 | title=Matters of Gravity: Special Effects and Supermen in the 20th Century | publisher=Duke University Press | id=ISBN 0822331322 }}</ref> Further, given that Siegel and Schuster were noted fans of pulp science fiction,<ref name="TCS13"/> it has been suggested that another influence may have been ]. Danner was the main character of the novel '']'' by ], and is possessed of same powers of the early Superman (along with many other pulp characters of the twenties and thirties).<ref>{{cite journal | last =Feeley | first =Gregory | year =2005 | month =March | title =When World-views Collide: Philip Wylie in the Twenty-first Century | journal =Science Fiction Studies | volume =32 | issue =95 | id ={{ISSN|0091-7729}} | url =http://www.depauw.edu/sfs/review_essays/feeley95.htm | accessdate =2006-12-06 }}</ref> | |||
{{multiple image | |||
Because Siegel and Shuster were both ], it is thought that their creation was partly influenced by ],<ref name="TIMES05"/><ref name="mythology">{{cite video | title = The Mythology of Superman | medium = DVD | publisher = Warner Bros | date = 2006}}</ref> and other Jewish influences. Superman's Kryptonian name, "Kal-El," resembles the ] words קל-אל, which means "vessel of God".<ref name="UUaOV">{{cite book | last=Weinstein| first=Simcha| authorlink=Simcha Weinstein | year=2006 | title=Up, Up, and Oy Vey! | edition=1st | publisher=] | id=ISBN 978-1-881927-32-7 }}</ref> ] legends of the ] have been cited as worthy of comparison,<ref name="Newsweek">{{cite news |first= Steven |last= Waldman |authorlink= Steven Waldman |coauthors= Kress, Michael | title=Beliefwatch: Good Fight | url= http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13249146/site/newsweek/ | work=] |publisher= ] |date= ], ] |accessdate=2007-01-28 }}</ref> a Golem being a mythical being created to protect and serve the persecuted ] of ] ] and later revived in popular culture in reference to their suffering at the hands of the ] in ] during the 1930s and 1940s. Superman is often seen as being an analogy for ], being a saviour of humanity.<ref name="mythology" /><ref name="Newsweek"/><ref name="Sabin">{{cite book | last=Sabin | first=Roger | authorlink=Roger Sabin | year=1996 | title= Comics, Comix & Graphic Novels| edition=4th paperback edition | publisher=Phaidon|id=ISBN 0-7148-3993-0 }}</ref><ref>Skelton, Stephen. ''The Gospel According to the World's Greatest Superhero''. Harvest House Publishers, 2006. ISBN 0-7369-1812-4.</ref> | |||
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Clark Kent's harmless facade and dual identity were inspired by the protagonists of such movies as Don Diego de la Vega in '']'' and Sir Percy Blakeney in '']''. Siegel thought this would make for interesting dramatic contrast and good humor.<ref>Jerry Siegel, quoted in {{harvp|Andrae|1983}}: "I loved ''The Mark of Zorro'', and I'm sure that had some influence on me. I did also see ''The Scarlet Pimpernel'' but didn't care much for it."</ref><ref>Jerry Siegel. ''Creation of a Superhero'' (unpublished memoir, written c.1978; Scans available from and {{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}).: <br />"In movies, I had seen "The Scarlet Pimpernel", "The Mark of Zorro" and Rudolph Valentino in "The Eagle", and I thought that a mighty hero, who in another identity pretended to be an ineffectual weakling, made for great dramatic contrast. In addition, it would, in a comic strip, permit some humorous characterization."</ref> Another inspiration was slapstick comedian ]. The archetypal Lloyd character was a mild-mannered man who finds himself abused by bullies but later in the story snaps and fights back furiously.<ref>Siegel: "We especially loved some of those movies in which Harold Lloyd would start off as a sort of momma's boy being pushed around, kicked around, thrown around, and then suddenly would turn into a fighting whirlwind." <br />Shuster: "I was kind of mild-mannered and wore glasses so I really identified with it" <br />{{Cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTUrFYU2e_I |title=Superman – The Comic Strip Hero |publisher=BBC |people=Anthony Wall |medium=Television production |date=1981 |time=00:04:50 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151228030413/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTUrFYU2e_I |archive-date=December 28, 2015 }}</ref> | |||
Kent is a journalist because Siegel often imagined himself becoming one after leaving school. The love triangle between ], Clark, and Superman was inspired by Siegel's own awkwardness with girls.<ref>{{harvp|Andrae|1983}}: Siegel: "As a high school student, I thought that someday I might become a reporter, and I had crushes on several attractive girls who either didn't know I existed or didn't care I existed. It occurred to me: What if I was real terrific? What if I had something special going for me, like jumping over buildings or throwing cars around or something like that? Then maybe they would notice me."</ref> | |||
Whilst the term Superman was initially coined by Nietzsche, it is unclear exactly how influential Nietzsche and his ideals were to Siegel and Schuster.<ref name="mythology" /> Les Daniels has speculated that "Siegel picked up the term from other science fiction writers who had casually employed it", further noting that "his concept is remembered hundreds of millions who may barely know who Nietzsche is."<ref name="TCS18"/> However, it has also been argued that Siegel and Schuster "could not have been unaware of an idea that would dominate Hitler's National Socialism. The concept was certainly well discussed."<ref>McCue, Greg S., Bloom, Clive (], ]). ''Dark Knights'', ]. ISBN 0745306632.</ref> It has also been argued that in many ways Superman and the Übermensch are polar opposites.<ref name="TIMES05">{{cite news | first=Howard | last=Jacobson | page=5 | title=Up, up and oy vey | date=], ] | publisher=] }}</ref> Nietzsche envisioned the Übermensch as a man who had transcended the limitations of society, religion, and conventional morality while still being fundamentally human. Superman, although an alien gifted with incredible powers, chooses to honor human moral codes and social mores. Nietzsche envisioned the perfect man as being beyond moral codes; Siegel and Shuster envisioned the perfect man as holding himself to a higher standard of adherence to them.<ref>{{cite journal | last =Lawrence | first =John Shelton | authorlink =John Shelton Lawrence | year =2006 | month =March | title =Book Reviews: The Gospel According to Superheroes: Religion and Popular Culture | journal =The Journal of American Culture | volume =29 | issue =1 | page =101 | id ={{DOI|10.1111/j.1542-734X.2006.00313.x}} | url =http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1542-734X.2006.00313.x | accessdate =2007-01-28 }}</ref> | |||
The pair collected comic strips in their youth, with a favorite being ]'s fantastical '']''.<ref name=Andrae1983/> Shuster remarked on the artists who played an important part in the development of his own style: "] and ] were my idols – also ], ], and ]."<ref name=Andrae1983/> Shuster taught himself to draw by tracing over the art in the strips and magazines they collected.<ref name=Ricca2014/> | |||
Siegel and Shuster have themselves discussed a number of influences which impacted upon the character. Both were avid readers, and this love of reading, particularly ] helped to drive their friendship. Siegel has noted the ] stories as an influence: "Carter was able to leap great distances because the planet Mars was smaller that the planet Earth; and he had great strength. I visualized the planet Krypton as a huge planet, much larger than Earth".<ref name="AND8">Andrae (1983) .</ref> The pair were also avid collectors of comic strips in their youth, cutting them from the newspaper, with ]'s '']'' firing their imagination with its sense of fantasy.<ref>Andrae (1983), .</ref> Shuster has remarked on the artists which played an important part in the development of his own style, whilst also noting a larger influence: "] and ] were my idols—also ], ], and ]. But the movies were the greatest influence on our imagination: especially the films of ] Senior."<ref name="AND4">Andrae (1983), .</ref> Fairbanks' role as ] was certainly an inspiration, as Shuster admitted to basing Superman's stance upon scenes from the movie.<ref>Andrae (1983), .</ref> The ] also influenced the storytelling and page layouts,<ref>Andrae (1983), .</ref> whilst the city of Metropolis was named in honor of the ] ].<ref name="AND8"/> | |||
As a boy, Shuster was interested in fitness culture<ref>Shuster in {{harvp|Andrae|1983}} "I tried to build up my body. I was so skinny; I went in for weight-lifting and athletics. I used to get all the body-building magazines from the second-hand stores — and read them...."</ref> and a fan of ] such as ] and ]. He collected fitness magazines and manuals and used their photographs as visual references for his art.<ref name=Ricca2014/> | |||
===Copyright issues=== | |||
As part of the deal which saw Superman ] in ''Action Comics'', Siegel and Shuster sold the ] to the company in return for $130 and a contract to supply the publisher with material.<ref>{{cite news | first=Sam | last=Hurwitt | page=PK-24 | title= Comic Book Artist Populates Movies | date= ], ] | publisher=] | url= http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/a/2005/01/16/PKGT6AJH9A1.DTL&type=movies |accessdate = 2006-12-08}}</ref><ref name="Heidi">MacDonald, Heidi. "Inside the Superboy Copyright Decision.' ''PW Comics Week'' (], ]). ], Retrieved on ].</ref> '']'' reported in 1940 that the pair was each being paid $75,000 a year, a fraction of ]'s millions in ''Superman'' profits.<ref name="TCJ26316">Dean (2004), p. 16.</ref> Siegel and Shuster renegotiated their deal, but bad blood lingered and in 1947 Siegel and Shuster ] for their 1938 ] to be made ] and the re-establishment of their ownership of the ] ] to Superman. The pair also sued ] in the same year over the rights to ], which they claimed was a separate creation that ] had published without authorization. ] immediately fired them and took their byline off the stories, prompting a legal battle that ended in 1948, when a ] ] ruled that the 1938 contract should be upheld. However, a ruling from Justice J. Addison Young awarded them the rights to Superboy. A month after the Superboy judgement the two sides agreed a ]. ] paid Siegel and Shuster $94,000 for the rights to ]. The pair also acknowledged in writing the company's ownership of Superman, attesting that they held rights for "all other forms of reproduction and presentation, whether now in existence or that may hereafter be created",<ref name="TCJ26313">Dean (2004), p. 13.</ref> but DC refused to re-hire them.<ref name="TCS73">Daniels (1998), p. 73.</ref> | |||
The visual design of Superman came from multiple influences. The tight-fitting suit and shorts were inspired by the costumes of wrestlers, boxers, and ]. In early concept art, Shuster gave Superman laced sandals like those of strongmen and classical heroes, but these were eventually changed to red boots.<ref name=Andrae1983_boots/> The costumes of Douglas Fairbanks were also an influence.<ref>{{harvp|Andrae|1983}}: "It was inspired by the costume pictures that Fairbanks did: they greatly influenced us."</ref> The emblem on his chest was inspired by ].<ref>{{cite web |title=Of Supermen and kids with dreams |url=https://www.dropbox.com/s/0s3lbpbsetmqe5v/Siegel%20and%20Shuster%20interview%20with%20Andrae%20%28in%20Nemo%20%232%2C%201983%29.pdf?dl=0}}</ref> Many pulp action heroes such as swashbucklers wore capes. Superman's face was based on ] with touches derived from the comic-strip character ] and from the work of cartoonist Roy Crane.<ref name=Ricca2014p124>{{harvp|Ricca|2014}}. ''Super Boys'', p. 124: "The overall physical look of Superman himself is from Johnny Weissmuller, whose face Joe swiped from movie magazines and news articles. ... Joe just squinted the eyes like his idol Roy Crane and added a Dick Tracy smile." Ricca cites {{cite news|author-link=Robert Beerbohm|last=Beerbohm|first= Robert L.|title=The Big Bang Theory of Comic Book History|work=Comic Book Marketplace|volume= 2|issue= 50|location= Coronado, California|publisher=]|date=August 1997}}</ref> | |||
In 1973 Siegel and Shuster again launched a ] claiming ownership of Superman, this time basing the claim on the ] which saw copyright granted for 28 years but allowed for a renewal of an extra 28 years. Their argument was that they had only granted DC the copyright only for 28 years. The pair again lost this battle, both in a ] ruling of ], ] and an ] ruling of ] ].<ref name="TCJ2631415">Dean (2004), pp. 14-15.</ref> | |||
The word "superman" was commonly used in the 1920s and 1930s to describe men of great ability, most often athletes and politicians.<ref>{{harvp|Ricca|2014}}. ''Super Boys'', p. 129: "What the boys did read were the magazines and papers where "superman" was a common word. Its usage was almost always preceded by "a". Most times the word was used to refer to an athlete or a politician."</ref> It occasionally appeared in pulp fiction stories as well, such as "The Superman of Dr. Jukes".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Flagg |first=Francis |date=November 11, 1931 |title=The Superman of Dr. Jukes |magazine=Wonder Stories |publisher=Gernsback}}</ref> It is unclear whether Siegel and Shuster were influenced by ]'s concept of the '']''; they never acknowledged as much.<ref>{{cite news |first=Howard |last=Jacobson |page=5 |title=Up, Up and Oy Vey! |date=March 5, 2005 |work=The Times |url=http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/arts/article2396955.ece |location=UK }}: "If Siegel and Shuster knew of Nietzsche's Ubermensch, they didn't say..."</ref> | |||
In 1975 after news reports of their pauper-like existences, ] gave Siegel and Shuster lifetime ] of $20,000 per year and ]. Jay Emmett, then ] of Warner, was quoted in the '']'' as stating "There is no legal obligation, but I sure feel there is a moral obligation on our part."<ref name="TCJ26316">Dean (2004), p. 16.</ref> In addition, any media production which includes the Superman character were to include the credit "Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster".<ref name="Heidi"/> | |||
{{-}} | |||
==Comics== | |||
]The year after this settlement, 1976, saw the copyright term extended again, this time for another 19 years to a total of 75 years. However, this time a clause was inserted into the extension to allow a creator to reclaim their work, reflecting the arguments Siegel and Shuster had made in 1973. The ] came into power in 1978 and allowed a reclamation window in a period based on the previous copyright term of 56 years. This meant the copyright on Superman could be reclaimed between 1994 to 1999, based on the initial publication date of 1938. Jerry Siegel having died in January 1996, his wife and daughter filed a copyright termination notice in 1999. Although Joe Shuster died in July 1992, no termination was filed at this time by his ].<ref name="TCJ26317">Dean (2004), p. 17.</ref> | |||
{{See also|Publication history of Superman|Superman (franchise)}} | |||
===Comic books=== | |||
1998 saw copyright extended again, with the ]. This time the copyright term was extended to 95 years, with a further window for reclamation introduced. In January of 2004 Mark Peary, nephew and legal ] to Joe Shuster's estate, filed notice of his intent to reclaim Shuster's half of the copyright, the termination effective in 2013.<ref name="TCJ26317"/> The status of Siegel's share of the copyright is now the subject of a legal battle. Warner Brothers and the Siegels entered into discussions on how to resolve the issues raised by the termination notice, but these discussions were set aside by the Siegels and in October 2004 they filed suit alleging copyright infringement on the part of Warner Brothers. Warner Brothers counter sued, alleging the termination notice contains defects amongst other arguments.<ref name="TWOS">{{cite web| url =http://www.insidecounsel.com/issues/insidecounsel/15_159/profiles/191-1.html | title =The Woman Of Steel | accessdate =2007-01-26 | last =Vosper | first =Robert| year =2005 | month =February | publisher =] | quote =DC isn't going to hand over its most valued asset without putting up one hell of a legal battle }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url =http://www.newsarama.com/DC/Superman/Intro.htm | title =Inside The Siegel/DC Battle For Superman | accessdate =2007-01-26 | last =Brady | first =Matt | date = ], ] | publisher =] | quote = While the complaint, response and counterclaim has been filed, no one even remotely expects a slam-dunk win for either side. Issues such as those named in the complaint will, if it goes to trial, possibly allow for an unprecedented referendum on issues of copyright. }}</ref> The copyright ownership of Superman ] appears uncertain, with a decision "the subject of ongoing negotiation"<ref name="Heidi"/> and an outcome "still pending".<ref name="TCJ276">{{cite journal | last = Dean | first = Michael | title = Journal Datebook: Follow-Up: Superman Heirs Reclaim Superboy Copyright | journal = The Comics Journal | issue = 276 |page=37|date= June 2006}}</ref> | |||
{{See also|List of Superman comics}} | |||
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|caption1 = '']'' ], the comic that first featured Superman. Original copies fetch the highest of prices for comic books at auction.<ref name="15million">{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/comic-with-first-superman-story-sells-for-15m-1930852.html |title=Comic with first Superman story sells for $1.5m |work=] |date=March 30, 2010 |access-date=March 30, 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100402104134/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/comic-with-first-superman-story-sells-for-15m-1930852.html |archive-date= April 2, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
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Since 1938, Superman stories have been regularly published in periodical comic books published by ]. The first and oldest of these is '']'', which began in April 1938.<ref name=actioncomics1copyright/> ''Action Comics'' was initially an anthology magazine, but it eventually became dedicated to Superman stories. The second oldest periodical is ], which began in June 1939. ''Action Comics'' and ''Superman'' have been published without interruption (ignoring changes to the title and numbering scheme).<ref name=gcd-action1938> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223222919/http://www.comics.org/series/97/ |date=February 23, 2016 }} at the Grand Comics Database.</ref><ref name=superman1939> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160227153800/http://www.comics.org/series/116/ |date=February 27, 2016 }} (1939–1986 series) and {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305150736/http://www.comics.org/series/3345/ |date=March 5, 2016 }} (1987 continuation of series) at the Grand Comics Database.</ref> Several other shorter-lived Superman periodicals have been published over the years.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305202812/http://www.comics.org/series/name/Superman/sort/chrono/ |date=March 5, 2016 }} at the Grand Comics Database.</ref> Superman is part of the ], which is a ] of superhero characters owned by DC Comics, and consequently he frequently appears in stories alongside the likes of ], ], and others. | |||
A similar termination of copyright notice filed in 2002 by Siegel's wife and daughter concerning the Superboy character was ruled in their favour on ] ].<ref name="TCJ276"/> | |||
More Superman comic books have been sold in publication history than any other American superhero character.<ref name="sells">{{cite web |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/583041/best-selling-comic-books/ |title=Best-selling comic books of all time worldwide as of February 2015 (in million copies) |website=Statista |access-date=July 30, 2018}}</ref> Exact sales figures for the early decades of Superman comic books are hard to find because, like most publishers at the time, DC Comics concealed this data from its competitors and thereby the general public, but given the general market trends at the time, sales of ''Action Comics'' and ''Superman'' probably peaked in the mid-1940s and thereafter steadily declined.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.comicsbeat.com/unbalanced-production-the-comics-business-in-the-1940s/ |title=Unbalanced Production: The Comics Business in the 1940s |website=The Beat |first=Carol|last= Tilley |date=March 1, 2016 |access-date=July 30, 2018}}</ref> Sales data first became public in 1960, and showed that Superman was the best-selling comic book character of the 1960s and 1970s.<ref name=DallasEtAl2013p208/><ref>{{harvp|Tye|2012}}. ''Superman'', p. 163: "It did work. In 1960, the first year in which sales data was made public, Superman was selling more comic books than any other title or character, and he stayed on top through much of the decade.</ref><ref>Comichron. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160723085633/http://www.comichron.com/yearlycomicssales.html |date=July 23, 2016 }}</ref> Sales rose again starting in 1987. ''Superman'' #75 (Nov 1992) had over 23 million copies sold,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/1998/voices/columns/thesp-trio-eyes-nurse-superman-may-fly-1117480870/|title=Thesp trio eyes 'Nurse'; 'Superman' may fly |date=Sep 29, 1998 |website=Variety.com}}</ref> making it the best-selling issue of a comic book of all time, due to a media sensation over ] in that issue.<ref>{{harvp|Tye|2012}}. ''Superman'', p. 245: "Journalists, along with most of their readers and viewers, didn't understand that heroes regularly perished in the comics and almost never stayed dead."</ref> Sales declined from that point on. In March 2018, ''Action Comics'' sold just 51,534 copies, although such low figures are normal for superhero comic books in general (for comparison, ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #797 sold only 128,189 copies).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.comichron.com/monthlycomicssales/2018/2018-03.html |title=2018 Comic Book Sales to Comic Book Shops |publisher=Comichron |access-date=July 8, 2018 }}</ref> The comic books have become a niche aspect of the ''Superman'' franchise due to low readership,<ref>{{harvp|Tye|2012}}. ''Superman'', p. 294: "The remaining audience was dedicated to the point of fanaticism, a trend that was self-reinforcing. No longer did casual readers pick up a comic at the drugstore or grocery, both because the books increasingly required an insider's knowledge to follow the action and because they simply weren't being sold anymore at markets, pharmacies, or even the few newsstands that were left. Comic books had gone from being a cultural emblem to a countercultural refuge."</ref> though they remain influential as creative engines for the movies and television shows. Comic book stories can be produced quickly and cheaply, and are thus an ideal medium for experimentation.<ref>{{harvp|Tye|2012}}. ''Superman'', p. 212: "So Jenette and her business-savvy sidekick, Paul Levitz, started viewing comics as creative engines rather than cash cows, able to spin off profitable enterprises in other media."</ref> | |||
==Comic book character== | |||
{{main|History of Superman}} | |||
{{see also|Kal-L}} | |||
Whereas comic books in the 1950s were read by children, since the 1990s the average reader has been an adult.<ref>{{harvp|Scivally|2007}}. ''Superman on Film, Television, Radio and Broadway'', p. 166: "Whereas in the 1950s, the average comic book reader was 12 years old, by the 1990s, the average comic book reader was 20. A mere decade later, in 2001, the average age of comic book readers was 25."</ref> A major reason for this shift was DC Comics' decision in the 1970s to sell its comic books to specialty stores instead of traditional magazine retailers (supermarkets, newsstands, etc.) — a model called "direct distribution". This made comic books less accessible to children.<ref>{{harvp|Gordon|2017}}. ''Superman: The Persistence of an American Icon'' p. 164</ref> | |||
Superman, given the serial nature of comic publishing and the length of the character's existence, has evolved as a character as his adventures have increased.<ref name="TIME14388">{{cite news | first= Otto | last=Friedrich | page =9 | title=Up, Up and Awaaay!!! | date=Monday, ], ] | publisher='']'' | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,966978-9,00.html | accessdate =2007-01-28 }}</ref> The details of Superman's origin, relationships and abilities changed significantly during the course of the character's publication, from what is considered the ] through the ]. The powers and villains were developed through the 1940s, with Superman developing the ability to fly, and costumed villains introduced from 1941.<ref name="TCS67">Daniels (1998), p. 67.</ref> The character was shown as learning of the existence of ] in 1949. The concept itself had originally been established to the reader in 1939, in the ].<ref name="TCS42">Daniels (1998), p. 42.</ref> | |||
===Newspaper strips=== | |||
The 1960s saw the introduction of a second Superman, ]. ] had established a ] within the fictional universe it's characters shared. This allowed characters published in the 1940s to exist alongside updated counterparts published in the 1960s. This was explained to the reader through the notion that the two groups of characters inhabited ]. The ] was introduced to explain to the reader Superman's membership of both the 1940s superhero team the ] and the 1960s superhero team the ].<ref>{{Comic book reference | Writer = ] | Penciller = ] | Inker = ] | Story = Star Light, Star Bright--Death Star I See Tonight! | Title = Justice League of America | Volume = 1 | Issue = 73 | Date = August, 1969 | Publisher = ] }}</ref> | |||
{{See also|Superman (comic strip)}} | |||
]'s arms. Pencils by ].]] | |||
Beginning in January 1939, a ''Superman'' daily comic strip appeared in newspapers, syndicated through the ]. A color Sunday version was added that November. Jerry Siegel wrote most of the strips until he was ] into the ] in 1943. The Sunday strips had a narrative continuity separate from the daily strips, possibly because Siegel had to delegate the Sunday strips to ]s.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.tcj.com/reviews/superman-the-golden-age-sundays-1943-1946/ |title= Reviews: ''Superman: The Golden Age Sundays 1943–1946'' |first= Paul|last=Tumey |work=] |date=April 14, 2014 |access-date= March 1, 2016|archive-date=May 29, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140529211844/http://www.tcj.com/reviews/superman-the-golden-age-sundays-1943-1946/ |url-status=live |quote=...Jerry Siegel had his hands — and typewriter — full, turning out stories for the comic books and the daily newspaper strips (which had completely separate continuities from the Sundays).}}</ref> By 1941, the newspaper strips had an estimated readership of 20 million.<ref>{{harvp|Daniels|1998}}. ''Superman: The Complete History'', p. 74</ref> Joe Shuster drew the early strips, then passed the job to ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.supermansupersite.com/boring.html |publisher=SupermanSuperSite.com |editor-first=Neil A. |editor-last=Cole |title=Wayne Boring (1905–1987) |access-date=March 2, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161008215738/http://www.supermansupersite.com/boring.html |archive-date=October 8, 2016 }}</ref> From 1949 to 1956, the newspaper strips were drawn by ].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.supermansupersite.com/mortimer.html |publisher=SupermanSuperSite.com |editor-first= Neil A. |editor-last=Cole |title=Win Mortimer (1919–1998) |access-date=March 1, 2016 |archive-date= June 30, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140630192703/http://www.supermansupersite.com/mortimer.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The strip ended in May 1966, but was revived from 1977 to 1983 to coincide with a series of movies released by Warner Bros.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.supermanhomepage.com/other/other.php?topic=newspaper-strip |title=Superman Newspaper Strips |publisher=SupermanHomepage.com |editor-first=Steven|editor-last=Younis|access-date= February 28, 2016 |archive-date= March 26, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150326134156/http://www.supermanhomepage.com/other/other.php?topic=newspaper-strip |url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
The 1980s saw radical revisions of the character. DC Comics decided to remove the multiverse in a bid to simplify its comics line. This led to the rewriting of the ] of the characters DC published, Superman included. John Byrne rewrote Superman, removing many established conventions and characters from continuity, including ] and ]. Byrne also re-established Superman's adoptive parents, ], as characters.<ref>] (w)(p), ] (i). '']'' Ed. ]. ], 1987. ISBN 0-930289-28-5.</ref> In the previous continuity the characters had been written as having died early in Superman's life (about the time of Clark Kent's graduation from high school). | |||
The 1990s saw Superman killed by the villain ],<ref>], ], ] et al (w), ], ], ], et al (p), ], ], ] et al (i). '']'' Ed. ]. NY:], ], ]. ISBN 1-56389-097-6.</ref> although the character was soon resurrected.<ref>], ], ] et al (w), ], ], ], et al (p), ], ], ] et al (i). ''The Return of Superman (Reign of the Supermen)'' Ed. ]. NY:], ], ]. ISBN 1-56389-149-2.</ref> Superman also marries Lois Lane in 1996. In the 2000's Superman becomes a vegetarian, and his origin is again revisited in 2004.<ref>] (w), ] (a). '']''. NY:], ], ]. ISBN 1-4012-0252-7.</ref> In 2006 Superman is stripped of his powers,<ref>] (w), ], ], ] et al (a). '']''. NY:], ], ]. ISBN 1401209599 ISBN 978-1401209599</ref> although these are restored within a fictional year.<ref>], ] (w), ], ] (a). ''Superman: Up, Up and Away!'' NY:], ]. ISBN 1401209548 ISBN 978-1401209544.</ref> | |||
===Editors=== | |||
Initially, Siegel was allowed to write Superman more or less as he saw fit because nobody had anticipated the success and rapid expansion of the franchise.<ref>{{harvp|Tye|2012}}. ''Superman'', p. 49: "Initially Harry , Jack , and the managers they hired to oversee their growing editorial empire had let Jerry do as he wished with the character..."</ref><ref>{{harvp|Tye|2012}}. ''Superman'', p. 41: "Neither Harry nor Jack had planned for a separate Superman comic book, or for that to be ongoing. Having Superman's story play out across different venues presented a challenge for Jerry and the writers who came after him: Each installment needed to seem original yet part of a whole, stylistically and narratively. Their solution, at the beginning, was to wing it..."</ref> But soon Siegel and Shuster's work was put under careful oversight for fear of trouble with censors.<ref>{{harvp|Daniels|1998}}. ''Superman: The Complete History'', p. 42: "...the publisher was anxious to avoid any repetition of the censorship problems associated with his early pulp magazines (such as the lurid ''Spicy Detective'')."</ref> Siegel was forced to tone down the violence and social crusading that characterized his early stories.<ref>{{harvp|Tye|2012}}. ''Superman'', p. 49: "Once Superman became big business, however, plots had to be sent to New York for vetting. Not only did editors tell Jerry to cut out the guns and knives and cut back on social crusading, they started calling the shots on minute details of script and drawing."</ref> Editor ], hired in 1940, dictated that Superman not kill.<ref>{{harvp|Daniels|1998}}. ''Superman: The Complete History'', p. 42: "It was left to Ellsworth to impose tight editorial controls on Jerry Siegel. Henceforth, Superman would be forbidden to use his powers to kill anyone, even a villain."</ref> Sexuality was banned, and colorfully outlandish villains such as ] and ] were thought to be less nightmarish for young readers.<ref>{{harvp|Tye|2012}}. ''Superman'', p. 47: "No hint of sex. No alienating parents or teachers. Evil geniuses like the Ultra-Humanite were too otherworldly to give kids nightmares... The Prankster, the Toyman, the Puzzler, and J. Wilbur Wolngham, a W. C. Fields lookalike, used tricks and gags instead of a bow and arrows in their bids to conquer Superman. For editors wary of controversy, 1940s villains like those were a way to avoid the sharp edges of the real world."</ref> | |||
] was the editor on Superman comics from 1941 to 1970, his tenure briefly interrupted by military service. Siegel and his fellow writers had developed the character with little thought of building a coherent mythology, but as the number of Superman titles and the pool of writers grew, Weisinger demanded a more disciplined approach.<ref>{{harvp|Tye|2012}}. ''Superman'', p. 162: "Before Mort came along, Superman's world was ad hoc and seat-of-the-pants, with Jerry and other writers adding elements as they went along without any planning or anyone worrying whether it all hung together. That worked fine when all the books centered around Superman and all the writing was done by a small stable. Now the pool of writers had grown and there were eight different comic books with hundreds of Superman stories a year to worry about."</ref> Weisinger assigned story ideas, and the logic of Superman's powers, his origin, the locales, and his relationships with his growing cast of supporting characters were carefully planned. Elements such as ], his cousin ], the ], the ], alternate varieties of ], ], and ] were introduced during this era. The complicated universe built under Weisinger was beguiling to devoted readers but alienating to casuals.<ref>{{harvp|Tye|2012}}. ''Superman'', p. 173: "But Weisinger's innovations were taking a quiet toll on the story. Superman's world had become so complicated that readers needed a map or even an encyclopedia to keep track of everyone and everything. (There would eventually be encyclopedias, two in fact, but the first did not appear until 1978.) All the plot complications were beguiling to devoted readers, who loved the challenge of keeping current, but to more casual fans they could be exhausting."</ref> Weisinger favored lighthearted stories over serious drama, and avoided sensitive subjects such as the ] and the ] because he feared his ] views would alienate his left-leaning writers and readers.<ref>{{harvp|Tye|2012}}. ''Superman'', p. 165: "Weisinger stories steered clear of the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, the black power movement, and other issues that red the 1960s. There was none of what Mort would have called "touchy-feely" either, much as readers might have liked to know how Clark felt about his split personality, or whether Superman and Lois engaged in the battles between the sexes that were a hallmark of the era. Mort wanted his comics to be a haven for young readers, and he knew his right-leaning politics wouldn't sit well with his leftist writers and many of his Superman fans."</ref> Weisinger also introduced ] in 1958 to encourage feedback and build intimacy with readers.<ref>{{harvp|Daniels|1998}}. ''Superman: The Complete History'', p. 102: "One of the ways the editor kept in touch with his young audience was through a letters column, 'Metropolis Mailbag,' introduced in 1958."</ref> | |||
Weisinger retired in 1970 and ] took over. By his own admission, Weisinger had grown out of touch with newer readers.<ref>{{harvp|Tye|2012}}. ''Superman: The Complete History'', p. 168: "He admitted later he was losing touch with a new generation of kids and their notions about heroes and villains."</ref> Starting with ], Schwartz updated Superman by making Clark Kent a television anchor, and he retired overused plot elements such as kryptonite and robot doppelgangers.<ref>Julius Schwartz, quoted in {{harvp|Daniels|1998}}: "I said, 'I want to get rid of all the kryptonite. I want to get rid of all the robots that are used to get him out of situations. And I'm sick and tired of that stupid suit Clark Kent wears all the time. I want to give him more up-to-date clothes. And maybe the most important thing I want to do is take him out of the Daily Planet and put him into television.' I said 'Our readers are not that familiar with newspapers. Most of them get their news on television, and I think it's high time after all these years.'"</ref> Schwartz also scaled Superman's powers down to a level closer to Siegel's original. These changes would eventually be reversed by later writers. Schwartz allowed stories with serious drama such as "]" (''Superman Annual'' #11), in which the villain ] torments Superman with an illusion of happy family life on a living Krypton. | |||
Schwartz retired from DC Comics in 1986 and was succeeded by ] as an editor on Superman comics. His retirement coincided with DC Comics' decision to ] the ] with the companywide-crossover storyline "]". In ] writer ] rewrote the Superman mythos, again reducing Superman's powers, which writers had slowly re-strengthened, and revised many supporting characters, such as making ] a billionaire industrialist rather than a mad scientist, and making Supergirl an ] because DC wanted Superman to be the sole surviving ]. | |||
Carlin was promoted to Executive Editor for the ] books in 1996, a position he held until 2002. K.C. Carlson took his place as editor of the Superman comics. | |||
===Aesthetic style=== | |||
In the earlier decades of Superman comics, artists were expected to conform to a certain "house style".<ref>{{harvp|Harvey|1996|p=144}}: "Artistic expressiveness of a highly individualistic sort had never been particularly welcomed by traditional comic book publishers. The corporate mind, ever focused on the bottom line of the balance sheet, favored bland "house styles" of rendering..."</ref> Joe Shuster defined the aesthetic style of Superman in the 1940s. After Shuster left National, ] succeeded him as the principal artist on Superman comic books.<ref name="ReferenceB">{{harvp|Eury|Adams|Swan|Anderson|2006}}. ''The Krypton Companion'', p. 18: "In 1948 Boring succeeded Shuster as the principal superman artist, his art style epitomizing the Man of Steel's comics and merchandising look throughout the 1950s."</ref> He redrew Superman taller and more detailed.<ref name="ReferenceC">{{harvp|Daniels|1998}}. ''Superman: The Complete History'', p. 74: "...Superman was drawn in a more detailed, realistic style of illustration. He also looked bigger and stronger. "Until then Superman had always seemed squat," Boring said. "He was six heads high, a bit shorter than normal. I made him taller–nine heads high–but kept his massive chest."</ref> Around 1955, ] in turn succeeded Boring.<ref name="Curt Swan 1987">Curt Swan (1987). ''Drawing Superman''. Essay reprinted in {{harvp|Eury|Adams|Swan|Anderson|2006|pp=58}}: "For 30 years or so, from around 1955 until a couple of years ago when I more or less retired, I was the principal artists of the ''Superman'' comic for DC Comics."</ref> The 1980s saw a boom in the diversity of comic book art and now there is no single "house style" in Superman comics.{{CN|date=January 2023}} | |||
== In other media == | |||
{{Main|Superman (franchise)}} | |||
===Radio=== | |||
The first adaptation of Superman beyond comic books was a radio show, '']'', which ran from 1940 to 1951 for 2,088 episodes, most of which were aimed at children. The episodes were initially 15 minutes long, but after 1949 they were lengthened to 30 minutes. Most episodes were done live.<ref>{{harvp|Hayde|2009}}. ''Flights of Fantasy''</ref> ] was the voice actor for Superman in most episodes. The show was produced by ] and Allen Ducovny, who were employees of Superman, Inc. and Detective Comics, Inc. respectively.<ref>{{harvp|Tye|2012}}. ''Superman'', p. 88: " drafted Maxwell into Superman, Inc., first to oversee the licensing of toys and other products, then to bring the superhero into the world of broadcast."</ref><ref>{{harvp|Scivally|2007}}. ''Superman on Film, Television, Radio and Broadway'', p. 16: "Superman was brought to radio by Allen Ducovny, a press agent with Detective Comics, and Robert Maxwell (the pen name of Robert Joffe), a former pulp fiction author who was in charge of licensing the subsidiary rights of the company's comic book characters."</ref> | |||
===Stage=== | |||
In 1966 Superman had a ]-nominated musical play produced on Broadway. '']'' featured music by ], lyrics by ] and book by ] and ]. Actor Bob Holiday performed as Clark Kent/Superman and actress ] performed as Lois Lane. | |||
===Film=== | |||
{{Main|Superman in film}} | |||
* ] released a ] between 1941 and 1943. Seventeen episodes in total were made, each 8–10 minutes long. The first nine films were produced by ] and the next films were produced by ]. ] provided the voice of Superman. The first episode had a production budget of $50,000 with the remaining episodes at $30,000 each<ref>{{harvp|Pointer|2017}}: "...the budget for each short – an astonishing $30,000..."</ref> ({{Inflation|US|30000|1941|fmt=eq|r=-3}}), which was exceptionally lavish for the time; $9,000 – $15,000 was more typical for animated shorts.<ref>Dave Fleischer, quoted in {{harvp|Daniels|1998}} ''Superman: The Complete History'', p. 58: "The average short cost nine or ten thousand dollars, some ran up to fifteen; they varied."</ref> Joe Shuster provided model sheets for the characters, so the visuals resembled the contemporary comic book aesthetic.<ref>{{harvp|Tye|2012}}. ''Superman'', p. 94: "Max and Dave composers knew what Superman, Lois, and the others should look like, thanks to model sheets provided by Joe Shuster."</ref> | |||
] as Superman, 1948]] | |||
* The first live-action adaptation of Superman was a ], targeted at children. ] became the first actor to portray the hero onscreen. The production cost up to $325,000<ref>{{harvp|Scivally|2007}}. ''Superman on Film, Television, Radio and Broadway'', p. 37: "The challenges of the production had more than doubled its budget; the final cost was variously reported as anywhere from $250,000 to $325,000."</ref> ({{Inflation|US|325000|1948|fmt=eq|r=-3}}). It was the most profitable ] in movie history.<ref>{{harvp|Scivally|2007}}. ''Superman on Film, Television, Radio and Broadway'', p. 37: "With all the hype, Superman quickly became the most profitable serial in film history."</ref> A sequel serial, '']'', was released in 1950. For flying scenes, Superman was hand-drawn in animated form, composited onto live-action footage. | |||
* The first feature film was '']'', a 58-minute ] released in 1951, produced on an estimated budget of $30,000 ({{Inflation|US|30000|1951|fmt=eq|r=-3}}).<ref>{{harvp|Scivally|2007}}. ''Superman on Film, Television, Radio and Broadway'', p. 49: "According to ''Variety'', the feature film and an additional twenty-four half-hour episodes were to come in for $400,000, or roughly $15,000 each."</ref> It starred ] as Superman, and was intended to promote the subsequent ].<ref name=Scivally2007/> | |||
* The first big-budget movie was '']'' in 1978, starring ] and produced by ] and ]. It was 143 minutes long and was made on a budget of $55 million ({{Inflation|US|55000000|1978|fmt=eq|r=-6}}). It is the most successful Superman feature film to date in terms of box office revenue adjusted for inflation.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=superman.htm |title=Superman Movies at the Box Office|publisher=Box Office Mojo|access-date=July 24, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140826152345/http://boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=superman.htm |archive-date=August 26, 2014 }}</ref> The soundtrack was composed by ] and was ]. ''Superman'' (1978) was the first big-budget superhero movie, and its success arguably paved the way for later superhero movies like ] and ].<ref>{{cite AV media |people = Bob Chipman |title = Really That Good: SUPERMAN (1978) |medium = YouTube |publisher = Moviebob Central |date=2016 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bitnitV078U |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/bitnitV078U |archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Scivally|2007}}. ''Superman on Film, Television, Radio and Broadway'', p. 90</ref><ref>{{harvp|Tye|2012}}. ''Superman'', p. 197</ref> | |||
* The 1978 film spawned three sequels: '']'' (1980), '']'' (1983), '']'' (1987). | |||
* In 2006, '']'' was released, designed after the 1978–1987 film series. Superman was portrayed by ], who later reprised his role in the ] crossover '']'' (2019–2020). | |||
* Superman has appeared in a series of ] animated films produced by ] called ], beginning with '']'' in 2007. Many of these movies are adaptations of popular comic book stories. | |||
* Superman appeared in the theatrical animated feature film '']'' (2018), voiced by ]. | |||
* Superman appeared in the theatrical animated feature film '']'' (2022), voiced by ]. | |||
==== DC Extended Universe ==== | |||
* In 2013, '']'' was released by Warner Bros. as a ] of the film series, starring ] as ]. | |||
* A sequel, '']'' (2016), featured Superman alongside ] and ], making it the first theatrical film in which Superman appeared alongside other superheroes from the ]. | |||
* Cavill reprised his role in ] (2017) and its ] (2021). | |||
* This version of Superman also makes cameos in '']'' (2019) and in the first season finale of the TV series '']'' (2022) but portrayed by stand-ins for Cavill. | |||
* Cavill makes an uncredited ] as Superman in the ] of the film '']'' (2022). | |||
* ] makes a cameo appearance as an alternate version of Superman in the film '']'' (2023), Cage shooting his scenes through ], before he was ] with ] (CGI).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharf |first=Zack |date=May 24, 2023 |title={{'}}''The Flash''{{'}} Director Just Announced the Movie's Most Shocking Cameo That's Decades in the Making |url=https://variety.com/2023/film/news/the-flash-cameo-nicolas-cage-superman-1235623843/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524140320/https://variety.com/2023/film/news/the-flash-cameo-nicolas-cage-superman-1235623843/ |archive-date=May 24, 2023 |access-date=May 24, 2023 |website=] }}</ref> Cavill, ], and ] also cameo as their respective versions of Superman through the use of CGI representing their likenesses, Cavill having filmed additional scenes as the character for the film which ] during post-production. | |||
====DC Universe==== | |||
*A new reboot of the film series, '']'', is in development, to be set in the ] (DCU) franchise. The film was written and directed by ] and produced by ], and is set to release on July 11, 2025. On June 27, 2023, ] was cast as Superman in the film. | |||
===Television=== | |||
] portrays Superman in '']''. After appearing in film, he became the first to star as Superman in television.]] | |||
* '']'', which aired from 1952 to 1958, was the first television series based on a superhero. It starred ] as Superman. Whereas the radio serial was aimed at children, this television show was aimed at a general audience,<ref>Bernard Luber, quoted in ''Flights of Fantasy'' {{harv|Hayde|2009}}: "The show wasn't strictly for youngsters. We offered the dream of every man – to fly, to be super."</ref><ref>{{harvp|Scivally|2007|p=52}}: "...Robert Maxwell hoped for an adult time slot, so he made Superman an adult show, with death scenes and rough violence."</ref> although children made up the majority of viewers. Robert Maxwell, who produced ], was the producer for the first season. For the second season, Maxwell was replaced with Whitney Ellsworth. Ellsworth toned down the violence of the show to make it more suitable for children, though he still aimed for a general audience. This show was extremely popular in Japan, where it achieved an audience share rating of 74.2% in 1958.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Jonathan |last1=Clements |first2=Motoko |last2=Tamamuro |year=2003 |title=The Dorama Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese TV Drama Since 1953 |publisher=Stone Bridge Press |isbn=9781880656815 |page=200}}</ref> | |||
* His first animated television series was '']'', which aired from 1966 to 1970. The show also feature a seven-minute part focused on Superboy named ''].'' | |||
* Starting in 1974, Superman was one of the leading characters in the ]-produced animated series '']'' and all its sequels until 1986. | |||
* To celebrate his 50th anniversary, ] produced an animated series partially based on ''Superman'' (1978) and post-Crisis Superman comics created by John Byrne. The model sheets for '']'' (1988) were drawn by legendary comics artist ] and most of the episodes were written by comics writer ]. | |||
* '']'' aired from 1988 to 1992. It was produced by Alexander and Ilya Salkind, the same men who had produced the Superman films starring ]. | |||
* '']'' aired from 1993 to 1997. This show was aimed at adults and focused on the relationship between Clark Kent and Lois Lane as much as Superman's heroics.<ref name=Scivally2007/> ] played Superman, and ] played Lois. | |||
* '']'' aired from 2001 to 2011. The show was targeted at young adults.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Beeler |first=Stan |title=From Comic Book To Bildungsroman: Smallville, Narrative, And The Education Of A Young Hero |editor-last=Geraghty |editor-first=Lincoln |encyclopedia=The Smallville Chronicles: Critical Essays on the Television Series |year=2011 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=9780810881303 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Kate|last=Aurthur|date=May 20, 2006 |title= Young Male Viewers Lift Ratings for 'Smallville' |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/20/arts/television/20smal.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060612232145/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/20/arts/television/20smal.html |archive-date=June 12, 2006 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=]|access-date=October 26, 2020 }}</ref> Played by ], the series covered Clark Kent's life prior to becoming Superman, spanning ten years from his high school years in Smallville to his early life in Metropolis. Although Clark engages in heroics, he does not wear a costume, nor does he call himself Superboy. Rather, he relies on misdirection and his blinding speed to avoid being recognized. Later seasons find him becoming a public hero called the Red-Blue Blur, eventually shortened to the Blur, in a proto-Justice League before taking on the mantle of Superman. | |||
* '']'' (with the voice of ] as the adult character) aired from 1996 to 2000. After the show's conclusion, this version of Superman appeared in the sequel shows '']'' (voiced by ]) aired from 1999 to 2001 and '']'' and '']'' (voiced by ]), which ran from 2001 to 2006. All of these shows were produced by ]. This was the most successful and longest-running animated version of Superman.<ref name=Scivally2007/> | |||
* In the Arrowverse, Earth-38 Superman (played by ]), appears as a special guest star in several television series: '']'', '']'', '']'' and '']''. | |||
* Hoechlin also played his Arrowverse doppelgänger on '']'' that is set outside of Earth-Prime. | |||
* Superman appears as an ensemble character in the animated show '']''. He also appears as a guest character in other animated shows such as '']'' and ]. | |||
* The 2023 animated series '']'' depicts a young Superman (played by ]) at the start of his career, through the eyes of a reimagined ], with elements of ] alongside the standard action-adventure and science fiction tropes. | |||
===Video games=== | |||
{{Main|List of video games featuring Superman}} | |||
* The first electronic game was simply titled '']'', and released in 1979 for the ]. | |||
* The last game fully centered on Superman was the adaptation of '']'' in 2006. | |||
* From 2006 to present, Superman appeared in a co-starring role, such as the '']'' game series (2013–present). | |||
==Merchandising== | |||
DC Comics trademarked the Superman chest logo in August 1938.<ref name=Gordon2017/> ] established Superman, Inc. in October 1939 to develop the franchise beyond the comic books.<ref name=Tye2012/> Superman, Inc. merged with DC Comics in October 1946.<ref name=FindingsOfFact>J. Addison Young, "Findings of Fact" (April 12, 1948), in ''Jerome Siegel and Joseph Shuster vs. National Comics Publications Inc. et al. (New York Supreme Court 1947)'' ()</ref> After DC Comics merged with Warner Communications in 1967, licensing for Superman was handled by the Licensing Corporation of America.<ref>{{harvp|Gordon|2017}}. ''Superman: The Persistence of an American Icon'' p. 162</ref> | |||
The Licensing Letter (an American market research firm) estimated that Superman licensed merchandise made $634 million in sales globally in 2018 (43.3% of this revenue came from the North American market). For comparison, in the same year, ] merchandise made $1.075 billion and ] merchandise made $1.923 billion globally.<ref name="thelicensingletter">{{cite web |title=Retail Sales of Licensed Merchandise Based on $100 Million+ Entertainment/Character Properties |url=https://www.thelicensingletter.com/100mil-chart/ |access-date=August 7, 2018 |website=The Licensing Letter |date=July 23, 2018}}</ref> | |||
The earliest paraphernalia appeared in 1939: a button proclaiming membership in the Supermen of America club. The first toy was a wooden doll in 1939 made by the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.supermanhomepage.com/comics/comics.php?topic=articles/superb-manifestations |first=Ian|last= Anthony |title=Superb Manifestations: Five Anniversaries Converge In 2003 For Superman |website=Superman Homepage |date=Nov 2003 |access-date=August 7, 2018}}</ref> ''Superman'' #5 (May 1940) carried an advertisement for a "Krypto-Raygun", which was a gun-shaped device that could project images on a wall.<ref>{{harvp|Gordon|2017}}. ''Superman: The Persistence of an American Icon'' p. 146</ref> The majority of Superman merchandise is targeted at children, but since the 1970s, adults have been increasingly targeted because the comic book readership has gotten older.<ref>{{harvp|Gordon|2017}}. ''Superman: The Persistence of an American Icon'' pp. 162–165</ref> | |||
During ], Superman was used to support the war effort. ''Action Comics'' and ''Superman'' carried messages urging readers to buy ]s and participate in ].<ref>{{harvp|Gordon|2017}}. ''Superman: The Persistence of an American Icon'', p. 155</ref> Other ]es became patriots who went to fight: ], ] and ]. | |||
==Copyright issues== | |||
===Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster=== | |||
{{Main|Copyright lawsuits by Superman's creators}} | |||
In a contract dated March 1, 1938, ] and ] gave away the copyright to Superman to their employer, ] (then known as Detective Comics, Inc.){{efn|National Allied Publications was founded in 1934 by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson. Due to financial difficulties, Wheeler-Nicholson formed a corporation with Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz called Detective Comics, Inc. In January 1938, Wheeler-Nicholson sold his stake in National Allied Publications and Detective Comics to Donenfeld and Liebowitz as part of a bankruptcy settlement. On September 30, 1946, these two companies merged to become National Comics Publications. In 1961, the company changed its name to National Periodical Publications. In 1967 National Periodical Publications was purchased by Kinney National Company, which later purchased Warner Bros.-Seven Arts and became Warner Communications. In 1976, National Periodical Publications changed its name to DC Comics, which had been its nickname since 1940. Since 1940, the publisher had placed a logo with the initials "DC" on all its magazine covers, and consequently "DC Comics" became an informal name for the publisher.|name=dccomicshistory}} prior to Superman's first publication in April. Contrary to popular perception, the $130 that DC Comics paid them was for their first Superman story, not the copyright to the character — that, they gave away for free. This was normal practice in the comic magazine industry and they had done the same with their previous published works (], ], etc.),<ref name=Jones2004p125/> but Superman became far more popular and valuable than they anticipated and they much regretted giving him away.<ref>{{harvp|Ricca|2014}}. ''Super Boys'', p. 150: "It was then Donenfeld who not only now owned the property, but received the lion's share of the profits; whatever Jerry and Joe got was parsed out by him."</ref> DC Comics retained Siegel and Shuster, and they were paid well because they were popular with the readers.<ref>{{harvp|Ricca|2014}}. ''Super Boys'', p. 155: " knew readers had become accustomed to Siegel and Shuster's work, and he didn't want to risk upsetting a secret formula that he still didn't completely understand, especially when it was selling so well."</ref> Between 1938 and 1947, DC Comics paid them together at least $401,194.85 (equivalent to ${{sigfig|{{sum | |||
|{{Inflation|US|4530|1938}} | |||
|{{Inflation|US|8612.21|1939}} | |||
|{{Inflation|US|38080.42|1940}} | |||
|{{Inflation|US|56573.48|1941}} | |||
|{{Inflation|US|63776.46|1942}} | |||
|{{Inflation|US|61489.90|1943}} | |||
|{{Inflation|US|57638.52|1944}} | |||
|{{Inflation|US|48794.46|1945}} | |||
|{{Inflation|US|49938.58|1946}} | |||
|{{Inflation|US|11148.82|1947}} | |||
}} | |||
|3 | |||
}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}).<ref>{{harvp|Tye|2012}}. ''Superman'', p. 119: "In the ten years from 1938, when the first Action was published, to the filing of the suit in 1947, Jerry and Joe were paid a total of $401,194.85."</ref><ref>Exhibit Q (Docket 353–3) in ''Laura Siegel Larson v Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., DC Comics, Case no. 13-56243'' (Scans available from and ). Originally submitted as an exhibit in ''Jerome Siegel and Joseph Shuster vs. National Comics Publications Inc. et al. (New York Supreme Court 1947)''</ref> | |||
Siegel wrote most of the magazine and daily newspaper stories until he was ] into the ] in 1943, whereupon the task was passed to ghostwriters.<ref>Jerry Siegel. ''The Life and Times of Jerry Siegel'' (unpublished memoir, written c.1946; Scans available at and {{Dead link|date=April 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}): <br />"While I was in service, the majority of SUPERMAN's adventures were ghost-written by writers employed by DETECTIVE COMICS, Inc.</ref><ref>Jerry Siegel, in a 1975 interview with Phil Yeh for ''Cobblestone'' magazine. Quoted in on page 49.: <br />"While I was in the service they started ghosting the Superman scripts, because obviously I couldn't write them while I was away in the service."</ref> While Siegel was serving in Hawaii, DC Comics published a story featuring a child version of Superman called "]", which was based on a script Siegel had submitted several years before. Siegel was furious because DC Comics did this without having bought the character.<ref>{{harvp|Ricca|2014}}. ''Super Boys'', p. 223: "Jerry felt angryand instantly very isolated: ''Harry had gone ahead and okayed the title without telling him—or paying for it''?"</ref> | |||
After Siegel's discharge from the Army, he and Shuster sued DC Comics in 1947 for the rights to Superman and ]. The judge ruled that Superman belonged to DC Comics, but that Superboy was a separate entity that belonged to Siegel. Siegel and Shuster settled out-of-court with DC Comics, which paid the pair $94,013.16 ({{Inflation|US|94013.16|1948|fmt=eq}}) in exchange for the full rights to both Superman and Superboy.<ref name=Sergi2015/> DC Comics then fired Siegel and Shuster.<ref>{{harvp|Ricca|2014}}. ''Super Boys'', p. 226: "Jerry and Joe got a final check—and were promptly shown the door by National."</ref> | |||
DC Comics rehired Jerry Siegel as a writer in 1959. | |||
In 1965, Siegel and Shuster attempted to regain rights to Superman using the renewal option in the ], but the court ruled Siegel and Shuster had transferred the renewal rights to DC Comics in 1938. Siegel and Shuster appealed, but the appeals court upheld this decision. DC Comics fired Siegel once again, when he filed this second lawsuit.<ref>{{harvnb|Ricca|2014}}</ref> | |||
In 1975, Siegel and several other comic book writers and artists launched a public campaign for better compensation and treatment of comic creators. Warner Brothers agreed to give Siegel and Shuster a yearly stipend, full medical benefits, and credit their names in all future Superman productions in exchange for never contesting ownership of Superman. Siegel and Shuster upheld this bargain.<ref name=Ricca2014/> | |||
Shuster died in 1992. DC Comics offered Shuster's heirs a stipend in exchange for never challenging ownership of Superman, which they accepted for some years.<ref name=Sergi2015/> | |||
Siegel died in 1996. His heirs attempted to take the rights to Superman using the termination provision of the ]. DC Comics negotiated an agreement wherein it would pay the Siegel heirs several million dollars and a yearly stipend of $500,000 in exchange for permanently granting DC the rights to Superman. DC Comics also agreed to insert the line "By Special Arrangement with the Jerry Siegel Family" in all future Superman productions.<ref>Exhibit 2 (Docket 722–1) in ''Laura Siegel Larson vs Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., DC Comics, case no 13-56243''.</ref> The Siegels accepted DC's offer in an October 2001 letter.<ref name=Sergi2015/> | |||
Copyright lawyer and movie producer ] then struck a deal with the heirs of both Siegel and Shuster to help them get the rights to Superman in exchange for signing the rights over to his production company, Pacific Pictures. Both groups accepted. The Siegel heirs called off their deal with DC Comics and in 2004 sued DC for the rights to Superman and Superboy. In 2008, the judge ruled in favor of the Siegels. DC Comics appealed the decision, and the appeals court ruled in favor of DC, arguing that the October 2001 letter was binding. In 2003, the Shuster heirs served a termination notice for Shuster's grant of his half of the copyright to Superman. DC Comics sued the Shuster heirs in 2010, and the court ruled in DC's favor on the grounds that the 1992 agreement with the Shuster heirs barred them from terminating the grant.<ref name=Sergi2015/> | |||
Under current US copyright law, Superman is due to enter the public domain on January 1, 2034.<ref>{{harvp|Sergi|2015|p=214}}</ref>{{efn|See . Because the copyright to ''Action Comics'' #1 was in its renewal term on October 27, 1998 (the date the Copyright Term Extension Act became effective), its copyright will expire 95 years after first publication and at the end of the calendar year.}} However, this will only apply (at first) to the character as he is depicted in '']'' ], which was published in 1938. Versions of him with later developments, such as his power of "heat vision", may persist under copyright until the works they were introduced in enter the public domain.<ref>{{cite AV media|people=Scott Niswander |date=July 22, 2015 |title=Why Isn't SUPERMAN a PUBLIC DOMAIN Superhero?? |medium=YouTube video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzZIQJMYKc8 |access-date=May 21, 2016 |time=3:03~3:33 |publisher=NerdSync Productions |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122232638/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzZIQJMYKc8 |archive-date=November 22, 2016 }}</ref> Lois Lane, who also debuted in ''Action Comics'' #1, is expected to enter public domain in 2034, but supporting characters introduced in later publications, such as ] and ], will pass into the public domain at later dates. | |||
===Captain Marvel=== | |||
{{See also|National Comics Publications v. Fawcett Publications}} | |||
Superman's success immediately begat a wave of imitations. The most successful is ], first published by ] in December 1939. Captain Marvel had many similarities to Superman: Herculean strength, invulnerability, the ability to fly, a cape, a secret identity, and a job as a journalist. DC Comics filed a lawsuit against Fawcett Comics for copyright infringement.{{fact|date=May 2022}} | |||
The trial began in March 1948 after seven years of ]. The judge ruled that Fawcett had indeed infringed on Superman. However, the judge also found that the copyright notices that appeared with the Superman newspaper strips did not meet the technical standards of the ] and were therefore invalid. Furthermore, since the newspaper strips carried stories adapted from ''Action Comics'', the judge ruled that DC Comics had effectively abandoned the copyright to the ''Action Comics'' stories and Superman, and therefore forfeited its right to sue Fawcett for copyright infringement.<ref name="Sergi2015"/> | |||
DC Comics appealed this decision. The appeals court ruled that unintentional mistakes in the copyright notices of the newspaper strips did not invalidate the copyrights. Furthermore, Fawcett knew that DC Comics never intended to abandon the copyrights, and therefore Fawcett's infringement was not an innocent misunderstanding, and therefore Fawcett owed damages to DC Comics.{{efn|See § 20}} The appeals court remanded the case back to the lower court to determine how much Fawcett owed in damages.<ref name="Sergi2015"/> | |||
At that point, Fawcett Comics decided to settle out of court with DC Comics. Fawcett paid DC Comics {{US$|400000|1953|round=-3|long=no}} and agreed to stop publishing Captain Marvel. The last Captain Marvel story from Fawcett Comics was published in September 1953.<ref>''The Marvel Family'' #89. Copyright date registered as September 25, 1953. <br />See . United States Library of Congress. 1954. p. 268.</ref> | |||
DC Comics licensed Captain Marvel in 1972 and published crossover stories with Superman. By 1991, DC Comics had purchased Fawcett Comics and with it the full rights to Captain Marvel. DC eventually renamed the character "Shazam" to prevent disputes with ], who had created ] back when the Fawcett character had lingered in limbo.<ref name="AlterEgo9Article">{{cite journal |last1 = Thomas |first1 = Roy |author-link1=Roy Thomas|first2= Jerry|last2= Ordway|author-link2=Jerry Ordway|title = Not Your Father's Captain Marvel! An Artist-by-Artist Account of a Doomed Quest for a 1980s Shazam! Series |journal =Alter Ego |volume = 3 |issue = 9 |pages = 9–17 |publisher = Two Morrows Publishing|location = Raleigh, North Carolina |date = July 2001}}</ref> | |||
==Character overview== | |||
Several elements of the ''Superman'' narrative have remained consistent in the myriad stories published since 1938. | |||
===Superman=== | |||
In '']'' ] (1938), Superman is born on an alien world to a technologically advanced species that resembles humans. Shortly after he is born, his planet is destroyed in a natural cataclysm, but his scientist father foresaw the calamity and saves his baby son by sending him to Earth in a small spaceship. The ship is too small to carry anyone else, so Superman's parents stay behind and die. The earliest newspaper strips name the planet Krypton, the baby Kal-L, and his biological parents Jor-L and Lora;<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161008215921/http://www.thespeedingbullet.com/daily/ep01_15/episode1_1.jpg |date=October 8, 2016 }}, reprinted at {{cite web|url=http://www.thespeedingbullet.com/daily/ep01_15/ep1.html |title=Episode 1: Superman Comes to Earth |publisher=TheSpeedingBullet.com |access-date=March 27, 2016 |archive-date=March 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306164334/http://www.thespeedingbullet.com/daily/ep01_15/ep1.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> their names were changed to Jor-el, and Lara in a 1942 spinoff novel by George Lowther.<ref>Lowther, George (1942). ''The Adventures of Superman''. Per {{harvp|Ricca|2014|p=204}}: "The book is also the first time that Superman's parents are named "Jor-el" and "Lara"—a slight spelling change that would stick."</ref> The ship lands in the American countryside, where the baby is discovered by the Kents, a farming couple. | |||
The Kents name the boy Clark and raise him in a farming community. A 1947 episode of the radio serial places this yet unnamed community in Iowa.<ref>''The Secret Rocket'' per {{cite web|url=http://www.supermanhomepage.com/radio/radio.php?topic=radio-reviews/102347-secretrocket |title=Superman Radio Series – Story Reviews |publisher=SupermanHomepage.com |first=James |last=Lantz |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160626134324/http://supermanhomepage.com/radio/radio.php?topic=radio-reviews%2F102347-secretrocket |archive-date=June 26, 2016 }}</ref> It is named ] in ''Superboy'' #2 (June 1949). The ] placed it in Kansas, as have most Superman stories since.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blastr.com/2012/09/the_campaign_to_make_a_re.php|title=The campaign to make a real Kansas town into Superman's Smallville|first=Matthew |last=Jackson|date=December 17, 2012|access-date=March 22, 2016 |publisher=Blastr.com (]) |quote=Decades of comic book mythology and a hit TV series have made Superman's hometown of Smallville, Kan., one of the most famous places in America. |archive-date= March 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322225128/http://www.blastr.com/2012/09/the_campaign_to_make_a_re.php |url-status=live}}</ref> ''New Adventures of Superboy'' #22 (Oct. 1981) places it in Maryland. | |||
In ''Action Comics'' #1 and most stories published before 1986, Superman's powers begin developing in infancy. From 1944 to 1986, DC Comics regularly published stories of Superman's childhood and adolescent adventures, when he called himself "]". From 1986 on (beginning with ''Man of Steel'' #1), Superman's powers emerged more slowly and he began his superhero career as an adult. | |||
The Kents teach Clark he must conceal his otherworldly origins and use his fantastic powers to do good. Clark creates the costumed identity of Superman so as to protect his personal privacy and the safety of his loved ones. As Clark Kent, he wears eyeglasses to disguise his face and wears his Superman costume underneath his clothes so that he can change at a moment's notice. To complete this disguise, Clark avoids violent confrontation, preferring to slip away and change into Superman when danger arises, and in older stories he would suffer occasional ridicule for his apparent cowardice. | |||
In ''Superboy'' #78 (1960), Superboy makes his costume out of the indestructible blankets found in the ship he came to Earth in. In ''Man of Steel'' #1 (1986), Martha Kent makes the costume from human-manufactured cloth, and it is rendered indestructible by an aura that Superman projects. The "S" on Superman's chest at first was simply an initial for "Superman". When writing the script for ], ] made it the crest of Superman's Kryptonian family, the House of El.<ref name=MankiewiczCrane2012p203/> This was carried over into some comic book stories and later movies, such as '']''. In the comic story '']'', the crest is described as an old Kryptonian symbol for hope. | |||
Clark works as a newspaper journalist. In the earliest stories, he worked for ''The Daily Star'', but the second episode of ] changed this to the '']''. In comics from the early 1970s, Clark worked as a television journalist, which was an attempt to modernize the character. However, for ], the producers chose to make Clark a newspaper journalist again because that was how most people outside of comic book readers knew him.<ref name=Daniels1998/> | |||
The first story in which Superman dies was published in ''Superman'' #149 (1961), in which he is murdered by Lex Luthor by means of kryptonite. This story was "imaginary" and therefore was ignored in subsequent books. In ''Superman'' #188 (April 1966), Superman is killed by kryptonite radiation but is revived in the same issue by one of ]. In the 1990s '']'' story arc, after a deadly battle with ], Superman died in ''Superman'' #75 (Jan. 1993). He was later revived by the ] using Kryptonian technology. In ''Superman'' #52 (May 2016) Superman is killed by kryptonite poisoning, and this time he is not resurrected, but replaced by the Superman of an alternate timeline. | |||
Superman maintains a secret hideout called the "Fortress of Solitude", which is located somewhere in the Arctic. Here, Superman keeps a collection of mementos and a laboratory for science experiments. ''Action Comics'' #241 (1958) depicts the Fortress of Solitude as a cave in a mountain, sealed with a very heavy door that is opened with a gigantic key too heavy for anyone but Superman to use. In the 1978 movie, the Fortress of Solitude is a structure made of white crystal. | |||
===Clark Kent=== | |||
{{redirect|Clark Kent}} | |||
Superman's ] is Clark Joseph Kent, a reporter for the '']''. Although his name and history originate from his early life with his adoptive Earth parents, everything about Clark was staged for the benefit of his alternate identity: as a reporter for the '']'', he receives late-breaking news before the general public, always has a plausible reason to be present at crime scenes, and need not strictly account for his whereabouts as long as he makes his publication deadlines. He sees his job as a journalist as an extension of his Superman responsibilities—bringing truth to the forefront and fighting for the little guy. He believes that everybody has the right to know what is going on in the world, regardless of who is involved.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.batman-superman.com/superman/cmp/index.html |title=The New Batman/Superman Adventures |publisher=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202074631/http://www.batman-superman.com/superman/cmp/index.html |archive-date=February 2, 2007}}</ref> In the ], Clark Kent was featured in a series that appeared primarily in '']'', "The Private Life of Clark Kent" where Superman dealt with various situations subtly while remaining Clark. | |||
To deflect suspicion that he is Superman, Clark Kent adopted a mainly passive and introverted personality with conservative mannerisms, a higher-pitched voice, and a slight slouch. This personality is typically described as "mild-mannered", as in the opening narration of ]'s ]. These traits extended into Clark's wardrobe, which typically consists of a bland-colored business suit, a red necktie, black-rimmed glasses, combed-back hair, and occasionally a ]. Clark wears his Superman costume underneath his street clothes, allowing easy changes between the two ]e and the dramatic gesture of ripping open his shirt to reveal the familiar "S" emblem when called into action. His hair also changes with the clothing change, with Superman sporting a small curl or ] on his forehead. Superman usually stores his Clark Kent clothing compressed in a secret pouch within his cape,<ref>{{Cite comic |penciller=John Sikela|story=The Origin of Superboy's Costume! |title=Superboy |volume=1 |issue=78 |date=January 1960 |publisher=] |location=New York, NY}}</ref> though some stories have shown him leaving his clothes in some covert location (such as the ''Daily Planet'' storeroom)<ref>{{Cite comic |writer=] |penciller=] |inker=Owens, Andy |story=Truth |title=Superman: The 10¢ Adventure |volume=1 |issue=1 |date=March 2003 |publisher=] |location=New York, NY}}</ref> for later retrieval. | |||
As Superman's ], the personality, concept, and name of Clark Kent have become synonymous with ] and innocuous fronts for ulterior motives and activities. In 1992, Superman co-creator Joe Shuster told the ''Toronto Star'' that the name derived from 1930s cinematic leading men ] and ], but the persona from bespectacled silent film comic ] and himself.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://davidschutz.tripod.com/superman3.html |title=When Superman Worked at The Star |last=Schutz |first=David |website=The Adventures of Superman |date=April 26, 1992 |access-date=December 25, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100717013550/http://davidschutz.tripod.com/superman3.html |archive-date=July 17, 2010 }}</ref> Clark's middle name is given variously as either Joseph, Jerome, or Jonathan, all being allusions to creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. | |||
===Personality=== | ===Personality=== | ||
In the original Siegel and Shuster stories, Superman's personality is rough and aggressive. He often uses excessive force and terror against criminals, on some occasions even killing them. This came to an end in late 1940 when new editor ] instituted a code of conduct for his characters to follow, banning Superman from ever killing.<ref name="TCS42">{{harvp|Daniels|1998}}. ''Superman: The Complete History'', p. 42</ref> The character was softened and given a sense of ]. Ellsworth's code, however, is not to be confused with "]", which was created in 1954 by the ] and ultimately abandoned by every major comic book publisher by the early 21st century. | |||
In the original Siegel and Shuster stories, Superman's personality is rough and destructive. The character was seen stepping in to stop wife beaters, profiteers, a ] and gangsters, with rather rough edges and a looser moral code than audiences may be used to today.<ref name="60Y2223"/> Later writers have softened the character, and instilled a sense of idealism and moral code of conduct. Although not as cold-blooded as the early ], the Superman featured in the comics of the 1930s is unconcerned about the harm his strength may cause, tossing villainous characters in such a manner that fatalities would presumably occur, although these were seldom shown explicitly on the page. This came to an end late in 1940, when new editor ] instituted a code of conduct for his characters to follow, banning Superman from ever killing.<ref name="TCS42"/> | |||
In his first appearances, Superman was considered a vigilante by the authorities, being fired upon by the National Guard as he razed a slum so that the government would create better housing conditions for the poor. By 1942, however, Superman was working side-by-side with the police.<ref name="Weldon33"/><ref>{{harvp|Weldon|2013}}. ''Superman the Unauthorized Biography'', p. 55</ref> Today, Superman is commonly seen as a brave and kind-hearted hero with a strong sense of justice, morality, and righteousness. He adheres to an unwavering moral code instilled in him by his adoptive parents.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/Superman.html |title=The religion of Superman (Clark Kent / Kal-El) |work=Adherents.com |date=August 14, 2007 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120828014317/http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/Superman.html |archive-date=August 28, 2012 }}</ref> His commitment to operating within the law has been an example to many citizens and other heroes, but has stirred resentment and criticism among others, who refer to him as the "big blue boy scout". Superman can be rather rigid in this trait, causing tensions in the superhero community.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite comic |Writer = ] |Penciller = ] |Title = ] |Volume =2 |Story = Affirmative Defense |Issue = 220 |date = Oct. 2005 |Publisher=DC Comics }}</ref> This was most notable with ], one of his closest friends, after she killed ].<ref name="ReferenceA"/> ] initially had an icy relationship with the Man of Steel but grew to respect him.<ref>''Action Comics'' #594 (1987)</ref> | |||
In '']'' #3, ] thinks, "It is a remarkable dichotomy. In many ways, Clark is the most human of us all. Then...he shoots fire from the skies, and it is difficult not to think of him as a god. And how fortunate we all are that it does not occur to '''him'''."<ref>{{Comic book reference | Writer = ] | Penciller = ] | Inker = ] | Title = ] | Volume =1 | Story = Running Wild | Issue = 3 | Date = December 2003 | Publisher = ] }}</ref> | |||
Having lost his home world of Krypton, Superman is very protective of Earth,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.academia.edu/8360363 |title=Why They Won't Save Us: Political Dispositions in the Conflicts of Superheroes |first=Woody |last=Evans |author-link=Woody Evans |date=2014}}{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and especially of Clark Kent's family and friends. This same loss, combined with the pressure of using his powers responsibly, has caused Superman to feel ] on Earth, despite having his friends and parents. Previous encounters with people he thought to be fellow Kryptonians, ]<ref>{{cite comic |Writer = ] |Penciller = ] |Inker = ] |Title = JSA: Classified |Volume =1 |Story = Power Trip |Issue = 1 |date = September 2005 |Publisher=DC Comics }}</ref> and ],<ref>{{cite comic |Writer = ] ] |Penciller = ] |Inker = ] |Title = Action Comics Annual |Volume =1 |Story = Who is Clark Kent's Big Brother? |Issue = 10 |date = March 2007 |Publisher=DC Comics }}</ref> have led to disappointment. The arrival of ], who has been confirmed to be his cousin from Krypton, relieved this loneliness somewhat.<ref>{{cite comic |Writer = ], ], ] |Penciller = Guedes, Renato |Inker = Magalhaes, Jose Wilson |Title = Action Comics |Volume =1 |Story = Superman: Family |Issue = 850 |date = July 2007 |Publisher=DC Comics }}</ref> Superman's ] acts as a place of ] for him in times of loneliness and despair.<ref name="dc-ency">{{Cite book |last=Wallace |first=Dan |contribution=Alternate Earths |editor-last=Dougall |editor-first=Alastair |title=The DC Comics Encyclopedia |pages=20–21 |publisher=] |location=] |date=2008 |isbn=978-0-7566-4119-1}}</ref> | |||
==Powers and abilities== | |||
{{main|Powers and abilities of Superman}} | |||
As an influential archetype of the superhero genre, Superman possesses extraordinary powers, with the character traditionally described as "faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound", a phrase coined by ] and first used in the ''Superman'' radio serials and ] animated shorts of the 1940s<ref>{{cite news | title= Obituaries of note | date= ], ] | work= ] | url= http://www.sptimes.com/2003/09/25/Worldandnation/Obituaries_of_note.shtml | publisher=] | accessdate = 2006-12-08}}</ref> as well as the TV series of the 1950s. For most of his existence, Superman's famous arsenal of powers include ], ], invulnerability, super-speed, vision powers (including ], ], telescopic, infra-red, and microscopic vision), super-hearing, and super-breath, which enables him to freeze objects by blowing on them, as well as exert the propulsive force of high-speed winds.<ref name="60Y80">Daniels (1995), p. 80.</ref> | |||
===Abilities and weaknesses<!--'Heat vision (fiction)' redirects here-->=== | |||
As originally conceived and presented in his early stories, Superman's powers were relatively limited, consisting of superhuman strength that allowed him to lift a car over his head, run at amazing speeds and leap one-eighth of a mile, as well as incredibly tough skin that could be pierced by nothing less than an exploding artillery shell.<ref name="60Y80"/> Siegel and Shuster compared his strength and leaping abilities to an ] and a ].<ref>{{Comic book reference | Writer = ] | Artist =] | Story = A Scientific Explanation of Superman's Amazing Strength--! | Title = Superman | Volume = 1 | Issue = 1 | Date = Summer 1939 | Publisher = ] }}</ref> When making the cartoons, the ] found it difficult to keep animating him leaping and requested to DC to change his ability to flying.<ref>], ], ] (Interviewees). (2006). "First Flight: The Fleischer Superman Series" (supplementary DVD documentary). '']'' (Two-Disc Special Edition) . ].</ref> Writers gradually increased his powers to larger extents during the ], in which Superman could fly to other worlds and galaxies and even across universes with relative ease.<ref name="60Y80"/> He would often fly across the solar system to stop meteors from hitting the Earth, or sometimes just to clear his head. Writers found it increasingly difficult to write Superman stories in which the character was believably challenged,<ref name="TCS133">Daniels (1998), p. 133.</ref> so ] made a series of attempts to rein the character in. The most significant attempt, ]'s 1986 rewrite, established several hard limits on his abilities: He barely survives a nuclear blast, and his space flights are limited by how long he can hold his breath.<ref name="AH96">{{cite journal | last =Sanderson | first =Peter | year =1986 | month =June | title = The End of History | journal =Amazing Heroes | issue =96 | id ={{ISSN|0745-6506}} }}</ref> Superman's power levels have again increased since then, with Superman currently possessing enough strength to hurl a mountain and withstand nuclear blasts with ease. | |||
The catalog of Superman's abilities and his strength has varied considerably over the vast body of Superman fiction released since 1938. | |||
Since '']'' ] (1938), Superman has superhuman strength. The cover of ''Action Comics'' #1 shows him effortlessly lifting a car over his head. Another classic feat of strength on Superman's part is breaking steel chains. In some stories, he is strong enough to shift the orbits of planets<ref>Example: ''DC Comics Presents'' #3 (1978)</ref> and crush coal into diamond with his hands. | |||
The source of Superman's powers has changed subtly over the course of his history. It was originally stated that Superman's abilities derived from his Kryptonian heritage, which made him eons more evolved than ].<ref name="TCS42"/> This was soon amended, with the source for the powers now based upon the establishment of ]'s ] as having been stronger than that of the ]. This situation mirrors that of ]' ]. As Superman's powers increased, the implication that all Kryptonians had possessed the same abilities became problematic for writers, making it doubtful that a race of such beings could have been wiped out by something as trifling as an exploding planet. In part to counter this, the Superman writers established that Kryptonians, whose native star ] had been red, only possessed superpowers under the light of a yellow ].<ref>{{cite web | url =http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13556951/ | title =Sex and the Superman | accessdate =2007-01-26 | last =Lundegaard | first =Erik | date = ], ] | publisher =] | quote =Even his origin kept changing. Initially Krypton was populated by a race of supermen whose physical structure was millions of years more advanced than our own. Eventually the red sun/yellow sun dynamic was introduced. }}</ref> More recent stories have attempted to find a balance between the two explanations. | |||
Since ''Action Comics'' #1 (1938), Superman has a highly durable body, invulnerable for most practical purposes. At the very least, bullets bounce harmlessly off his body. In some stories, such as ], not even a nuclear bomb can harm him. | |||
Superman is most vulnerable to ], mineral debris from ] transformed into radioactive material by the forces that destroyed the planet. Exposure to ] radiation nullifies Superman's powers and immobilizes him with pain; prolonged exposure will eventually kill him. The only mineral on Earth that can protect him from Kryptonite is lead, which blocks the radiation. Kryptonite was first introduced to the public in 1943 as a ] to allow the radio serial ], ], to take some time off.<ref name="TIME14388"/> Green Kryptonite is the most commonly seen form but writers introduced other forms over the years, such as red, gold, blue and black, each with its own effect.<ref name="TCS106107">Daniels (1998), pp. 106-107.</ref> | |||
In the earliest stories, Superman's costume is made out of exotic materials that are as tough as he is, which is why it typically does not tear up when he performs superhuman feats. In later stories, beginning with ''Man of Steel'' #1 (1986), Superman's body is said to project an aura that renders invulnerable any tight-fitting clothes he wears, and hence his costume is as durable as he is even if made of common cloth. | |||
==Supporting cast== | |||
{{main|Superman character and cast}} | |||
In ''Action Comics'' #1, Superman could not fly. He traveled by running and leaping, which he could do to a prodigious degree thanks to his strength. Superman gained the ability to fly in the second episode of ] in 1940.<ref name=radioserialep2>{{Cite episode |title=Clark Kent, Reporter |series=The Adventures of Superman |number=2 |station=WOR |date=February 14, 1940}}: <br />–''Look! Look! There, in the sky! It's a man!'' <br />–''Why, he's flying!'' <br />–''It can't be! It's not possible!''</ref> Superman can fly faster than sound and in some stories, he can even fly faster than the speed of light to travel to distant galaxies. | |||
], Superman's ], was based partly on ] and named after ] and ].<ref>{{cite news | first=John | last=Gross | title=Books of the Times | date=], ] | publisher=] | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE3DC1F38F936A25751C1A961948260 |accessdate=2007-01-29 }}</ref> Creators have discussed the idea of whether Superman pretends to be Clark Kent or ], and at differing times in the publication either approach has been adopted.<ref>{{cite web| url =http://www.newsarama.com/TwoMorrows/BackIssue/20/BackIssue20.html | title = From Back Issue 20: Pro 2 Pro: A Clark Kent Roundtable | accessdate =2007-01-31 | last =Zeno | first =Eddy | authorlink =Eddy Zeno | date =], ] | format =excerpted from {{cite journal | year =2007 | month =January | title =The Clark Kent Roundtable | journal =Back Issue | issue =20 }} | work =newsarama.com | publisher =published on web by ], in print by ] }}</ref><ref name="TKC119">Eury (2006), p. 119.</ref> Although typically a ], during the 1970s the character left the '']'' for a time to work for television,<ref name="TKC119"/> whilst the 1980s revamp by ] saw the character become somewhat more aggressive.<ref name="AH96"/> This aggressiveness has since faded with subsequent creators restoring the mild mannerisms traditional to the character. | |||
Superman can project and perceive X-rays via his eyes, which allows him to see through objects. He first uses this power in ''Action Comics'' #11 (1939). Certain materials such as lead can block his X-ray vision. | |||
Superman's large cast of supporting characters includes ], perhaps the character most commonly associated with Superman, being portrayed at different times as his colleague, competitor, love interest and/or wife. Other main supporting characters include '']'' coworkers such as photographer ] and editor ], ]'s adopted parents ] and ], childhood sweetheart ] and best friend ], and former college love interest ] (a ]). Stories making reference to the possibility of Superman siring children have been featured both in and out of mainstream continuity. | |||
Superman can project beams of heat from his eyes which are hot enough to melt steel. He first used this power in ''Superman'' #59 (1949) by applying his X-ray vision at its highest intensity. In later stories, this ability is simply called "heat vision". | |||
Incarnations of ], ], and ] have also been major characters in the mythos, as well as the ] (of which Superman is usually a member). A feature shared by several supporting characters is ] names, especially with the initials "LL", including ], ], ], ], ] and ],<ref>{{ Comic book reference | story=Superman's LL's | title=] | issue=204 | date=], ] | | publisher=] }}</ref> alliteration being common in early comics. | |||
Superman can hear sounds that are too faint for a human to hear, and at frequencies outside the human hearing range. This ability was introduced in ''Action Comics'' #11 (1939). | |||
Team-ups with fellow comics icon ] are common, inspiring many stories over the years. When paired, they are often referred to as the "World's Finest" in a nod to the name of the comic book series that features many team-up stories. In 2003, DC Comics began to publish a new series featuring the two characters titled '']''. | |||
Since ''Action Comics'' #20 (1940), Superman possesses superhuman breath, which enables him to inhale or blow huge amounts of air, as well as holding his breath indefinitely to remain underwater or space without adverse effects. He has a significant focus of his breath's intensity to the point of freezing targets by blowing on them. The "freeze breath" was first demonstrated in ''Superman'' #129 (1959). | |||
Superman also has a ] of enemies, including his most well-known nemesis, ], who has been envisioned over the years in various forms as either a ] with a personal vendetta against Superman, or a powerful but corrupt ] of a conglomerate called ].<ref name="TCS160">Daniels (1998), p. 160.</ref> In the 2000s, he even becomes ],<ref>], ], ] ''et al'' (w), ], ], ] (a). ''Superman: President Lex'', NY:], ] ]. ISBN 1563899744, ISBN 978-1563899744</ref> and has been depicted at various stages, as well as currently, as a childhood friend of Clark Kent. | |||
''Action Comics'' #1 (1938) explained that Superman's strength was common to all Kryptonians because they were a species "millions of years advanced of our own". In the first newspaper strips, Jor-El is shown running and leaping like Superman, and his wife survives a building collapsing on her. Later stories explained they evolved superhuman strength simply because of Krypton's higher gravity. ''Superman'' #146 (1961) established that Superman's abilities other than strength (flight, durability, etc.) are activated by the light of Earth's yellow ]. In ''Action Comics'' #300 (1963), all of his powers including strength are activated by yellow sunlight and can be deactivated by red sunlight similar to that of Krypton's sun. | |||
The alien ] (in most incarnations) known as ] is considered by Richard George to be the second most effective enemy of Superman.<ref>{{cite web | author = George, Richard | title = Superman's Dirty Dozen | publisher = IGN |page=2 | date = ] | url = http://uk.comics.ign.com/articles/713/713953p2.html | accessdate = 2007-01-11}}</ref> The enemy that accomplished the most, by actually killing Superman, is the raging monster ]. ], one of the most powerful beings in the ], is also a formidable nemesis in most post-crisis comics. Other enemies who have featured in various incarnations of the character, from comic books to film and television include the fifth-dimensional ] ], the reverse Superman known as ] and the Kryptonian criminal ]. | |||
Exposure to green ] radiation nullifies Superman's powers and incapacitates him with pain and nausea; prolonged exposure will eventually kill him. Although green kryptonite is the most commonly seen form, writers have introduced other forms over the years: such as red, gold, blue, white, and black, each with peculiar effects.<ref name="TCS106107">Daniels (1998), pp. 106–107.</ref> Gold kryptonite, for instance, nullifies Superman's powers but otherwise does not harm him. ] first appeared in a 1943 episode of ].<ref>''The Meteor From Krypton'' (June 1943). Per {{harvp|Hayde|2009}}: "Only one arc in 1943 managed to transcend its era: "The Meteor from Krypton." Debuting on June 3, it marked the debut of kryptonite..."</ref> It first appeared in comics in ''Superman'' #61 (Dec. 1949).<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427020730/http://www.comics.org/issue/7882/ |date=April 27, 2016 }} at the ]. "Indexer notes ... Green Kryptonite introduced in this story."</ref> | |||
==Cultural impact== | |||
Superman is also vulnerable to magic. Enchanted weapons and magical spells affect Superman as easily as they would a normal human. This weakness was established in ''Superman'' #171 (1964). | |||
Superman has come to be seen as both an American cultural icon<ref>{{cite book | last=Magnussen | first=Anne | coauthors=Hans-Christian | |||
Christiansen | year=2000 | title=Comics & Culture: Analytical and Theoretical Approaches to Comics| publisher= Museum Tusculanum Press | id=ISBN 8772895802 | quote=a metaphor and cultural icon for the 21st century }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Postmes | first=Tom | coauthors=Jolanda | |||
Jetten | year=2006 | title=Individuality and the Group: Advances in Social Identity | edition= | publisher=Sage Publications | id=ISBN 1412903211 | quote=American cultural icons (e.g., the American Flag, Superman, the Statue of Liberty) }}</ref> and the first comic book superhero. His adventures and popularity have established the character as an inspiring force within the public eye, with the character serving as inspiration for musicians, comedians and writers alike. | |||
Like all Kryptonians, Kal-El is also highly susceptible to psychokinetic phenomena ranging along Telekinesis, Illusion casting, Mind control, etc., as shown in ''Wonder Woman'' Vol 2 # 219 (Sept. 2005). A powerful enough psionic can affect either the psyche or microbiology of Superman to induce strokes or mangle his internal organs, as well as disrupt his mind and perceptions of the world, something a young power-amped Gene-Bomb meta showcased in ''Superman'' #48 (Oct. 1990). | |||
===Inspiring a market=== | |||
===Supporting characters=== | |||
The character's initial success led to similar characters being created.<ref>Eury (2006), p. 116: "since Superman inspired so many different super-heroes".</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Hatfield |first= Charles |authorlink=Charles Hatfield |title= Alternative Comics: an emerging literature |origyear= 2005 |publisher= University Press of Mississippi |isbn=1578067197 |page= 10 |quote= the various Superman-inspired "costume" comics }}</ref> ] was the first to follow, ] commenting to ] that given the "kind of money (Siegel and Shuster were earning) you'll have one on Monday".<ref name="60Y34">Daniels (1995), p. 34.</ref> Victor Fox, an accountant for ], also noticed the revenue such comics generated, and commissioned ] to create a deliberately similar character to Superman. ''Wonder Man'' was published in May 1939, and although DC successfully sued, claiming ],<ref>{{cite web| url =http://www.publaw.com/graphical.html | title =Protection of Graphic Characters | accessdate =2007-01-16 | author =Lloyd L. Rich | publisher =Publishing Law Center | quote =the court found that the character Superman was infringed in a competing comic book publication featuring the character Wonderman }}</ref> Fox had decided to cease publishing the character. Fox later had more success with the ]. ]' ], launched in 1940, was Superman's main rival for popularity throughout the 1940s, and was again the subject of a lawsuit, which Fawcett eventually settled in 1953, a settlement which involved the cessation of the publication of the character's adventures.<ref name="60Y4647">Daniels (1995), pp. 46-47.</ref> ] comics are now established as the dominant genre in ] publishing,<ref>{{cite journal | last =Singer | first =Marc | year =2002 | month =Spring | title ="Black Skins" and White Masks: Comic Books and the Secret of Race | journal =African American Review | volume =36 | issue =1 | pages =107-119 | id =doi:10.2307/2903369 | url =http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=1062-4783(200221)36%3A1%3C107%3A%22SAWMC%3E2.0.CO%3B2-J | format =embedded image of first page | accessmonthday = January 16 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref> with many thousands of characters in the tradition having been created in the years since Superman's creation.<ref>{{cite book | last= | first= | authorlink= | year=2006 | title=South Carolina PACT Coach, English Language Arts Grade 5 | edition= | publisher=Triumph Learning | id=ISBN 1598230778 }}</ref> | |||
{{See also|Superman character and cast|List of Superman supporting characters}} | |||
Superman's first and most famous supporting character is ], introduced in ''Action Comics'' #1. She is a fellow journalist at the '']''. As Jerry Siegel conceived her, Lois considers Clark Kent to be a wimp, but she is infatuated with the bold and mighty Superman, not knowing that Kent and Superman are the same person. Siegel objected to any proposal that Lois discover that Clark is Superman because he felt that, as implausible as Clark's disguise is, the love triangle was too important to the book's appeal.<ref>"If Lois should ACTUALLY learn Clark's secret, the strip would lose about 75% of its appeal—the human interest angle. I know that a formula can possibly prove monotonous through repetition but I fear that if this element is removed from the story formula that makes up SUPERMAN, that this strip will lose a great part of its effectiveness." Siegel, in his script notes, quoted in {{harvp|Ricca|2014}} (''Super Boys'').</ref> However, Siegel wrote stories in which Lois suspects Clark is Superman and tries to prove it, with Superman always duping her in the end; the first such story was in ''Superman'' #17 (July–August 1942).<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415134500/http://www.comics.org/issue/2212/ |date=April 15, 2016 }} at the Grand Comics Database.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2011/06/28/when-we-first-met-30/ |title=When We First Met |publisher=(column #30) ] |first=Brian |last=Cronin |date= June 28, 2011 |access-date=March 16, 2016 |archive-date= October 17, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131017031635/http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2011/06/28/when-we-first-met-30/ |url-status=live}}</ref> This was a common plot in comic book stories prior to the 1970s. In a story in ''Action Comics'' #484 (June 1978), Clark Kent admits to Lois that he is Superman, and they marry. This was the first story in which Superman and Lois marry that was not an "imaginary tale". Many Superman stories since then have depicted Superman and Lois as a married couple, but about as many depict them in the classic love triangle. In modern era comic books, Superman and Lois are a stable married couple, and the ''Superman'' supporting cast was further expanded with the introduction of their son, ]. | |||
Other supporting characters include ], a photographer at the '']'', who is friends with both Superman and Clark Kent, though in most stories he does not know that Clark is Superman. Jimmy is frequently described as "Superman's pal", and was conceived to give young male readers a relatable character through which they could fantasize being friends with Superman. | |||
===Merchandising=== | |||
In the earliest comic book stories, Clark Kent's employer is George Taylor of ''The Daily Star'', but the second episode of ] changed this to ] of the '']''.<ref>{{harvp|Scivally|2007}}. ''Superman on Film, Television, Radio and Broadway'': "The episode also introduced Julian Noa as Clark Kent's boss, whose name had evolved from Paris White to Perry White. White's newspaper changed from ''The Daily Flash'' to the '']''. Soon after the radio show appeared, the comic books also changed their ''Daily Star'' editor George Taylor to '']'' editor Perry White..."</ref> | |||
Superman became popular very quickly, with an additional title, ''Superman Quarterly'' quickly added. In 1940 the character was represented in the annual ] for the first time.<ref>Staff writer. "Superman Struts In Macy Parade". '']'', ], ]. p.18</ref> In fact Superman had become popular to the extent that in 1942, with sales of the character's three titles standing at a combined total of over 1.5 million, '']'' was reporting that "the Navy Department (had) ruled that Superman comic books should be included among essential supplies destined for the Marine garrison at Midway Islands."<ref>{{cite news | author=Staff writer | title=Superman's Dilemma | date=], ] |accessdate= 2007-01-29| publisher=] | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,766523,00.html }}</ref> The character was soon ] by companies keen to cash in on this success through ]. The earliest paraphernalia appeared in 1939, a ] proclaiming membership in the Supermen of America club. By 1940 the amount of merchandise available increased dramatically, with ], ], ] and ] available, as well as wooden or metal ]. The popularity of such merchandise increased when Superman was licensed to appear in other media, and Les Daniels has written that this represents "the start of the process that media moguls of later decades would describe as '].'"<ref name="TCS50">Daniels (1998), p. 50.</ref> By the release of '']'', ] had arranged a cross promotion with ],<ref>{{cite web| url =http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1534100/20060612/story.jhtml | title =The 'Superman' Fanboy Dilemma, Part 4: Come On Feel The Toyz | accessdate =2007-01-16 | author =Karl Heitmueller | date =June 13 2006 | format =Flash | publisher =MTV News | quote =Warner Bros. has "Superman Returns" licensing deals with Mattel, Pepsi, Burger King, Duracell, Samsung, EA Games and Quaker State Motor Oil, to name a few. }}</ref> and licensed many other products for sale. Superman's appeal to licensees rests upon the character's continuing popularity, cross market appeal and the status of the S-Shield, the magenta and gold S emblem Superman wears on his chest, as a fashion symbol.<ref>{{cite news | first=David | last=Lieberman | title=Classics are back in licensed gear | date=], ] |accessdate= 2007-01-29| publisher=] | url=http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/2005-06-20-licensing_x.htm }}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |title=Warner Bros. Consumer Products Flies High with DC Comics' Superman at Licensing 2005 International; Franchise Set to Reach New Heights in 2005 Leading Up to Feature Film Release of Superman Returns in June 2006 |publisher=Business Wire |date= ], ] |url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2005_June_16/ai_n13816862 | accessdate=2007-01-16 |quote=With a super hero that transcends all demographics" ... and ... "S-Shield, which continues to be a fashion symbol and hot trend }}</ref> | |||
Clark Kent's foster parents are ]. In many stories, one or both of them have died by the time Clark becomes Superman. Clark's parents taught him that he should use his abilities for altruistic means, but that he should also find some way to safeguard his private life. | |||
===Adaptations in other media=== | |||
{{main|Superman in popular culture}} | |||
] as Superman in '']'']]The character of ] has appeared in various media aside from comic books. This is in some part seen to be owing to the character's cited standing as an American cultural icon,<ref>{{cite journal | last =Jones | first =Cary M. | authorlink =Cary M. Jones | year =2006 | month =Winter | title =Smallville and New Media mythmaking; Twenty-first century Superman | journal =Jump Cut || issue =48 | url =http://www.ejumpcut.org/currentissue/SmallvilleFans/index.html#3 | accessdate = 2007-01-09 }}</ref> with the concept's continued popularity also being taken into consideration,<ref>{{cite news |first=Mark |last=Juddery |authorlink=Mark Juddery |author= |coauthors= |title=Jacob 'Jack' Liebowitz |url=http://www.markjuddery.com/html/tributes/2000_jacob_liebowitz.html |work= ] |publisher=Mark Juddery |date= October, 2000 |accessdate=2007-01-09 |quote=Superman's popularity increased during the war years, spinning off into a comic strip }}</ref> but is also seen in part as due to good marketing initially.<ref name="TCS50"/> The character has been developed as a vehicle for serials on ], ] and ], as well as feature length motion pictures, and ] have also been developed featuring the character on multiple occasions. | |||
===Antagonists=== | |||
The first adaptation of Superman was as a daily newspaper ], launching on January 16, 1939. The strip ran until May 1966, and significantly, Siegel and Shuster used the first strips to establish Superman's backstory, adding details such as the planet Krypton and Superman's father, ], concepts not yet established in the comic books.<ref name="TCS42"/> Following on from the success of this was the first ] series, '']'', which premiered on February 12, 1942 and featured the voice of ] as Superman. The series ran until March, 1951. Collyer was also cast as the voice of Superman in the ] ], distributed via movie theatres. Seventeen shorts were produced between 1941 and 1943. By 1948 Superman was back in the movie theatres, this time in a filmed ], '']'', with ] becoming the first actor to portray Superman on screen. A second serial, '']'', followed in 1950.<ref name="TCS7576">Daniels (1998), pp. 75-76.</ref> | |||
{{Main|List of Superman enemies}} | |||
In 1951 a television series was commissioned, starring ], with the pilot episode of the series gaining a theatrical release as '']''. The series ran for a 104 episodes, from 1952 - 1958. The next adaptation of Superman occurred in 1966, when Superman was adapted for the stage in the ] ] '']''. The show wasn't successful, closing after 128 performances,<ref name="TCS111">Daniels (1998), p. 111.</ref> although a cast recording was released as an ].<ref>{{cite web| url =http://www.amazon.com/Bird-Plane-Superman-Original-Broadway/dp/B0000027WB | title =Amazon.com: It's A Bird ... It's A Plane ... It's Superman (1966 Original Broadway Cast): Music: Charles Strouse,Lee Adams | accessdate =2007-01-11 | publisher =Amazon.com |}}</ref> However, in 1975 the show was remade for television. Superman was again animated, this time for television, in the series "]". 68 shorts were made and broadcast between 1966 and 1969. Bud Collyer again provided the voice for Superman. Then from 1973 until 1984 ] broadcast the "]" series, this time animated by ].<ref name="TCS111115">Daniels (1998), pp. 111-115</ref> | |||
The villains Superman faced in the earliest stories were ordinary humans, such as gangsters, corrupt politicians, and violent husbands; but they soon grew more colorful and outlandish so as to avoid offending censors or scaring children. The mad scientist ], introduced in ''Action Comics'' #13 (June 1939), was Superman's first recurring villain. Superman's best-known nemesis, ], was introduced in ''Action Comics'' #23 (April 1940) and has been depicted as either a mad scientist or a wealthy businessman (sometimes both).<ref name="TCS160">{{harvp|Daniels|1998}}. ''Superman: The Complete History'', p. 160</ref> In 1944, the magical imp ], Superman's first recurring super-powered adversary, was introduced.<ref>Though created to appear in ''Superman'' #30 (Sept. 1944), publishing lag time resulted in the character first appearing in the ''Superman'' daily comic strip that year, per {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311072244/http://www.comics.org/issue/3811/ |date=March 11, 2016 }} at the ].</ref> Superman's first alien villain, ], debuted in ''Action Comics'' #242 (July 1958). The monstrous ], introduced in '']'' #17–18 (Nov.-Dec. 1992), was the first villain to evidently kill Superman in physical combat without exploiting Superman's critical weaknesses such as kryptonite and magic. | |||
===Alternative depictions=== | |||
Superman returned to movie theatres in 1978, with director Richard Donner's '']'' starring ]. The film spawned three sequels, '']'' (1980), '']'' (1983) and '']'' (1987).<ref name="TCS141143">Daniels (1998), pp. 141-143</ref> In 1988 Superman returned to television in the ] animated series '']'',<ref>{{cite web| url =http://www.rubyspears.com/film.shtml#C | title =About Us | accessdate =2007-01-11 |work=Ruby-Spears website |publisher=Ruby-Spears Productions | quote = Ruby-Spears pulled the coup of the 1988-89 season by acquiring the rights to two heavily sought after properties. Debuting that September on CBS was the classic, ''Superman'', which celebrated its 50th anniversary, and it was with much acclaim that Ruby-Spears was selected to produce the animated series for the network schedule. }}</ref> and also in '']'', a ] series which ran from 1988 until 1992.<ref name="TCS164165">Daniels (1998), pp. 164-165.</ref> In 1993 '']'' premiered on television, starring ] as Superman and ] as ]. The series ran until 1997. '']'' was produced by ] and ran from 1996 until 2000 on ].<ref name="TCS172174">Daniels (1998), pp. 172-174.</ref> In 2001 the '']'' television series launched, focussing on the adventures of ] as a teenager before he dons the mantle of Superman.<ref>{{cite web| url =http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0279600/ | title ="Smallville" (2001) | accessdate =2007-01-11 | publisher =imdb.com}}</ref> In 2006 ] directed '']'', starring ] as Superman.<ref>{{cite web| url =http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0348150/ | title =Superman Returns (2006) | accessdate =2007-01-11 | publisher =imdb.com}}</ref> ], with songs by numerous artists from several generations celebrating the character. | |||
{{Main|Alternative versions of Superman}} | |||
{{See also|Superman (Earth-Two)|Superman (Earth-One)}} | |||
The details of Superman's origin story and supporting cast vary across his large body of fiction released since 1938, but most versions conform to the basic template described above. A few stories feature radically altered versions of Superman. An example is the graphic novel '']'', which depicts a communist Superman who rules the Soviet Union. DC Comics has on some occasions published crossover stories where different versions of Superman interact with each other using the plot device of parallel universes. For instance, in the 1960s, the Superman of "Earth-One" would occasionally feature in stories alongside the Superman of "Earth-Two", the latter of whom resembled Superman as he was portrayed in the 1940s. DC Comics has not developed a consistent and universal system to classify all versions of Superman. | |||
==Impact and legacy== | |||
===Musical references, parodies and homages=== | |||
===The superhero archetype=== | |||
{{See also|Superman in popular music}} | |||
Superman is often considered the first ]. This point can be debated: ], ], ], and ] arguably fit the definition of the superhero yet predate Superman. Nevertheless, Superman popularized this kind of character and established the conventions: a costume, a codename, extraordinary abilities, and an altruistic mission.{{cn|date=December 2023}} Superman's success in 1938 begat a wave of imitations, which include ], ], and ]. This flourishing is today referred to as America's ], which lasted from 1938 to about 1950. The Golden Age ended when American superhero book sales declined, leading to the cancellation of many characters; but Superman was one of the few superhero franchises that survived this decline, and his sustained popularity into the late 1950s led to a revival in the ], when characters such as ], ], and ] were created. | |||
Superman has also featured as an inspiration for musicians, with songs by numerous artists from several generations celebrating the character. ]'s ] topping single "Sunshine Superman" utilised the character in both the title and the lyric, declaring "Superman and Green Lantern got nothing on me".<ref>]. "]." '']''. ], 1966.</ref> Other tracks to reference the character include ]' "]",<ref>]. "]." '']''. ], 1986. "Ooh Superman where are you now, When everything's gone wrong somehow"</ref> the video to which featured a ] ] of ] dressed as Superman,<ref>{{cite video | people =] & Yukich, Jim (Directors) | year =1986 | title ="]" | medium =Music video | publisher =]}}</ref> and "Superman" by ], a track later covered by ] on their 1986 album '']''. This cover is referenced by ] in ''Animal Man'', in which Superman meets the character, and the track comes on ]'s ] immediately after.<ref>{{cite book |last=Morrison (w)|first=Grant |authorlink=Grant Morrison |coauthors=], ] and ] (a) |editor=Michael Charles Hill (ed.)|others=] (]) & ] (]) |title=Animal Man |origyear=1991 |edition=1st edition |publisher=] |location=] |isbn=1-56389-005-4 |page=45 |chapter=2: Life In The Concrete Jungle |quote=R.E.M. starts singing "Superman." My arm aches and I've got '''déjà vu'''. Funny how everything comes together. }}</ref> | |||
After World War II, American superhero fiction entered Japanese culture. ], first published in 1952, was inspired by ], which in turn was a parody of Superman.<ref>{{cite book |last=Schodt |first=Frederik L. |title=The Astro Boy Essays: Osamu Tezuka, Mighty Atom, and the Manga/Anime Revolution |year=2007 |publisher=Stone Bridge Press |isbn=9781933330549 |page=45}}</ref> The ] were first broadcast on Japanese television in 1955, and they were followed in 1956 by the TV show ] starring ]. These shows were popular with the Japanese and inspired Japan's own prolific genre of superheroes. The first Japanese superhero movie, '']'', was released in 1957. The first Japanese superhero TV show was '']'' in 1958. Other notable Japanese superheroes include ], ], and ].<ref>{{cite book |last=Craig |first=Timothy |title=Japan Pop: Inside the World of Japanese Popular Culture |year=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781317467212 }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |first=Hirofumi|last= Katsuno |title=The Grotesque Hero: Depictions of Justice in Tokusatsu Superhero Television Programs |encyclopedia= Introducing Japanese Popular Culture |editor1=Freedman, Alisa |editor2=Slade, Toby |year=2018 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781317528937 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Jonathan |last1=Clements |first2=Motoko|last2= Tamamuro |year=2003 |title=The Dorama Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese TV Drama Since 1953 |publisher=Stone Bridge Press |isbn=9781880656815 }}</ref> | |||
Parodies of Superman did not take long to appear, with '']'' introduced in "The Mouse of Tomorrow" animated short in 1942.<ref>{{cite news |first=Robin |last=Turner|title=Deputy Dawg |work=] |publisher=] |page=21 |date=], ]}}</ref> Whilst the character swiftly took on a life of its own, moving beyond parody, other animated characters soon took their turn to parody the character. In 1943 ] was featured in a short, '']'', which sees the character gaining powers through eating fortified carrots. This short ends with Bugs stepping into a phone booth to change into a real "Superman", and emerging as a ].<ref>{{cite web| url =http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036402/ | title =Super-Rabbit (1943) | accessdate =2007-01-16 | publisher =] }}</ref> In 1956 ] assumes the mantle of "Cluck Kent" in the short "Stupor Duck", a role later reprised in various issues of the ''Looney Tunes'' comic book.<ref>{{cite web| url =http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049807/ | title =Stupor Duck (1956) | accessdate =2007-01-16 | publisher =] }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url =http://www.comics-db.com/comic-book/1046821-Looney_Tunes_97.html | title = Looney Tunes # 97 | accessdate =2007-01-16 | publisher =Big Comicbook Database}}</ref> In the ] ] created the character Bicycle Repairman, who fixes bicycles on a world full of Supermen, for a sketch in series of their BBC show.<ref>{{cite news | first=Mel | last=Clarke | title=The Pitch | work =] |publisher=] | page=34 | date=], ] }}</ref> Also on the BBC was the ] "]", which presented Thermoman as a slightly dense Superman pastiche, attempting to save the world and pursue romantic aspirations.<ref>{{cite news |first=Sally |last=Kinnes |title=The One To Watch |work=] |publisher=] |page=58 |date=], ] }}</ref> In America, '']'' has often parodied the figure, with ] reprising her role as Lois Lane in a 1979 episode.<ref>{{cite web| url =http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0694925/ | title ="Saturday Night Live" Episode #4.15 (1979) | accessdate =2007-01-16 | publisher =] }}</ref> ], a noted Superman fan, filled his series '']'' with references to the character, and in 1997 asked for Superman to co-star with him in a commercial for ]. The commercial aired during the 1998 play offs and ], Superman animated in the style of artist ], again at the request of Seinfeld.<ref name="TCS185">Daniels (1998), p. 185.</ref> | |||
===Fine art=== | |||
Superman has also been used as reference point for writers, with ] graphic novel ''Superman: It's a Bird'' exploring Seagle's feelings on his own mortality as he struggles to develop a story for a Superman tale.<ref>{{cite web| url =http://www.ugo.com/channels/comics/features/itsabird/default.asp | title =Steven Seagle Talks ''It's a Bird'' | accessdate =2007-01-16 | publisher =ugo.com | quote =the semi-autobiographical tale of Steven being given the chance to write a Superman comic, but stumbling when he can't figure out how to relate to the character. Through the course of the story, Seagle finds his way into Superman by looking at it through the lens of his own mortality. }}</ref> ] used the character as a reference point for his play ''Poor Super Man'', with '']'' noting the central character, a gay man who has lost many friends to ] as someone who "identifies all the more keenly with Superman's alien-amid-deceptive-lookalikes status."<ref>{{cite news |first=Paul |last=Taylor |title=Theatre |work=] |publisher=] |date=], ]}}</ref> | |||
Since the ] period and the 1960s, the character of Superman has been "appropriated" by multiple visual artists and incorporated into contemporary artwork,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Martin|first=Deborah|date=June 19, 2019|title=Crystal Bridges exhibit 'Men of Steel, Women of Wonder' lands in San Antonio|url=https://www.expressnews.com/entertainment/arts-culture/article/Crystal-Bridges-exhibit-Men-of-Steel-Women-of-14020822.php|access-date=July 7, 2020|newspaper=San Antonio Express-News|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=June 20, 2019|title=Men of Steel, Women of Wonder Debuts at San Antonio Museum of Art|url=https://www.sanantoniomag.com/men-of-steel-women-of-wonder-debuts-at-san-antonio-museum-of-art/|access-date=July 7, 2020|website=San Antonio Magazine|language=en-US}}</ref> most notably by ],<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gural|first=Natasha|title=Quickly To The Whitney, And Back Again To San Francisco, Chicago For Andy Warhol Beyond Superstardom|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/natashagural/2019/03/26/quickly-to-the-whitney-and-back-again-to-san-francisco-chicago-for-andy-warhol-beyond-superstardom/|access-date=July 7, 2020|website=Forbes|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Sante|first=Luc|date=May 3, 2020|title=Andy Warhol, Superstar|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/03/books/review/warhol-blake-gopnik.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200503091010/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/03/books/review/warhol-blake-gopnik.html |archive-date=May 3, 2020 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=July 7, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> ],<ref>{{Cite web|last=Cohen|first=Alina|date=October 1, 2018|title=How Roy Lichtenstein Unwittingly Invented Pop Art|url=https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-dare-son-roy-lichtenstein-unwittingly-invented-pop-art|access-date=July 7, 2020|website=Artsy|language=en}}</ref> ],<ref>{{Cite news|last=Genzlinger|first=Neil|date=October 31, 2018|title=Mel Ramos, Painter of Female Nudes and Comic Heroes, Dies at 83|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/31/obituaries/mel-ramos-dead.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181031234225/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/31/obituaries/mel-ramos-dead.html |archive-date=October 31, 2018 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=July 7, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> ],<ref>{{Cite web|last=Jesus|first=Carlos Suarez De|date=January 31, 2008|title=Immigrants Are Superheroes|url=https://www.miaminewtimes.com/arts/immigrants-are-superheroes-6332513|access-date=July 7, 2020|website=Miami New Times}}</ref> ],<ref name="archpaper.com">{{Cite web|date=February 18, 2020|title=Mr. Brainwash will convert a Richard Meier-designed building into a Beverly Hills art museum|url=https://www.archpaper.com/2020/02/mr-brainwash-convert-richard-meier-building-art-museum/|access-date=July 7, 2020|website=The Architect's Newspaper|language=en-US}}</ref> ],<ref>{{Cite web|last=Storr|first=Robert|date=June 2, 2017|title=Pettibon's World|url=https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2017/06/02/raymond-pettibons-world/|access-date=July 7, 2020|website=The New York Review of Books|language=en}}</ref> ],<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Schjeldahl|first=Peter|title=The In-Your-Face Paintings of Peter Saul|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/02/17/the-in-your-face-paintings-of-peter-saul|access-date=July 7, 2020|magazine=The New Yorker|language=en-us}}</ref> ],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Giuseppe Veneziano {{!}} artnet|url=http://www.artnet.com/artists/giuseppe-veneziano/|access-date=July 14, 2020|website=www.artnet.com}}</ref> ],<ref>{{Cite web|title=F. Lennox Campello {{!}} Superman Naked {{!}} Artsy|url=https://www.artsy.net/artwork/f-lennox-campello-superman-naked|access-date=July 14, 2020|website=Artsy|language=en}}</ref> and others.<ref name="archpaper.com"/><ref>{{Cite web|last=SCHKLOVEN|first=EMMA|title=Traveling superhero-themed exhibit comes to Lynchburg College|url=https://newsadvance.com/entertainment/features/traveling-superhero-themed-exhibit-comes-to-lynchburg-college/article_0af265bb-b1e9-50cc-a74a-7370952a3851.html|access-date=July 7, 2020|website=NewsAdvance.com|date=January 25, 2017 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Trostle|first=Adora|date=January 30, 2019|title=Results from the Miami Art Fairs a few Months Ago|url=http://www.nyundressed.com/results-from-the-miami-art-fairs-a-few-months-ago/|access-date=July 14, 2020|website=NY UNDRESSED|language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
==Literary analysis== | |||
Superman has been interpreted and discussed in many forms |
Superman has been interpreted and discussed in many forms, with ] noting that "he can be seen as the representative of all his similars".<ref>{{cite book |last=Eco |first=Umberto |author-link=Umberto Eco |editor=Heer, Jeet Heer |editor-first2=Worcesterm |editor-last2=Kent |title=Arguing Comics |year=2004 |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |isbn=1-57806-687-5|page=162 |chapter=The Myth of Superman |orig-year=1962 }}</ref> Writing in '']'' in 1971, Gerald Clarke stated: "Superman's enormous popularity might be looked upon as signaling the beginning of the end for the ] of the ]." Clarke viewed the comics characters as having to continuously update in order to maintain relevance and thus representing the mood of the nation. He regarded Superman's character in the early seventies as a comment on the modern world, which he saw as a place in which "only the man with superpowers can survive and prosper".<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Gerald |last=Clarke |author-link=Gerald Clarke (author) |title=The Comics On The Couch |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,842864,00.html |magazine=] |issn=0040-781X |pages=1–4 |date=December 13, 1971 |access-date=January 29, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930062820/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C842864%2C00.html |archive-date=September 30, 2007 }}</ref> Andrew Arnold, writing in the early 21st century, has noted Superman's partial role in exploring assimilation, the character's alien status allowing the reader to explore attempts to fit in on a somewhat superficial level. | ||
A.C. Grayling, writing in '']'', traces Superman's stances through the decades, from his 1930s campaign against crime being relevant to a nation under the influence of ], through the 1940s and |
A.C. Grayling, writing in '']'', traces Superman's stances through the decades, from his 1930s campaign against crime being relevant to a nation under the influence of ], through the 1940s and World War II, a period in which Superman helped sell ],<ref name="60Y64">{{harvp|Daniels|1995}}. ''DC Comics: Sixty Years of the World's Favorite Comic Book Heroes'', p. 64</ref> and into the 1950s, where Superman explored the new technological threats. Grayling notes the period after the ] as being one where "matters become merely personal: the task of pitting his brawn against the brains of Lex Luthor and Brainiac appeared to be independent of bigger questions", and discusses events post ], stating that as a nation "caught between the terrifying ] and the terrorist ], America is in earnest need of a Saviour for everything from the minor inconveniences to the major horrors of world catastrophe. And here he is, the down-home clean-cut boy in the blue tights and red cape".<ref>{{cite news|first=A C |last=Grayling |title=The Philosophy of Superman: A Short Course |url=http://www.spectator.co.uk/archive/features/23525/the-philosophy-of-superman.thtml |work=The Spectator |location=UK |issn=0038-6952 |date=July 8, 2006 |access-date=January 29, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011230733/http://spectator.co.uk/archive/features/23525/the-philosophy-of-superman.thtml |archive-date=October 11, 2007 }}</ref> | ||
An influence on early Superman stories is the context of the ]. Superman took on the role of social activist, fighting crooked businessmen and politicians and demolishing run-down tenements.<ref name="60Y2223">{{harvp|Daniels|1995}}. ''DC Comics: Sixty Years of the World's Favorite Comic Book Heroes '', pp. 22–23</ref> Comics scholar ] sees this as a reflection of "the liberal idealism of ]'s ]", with Shuster and Siegel initially portraying Superman as champion to a variety of social causes.<ref name="mythology">{{Cite AV media |title = The Mythology of Superman |medium = DVD |publisher=Warner Bros.|date = 2006}}</ref><ref name="Sabin">{{cite book |last=Sabin |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Sabin |year=1996 |title= Comics, Comix & Graphic Novels |url=https://archive.org/details/comicscomixgraph00sabi |url-access=registration |edition=4th paperback |publisher=Phaidon|isbn=0-7148-3993-0 }}</ref> In later Superman radio programs the character continued to take on such issues, tackling a version of the ] in a ], as well as combating anti-semitism and veteran discrimination.<ref>{{cite news |first= Richard |last= von Busack |title=Superman Versus the KKK |date= July 2–8, 1998 |work=]|location = San Jose, California |url=http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/07.02.98/comics-9826.html|access-date=January 28, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511114046/http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/07.02.98/comics-9826.html |archive-date=May 11, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Stephen J |last=Dubner |author2=Levitt, Steven D |page=F26 |title=Hoodwinked? |date=January 8, 2006 |work=The New York Times Magazine |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/08/magazine/08wwln_freakonomics.html?pagewanted=all |access-date=January 28, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407034409/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/08/magazine/08wwln_freakonomics.html?pagewanted=all |archive-date=April 7, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Weldon|2013}}. ''Superman the Unauthorized Biography'', p. 83</ref> | |||
] has discussed Superman, and the superhero in general, noting the ways in which they humanize large urban areas through their use of the space, especially in Superman's ability to soar over the large skyscrapers of ]. He writes that the character "represented, in 1938, a kind of Corbusierian ideal. Superman has X-ray vision: walls become permeable, transparent. Through his benign, controlled authority, Superman renders the city open, modernist and democratic; he furthers a sense that Le Corbusier described in 1925, namely, that 'Everything is known to us'."<ref name="MOG"/> | |||
] has discussed Superman, and the superhero in general, noting the ways in which they humanize large urban areas through their use of the space, especially in Superman's ability to soar over the large skyscrapers of Metropolis. He writes that the character "represented, in 1938, a kind of ] ideal. Superman has X-ray vision: walls become permeable, transparent. Through his benign, controlled authority, Superman renders the city open, modernist and democratic; he furthers a sense that Le Corbusier described in 1925, namely, that 'Everything is known to us'."<ref name="MOG">{{cite book |last=Bukatman |first=Scott |author-link=Scott Bukatman |year=2003 |title=Matters of Gravity: Special Effects and Supermen in the 20th century |url=https://archive.org/details/mattersofgravity0000buka |url-access=registration |publisher=] |isbn=0-8223-3132-2 }}</ref> | |||
] has argued that Superman's real innovation lay in the creation of the Clark Kent persona, noting that what "made Superman extraordinary was his point of origin: Clark Kent." Feiffer develops the theme to establish Superman's popularity in simple wish fulfilment,<ref>] ''The Great Comic Book Heroes'', (2003). ]. ISBN 1-56097-501-6</ref> a point Siegel and Shuster themselves supported, Siegel commenting that "If you're interested in what made Superman what it is, here's one of the keys to what made it universally acceptable. Joe and I had certain inhibitions... which led to wish-fulfillment which we expressed through our interest in science fiction and our comic strip. That's where the dual-identity concept came from" and Shuster supporting that as being "why so many people could relate to it".<ref>Andrae (1983), .</ref> | |||
] hosted a discussion with ] and ] for Superman's 80th anniversary and the ] of '']''.]] | |||
] has argued that Superman's real innovation lay in the creation of the Clark Kent persona, noting that what "made Superman extraordinary was his point of origin: Clark Kent." Feiffer develops the theme to establish Superman's popularity in simple wish fulfillment,<ref>] ''The Great Comic Book Heroes'', (2003). ]. {{ISBN|1-56097-501-6}}</ref> a point Siegel and Shuster themselves supported, Siegel commenting that "If you're interested in what made Superman what it is, here's one of the keys to what made it universally acceptable. Joe and I had certain inhibitions... which led to wish-fulfillment which we expressed through our interest in science fiction and our comic strip. That's where the dual-identity concept came from" and Shuster supporting that as being "why so many people could relate to it".<ref>Andrae (1983), .</ref> | |||
] suggests that the many incarnations of Superman across media use nostalgia to link the character to an ideology of the American Way. He defines this ideology as a means of associating individualism, consumerism, and democracy and as something that took shape around WWII and underpinned the war effort. Superman, he notes was very much part of that effort.<ref>] "Nostalgia, Myth, and Ideology: Visions of Superman at the End of the 'American Century"in Michael Ryan, ' 'Cultural Studies: An Anthology' '(2007). Blackwell {{ISBN|978-1-4051-4577-0}} .</ref> | |||
===Popularity=== | |||
Superman, both the character and his various comic series, have received various awards over the years. '']'' is one of many storylines or works to have received a '']'' Fan Award, winning the Favorite Comic Book Story category in 1993.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.cbgxtra.com/default.aspx?tabid=42&view=topic&forumid=34&postid=147| title = CBG Fan Awards Archives| accessdate = 2007-01-29| last = Miller| first = John Jackson| authorlink = John Jackson Miller| date = ], ]| | work = www.cbgxtra.com| publisher = ]| quote = CBG Fan Award winners 1982-present}}</ref> Superman came at number 2 in ''VH1's Top Pop Culture Icons 2004''.<ref name="200greatest">{{cite news | title= 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons List: The Folks that Have Impacted American Society |url= http://www.azreporter.com/entertainment/television/news/200popicons.shtml |publisher= Arizona Reporter | date=], ] | accessdate=2006-12-08}} Syndicated reprint of a Newsweek article </ref> Works featuring the character have also garnered six ]<ref>{{cite web| url =http://users.rcn.com/aardy/comics/awards/eisnersum.shtml | title =Will Eisner Comic Industry Award: Summary of Winners | accessdate =2007-01-17 | author =Joel Hahn | year =2006 | work =Comic Book Awards Almanac | publisher =Joel Hahn}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url =http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_eisners_06rcv.shtml | title =Alan Moore Back on Top for 2006 Eisner Awards | accessdate =2007-01-17 | year =July | month =2006 | publisher =Comic-Con International }}</ref> and three ],<ref>{{cite web| url =http://users.rcn.com/aardy/comics/awards/harveysum.shtml | title =Will Harvey Award Winners Summary | accessdate =2007-01-17 | author =Joel Hahn | year =2006 | work =Comic Book Awards Almanac | publisher =Joel Hahn}}</ref> either for the works themselves or the creators of the works. The Superman films have, ], received a number of nominations and awards, with ] winning a ] for his performance in '']''.<ref>{{cite web| url =http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078346/awards | title =Awards for Superman (1978) | accessdate =2007-01-17| work =Superman (1978) | publisher =] }}</ref> The '']'' television series has garnered ]s for ] members and various other awards.<ref>{{cite web| url =http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0279600/awards | title =Awards for "Smallville" (2001) | accessdate =2007-01-17| work ="Smallville" (2001) | publisher =]}}</ref> Superman as a character is still seen as being as relevant now as he has been in the more than sixty years of his existence.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wright |first=B. W. |authorlink=B. W. Wright |title=Comic Book Nation: The Transformation of Youth Culture in America |date=2001 |publisher=The Johns Hopkins University |location=Baltimore|isbn=0801874505 |page=293 |chapter=Spider-Man at Ground Zero }}</ref> | |||
===An allegory for immigrants=== | |||
==Footnotes== | |||
Superman's immigrant status is a key aspect of his appeal.<ref>Fingeroth, Danny ''Superman on the Couch'' (2004). Continuum International Publishing Group p53. {{ISBN|0-8264-1539-3}}</ref><ref name="Engle">Engle, Gary "What Makes Superman So Darned American?" reprinted in ''Popular Culture'' (1992) Popular Press p 331–343. {{ISBN|0-87972-572-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Wallace|first1=Daniel|first2=Bryan |last2=Singer |title=The Art of Superman Returns|publisher=Chronicle Books|year=2006|page=92|isbn=0-8118-5344-6}}</ref> Aldo Regalado saw the character as pushing the boundaries of acceptance in America. The extraterrestrial origin was seen by Regalado as challenging the notion that ] ancestry was the source of all might.<ref>{{cite book|first=Regalado|last= Aldo |chapter=Modernity, Race, and the American Superhero|editor-last= McLaughlin|editor-first= Jeff |title=Comics as Philosophy|year=2005|publisher=] Press|page=92|isbn=1-57806-794-4}}</ref> Gary Engle saw the "myth of Superman with total confidence and a childlike innocence the value of the immigrant in ]". He argues that Superman allowed the superhero genre to take over from the ] as the expression of immigrant sensibilities. Through the use of a dual identity, Superman allowed immigrants to identify with both of their cultures. Clark Kent represents the assimilated individual, allowing Superman to express the immigrants' cultural heritage for the greater good.<ref name="Engle" /> David Jenemann has offered a contrasting view. He argues that Superman's early stories portray a threat: "the possibility that the exile would overwhelm the country".<ref>{{cite book|last=Jenemann|first=David|title=Adorno in America|publisher=U of Minnesota Press|year=2007|page=180|isbn=978-0-8166-4809-2}}</ref> David Rooney, a theater ] for ''The New York Times'', in his evaluation of the play ''Year Zero'' considers Superman to be the "quintessential immigrant story orn on an alien planet, he grows stronger on Earth, but maintains a secret identity tied to a homeland that continues to exert a powerful hold on him even as his every contact with those origins does him harm".<ref name="Rooney">{{cite news|last=Rooney |first=David |title=Finding America, Searching for Identity |url=http://theater.nytimes.com/2010/06/03/theater/reviews/03year.html |access-date=June 11, 2010 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 3, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100609111610/http://theater.nytimes.com/2010/06/03/theater/reviews/03year.html |archive-date=June 9, 2010 }}</ref> | |||
{{reflist|2}} | |||
===Religious themes=== | |||
It is popularly believed that Superman took inspiration from Judaic mythology. The British rabbi ] notes that Superman's story has some parallels to that of ]. For example, Moses as a baby was sent away by his parents in a reed basket to escape death and was adopted by a foreign culture. Weinstein also posits that Superman's Kryptonian name, "Kal-El", resembles the ] phrase ''qōl ʾēl'' (קוֹל-אֵל) which can be taken to mean "voice of God".<ref name="UUaOV">{{cite book |last=Weinstein |first=Simcha |author-link=Simcha Weinstein |year=2006 |title=Up, Up, and Oy Vey! |edition=1st |publisher=Leviathan Press |isbn=978-1-881927-32-7 }}</ref> The historian ] suggests that this "Voice of God" is an allusion to Moses' role as a prophet.<ref name="Tye, 2012">{{cite book|author-link=Larry Tye|last=Tye|first=Larry|title=Superman: The High-Flying History of America's Most Enduring Hero|year=2012|publisher=]|isbn=978-1-4000-6866-1|pages=|quote=Like Moses. Much as the baby prophet was floated in a reed basket by a mother desperate to spare him from an Egyptian Pharaoh's death warrant, so Kal-El's doomed...|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/supermanhighflyi00tyel_0/page/65}}</ref> The suffix "]", meaning "god", is also found in the name of angels (e.g. ], ]), who are airborne humanoid agents of good with superhuman powers. The Nazis also thought Superman was a Jew and in 1940 ] publicly denounced Superman and his creator Jerry Siegel.<ref>{{cite news|last=Goebbels |first=Paul Joseph |date=April 25, 1940 |title=Jerry Siegel Attacks! |page=8 |url=http://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/superman.htm |newspaper=Das schwarze Korps |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112183828/http://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/superman.htm |archive-date=January 12, 2016 }}</ref> | |||
All that said, historians such as Martin Lund and Les Daniels argue that the evidence for Judaic influence in Siegel and Shuster's stories is merely circumstantial. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were not practicing Jews and never acknowledged the influence of Judaism in any memoir or interview.<ref>{{harvp|Lund|2016}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Daniels|1998}}. ''Superman'', p. 19: "There are parallel stories in many cultures, but what is significant is that Siegel, working in the generally patronized medium of the comics, had created a secular American messiah. Nothing of the kind was consciously on his mind, apparently: his explanation for dropping Superman down from the sky was that "it just happened that way". And Shuster echoed him: "We just thought it was a good idea.""</ref> | |||
Superman stories have occasionally exhibited Christian themes as well. Screenwriter ] consciously made Superman an allegory for Jesus Christ in ] starring ]: baby Kal-El's ship resembles the ], and Jor-El gives his son a messianic mission to lead humanity into a brighter future.<ref name=SteelDreams>{{cite magazine |last=Dickholtz |first=Daniel |date=1998 |title=Steel Dreams |url=http://supermania78.com/2010/08/tom-mankiewicz-1942-2010/ |magazine=Starlog Yearbook |page=77 |publisher=Starlog Group, Inc.}}</ref> | |||
This messianic theme was revisited in the 2013 movie ], wherein Jor-El asks Superman to redeem the Kryptonian race, which corrupted itself through eugenics, by guiding humanity down a wiser path.<ref>''Man of Steel'' (2013; Warner Bros. Pictures). "They won't necessarily make the same mistakes we did, not if you guide them, Kal."</ref> | |||
==See also== | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
==Notes== | |||
{{notelist}} | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{reflist|refs= | |||
{{Commonscat|Superman}} | |||
<ref name=Tye2012>{{harvp|Tye|2012}}. ''Superman''</ref> | |||
<div class="references-small"> | |||
<ref name=Ricca2014>{{harvp|Ricca|2014}} ''Super Boys''</ref> | |||
* {{cite web| url =http://superman.ws/seventy/interview/ | title =The Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster Interview | accessdate =2007-01-31 | last =Andrae | first =Tom | authorlink =Tom Andrae | coauthors =Blum, Geoffry & Coddington, Gary | year =1983 | month =August | format =transcribed by Tom Andrae, introduction by ]| work =The Superman Website | publisher =published on web by Great Rao (fansite), original publication: {{cite journal | year =1983 | month =August |title=Of Superman and Kids With Dreams | journal =] | issue =2 | pages =6-19 | id ={{ISSN|07469438}}}} | archiveurl =http://web.archive.org/web/20031207220532/superman.ws/seventy/interview/?part=0 | archivedate =2003-12-06 }} | |||
<ref name=Sergi2015>{{harvp|Sergi|2015}}. ''The Law for Comic Book Creators''</ref> | |||
* {{cite book | last=Daniels | first=Les | authorlink=Les Daniels | year=1998 | title=Superman: The Complete History | edition=1st edition | publisher=] | id=ISBN 1-85286-988-7 }} | |||
<ref name=Daniels1998>{{harvp|Daniels|1998}}. ''Superman: The Complete History''</ref> | |||
*{{cite book | last=Daniels | first=Les | authorlink=Les Daniels | year=1995 | title=DC Comics: Sixty Years of the World's Favourite Comic Book Heroes | edition=First | publisher=] | id=ISBN 1-85227-546-4 }} | |||
<ref name=Gordon2017>{{harvp|Gordon|2017}}</ref> | |||
* {{cite journal | last = Dean | first = Michael | title = An Extraordinarily Marketable Man: The Ongoing Struggle for Ownership of Superman and Superboy | journal = The Comics Journal | issue = 263 | pages =13-17 | date = ] | url = http://www.tcj.com/263/n_marketable.html | accessdate = 2006-12-22}} | |||
<ref name=Scivally2007>{{harvp|Scivally|2007}}. ''Superman on Film, Television, Radio and Broadway''</ref> | |||
* {{cite book |last=Eury |first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Eury |coauthors=], ] ''et al''. |title=The Krypton Companion |origdate=], ]|publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |isbn=1893905616}} | |||
<ref name=MankiewiczCrane2012p203>{{harvp|Mankiewicz|Crane|2012|p=203}}</ref> | |||
</div> | |||
<ref name="Weldon33">{{Harvard citation no brackets|Weldon|p=33|2013}}</ref> | |||
}} | |||
== |
===Bibliography=== | ||
* {{cite news |first=Thomas|last=Andrae |title=Of Supermen and Kids with Dreams |newspaper=] |issue=2 |publisher=] |date=August 1983 |pages=6–19 |url=https://www.dropbox.com/s/0s3lbpbsetmqe5v/Siegel%20and%20Shuster%20interview%20with%20Andrae%20%28in%20Nemo%20%232%2C%201983%29.pdf?dl=0 }} | |||
* Official DC Comics company website for Superman | |||
** Reprinted in ''Comics Values Monthly Superman Memorial Issue'' (1992) and {{cite web|url= http://ohdannyboy.blogspot.be/2012/08/jerry-and-i-did-comic-book-together.html |title='Jerry and I did a comic book together...' Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster Interviewed|editor-first= Daniel|editor-last= Best |date=August 3, 2012 |access-date= December 4, 2015 |publisher=20th Century Danny Boy |archive-date= December 4, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151204211112/http://ohdannyboy.blogspot.be/2012/08/jerry-and-i-did-comic-book-together.html |url-status=live}} | |||
* Public radio exploration of the character. | |||
* {{cite magazine |last=Beerbohm |first=Robert |date=1996 |title=Siegel & Shuster Presents... The Superman |magazine=Comic Book Marketplace |issue=36 |pages=47–50|publisher=Gemstone Publishing Inc.}} | |||
* (Largest unofficial fansite) | |||
* {{cite book |last=Cronin |first=Brian |date=2009 |title=Was Superman a Spy? |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SFgiXbVykSIC&q=fleischer+studios |publisher=Penguin|isbn=9781101046562}} | |||
* | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Daniels |first=Les |year=1995 |title=DC Comics: Sixty Years of the World's Favorite Comic Book Heroes |edition=First |publisher=] |isbn=978-0821220764 }} | |||
* | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Daniels |first=Les |author-link=Les Daniels |year=1998 |title=Superman: The Complete History |edition=1st |publisher=] |isbn=1-85286-988-7 }} | |||
* {{dmoz|Arts/Comics/Titles/S/Superman/}} | |||
* {{Cite journal |last = Dean |first = Michael|title = An Extraordinarily Marketable Man: The Ongoing Struggle for Ownership of Superman and Superboy |journal=] |issue = 263 |pages =13–17 |date = October 14, 2004 |url = http://www.tcj.com/263/n_marketable.html |access-date =December 22, 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061201110153/http://www.tcj.com/263/n_marketable.html |archive-date = December 1, 2006 |url-status=dead }} | |||
* Chronological list of Superman comic book compilations | |||
* {{Cite book |last1 = Eury |first1 = Michael |author-link1 = Michael Eury |last2 = Adams |first2 = Neal |author-link2 = Neal Adams |last3 = Swan |first3 = Curt |author-link3 = Curt Swan |last4 = Anderson |first4 = Murphy |title=The Krypton Companion|publisher=] |isbn=978-1-893905-61-0 |year=2006 |location = Raleigh, NC }} | |||
<br /> | |||
* {{cite book |last=Gordon |first=Ian |title=Superman: The Persistence of an American Icon |year=2017 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |isbn=9780813587530 }} | |||
{{Superman}} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Harvey |first=Robert C. |title=The Art of the Comic Book: An Aesthetic History |publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi |year=1996 |isbn=9780878057580 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/artofcomicbookae0000harv }} | |||
{{Superman in other media}} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Hatfield|first=Charles|title=Alternative Comics: An Emerging Literature|publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi|year=2005|isbn=9781604735871}} | |||
{{featured article}} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Hayde |first=Michael J. |year=2009 |title=Flights of Fantasy: The Unauthorized but True Story of Radio & TV's Adventures of Superman |publisher=BearManor Media |isbn=9781593933449 }} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Jones|first=Gerard|title=Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book|url=https://archive.org/details/menoftomorrowgee0000jone|url-access=registration|publisher=Basic Books|year=2004|isbn=0-465-03656-2}} | |||
* {{cite news |last=Kobler |first=John |date=June 21, 1941 |title=Up, Up, and Awa-a-ay!: The Rise of Superman, Inc. |url=http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/wp-content/uploads/satevepost/rise-of-superman.pdf |work=] |archive-date= September 13, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160913192904/http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/wp-content/uploads/satevepost/rise-of-superman.pdf |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Lund|first=Martin|year=2016|title=Re-Constructing the Man of Steel: Superman 1938–1941, Jewish American History, and the Invention of the Jewish–Comics Connection|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-3-319-42959-5}} | |||
* {{cite book|last1=Mankiewicz|first1=Tom|last2=Crane|first2=Robert|year=2012|title=My Life as a Mankiewicz: An Insider's Journey through Hollywood|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|isbn=9780813140575}} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Pointer|first=Ray|date=2017|title=The Art and Inventions of Max Fleischer: American Animation Pioneer|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1-4766-6367-8}} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Ricca|first=Brad|date=2014|title=Super Boys: The Amazing Adventures of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster – the Creators of Superman|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|isbn=978-1250049681}} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Rossen|first=Jake|date=2008|title=Superman Vs. Hollywood: How Fiendish Producers, Devious Directors, and Warring Writers Grounded an American Icon|publisher=Chicago Review Press|isbn=9781569765012}} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Scivally|first=Bruce|date=2007|title=Superman on Film, Television, Radio and Broadway|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786431663}} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Sergi|first=Joe|date=2015|title=The Law for Comic Book Creators: Essential Concepts and Applications|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0786473601}} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Steranko|first=Jim|date=1970|title=The Steranko History of Comics vol. 1|publisher=Supergraphics|isbn=9780517501887}} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Tye|first=Larry|date=2012|title=Superman: The High-Flying History of America's Most Enduring Hero|url=https://archive.org/details/supermanhighflyi00tyel_0|url-access=registration|publisher=Random House New York|isbn=978-1-58836-918-5|ref=refTye2012}} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Weldon|first=Glen|title=Superman: The Unauthorized Biography|year=2013|publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc.|location=New Jersey|isbn=978-1-118-34184-1}} | |||
* {{cite book |title=American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1980s |first1=Keith |last1=Dallas |first2=Jason |last2=Sacks |first3=Jim |last3=Beard |first4=Dave |last4=Dykema |author5=Paul Brian McCoy |publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |year=2013 |isbn=9781605490465 |ref=refDallasEtAl2013}} | |||
==Further reading== | |||
{{Link FA|it}} | |||
* {{cite book | |||
{{Link FA|sv}} | |||
|last=De Haven | |||
|first=Tom | |||
|author-link=Tom De Haven | |||
|year=2009 | |||
|title=Our Hero: Superman on Earth | |||
|location=New Haven, CT | |||
|publisher=] | |||
|isbn=978-0-300-11817-9 | |||
|oclc=320132317 | |||
}} | |||
== External links == | |||
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{{Sister project links|wikt=Superman|b=no|q=Superman|s=no|commons=Category:Superman and his cast|n=no|v=no|d=Q79015}} | |||
* {{Official website}} | |||
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191121231207/http://comicbookdb.com/character.php?ID=190 |date=November 21, 2019 }}, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191106081931/http://comicbookdb.com/character.php?ID=296 |date=November 6, 2019 }} and {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191121224114/http://comicbookdb.com/character.php?ID=96 |date=November 21, 2019 }} Superman at the Comic book database | |||
* {{DCdatabase|Superman}} | |||
* on ] | |||
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Latest revision as of 22:00, 20 December 2024
DC Comics superhero This article is about the superhero. For other uses, see Superman (disambiguation).Comics character
Clark Kent / Kal-El Superman | |
---|---|
Superman appearing on a variant cover of Action Comics #1000 (April 2018) Art by Jason Fabok. | |
Publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
First appearance | Action Comics #1 (cover-dated June 1938; published April 18, 1938) |
Created by | Jerry Siegel (writer) Joe Shuster (artist) |
In-story information | |
Alter ego | Kal-El (birth name; Krypton identity) Clark J. Kent (adopted name; civilian identity) |
Species | Kryptonian |
Place of origin | Krypton |
Team affiliations | |
Partnerships |
|
Notable aliases |
|
Abilities |
See list
|
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book Action Comics #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and published April 18, 1938). Superman has been adapted to several other media including radio serials, novels, films, television shows, theater, and video games.
Superman was born Kal-El, on the fictional planet Krypton. As a baby, his parents Jor-El and Lara sent him to Earth in a small spaceship shortly before Krypton was destroyed in a natural cataclysm. His ship landed in the American countryside near the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas. He was found and adopted by farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent, who named him Clark Kent. Clark began developing superhuman abilities, such as incredible strength and impervious skin. His adoptive parents advised him to use his powers to benefit humanity, and he decided to fight crime as a vigilante. To protect his personal life, he changes into a colorful costume and uses the alias "Superman" when fighting crime. Clark resides in the fictional American city of Metropolis, where he works as a journalist for the Daily Planet. Superman's supporting characters include his love interest and fellow journalist Lois Lane, Daily Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen, and editor-in-chief Perry White, and his enemies include Brainiac, General Zod, and archenemy Lex Luthor.
Superman is the archetypal superhero: he wears an outlandish costume, uses a codename, is unfailingly good and honest, and fights evil with the aid of extraordinary abilities. Although there are earlier characters who arguably fit this definition, Superman popularized the superhero genre and established its conventions. He was the best-selling superhero in American comic books up until the 1980s.
Development
Jerry Siegel, writerJoe Shuster, illustratorJerry Siegel and Joe Shuster met in 1932 while attending Glenville High School in Cleveland and bonded over their admiration of fiction. Siegel aspired to become a writer and Shuster aspired to become an illustrator. Siegel wrote amateur science fiction stories, which he self-published as a magazine called Science Fiction: The Advance Guard of Future Civilization. His friend Shuster often provided illustrations for his work. In January 1933, Siegel published a short story in his magazine titled "The Reign of the Superman". The titular character is a homeless man named Bill Dunn who is tricked by an evil scientist into consuming an experimental drug. The drug gives Dunn the powers of mind-reading, mind-control, and clairvoyance. He uses these powers maliciously for profit and amusement, but then the drug wears off, leaving him a powerless vagrant again. Shuster provided illustrations, depicting Dunn as a bald man.
Siegel and Shuster shifted to making comic strips, with a focus on adventure and comedy. They wanted to become syndicated newspaper strip authors, so they showed their ideas to various newspaper editors. However, the newspaper editors were not impressed, and told them that if they wanted to make a successful comic strip, it had to be something more sensational than anything else on the market. This prompted Siegel to revisit Superman as a comic strip character. Siegel modified Superman's powers to make him even more sensational. Like Bill Dunn, the second prototype of Superman is given powers against his will by an unscrupulous scientist, but instead of psychic abilities, he acquires superhuman strength and bullet-proof skin. Additionally, this new Superman was a crime-fighting hero instead of a villain, because Siegel noted that comic strips with heroic protagonists tended to be more successful. In later years, Siegel once recalled that this Superman wore a "bat-like" cape in some panels, but typically he and Shuster agreed there was no costume yet, and there is none apparent in the surviving artwork.
Siegel and Shuster showed this second concept of Superman to Consolidated Book Publishers, based in Chicago. In May 1933, Consolidated had published a proto-comic book titled Detective Dan: Secret Operative 48. It contained all-original stories as opposed to reprints of newspaper strips, which was a novelty at the time. Siegel and Shuster put together a comic book in a similar format called The Superman. A delegation from Consolidated visited Cleveland that summer on a business trip and Siegel and Shuster took the opportunity to present their work in person. Although Consolidated expressed interest, they later pulled out of the comics business without ever offering a book deal because the sales of Detective Dan were disappointing.
Siegel believed publishers kept rejecting them because he and Shuster were young and unknown, so he looked for an established artist to replace Shuster. When Siegel told Shuster what he was doing, Shuster reacted by burning their rejected Superman comic, sparing only the cover. They continued collaborating on other projects, but for the time being Shuster was through with Superman.
Siegel wrote to numerous artists. The first response came in July 1933 from Leo O'Mealia, who drew the Fu Manchu strip for the Bell Syndicate. In the script that Siegel sent to O'Mealia, Superman's origin story changes: He is a "scientist-adventurer" from the far future when humanity has naturally evolved "superpowers". Just before the Earth explodes, he escapes in a time-machine to the modern era, whereupon he immediately begins using his superpowers to fight crime. O'Mealia produced a few strips and showed them to his newspaper syndicate, but they were rejected. O'Mealia did not send to Siegel any copies of his strips, and they have been lost.
In June 1934, Siegel found another partner, an artist in Chicago named Russell Keaton. Keaton drew the Buck Rogers and Skyroads comic strips. In the script that Siegel sent Keaton in June, Superman's origin story further evolved: In the distant future, when Earth is on the verge of exploding due to "giant cataclysms", the last surviving man sends his three-year-old son back in time to the year 1935. The time-machine appears on a road where it is discovered by motorists Sam and Molly Kent. They leave the boy in an orphanage, but the staff struggle to control him because he has superhuman strength and impenetrable skin. The Kents adopt the boy and name him Clark, and teach him that he must use his fantastic natural gifts for the benefit of humanity. In November, Siegel sent Keaton an extension of his script: an adventure where Superman foils a conspiracy to kidnap a star football player. The extended script mentions that Clark puts on a special "uniform" when assuming the identity of Superman, but it is not described. Keaton produced two weeks' worth of strips based on Siegel's script. In November, Keaton showed his strips to a newspaper syndicate, but they too were rejected, and he abandoned the project.
Siegel and Shuster reconciled and resumed developing Superman together. The character became an alien from the planet Krypton. Shuster designed the now-familiar costume: tights with an "S" on the chest, over-shorts, and a cape. They made Clark Kent a journalist who pretends to be timid, and conceived his colleague Lois Lane, who is attracted to the bold and mighty Superman but does not realize that he and Kent are the same person.
In June 1935 Siegel and Shuster finally found work with National Allied Publications, a comic magazine publishing company in New York owned by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson. Wheeler-Nicholson published two of their strips in New Fun Comics #6 (1935): "Henri Duval" and "Doctor Occult". Siegel and Shuster also showed him Superman and asked him to market Superman to the newspapers on their behalf. In October, Wheeler-Nicholson offered to publish Superman in one of his own magazines. Siegel and Shuster refused his offer because Wheeler-Nicholson had demonstrated himself to be an irresponsible businessman. He had been slow to respond to their letters and had not paid them for their work in New Fun Comics #6. They chose to keep marketing Superman to newspaper syndicates themselves. Despite the erratic pay, Siegel and Shuster kept working for Wheeler-Nicholson because he was the only publisher who was buying their work, and over the years they produced other adventure strips for his magazines.
Wheeler-Nicholson's financial difficulties continued to mount. In 1936, he formed a joint corporation with Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz called Detective Comics, Inc. in order to release his third magazine, which was titled Detective Comics. Siegel and Shuster produced stories for Detective Comics too, such as "Slam Bradley". Wheeler-Nicholson fell into deep debt to Donenfeld and Liebowitz, and in early January 1938, Donenfeld and Liebowitz petitioned Wheeler-Nicholson's company into bankruptcy and seized it.
In early December 1937, Siegel visited Liebowitz in New York, and Liebowitz asked Siegel to produce some comics for an upcoming comic anthology magazine called Action Comics. Siegel proposed some new stories, but not Superman. Siegel and Shuster were, at the time, negotiating a deal with the McClure Newspaper Syndicate for Superman. In early January 1938, Siegel had a three-way telephone conversation with Liebowitz and an employee of McClure named Max Gaines. Gaines informed Siegel that McClure had rejected Superman, and asked if he could forward their Superman strips to Liebowitz so that Liebowitz could consider them for Action Comics. Siegel agreed. Liebowitz and his colleagues were impressed by the strips, and they asked Siegel and Shuster to develop the strips into 13 pages for Action Comics. Having grown tired of rejections, Siegel and Shuster accepted the offer. At least now they would see Superman published. Siegel and Shuster submitted their work in late February and were paid US$130 (equivalent to $2,800 in 2023) for their work ($10 per page). In early March they signed a contract at Liebowitz's request in which they gave away the copyright for Superman to Detective Comics, Inc. This was normal practice in the business, and Siegel and Shuster had given away the copyrights to their previous works as well.
The duo's revised version of Superman appeared in the first issue of Action Comics, which was published on April 18, 1938. The issue was a huge success thanks to Superman's feature.
Influences
Siegel and Shuster read pulp science-fiction and adventure magazines, and many stories featured characters with fantastical abilities such as telepathy, clairvoyance, and superhuman strength. One character in particular was John Carter of Mars from the novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. John Carter is a human who is transported to Mars, where the lower gravity makes him stronger than the natives and allows him to leap great distances. Another influence was Philip Wylie's 1930 novel Gladiator, featuring a protagonist named Hugo Danner who had similar powers.
Superman's stance and devil-may-care attitude were influenced by the characters of Douglas Fairbanks, who starred in adventure films such as The Mark of Zorro and Robin Hood. The name of Superman's home city, Metropolis, was taken from the 1927 film of the same name. Popeye cartoons were also an influence.
Douglas Fairbanks and Harold Lloyd influenced the look of Superman and Clark Kent, respectively.Clark Kent's harmless facade and dual identity were inspired by the protagonists of such movies as Don Diego de la Vega in The Mark of Zorro and Sir Percy Blakeney in The Scarlet Pimpernel. Siegel thought this would make for interesting dramatic contrast and good humor. Another inspiration was slapstick comedian Harold Lloyd. The archetypal Lloyd character was a mild-mannered man who finds himself abused by bullies but later in the story snaps and fights back furiously.
Kent is a journalist because Siegel often imagined himself becoming one after leaving school. The love triangle between Lois Lane, Clark, and Superman was inspired by Siegel's own awkwardness with girls.
The pair collected comic strips in their youth, with a favorite being Winsor McCay's fantastical Little Nemo. Shuster remarked on the artists who played an important part in the development of his own style: "Alex Raymond and Burne Hogarth were my idols – also Milt Caniff, Hal Foster, and Roy Crane." Shuster taught himself to draw by tracing over the art in the strips and magazines they collected.
As a boy, Shuster was interested in fitness culture and a fan of strongmen such as Siegmund Breitbart and Joseph Greenstein. He collected fitness magazines and manuals and used their photographs as visual references for his art.
The visual design of Superman came from multiple influences. The tight-fitting suit and shorts were inspired by the costumes of wrestlers, boxers, and strongmen. In early concept art, Shuster gave Superman laced sandals like those of strongmen and classical heroes, but these were eventually changed to red boots. The costumes of Douglas Fairbanks were also an influence. The emblem on his chest was inspired by heraldic crests. Many pulp action heroes such as swashbucklers wore capes. Superman's face was based on Johnny Weissmuller with touches derived from the comic-strip character Dick Tracy and from the work of cartoonist Roy Crane.
The word "superman" was commonly used in the 1920s and 1930s to describe men of great ability, most often athletes and politicians. It occasionally appeared in pulp fiction stories as well, such as "The Superman of Dr. Jukes". It is unclear whether Siegel and Shuster were influenced by Friedrich Nietzsche's concept of the Übermensch; they never acknowledged as much.
Comics
See also: Publication history of Superman and Superman (franchise)Comic books
See also: List of Superman comics The cover of Superman #6 (Sept. 1940) by Joe Shuster, the original artist and co-creatorSince 1938, Superman stories have been regularly published in periodical comic books published by DC Comics. The first and oldest of these is Action Comics, which began in April 1938. Action Comics was initially an anthology magazine, but it eventually became dedicated to Superman stories. The second oldest periodical is Superman, which began in June 1939. Action Comics and Superman have been published without interruption (ignoring changes to the title and numbering scheme). Several other shorter-lived Superman periodicals have been published over the years. Superman is part of the DC Universe, which is a shared setting of superhero characters owned by DC Comics, and consequently he frequently appears in stories alongside the likes of Batman, Wonder Woman, and others.
More Superman comic books have been sold in publication history than any other American superhero character. Exact sales figures for the early decades of Superman comic books are hard to find because, like most publishers at the time, DC Comics concealed this data from its competitors and thereby the general public, but given the general market trends at the time, sales of Action Comics and Superman probably peaked in the mid-1940s and thereafter steadily declined. Sales data first became public in 1960, and showed that Superman was the best-selling comic book character of the 1960s and 1970s. Sales rose again starting in 1987. Superman #75 (Nov 1992) had over 23 million copies sold, making it the best-selling issue of a comic book of all time, due to a media sensation over The Death of Superman in that issue. Sales declined from that point on. In March 2018, Action Comics sold just 51,534 copies, although such low figures are normal for superhero comic books in general (for comparison, Amazing Spider-Man #797 sold only 128,189 copies). The comic books have become a niche aspect of the Superman franchise due to low readership, though they remain influential as creative engines for the movies and television shows. Comic book stories can be produced quickly and cheaply, and are thus an ideal medium for experimentation.
Whereas comic books in the 1950s were read by children, since the 1990s the average reader has been an adult. A major reason for this shift was DC Comics' decision in the 1970s to sell its comic books to specialty stores instead of traditional magazine retailers (supermarkets, newsstands, etc.) — a model called "direct distribution". This made comic books less accessible to children.
Newspaper strips
See also: Superman (comic strip)Beginning in January 1939, a Superman daily comic strip appeared in newspapers, syndicated through the McClure Syndicate. A color Sunday version was added that November. Jerry Siegel wrote most of the strips until he was conscripted into the United States Army in 1943. The Sunday strips had a narrative continuity separate from the daily strips, possibly because Siegel had to delegate the Sunday strips to ghostwriters. By 1941, the newspaper strips had an estimated readership of 20 million. Joe Shuster drew the early strips, then passed the job to Wayne Boring. From 1949 to 1956, the newspaper strips were drawn by Win Mortimer. The strip ended in May 1966, but was revived from 1977 to 1983 to coincide with a series of movies released by Warner Bros.
Editors
Initially, Siegel was allowed to write Superman more or less as he saw fit because nobody had anticipated the success and rapid expansion of the franchise. But soon Siegel and Shuster's work was put under careful oversight for fear of trouble with censors. Siegel was forced to tone down the violence and social crusading that characterized his early stories. Editor Whitney Ellsworth, hired in 1940, dictated that Superman not kill. Sexuality was banned, and colorfully outlandish villains such as Ultra-Humanite and Toyman were thought to be less nightmarish for young readers.
Mort Weisinger was the editor on Superman comics from 1941 to 1970, his tenure briefly interrupted by military service. Siegel and his fellow writers had developed the character with little thought of building a coherent mythology, but as the number of Superman titles and the pool of writers grew, Weisinger demanded a more disciplined approach. Weisinger assigned story ideas, and the logic of Superman's powers, his origin, the locales, and his relationships with his growing cast of supporting characters were carefully planned. Elements such as Bizarro, his cousin Supergirl, the Phantom Zone, the Fortress of Solitude, alternate varieties of kryptonite, robot doppelgangers, and Krypto were introduced during this era. The complicated universe built under Weisinger was beguiling to devoted readers but alienating to casuals. Weisinger favored lighthearted stories over serious drama, and avoided sensitive subjects such as the Vietnam War and the American civil rights movement because he feared his right-wing views would alienate his left-leaning writers and readers. Weisinger also introduced letters columns in 1958 to encourage feedback and build intimacy with readers.
Weisinger retired in 1970 and Julius Schwartz took over. By his own admission, Weisinger had grown out of touch with newer readers. Starting with The Sandman Saga, Schwartz updated Superman by making Clark Kent a television anchor, and he retired overused plot elements such as kryptonite and robot doppelgangers. Schwartz also scaled Superman's powers down to a level closer to Siegel's original. These changes would eventually be reversed by later writers. Schwartz allowed stories with serious drama such as "For the Man Who Has Everything" (Superman Annual #11), in which the villain Mongul torments Superman with an illusion of happy family life on a living Krypton.
Schwartz retired from DC Comics in 1986 and was succeeded by Mike Carlin as an editor on Superman comics. His retirement coincided with DC Comics' decision to reboot the DC Universe with the companywide-crossover storyline "Crisis on Infinite Earths". In The Man of Steel writer John Byrne rewrote the Superman mythos, again reducing Superman's powers, which writers had slowly re-strengthened, and revised many supporting characters, such as making Lex Luthor a billionaire industrialist rather than a mad scientist, and making Supergirl an artificial shapeshifting organism because DC wanted Superman to be the sole surviving Kryptonian.
Carlin was promoted to Executive Editor for the DC Universe books in 1996, a position he held until 2002. K.C. Carlson took his place as editor of the Superman comics.
Aesthetic style
In the earlier decades of Superman comics, artists were expected to conform to a certain "house style". Joe Shuster defined the aesthetic style of Superman in the 1940s. After Shuster left National, Wayne Boring succeeded him as the principal artist on Superman comic books. He redrew Superman taller and more detailed. Around 1955, Curt Swan in turn succeeded Boring. The 1980s saw a boom in the diversity of comic book art and now there is no single "house style" in Superman comics.
In other media
Main article: Superman (franchise)Radio
The first adaptation of Superman beyond comic books was a radio show, The Adventures of Superman, which ran from 1940 to 1951 for 2,088 episodes, most of which were aimed at children. The episodes were initially 15 minutes long, but after 1949 they were lengthened to 30 minutes. Most episodes were done live. Bud Collyer was the voice actor for Superman in most episodes. The show was produced by Robert Maxwell and Allen Ducovny, who were employees of Superman, Inc. and Detective Comics, Inc. respectively.
Stage
In 1966 Superman had a Tony-nominated musical play produced on Broadway. It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman featured music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Lee Adams and book by David Newman and Robert Benton. Actor Bob Holiday performed as Clark Kent/Superman and actress Patricia Marand performed as Lois Lane.
Film
Main article: Superman in film- Paramount Pictures released a series of Superman theatrical animated shorts between 1941 and 1943. Seventeen episodes in total were made, each 8–10 minutes long. The first nine films were produced by Fleischer Studios and the next films were produced by Famous Studios. Bud Collyer provided the voice of Superman. The first episode had a production budget of $50,000 with the remaining episodes at $30,000 each (equivalent to $621,000 in 2023), which was exceptionally lavish for the time; $9,000 – $15,000 was more typical for animated shorts. Joe Shuster provided model sheets for the characters, so the visuals resembled the contemporary comic book aesthetic.
- The first live-action adaptation of Superman was a movie serial released in 1948, targeted at children. Kirk Alyn became the first actor to portray the hero onscreen. The production cost up to $325,000 (equivalent to $4,121,000 in 2023). It was the most profitable movie serial in movie history. A sequel serial, Atom Man vs. Superman, was released in 1950. For flying scenes, Superman was hand-drawn in animated form, composited onto live-action footage.
- The first feature film was Superman and the Mole Men, a 58-minute B-movie released in 1951, produced on an estimated budget of $30,000 (equivalent to $352,000 in 2023). It starred George Reeves as Superman, and was intended to promote the subsequent television series.
- The first big-budget movie was Superman in 1978, starring Christopher Reeve and produced by Alexander and Ilya Salkind. It was 143 minutes long and was made on a budget of $55 million (equivalent to $257,000,000 in 2023). It is the most successful Superman feature film to date in terms of box office revenue adjusted for inflation. The soundtrack was composed by John Williams and was nominated for an Academy Award. Superman (1978) was the first big-budget superhero movie, and its success arguably paved the way for later superhero movies like Batman (1989) and Spider-Man (2002).
- The 1978 film spawned three sequels: Superman II (1980), Superman III (1983), Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987).
- In 2006, Superman Returns was released, designed after the 1978–1987 film series. Superman was portrayed by Brandon Routh, who later reprised his role in the Arrowverse crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019–2020).
- Superman has appeared in a series of direct-to-video animated films produced by Warner Bros. Animation called DC Universe Animated Original Movies, beginning with Superman: Doomsday in 2007. Many of these movies are adaptations of popular comic book stories.
- Superman appeared in the theatrical animated feature film Teen Titans Go! To the Movies (2018), voiced by Nicolas Cage.
- Superman appeared in the theatrical animated feature film DC League of Super-Pets (2022), voiced by John Krasinski.
DC Extended Universe
- In 2013, Man of Steel was released by Warner Bros. as a reboot of the film series, starring Henry Cavill as Superman.
- A sequel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), featured Superman alongside Batman and Wonder Woman, making it the first theatrical film in which Superman appeared alongside other superheroes from the DC Universe.
- Cavill reprised his role in Justice League (2017) and its director's cut (2021).
- This version of Superman also makes cameos in Shazam! (2019) and in the first season finale of the TV series Peacemaker (2022) but portrayed by stand-ins for Cavill.
- Cavill makes an uncredited cameo appearance as Superman in the mid-credits scene of the film Black Adam (2022).
- Nicolas Cage makes a cameo appearance as an alternate version of Superman in the film The Flash (2023), Cage shooting his scenes through volumetric capture, before he was deaged with computer-generated imagery (CGI). Cavill, George Reeves, and Christopher Reeve also cameo as their respective versions of Superman through the use of CGI representing their likenesses, Cavill having filmed additional scenes as the character for the film which were removed during post-production.
DC Universe
- A new reboot of the film series, Superman, is in development, to be set in the DC Universe (DCU) franchise. The film was written and directed by James Gunn and produced by DC Studios, and is set to release on July 11, 2025. On June 27, 2023, David Corenswet was cast as Superman in the film.
Television
- Adventures of Superman, which aired from 1952 to 1958, was the first television series based on a superhero. It starred George Reeves as Superman. Whereas the radio serial was aimed at children, this television show was aimed at a general audience, although children made up the majority of viewers. Robert Maxwell, who produced the radio serial, was the producer for the first season. For the second season, Maxwell was replaced with Whitney Ellsworth. Ellsworth toned down the violence of the show to make it more suitable for children, though he still aimed for a general audience. This show was extremely popular in Japan, where it achieved an audience share rating of 74.2% in 1958.
- His first animated television series was The New Adventures of Superman, which aired from 1966 to 1970. The show also feature a seven-minute part focused on Superboy named The Adventures of Superboy.
- Starting in 1974, Superman was one of the leading characters in the Hanna-Barbera-produced animated series Super Friends and all its sequels until 1986.
- To celebrate his 50th anniversary, Ruby Spears produced an animated series partially based on Superman (1978) and post-Crisis Superman comics created by John Byrne. The model sheets for Superman (1988) were drawn by legendary comics artist Gil Kane and most of the episodes were written by comics writer Marv Wolfman.
- Superboy aired from 1988 to 1992. It was produced by Alexander and Ilya Salkind, the same men who had produced the Superman films starring Christopher Reeve.
- Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman aired from 1993 to 1997. This show was aimed at adults and focused on the relationship between Clark Kent and Lois Lane as much as Superman's heroics. Dean Cain played Superman, and Teri Hatcher played Lois.
- Smallville aired from 2001 to 2011. The show was targeted at young adults. Played by Tom Welling, the series covered Clark Kent's life prior to becoming Superman, spanning ten years from his high school years in Smallville to his early life in Metropolis. Although Clark engages in heroics, he does not wear a costume, nor does he call himself Superboy. Rather, he relies on misdirection and his blinding speed to avoid being recognized. Later seasons find him becoming a public hero called the Red-Blue Blur, eventually shortened to the Blur, in a proto-Justice League before taking on the mantle of Superman.
- Superman: The Animated Series (with the voice of Tim Daly as the adult character) aired from 1996 to 2000. After the show's conclusion, this version of Superman appeared in the sequel shows Batman Beyond (voiced by Christopher McDonald) aired from 1999 to 2001 and Justice League and Justice League Unlimited (voiced by George Newbern), which ran from 2001 to 2006. All of these shows were produced by Bruce Timm. This was the most successful and longest-running animated version of Superman.
- In the Arrowverse, Earth-38 Superman (played by Tyler Hoechlin), appears as a special guest star in several television series: Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow.
- Hoechlin also played his Arrowverse doppelgänger on Superman & Lois that is set outside of Earth-Prime.
- Superman appears as an ensemble character in the animated show Justice League Action. He also appears as a guest character in other animated shows such as Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Harley Quinn.
- The 2023 animated series My Adventures with Superman depicts a young Superman (played by Jack Quaid) at the start of his career, through the eyes of a reimagined Lois Lane, with elements of romantic comedy alongside the standard action-adventure and science fiction tropes.
Video games
Main article: List of video games featuring Superman- The first electronic game was simply titled Superman, and released in 1979 for the Atari 2600.
- The last game fully centered on Superman was the adaptation of Superman Returns in 2006.
- From 2006 to present, Superman appeared in a co-starring role, such as the Injustice game series (2013–present).
Merchandising
DC Comics trademarked the Superman chest logo in August 1938. Jack Liebowitz established Superman, Inc. in October 1939 to develop the franchise beyond the comic books. Superman, Inc. merged with DC Comics in October 1946. After DC Comics merged with Warner Communications in 1967, licensing for Superman was handled by the Licensing Corporation of America.
The Licensing Letter (an American market research firm) estimated that Superman licensed merchandise made $634 million in sales globally in 2018 (43.3% of this revenue came from the North American market). For comparison, in the same year, Spider-Man merchandise made $1.075 billion and Star Wars merchandise made $1.923 billion globally.
The earliest paraphernalia appeared in 1939: a button proclaiming membership in the Supermen of America club. The first toy was a wooden doll in 1939 made by the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company. Superman #5 (May 1940) carried an advertisement for a "Krypto-Raygun", which was a gun-shaped device that could project images on a wall. The majority of Superman merchandise is targeted at children, but since the 1970s, adults have been increasingly targeted because the comic book readership has gotten older.
During World War II, Superman was used to support the war effort. Action Comics and Superman carried messages urging readers to buy war bonds and participate in scrap drives. Other superheroes became patriots who went to fight: Batman, Wonder Woman and Captain America.
Copyright issues
Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster
Main article: Copyright lawsuits by Superman's creatorsIn a contract dated March 1, 1938, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster gave away the copyright to Superman to their employer, DC Comics (then known as Detective Comics, Inc.) prior to Superman's first publication in April. Contrary to popular perception, the $130 that DC Comics paid them was for their first Superman story, not the copyright to the character — that, they gave away for free. This was normal practice in the comic magazine industry and they had done the same with their previous published works (Slam Bradley, Doctor Occult, etc.), but Superman became far more popular and valuable than they anticipated and they much regretted giving him away. DC Comics retained Siegel and Shuster, and they were paid well because they were popular with the readers. Between 1938 and 1947, DC Comics paid them together at least $401,194.85 (equivalent to $7,310,000 in 2023).
Siegel wrote most of the magazine and daily newspaper stories until he was conscripted into the United States Army in 1943, whereupon the task was passed to ghostwriters. While Siegel was serving in Hawaii, DC Comics published a story featuring a child version of Superman called "Superboy", which was based on a script Siegel had submitted several years before. Siegel was furious because DC Comics did this without having bought the character.
After Siegel's discharge from the Army, he and Shuster sued DC Comics in 1947 for the rights to Superman and Superboy. The judge ruled that Superman belonged to DC Comics, but that Superboy was a separate entity that belonged to Siegel. Siegel and Shuster settled out-of-court with DC Comics, which paid the pair $94,013.16 (equivalent to $1,192,222 in 2023) in exchange for the full rights to both Superman and Superboy. DC Comics then fired Siegel and Shuster.
DC Comics rehired Jerry Siegel as a writer in 1959.
In 1965, Siegel and Shuster attempted to regain rights to Superman using the renewal option in the Copyright Act of 1909, but the court ruled Siegel and Shuster had transferred the renewal rights to DC Comics in 1938. Siegel and Shuster appealed, but the appeals court upheld this decision. DC Comics fired Siegel once again, when he filed this second lawsuit.
In 1975, Siegel and several other comic book writers and artists launched a public campaign for better compensation and treatment of comic creators. Warner Brothers agreed to give Siegel and Shuster a yearly stipend, full medical benefits, and credit their names in all future Superman productions in exchange for never contesting ownership of Superman. Siegel and Shuster upheld this bargain.
Shuster died in 1992. DC Comics offered Shuster's heirs a stipend in exchange for never challenging ownership of Superman, which they accepted for some years.
Siegel died in 1996. His heirs attempted to take the rights to Superman using the termination provision of the Copyright Act of 1976. DC Comics negotiated an agreement wherein it would pay the Siegel heirs several million dollars and a yearly stipend of $500,000 in exchange for permanently granting DC the rights to Superman. DC Comics also agreed to insert the line "By Special Arrangement with the Jerry Siegel Family" in all future Superman productions. The Siegels accepted DC's offer in an October 2001 letter.
Copyright lawyer and movie producer Marc Toberoff then struck a deal with the heirs of both Siegel and Shuster to help them get the rights to Superman in exchange for signing the rights over to his production company, Pacific Pictures. Both groups accepted. The Siegel heirs called off their deal with DC Comics and in 2004 sued DC for the rights to Superman and Superboy. In 2008, the judge ruled in favor of the Siegels. DC Comics appealed the decision, and the appeals court ruled in favor of DC, arguing that the October 2001 letter was binding. In 2003, the Shuster heirs served a termination notice for Shuster's grant of his half of the copyright to Superman. DC Comics sued the Shuster heirs in 2010, and the court ruled in DC's favor on the grounds that the 1992 agreement with the Shuster heirs barred them from terminating the grant.
Under current US copyright law, Superman is due to enter the public domain on January 1, 2034. However, this will only apply (at first) to the character as he is depicted in Action Comics #1, which was published in 1938. Versions of him with later developments, such as his power of "heat vision", may persist under copyright until the works they were introduced in enter the public domain. Lois Lane, who also debuted in Action Comics #1, is expected to enter public domain in 2034, but supporting characters introduced in later publications, such as Jimmy Olsen and Supergirl, will pass into the public domain at later dates.
Captain Marvel
See also: National Comics Publications v. Fawcett PublicationsSuperman's success immediately begat a wave of imitations. The most successful is Captain Marvel, first published by Fawcett Comics in December 1939. Captain Marvel had many similarities to Superman: Herculean strength, invulnerability, the ability to fly, a cape, a secret identity, and a job as a journalist. DC Comics filed a lawsuit against Fawcett Comics for copyright infringement.
The trial began in March 1948 after seven years of discovery. The judge ruled that Fawcett had indeed infringed on Superman. However, the judge also found that the copyright notices that appeared with the Superman newspaper strips did not meet the technical standards of the Copyright Act of 1909 and were therefore invalid. Furthermore, since the newspaper strips carried stories adapted from Action Comics, the judge ruled that DC Comics had effectively abandoned the copyright to the Action Comics stories and Superman, and therefore forfeited its right to sue Fawcett for copyright infringement.
DC Comics appealed this decision. The appeals court ruled that unintentional mistakes in the copyright notices of the newspaper strips did not invalidate the copyrights. Furthermore, Fawcett knew that DC Comics never intended to abandon the copyrights, and therefore Fawcett's infringement was not an innocent misunderstanding, and therefore Fawcett owed damages to DC Comics. The appeals court remanded the case back to the lower court to determine how much Fawcett owed in damages.
At that point, Fawcett Comics decided to settle out of court with DC Comics. Fawcett paid DC Comics $400,000 (equivalent to $4,555,000 in 2023) and agreed to stop publishing Captain Marvel. The last Captain Marvel story from Fawcett Comics was published in September 1953.
DC Comics licensed Captain Marvel in 1972 and published crossover stories with Superman. By 1991, DC Comics had purchased Fawcett Comics and with it the full rights to Captain Marvel. DC eventually renamed the character "Shazam" to prevent disputes with Marvel Comics, who had created a character of their own named "Captain Marvel" back when the Fawcett character had lingered in limbo.
Character overview
Several elements of the Superman narrative have remained consistent in the myriad stories published since 1938.
Superman
In Action Comics #1 (1938), Superman is born on an alien world to a technologically advanced species that resembles humans. Shortly after he is born, his planet is destroyed in a natural cataclysm, but his scientist father foresaw the calamity and saves his baby son by sending him to Earth in a small spaceship. The ship is too small to carry anyone else, so Superman's parents stay behind and die. The earliest newspaper strips name the planet Krypton, the baby Kal-L, and his biological parents Jor-L and Lora; their names were changed to Jor-el, and Lara in a 1942 spinoff novel by George Lowther. The ship lands in the American countryside, where the baby is discovered by the Kents, a farming couple.
The Kents name the boy Clark and raise him in a farming community. A 1947 episode of the radio serial places this yet unnamed community in Iowa. It is named Smallville in Superboy #2 (June 1949). The 1978 Superman movie placed it in Kansas, as have most Superman stories since. New Adventures of Superboy #22 (Oct. 1981) places it in Maryland.
In Action Comics #1 and most stories published before 1986, Superman's powers begin developing in infancy. From 1944 to 1986, DC Comics regularly published stories of Superman's childhood and adolescent adventures, when he called himself "Superboy". From 1986 on (beginning with Man of Steel #1), Superman's powers emerged more slowly and he began his superhero career as an adult.
The Kents teach Clark he must conceal his otherworldly origins and use his fantastic powers to do good. Clark creates the costumed identity of Superman so as to protect his personal privacy and the safety of his loved ones. As Clark Kent, he wears eyeglasses to disguise his face and wears his Superman costume underneath his clothes so that he can change at a moment's notice. To complete this disguise, Clark avoids violent confrontation, preferring to slip away and change into Superman when danger arises, and in older stories he would suffer occasional ridicule for his apparent cowardice.
In Superboy #78 (1960), Superboy makes his costume out of the indestructible blankets found in the ship he came to Earth in. In Man of Steel #1 (1986), Martha Kent makes the costume from human-manufactured cloth, and it is rendered indestructible by an aura that Superman projects. The "S" on Superman's chest at first was simply an initial for "Superman". When writing the script for the 1978 movie, Tom Mankiewicz made it the crest of Superman's Kryptonian family, the House of El. This was carried over into some comic book stories and later movies, such as Man of Steel. In the comic story Superman: Birthright, the crest is described as an old Kryptonian symbol for hope.
Clark works as a newspaper journalist. In the earliest stories, he worked for The Daily Star, but the second episode of the radio serial changed this to the Daily Planet. In comics from the early 1970s, Clark worked as a television journalist, which was an attempt to modernize the character. However, for the 1978 movie, the producers chose to make Clark a newspaper journalist again because that was how most people outside of comic book readers knew him.
The first story in which Superman dies was published in Superman #149 (1961), in which he is murdered by Lex Luthor by means of kryptonite. This story was "imaginary" and therefore was ignored in subsequent books. In Superman #188 (April 1966), Superman is killed by kryptonite radiation but is revived in the same issue by one of his android doppelgangers. In the 1990s The Death and Return of Superman story arc, after a deadly battle with Doomsday, Superman died in Superman #75 (Jan. 1993). He was later revived by the Eradicator using Kryptonian technology. In Superman #52 (May 2016) Superman is killed by kryptonite poisoning, and this time he is not resurrected, but replaced by the Superman of an alternate timeline.
Superman maintains a secret hideout called the "Fortress of Solitude", which is located somewhere in the Arctic. Here, Superman keeps a collection of mementos and a laboratory for science experiments. Action Comics #241 (1958) depicts the Fortress of Solitude as a cave in a mountain, sealed with a very heavy door that is opened with a gigantic key too heavy for anyone but Superman to use. In the 1978 movie, the Fortress of Solitude is a structure made of white crystal.
Clark Kent
"Clark Kent" redirects here. For other uses, see Clark Kent (disambiguation).Superman's secret identity is Clark Joseph Kent, a reporter for the Daily Planet. Although his name and history originate from his early life with his adoptive Earth parents, everything about Clark was staged for the benefit of his alternate identity: as a reporter for the Daily Planet, he receives late-breaking news before the general public, always has a plausible reason to be present at crime scenes, and need not strictly account for his whereabouts as long as he makes his publication deadlines. He sees his job as a journalist as an extension of his Superman responsibilities—bringing truth to the forefront and fighting for the little guy. He believes that everybody has the right to know what is going on in the world, regardless of who is involved. In the Bronze Age of Comic Books, Clark Kent was featured in a series that appeared primarily in The Superman Family, "The Private Life of Clark Kent" where Superman dealt with various situations subtly while remaining Clark.
To deflect suspicion that he is Superman, Clark Kent adopted a mainly passive and introverted personality with conservative mannerisms, a higher-pitched voice, and a slight slouch. This personality is typically described as "mild-mannered", as in the opening narration of Max Fleischer's Superman animated theatrical shorts. These traits extended into Clark's wardrobe, which typically consists of a bland-colored business suit, a red necktie, black-rimmed glasses, combed-back hair, and occasionally a fedora. Clark wears his Superman costume underneath his street clothes, allowing easy changes between the two personae and the dramatic gesture of ripping open his shirt to reveal the familiar "S" emblem when called into action. His hair also changes with the clothing change, with Superman sporting a small curl or spit curl on his forehead. Superman usually stores his Clark Kent clothing compressed in a secret pouch within his cape, though some stories have shown him leaving his clothes in some covert location (such as the Daily Planet storeroom) for later retrieval.
As Superman's alter ego, the personality, concept, and name of Clark Kent have become synonymous with secret identities and innocuous fronts for ulterior motives and activities. In 1992, Superman co-creator Joe Shuster told the Toronto Star that the name derived from 1930s cinematic leading men Clark Gable and Kent Taylor, but the persona from bespectacled silent film comic Harold Lloyd and himself. Clark's middle name is given variously as either Joseph, Jerome, or Jonathan, all being allusions to creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
Personality
In the original Siegel and Shuster stories, Superman's personality is rough and aggressive. He often uses excessive force and terror against criminals, on some occasions even killing them. This came to an end in late 1940 when new editor Whitney Ellsworth instituted a code of conduct for his characters to follow, banning Superman from ever killing. The character was softened and given a sense of humanitarianism. Ellsworth's code, however, is not to be confused with "the Comics Code", which was created in 1954 by the Comics Code Authority and ultimately abandoned by every major comic book publisher by the early 21st century.
In his first appearances, Superman was considered a vigilante by the authorities, being fired upon by the National Guard as he razed a slum so that the government would create better housing conditions for the poor. By 1942, however, Superman was working side-by-side with the police. Today, Superman is commonly seen as a brave and kind-hearted hero with a strong sense of justice, morality, and righteousness. He adheres to an unwavering moral code instilled in him by his adoptive parents. His commitment to operating within the law has been an example to many citizens and other heroes, but has stirred resentment and criticism among others, who refer to him as the "big blue boy scout". Superman can be rather rigid in this trait, causing tensions in the superhero community. This was most notable with Wonder Woman, one of his closest friends, after she killed Maxwell Lord. Booster Gold initially had an icy relationship with the Man of Steel but grew to respect him.
Having lost his home world of Krypton, Superman is very protective of Earth, and especially of Clark Kent's family and friends. This same loss, combined with the pressure of using his powers responsibly, has caused Superman to feel lonely on Earth, despite having his friends and parents. Previous encounters with people he thought to be fellow Kryptonians, Power Girl and Mon-El, have led to disappointment. The arrival of Supergirl, who has been confirmed to be his cousin from Krypton, relieved this loneliness somewhat. Superman's Fortress of Solitude acts as a place of solace for him in times of loneliness and despair.
Abilities and weaknesses
The catalog of Superman's abilities and his strength has varied considerably over the vast body of Superman fiction released since 1938.
Since Action Comics #1 (1938), Superman has superhuman strength. The cover of Action Comics #1 shows him effortlessly lifting a car over his head. Another classic feat of strength on Superman's part is breaking steel chains. In some stories, he is strong enough to shift the orbits of planets and crush coal into diamond with his hands.
Since Action Comics #1 (1938), Superman has a highly durable body, invulnerable for most practical purposes. At the very least, bullets bounce harmlessly off his body. In some stories, such as Kingdom Come, not even a nuclear bomb can harm him.
In the earliest stories, Superman's costume is made out of exotic materials that are as tough as he is, which is why it typically does not tear up when he performs superhuman feats. In later stories, beginning with Man of Steel #1 (1986), Superman's body is said to project an aura that renders invulnerable any tight-fitting clothes he wears, and hence his costume is as durable as he is even if made of common cloth.
In Action Comics #1, Superman could not fly. He traveled by running and leaping, which he could do to a prodigious degree thanks to his strength. Superman gained the ability to fly in the second episode of the radio serial in 1940. Superman can fly faster than sound and in some stories, he can even fly faster than the speed of light to travel to distant galaxies.
Superman can project and perceive X-rays via his eyes, which allows him to see through objects. He first uses this power in Action Comics #11 (1939). Certain materials such as lead can block his X-ray vision.
Superman can project beams of heat from his eyes which are hot enough to melt steel. He first used this power in Superman #59 (1949) by applying his X-ray vision at its highest intensity. In later stories, this ability is simply called "heat vision".
Superman can hear sounds that are too faint for a human to hear, and at frequencies outside the human hearing range. This ability was introduced in Action Comics #11 (1939).
Since Action Comics #20 (1940), Superman possesses superhuman breath, which enables him to inhale or blow huge amounts of air, as well as holding his breath indefinitely to remain underwater or space without adverse effects. He has a significant focus of his breath's intensity to the point of freezing targets by blowing on them. The "freeze breath" was first demonstrated in Superman #129 (1959).
Action Comics #1 (1938) explained that Superman's strength was common to all Kryptonians because they were a species "millions of years advanced of our own". In the first newspaper strips, Jor-El is shown running and leaping like Superman, and his wife survives a building collapsing on her. Later stories explained they evolved superhuman strength simply because of Krypton's higher gravity. Superman #146 (1961) established that Superman's abilities other than strength (flight, durability, etc.) are activated by the light of Earth's yellow sun. In Action Comics #300 (1963), all of his powers including strength are activated by yellow sunlight and can be deactivated by red sunlight similar to that of Krypton's sun.
Exposure to green kryptonite radiation nullifies Superman's powers and incapacitates him with pain and nausea; prolonged exposure will eventually kill him. Although green kryptonite is the most commonly seen form, writers have introduced other forms over the years: such as red, gold, blue, white, and black, each with peculiar effects. Gold kryptonite, for instance, nullifies Superman's powers but otherwise does not harm him. Kryptonite first appeared in a 1943 episode of the radio serial. It first appeared in comics in Superman #61 (Dec. 1949).
Superman is also vulnerable to magic. Enchanted weapons and magical spells affect Superman as easily as they would a normal human. This weakness was established in Superman #171 (1964).
Like all Kryptonians, Kal-El is also highly susceptible to psychokinetic phenomena ranging along Telekinesis, Illusion casting, Mind control, etc., as shown in Wonder Woman Vol 2 # 219 (Sept. 2005). A powerful enough psionic can affect either the psyche or microbiology of Superman to induce strokes or mangle his internal organs, as well as disrupt his mind and perceptions of the world, something a young power-amped Gene-Bomb meta showcased in Superman #48 (Oct. 1990).
Supporting characters
See also: Superman character and cast and List of Superman supporting charactersSuperman's first and most famous supporting character is Lois Lane, introduced in Action Comics #1. She is a fellow journalist at the Daily Planet. As Jerry Siegel conceived her, Lois considers Clark Kent to be a wimp, but she is infatuated with the bold and mighty Superman, not knowing that Kent and Superman are the same person. Siegel objected to any proposal that Lois discover that Clark is Superman because he felt that, as implausible as Clark's disguise is, the love triangle was too important to the book's appeal. However, Siegel wrote stories in which Lois suspects Clark is Superman and tries to prove it, with Superman always duping her in the end; the first such story was in Superman #17 (July–August 1942). This was a common plot in comic book stories prior to the 1970s. In a story in Action Comics #484 (June 1978), Clark Kent admits to Lois that he is Superman, and they marry. This was the first story in which Superman and Lois marry that was not an "imaginary tale". Many Superman stories since then have depicted Superman and Lois as a married couple, but about as many depict them in the classic love triangle. In modern era comic books, Superman and Lois are a stable married couple, and the Superman supporting cast was further expanded with the introduction of their son, Jonathan Kent.
Other supporting characters include Jimmy Olsen, a photographer at the Daily Planet, who is friends with both Superman and Clark Kent, though in most stories he does not know that Clark is Superman. Jimmy is frequently described as "Superman's pal", and was conceived to give young male readers a relatable character through which they could fantasize being friends with Superman.
In the earliest comic book stories, Clark Kent's employer is George Taylor of The Daily Star, but the second episode of the radio serial changed this to Perry White of the Daily Planet.
Clark Kent's foster parents are Ma and Pa Kent. In many stories, one or both of them have died by the time Clark becomes Superman. Clark's parents taught him that he should use his abilities for altruistic means, but that he should also find some way to safeguard his private life.
Antagonists
Main article: List of Superman enemiesThe villains Superman faced in the earliest stories were ordinary humans, such as gangsters, corrupt politicians, and violent husbands; but they soon grew more colorful and outlandish so as to avoid offending censors or scaring children. The mad scientist Ultra-Humanite, introduced in Action Comics #13 (June 1939), was Superman's first recurring villain. Superman's best-known nemesis, Lex Luthor, was introduced in Action Comics #23 (April 1940) and has been depicted as either a mad scientist or a wealthy businessman (sometimes both). In 1944, the magical imp Mister Mxyzptlk, Superman's first recurring super-powered adversary, was introduced. Superman's first alien villain, Brainiac, debuted in Action Comics #242 (July 1958). The monstrous Doomsday, introduced in Superman: The Man of Steel #17–18 (Nov.-Dec. 1992), was the first villain to evidently kill Superman in physical combat without exploiting Superman's critical weaknesses such as kryptonite and magic.
Alternative depictions
Main article: Alternative versions of Superman See also: Superman (Earth-Two) and Superman (Earth-One)The details of Superman's origin story and supporting cast vary across his large body of fiction released since 1938, but most versions conform to the basic template described above. A few stories feature radically altered versions of Superman. An example is the graphic novel Superman: Red Son, which depicts a communist Superman who rules the Soviet Union. DC Comics has on some occasions published crossover stories where different versions of Superman interact with each other using the plot device of parallel universes. For instance, in the 1960s, the Superman of "Earth-One" would occasionally feature in stories alongside the Superman of "Earth-Two", the latter of whom resembled Superman as he was portrayed in the 1940s. DC Comics has not developed a consistent and universal system to classify all versions of Superman.
Impact and legacy
The superhero archetype
Superman is often considered the first superhero. This point can be debated: Ogon Bat, the Phantom, Zorro, and Mandrake the Magician arguably fit the definition of the superhero yet predate Superman. Nevertheless, Superman popularized this kind of character and established the conventions: a costume, a codename, extraordinary abilities, and an altruistic mission. Superman's success in 1938 begat a wave of imitations, which include Batman, Captain America, and Captain Marvel. This flourishing is today referred to as America's Golden Age of Comic Books, which lasted from 1938 to about 1950. The Golden Age ended when American superhero book sales declined, leading to the cancellation of many characters; but Superman was one of the few superhero franchises that survived this decline, and his sustained popularity into the late 1950s led to a revival in the Silver Age of Comic Books, when characters such as Spider-Man, Iron Man, and The X-Men were created.
After World War II, American superhero fiction entered Japanese culture. Astro Boy, first published in 1952, was inspired by Mighty Mouse, which in turn was a parody of Superman. The Superman animated shorts from the 1940s were first broadcast on Japanese television in 1955, and they were followed in 1956 by the TV show Adventures of Superman starring George Reeves. These shows were popular with the Japanese and inspired Japan's own prolific genre of superheroes. The first Japanese superhero movie, Super Giant, was released in 1957. The first Japanese superhero TV show was Moonlight Mask in 1958. Other notable Japanese superheroes include Ultraman, Kamen Rider, and Sailor Moon.
Fine art
Since the Pop Art period and the 1960s, the character of Superman has been "appropriated" by multiple visual artists and incorporated into contemporary artwork, most notably by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Mel Ramos, Dulce Pinzon, Mr. Brainwash, Raymond Pettibon, Peter Saul, Giuseppe Veneziano, F. Lennox Campello, and others.
Literary analysis
Superman has been interpreted and discussed in many forms, with Umberto Eco noting that "he can be seen as the representative of all his similars". Writing in Time in 1971, Gerald Clarke stated: "Superman's enormous popularity might be looked upon as signaling the beginning of the end for the Horatio Alger myth of the self-made man." Clarke viewed the comics characters as having to continuously update in order to maintain relevance and thus representing the mood of the nation. He regarded Superman's character in the early seventies as a comment on the modern world, which he saw as a place in which "only the man with superpowers can survive and prosper". Andrew Arnold, writing in the early 21st century, has noted Superman's partial role in exploring assimilation, the character's alien status allowing the reader to explore attempts to fit in on a somewhat superficial level.
A.C. Grayling, writing in The Spectator, traces Superman's stances through the decades, from his 1930s campaign against crime being relevant to a nation under the influence of Al Capone, through the 1940s and World War II, a period in which Superman helped sell war bonds, and into the 1950s, where Superman explored the new technological threats. Grayling notes the period after the Cold War as being one where "matters become merely personal: the task of pitting his brawn against the brains of Lex Luthor and Brainiac appeared to be independent of bigger questions", and discusses events post 9/11, stating that as a nation "caught between the terrifying George W. Bush and the terrorist Osama bin Laden, America is in earnest need of a Saviour for everything from the minor inconveniences to the major horrors of world catastrophe. And here he is, the down-home clean-cut boy in the blue tights and red cape".
An influence on early Superman stories is the context of the Great Depression. Superman took on the role of social activist, fighting crooked businessmen and politicians and demolishing run-down tenements. Comics scholar Roger Sabin sees this as a reflection of "the liberal idealism of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal", with Shuster and Siegel initially portraying Superman as champion to a variety of social causes. In later Superman radio programs the character continued to take on such issues, tackling a version of the Ku Klux Klan in a 1946 broadcast, as well as combating anti-semitism and veteran discrimination.
Scott Bukatman has discussed Superman, and the superhero in general, noting the ways in which they humanize large urban areas through their use of the space, especially in Superman's ability to soar over the large skyscrapers of Metropolis. He writes that the character "represented, in 1938, a kind of Corbusierian ideal. Superman has X-ray vision: walls become permeable, transparent. Through his benign, controlled authority, Superman renders the city open, modernist and democratic; he furthers a sense that Le Corbusier described in 1925, namely, that 'Everything is known to us'."
Jules Feiffer has argued that Superman's real innovation lay in the creation of the Clark Kent persona, noting that what "made Superman extraordinary was his point of origin: Clark Kent." Feiffer develops the theme to establish Superman's popularity in simple wish fulfillment, a point Siegel and Shuster themselves supported, Siegel commenting that "If you're interested in what made Superman what it is, here's one of the keys to what made it universally acceptable. Joe and I had certain inhibitions... which led to wish-fulfillment which we expressed through our interest in science fiction and our comic strip. That's where the dual-identity concept came from" and Shuster supporting that as being "why so many people could relate to it".
Ian Gordon suggests that the many incarnations of Superman across media use nostalgia to link the character to an ideology of the American Way. He defines this ideology as a means of associating individualism, consumerism, and democracy and as something that took shape around WWII and underpinned the war effort. Superman, he notes was very much part of that effort.
An allegory for immigrants
Superman's immigrant status is a key aspect of his appeal. Aldo Regalado saw the character as pushing the boundaries of acceptance in America. The extraterrestrial origin was seen by Regalado as challenging the notion that Anglo-Saxon ancestry was the source of all might. Gary Engle saw the "myth of Superman with total confidence and a childlike innocence the value of the immigrant in American culture". He argues that Superman allowed the superhero genre to take over from the Western as the expression of immigrant sensibilities. Through the use of a dual identity, Superman allowed immigrants to identify with both of their cultures. Clark Kent represents the assimilated individual, allowing Superman to express the immigrants' cultural heritage for the greater good. David Jenemann has offered a contrasting view. He argues that Superman's early stories portray a threat: "the possibility that the exile would overwhelm the country". David Rooney, a theater critic for The New York Times, in his evaluation of the play Year Zero considers Superman to be the "quintessential immigrant story orn on an alien planet, he grows stronger on Earth, but maintains a secret identity tied to a homeland that continues to exert a powerful hold on him even as his every contact with those origins does him harm".
Religious themes
It is popularly believed that Superman took inspiration from Judaic mythology. The British rabbi Simcha Weinstein notes that Superman's story has some parallels to that of Moses. For example, Moses as a baby was sent away by his parents in a reed basket to escape death and was adopted by a foreign culture. Weinstein also posits that Superman's Kryptonian name, "Kal-El", resembles the Hebrew phrase qōl ʾēl (קוֹל-אֵל) which can be taken to mean "voice of God". The historian Larry Tye suggests that this "Voice of God" is an allusion to Moses' role as a prophet. The suffix "el", meaning "god", is also found in the name of angels (e.g. Gabriel, Ariel), who are airborne humanoid agents of good with superhuman powers. The Nazis also thought Superman was a Jew and in 1940 Joseph Goebbels publicly denounced Superman and his creator Jerry Siegel.
All that said, historians such as Martin Lund and Les Daniels argue that the evidence for Judaic influence in Siegel and Shuster's stories is merely circumstantial. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were not practicing Jews and never acknowledged the influence of Judaism in any memoir or interview.
Superman stories have occasionally exhibited Christian themes as well. Screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz consciously made Superman an allegory for Jesus Christ in the 1978 movie starring Christopher Reeve: baby Kal-El's ship resembles the Star of Bethlehem, and Jor-El gives his son a messianic mission to lead humanity into a brighter future. This messianic theme was revisited in the 2013 movie Man of Steel, wherein Jor-El asks Superman to redeem the Kryptonian race, which corrupted itself through eugenics, by guiding humanity down a wiser path.
See also
- List of Superman supporting characters
- List of DC animated universe characters
- List of DC Comics characters
- Music of Superman
Notes
- Consolidated Book Publishers was also known as Humor Publishing. Jerry Siegel always referred to this publisher as "Consolidated" in all interviews and memoirs. Humor Publishing was possibly a subsidiary of Consolidated.
- National Allied Publications was founded in 1934 by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson. Due to financial difficulties, Wheeler-Nicholson formed a corporation with Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz called Detective Comics, Inc. In January 1938, Wheeler-Nicholson sold his stake in National Allied Publications and Detective Comics to Donenfeld and Liebowitz as part of a bankruptcy settlement. On September 30, 1946, these two companies merged to become National Comics Publications. In 1961, the company changed its name to National Periodical Publications. In 1967 National Periodical Publications was purchased by Kinney National Company, which later purchased Warner Bros.-Seven Arts and became Warner Communications. In 1976, National Periodical Publications changed its name to DC Comics, which had been its nickname since 1940. Since 1940, the publisher had placed a logo with the initials "DC" on all its magazine covers, and consequently "DC Comics" became an informal name for the publisher.
- See USC Title 17, Chapter 3, § 304(b) and § 305. Because the copyright to Action Comics #1 was in its renewal term on October 27, 1998 (the date the Copyright Term Extension Act became effective), its copyright will expire 95 years after first publication and at the end of the calendar year.
- See Copyright Act of 1909 § 20
References
- ^ The copyright date of Action Comics #1 was registered as April 18, 1938.
See Catalog of Copyright Entries. New Series, Volume 33, Part 2: Periodicals January–December 1938. United States Library of Congress. 1938. p. 129. - ^ Dallas et al. (2013), American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1980s, p. 208
- ^ Ricca (2014) Super Boys
- Jerry Siegel (under the pseudonym Herbert S. Fine). "The Reign of the Superman". Science Fiction: The Advance Guard of Future Civilization #3. January 1933
Summarized in Ricca 2014, pp. 70–72 Super Boys - Jerry Siegel, quoted in Daniels (1998). Superman: The Complete History, p. 15: "When we presented different strips to the syndicate editors, they would say, 'Well, this isn't sensational enough.' So I thought, I'm going to come up with something so wild they won't be able to say that."
- Jerry Siegel. Creation of a Superhero (unpublished memoir, written c.1978; Scans available from Dropbox and Scribd).:
"...one of the things which spurred me into creating a "Superman" strip was something a syndicate editor said to me after I had been submitting various proposed comic strips to him. He said, "The trouble with your stuff is that it isn't spectacular enough. You've got to come up with something sensational! Something more terrific than the other adventure strips on the market!"" - Tye (2012), Superman, p. 17: "The version he was drafting would again begin with a wild scientist empowering a normal human against his will, but this time the powers would be even more fantastic, and rather than becoming a criminal, the super-being would fight crime 'with the fury of an outraged avenger'."
- Jerry Siegel. Creation of a Superhero (unpublished memoir, c. 1978; Scans available from Dropbox and Scribd).:
p. 30: "The hero of 'THE SUPERMAN' comic book strip was also given super-powers against his will by a scientist. He gained fantastic strength, bullets bounced off him, etc. He fought crime with the fury of an outraged avenger."
50: "What, I thought, could be more sensational than a Superman who could fly through the air, who was impervious to flames, bullets, and a mob of enraged amok adversaries?" - Siegel in Andrae (1983), p. 10: "Obviously, having him a hero would be infinitely more commercial than having him a villain. I understand that the comic strip Dr. Fu Manchu ran into all sorts of difficulties because the main character was a villain. And with the example before us of Tarzan and other action heroes of fiction who were very successful, mainly because people admired them and looked up to them, it seemed the sensible thing to do to make The Superman a hero. The first piece was a short story, and that's one thing, but creating a successful comic strip with a character you'll hope will continue for many years, it would definitely be going in the wrong direction to make him a villain."
- Daniels (1998). Superman: The Complete History, p. 17: "... usually and Siegel agreed that no special costume was in evidence, and the surviving artwork bears them out."
- Siegel and Shuster in Andrae (1983), p.9-10: "Shuster: It wasn't really Superman: that was before he evolved into a costumed figure. He was simply wearing a T-shirt and pants; he was more like Slam Bradley than anything else — just a man of action.
Siegel: In later years – maybe 10 or 15 years ago – I asked Joe what he remembered of this story, and he remembered a scene of a character crouched on the edge of a building, with a cape almost a la Batman. We don't specifically recall if the character had a costume or not. Joe and I – especially Joe – seem to recall that there were some scenes in there in which that character had a bat-like cape." - Daniels (1998). Superman: The Complete History, p. 17
- The copyright date of Detective Dan Secret Operative 48 was registered as May 12, 1933.
See Catalog of Copyright Entries. New Series, Volume 30, For the Year 1933, Part 1: Books, Group 2. United States Library of Congress. 1933. p. 351. - Scivally (2007). Superman on Film, Television, Radio and Broadway, p. 6: "Detective Dan—Secret Operative 48 was published by the Humor Publishing Company of Chicago. Detective Dan was little more than a Dick Tracy clone, but here, for the first time, in a series of black-and-white illustrations, was a comic magazine with an original character appearing in all-new stories. This was a dramatic departure from other comic magazines, which simply reprinted panels from the Sunday newspaper comic strips."
- Jerry Siegel. Creation of a Superhero (unpublished memoir, written c.1978; Scans available from Dropbox and Scribd):
"I do recall, though, that when Mr. Livingston visited Cleveland, Joe and I showed THE SUPERMAN comic book pages to Mr. Livingston in his hotel room, and he was favorably impressed." - Beerbohm, Robert (1996). "Siegel & Shuster Presents... The Superman". Comic Book Marketplace. No. 36. Gemstone Publishing Inc. pp. 47–50.:
"So this early Superman cover was done, replete with a "10¢" plug... and was placed on an entire comic book, written, drawn, inked, and shown to the Humor people by Jerry and Joe when they happened to come through Cleveland (trying to shop Detective Dan to the NEA newspaper syndicate)." - Ricca 2014, pp. 97–98 Super Boys
- Tye (2012), Superman, p. 17: "Although the first response was encouraging, the second made it clear that the comic book was so unprofitable that its publishers put on hold any future stories."
- ^ Ricca 2014, p. 99 Super Boys: "Jerry was convinced, just as he was in those early pulp days, that you had to align yourself with someone famous to be famous yourself. Over the next year, Jerry contacted several major artists, including Mel Graff, J. Allen St. John, and even Bernie Schmittke "
- Tye (2012), Superman, p. 18: "When I told Joe of this, he unhappily destroyed the drawn-up pages of 'THE SUPERMAN' burning them in the furnace of his apartment building. At my request, he gave me as a gift the torn cover. We continued collaborating on other projects."
In an interview with Andrae (1983), Shuster said he destroyed their 1933 Superman comic as a reaction to Humor Publishing's rejection letter, which contradicts Siegel's account in Siegel's unpublished memoir. Tye (2012) argues that the account from the memoir is the truth and that Shuster lied in the interview to avoid tension.
See also Creation of a Superhero (unpublished memoir by Jerry Siegel, written c.1978; Scans available from Dropbox and Scribd). - Tye (2012), Superman, p. 18:"Next on the list was Leo O'Mealia, who drew the Fu Manchu comic and soon found in his mailbox Jerry's more fully developed script for Superman."
- Jerry Siegel. Creation of a Superhero (unpublished memoir, written c.1978; Scans available from Dropbox and Scribd).:
"Leo O'Mealia's first letter to me was dated July 17, 1933" - Tye (2012), Superman, p. 18
- Jerry Siegel. Creation of a Superhero (unpublished memoir, written c.1978; Scans available from Dropbox and Scribd).:
"I no longer have a copy of the script of that particular version of "Superman". I never saw Superman drawings. He did not send me a copy of it." - Jerry Siegel. Creation of a Superhero (unpublished memoir, written c.1978; Scans available from Dropbox and Scribd). Extract filed under Exhibit A (Docket 184) in Laura Siegel Larson v Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., DC Comics, Case no. 13-56243:
"In a letter dated June 9, 1934, he wrote back expressing interesting in the possibility of our teaming-up together on a newspaper syndication comic strip. Russell Keaton's letter to me of June 14, 1934, was very enthusiastic. He stated that in his opinion "Superman" was already a tremendous hit and that he would be glad to collaborate with me on "Superman"." - Jones (2004). Men of Tomorrow, p. 112-113
- Ricca 2014, p. 101-102 Super Boys
Excerpts of Siegel and Keaton's collaboration can be found in Exhibit A (Docket 373–3), Exhibit C (Docket 347–2), Exhibit D (Docket 347–2), and Exhibit E (Docket 347–2) in Laura Siegel Larson v Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., DC Comics, Case no. 13-56243.
(Compilation available at Dropbox). - Ricca 2014, p. 102 Super Boys: "Jerry tried to sell this version to the syndicates, but no one was interested, so Keaton gave up."
- Jerry Siegel. Creation of a Superhero (unpublished memoir, written c.1978; Scans available from Dropbox and Scribd). Extract filed under Exhibit A (Docket 184) in Laura Siegel Larson v Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., DC Comics, Case no. 13-56243:
"Keaton's next letter to me, sent November 3, 1934, stated "Superman" was in a locker in a bus station, and that he was going to show the feature to Publishers Syndicate, after that weekend. I got a brief note from Russell Keaton. He wrote that he was completely withdrawing from any participation at all in the "Superman" comic strip and that as far as he was concerned: "the book is closed". Unhappily, I destroyed the letter." - Interview with Joe Shuster by Bertil Falk in 1975, quoted in Alter Ego #56 (Feb 2006):
"SHUSTER: I conceived the character in my mind's eye to have a very, very colorful costume of a cape and, you know, very, very colorful tights and boots and the letter "S" on his chest.
FALK: You did that, not Siegel?
SHUSTER: Yes, yes. I did that because that was my concept from what he described, but he did inspire me " - Daniels (1998). Superman: The Complete History, p. 18
- Over the years, Siegel and Shuster made contradictory statements regarding when they developed Superman's familiar costume. They occasionally claimed to have developed it immediately in 1933. Daniels (1998) writes: "... usually and Siegel agreed that no special costume was in evidence , and the surviving artwork bears them out." The cover art for their 1933 proposal to Humor Publishing shows a shirtless, cape-less Superman. Siegel's collaboration with Russell Keaton in 1934 contains no description nor illustration of Superman in costume. Tye (2012) writes that Siegel and Shuster developed the costume shortly after they resumed working together in late 1934.
- Siegel's unpublished memoir, The Story Behind Superman (Archived September 13, 2016, at the Wayback Machine), as well as an interview with Thomas Andrae in Nemo #2 (1983), corroborate each other that Clark Kent's timid-journalist persona and Lois Lane were developed in 1934.
- ^ Andrae (1983): "I also had classical heroes and strongmen in mind, and this shows in the footwear. In the third version, Superman wore sandals laced halfway up the calf. You can still see this on the cover of Action #1, though they were covered over in red to look like boots when the comic was printed."
- Wheeler-Nicholson offered Siegel and Shuster work in a letter dated June 6, 1935. See Ricca 2014, p. 104 Super Boys
- Ricca 2014, p. 104 Super Boys
- Jerry Siegel. Creation of a Superhero (unpublished memoir, written c.1978; Scans available from Dropbox and Scribd).
p. 55: "In addition, I submitted Superman for newspaper syndication consideration by Wheeler-Nicholson." - Letter from Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson to Siegel and Shuster, dated October 4, 1935, quoted in Ricca 2014, p. 146Super Boys: "...you would be much better off doing Superman in full page in four colors for one of our publications."
- Jerome Siegel, in a sworn affidavit signed 1 March 1973, filed in Jerome Siegel & Joseph Shuster vs National Periodical Publications et al, 69 Civ 1429:
"In 1935 Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, a publisher of comic books, expressed interest in Superman and tried to persuade us that the property would be more successful if published in comic book form where it would be seen in color than it would be in a black and white daily strip. Our experience with him had been such that we did not consider him the publisher to entrust with the property and his proposal was rejected." - Jerry Siegel. Creation of a Superhero (unpublished memoir, written c.1978; Scans available from Dropbox and Scribd).
p. 57 "Joe and I were not sold on Wheeler-Nicholson and hoped to place "Superman" with what we hoped would be a more responsible organization. I asked Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson to return the "Superman" strips to me. I continued my marketing attempts to place "Superman" with a newspaper syndicate". - Tye (2012), Superman, p. 24: "So while they continued to write and draw for him, and to live off what payments they got, they determined not to trust him with their prize possession."
- Jerry Siegel. Creation of a Superhero (unpublished memoir, written c.1978; Scans available from Dropbox and Scribd).:
"On January 5, 1938, Liebowitz wrote to me that the Nicholson Publishing Company had been petitioned into bankruptcy by its creditors. On January 10, Vin Sullivan wrote to me that Nicholson Publishing Company was in the hands of receivers and that "Detective Comics" was being published by the firm for which Liebowitz was the manager." - J. Addison Young, "Findings of Fact" (April 12, 1948), in Jerome Siegel and Joseph Shuster vs. National Comics Publications Inc. et al. (New York Supreme Court 1947) (Scan available on Scribd):
"On December 4, 1937, defendant LIEBOWITZ, representing DETECTIVE COMICS, INC., met plaintiff SIEGEL in New York City." - Siegel, Jerry. Unpublished memoir "The Story Behind Superman #1", registered for U.S. copyright in 1978 under later version Creation of a Superhero as noted by Tye (2012). Superman, p. 309. P. 5. Memoir additionally cited by Ricca (2014) in Super Boys, and available online at sites including "The Story Behind Superman #1". Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2015 – via Scribd.com. Note: Archive of p. 1 only.
- Jerry Siegel. Creation of a Superhero (unpublished memoir, written c.1978; Scans available from Dropbox and Scribd).:
"I received a telephone call early in January of 1938 from Gaines of the McClure Syndicate. This was a three-way call between Gaines, Liebowitz and myself. Gaines informed me that the syndicate was unable to use the various strips which I had sent for inclusion in the proposed syndicate newspaper tabloid. He asked my permission to turn these features, including "Superman", over to Detective Comics' publishers for consideration for their proposed new magazine, "Action Comics". I consented." - Via editor Vin Sullivan, in a letter to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, dated January 10, 1948. Quoted in Ricca (2014). Super Boys
- Jerry Siegel. The Life and Times of Jerry Siegel (unpublished memoir, written c.1946; Scans available at Dropbox and Scribd):
"Joe and I talked it over, decided we were tired of seeing the strip rejected everywhere, and would at least like to see it in print. And so we pasted our samples of a SUPERMAN daily strip into comic magazine page form, as request, and sent it on." - Kobler, John (June 21, 1941). "Up, Up, and Awa-a-ay!: The Rise of Superman, Inc" (PDF). The Saturday Evening Post. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 13, 2016.:
", who by this time had abandoned hope that Superman would ever amount to much, mulled this over gloomily. Then Siegel shrugged, 'Well, at least this way we'll see in print.' They signed the form."
NOTE: The form mentioned refers to a contract of sale signed on March 1, 1938. - J. Addison Young, "Findings of Fact" (April 12, 1948), in Jerome Siegel and Joseph Shuster vs. National Comics Publications Inc. et al. (New York Supreme Court 1947) (Scan available on Scribd):
"Defendant THE MC CLURE NEWSPAPER SYNDICATE, then submitted to DETECTIVE COMICS, INC. the SUPERMAN comic strip created by plaintiffs, which strip consisted of a few panels suitable for newspaper syndication DETECTIVE COMICS, INC. examined the old material and returned it to plaintiffs for revision and expansion into a full length thirteen-page comic strip release suitable for magazine publication. Plaintiffs revised and expanded the said SUPERMAN material in compliance with the said request of DETECTIVE COMICS, INC. and on or about February 22, 1938, resubmitted such revised and expanded material to DETECTIVE COMICS, INC. On March 1, 1938 DETECTIVE COMICS, INC. wrote to plaintiff SIEGEL enclosing a check in the sum of $412. which included $130. in payment of the first thirteen-page SUPERMAN release at the agreed rate of $10. per page " - ^ Jones (2004). Men of Tomorrow, p. 125: "They signed a release surrendering all rights to the publisher. They knew that was how the business worked – that's how they'd sold every creation from Henri Duval to Slam Bradley."
- ^ Tye (2012). Superman
- J. Addison Young, "Findings of Fact" (April 12, 1948), in Jerome Siegel and Joseph Shuster vs. National Comics Publications Inc. et al. (New York Supreme Court 1947) (Scan available on Scribd):
"The first thirteen pages of SUPERMAN material were published on April 18, 1938, in the June 1938 issue of "Action Comics"magazine". - Andrae (1983): "...when I did the version in 1934, (which years later, in 1938, was published, in revised form, in Action Comics #1) the John Carter stories did influence me. Carter was able to leap great distances because the planet Mars was smaller that the planet Earth; and he had great strength. I visualized the planet Krypton as a huge planet, much larger than Earth; so whoever came to Earth from that planet would be able to leap great distances and lift great weights."
- "The History Behind Superman's Ever-Changing Superpowers". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on March 26, 2017.
- Jerry Siegel. Creation of a Superhero (unpublished memoir, written c.1978;Scans available from Dropbox and Scribd).:
"I had read and enjoyed Philip Wylie's book "The Gladiator". It influenced me, too." - Feeley, Gregory (March 2005). "When World-views Collide: Philip Wylie in the Twenty-first Century". Science Fiction Studies. 32 (95). ISSN 0091-7729. Archived from the original on April 3, 2013. Retrieved December 6, 2006.
- Andrae (1983): "... I was inspired by the movies. In the silent films, my hero was Douglas Fairbanks Senior, who was very agile and athletic. So I think he might have been an inspiration to us, even in his attitude. He had a stance which I often used in drawing Superman. You'll see in many of his roles—including Robin Hood—that he always stood with his hands on his hips and his feet spread apart, laughing—taking nothing seriously."
- ^ Andrae (1983)
- Jerry Siegel, quoted in Andrae (1983): "I loved The Mark of Zorro, and I'm sure that had some influence on me. I did also see The Scarlet Pimpernel but didn't care much for it."
- Jerry Siegel. Creation of a Superhero (unpublished memoir, written c.1978; Scans available from Dropbox and Scribd).:
"In movies, I had seen "The Scarlet Pimpernel", "The Mark of Zorro" and Rudolph Valentino in "The Eagle", and I thought that a mighty hero, who in another identity pretended to be an ineffectual weakling, made for great dramatic contrast. In addition, it would, in a comic strip, permit some humorous characterization." - Siegel: "We especially loved some of those movies in which Harold Lloyd would start off as a sort of momma's boy being pushed around, kicked around, thrown around, and then suddenly would turn into a fighting whirlwind."
Shuster: "I was kind of mild-mannered and wore glasses so I really identified with it"
Anthony Wall (1981). Superman – The Comic Strip Hero (Television production). BBC. Event occurs at 00:04:50. Archived from the original on December 28, 2015. - Andrae (1983): Siegel: "As a high school student, I thought that someday I might become a reporter, and I had crushes on several attractive girls who either didn't know I existed or didn't care I existed. It occurred to me: What if I was real terrific? What if I had something special going for me, like jumping over buildings or throwing cars around or something like that? Then maybe they would notice me."
- Shuster in Andrae (1983) "I tried to build up my body. I was so skinny; I went in for weight-lifting and athletics. I used to get all the body-building magazines from the second-hand stores — and read them...."
- Andrae (1983): "It was inspired by the costume pictures that Fairbanks did: they greatly influenced us."
- "Of Supermen and kids with dreams" (PDF).
- Ricca (2014). Super Boys, p. 124: "The overall physical look of Superman himself is from Johnny Weissmuller, whose face Joe swiped from movie magazines and news articles. ... Joe just squinted the eyes like his idol Roy Crane and added a Dick Tracy smile." Ricca cites Beerbohm, Robert L. (August 1997). "The Big Bang Theory of Comic Book History". Comic Book Marketplace. Vol. 2, no. 50. Coronado, California: Gemstone Publishing.
- Ricca (2014). Super Boys, p. 129: "What the boys did read were the magazines and papers where "superman" was a common word. Its usage was almost always preceded by "a". Most times the word was used to refer to an athlete or a politician."
- Flagg, Francis (November 11, 1931). "The Superman of Dr. Jukes". Wonder Stories. Gernsback.
- Jacobson, Howard (March 5, 2005). "Up, Up and Oy Vey!". The Times. UK. p. 5.: "If Siegel and Shuster knew of Nietzsche's Ubermensch, they didn't say..."
- "Comic with first Superman story sells for $1.5m". The Independent. March 30, 2010. Archived from the original on April 2, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
- Action Comics Archived February 23, 2016, at the Wayback Machine at the Grand Comics Database.
- Superman Archived February 27, 2016, at the Wayback Machine (1939–1986 series) and Adventures of Superman Archived March 5, 2016, at the Wayback Machine (1987 continuation of series) at the Grand Comics Database.
- "Superman"-titled comics Archived March 5, 2016, at the Wayback Machine at the Grand Comics Database.
- "Best-selling comic books of all time worldwide as of February 2015 (in million copies)". Statista. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
- Tilley, Carol (March 1, 2016). "Unbalanced Production: The Comics Business in the 1940s". The Beat. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
- Tye (2012). Superman, p. 163: "It did work. In 1960, the first year in which sales data was made public, Superman was selling more comic books than any other title or character, and he stayed on top through much of the decade.
- Comichron. Comic Book Sales By Year Archived July 23, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- "Thesp trio eyes 'Nurse'; 'Superman' may fly". Variety.com. September 29, 1998.
- Tye (2012). Superman, p. 245: "Journalists, along with most of their readers and viewers, didn't understand that heroes regularly perished in the comics and almost never stayed dead."
- "2018 Comic Book Sales to Comic Book Shops". Comichron. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
- Tye (2012). Superman, p. 294: "The remaining audience was dedicated to the point of fanaticism, a trend that was self-reinforcing. No longer did casual readers pick up a comic at the drugstore or grocery, both because the books increasingly required an insider's knowledge to follow the action and because they simply weren't being sold anymore at markets, pharmacies, or even the few newsstands that were left. Comic books had gone from being a cultural emblem to a countercultural refuge."
- Tye (2012). Superman, p. 212: "So Jenette and her business-savvy sidekick, Paul Levitz, started viewing comics as creative engines rather than cash cows, able to spin off profitable enterprises in other media."
- Scivally (2007). Superman on Film, Television, Radio and Broadway, p. 166: "Whereas in the 1950s, the average comic book reader was 12 years old, by the 1990s, the average comic book reader was 20. A mere decade later, in 2001, the average age of comic book readers was 25."
- Gordon (2017). Superman: The Persistence of an American Icon p. 164
- Tumey, Paul (April 14, 2014). "Reviews: Superman: The Golden Age Sundays 1943–1946". The Comics Journal. Archived from the original on May 29, 2014. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
...Jerry Siegel had his hands — and typewriter — full, turning out stories for the comic books and the daily newspaper strips (which had completely separate continuities from the Sundays).
- Daniels (1998). Superman: The Complete History, p. 74
- Cole, Neil A. (ed.). "Wayne Boring (1905–1987)". SupermanSuperSite.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
- Cole, Neil A. (ed.). "Win Mortimer (1919–1998)". SupermanSuperSite.com. Archived from the original on June 30, 2014. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
- Younis, Steven (ed.). "Superman Newspaper Strips". SupermanHomepage.com. Archived from the original on March 26, 2015. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
- Tye (2012). Superman, p. 49: "Initially Harry , Jack , and the managers they hired to oversee their growing editorial empire had let Jerry do as he wished with the character..."
- Tye (2012). Superman, p. 41: "Neither Harry nor Jack had planned for a separate Superman comic book, or for that to be ongoing. Having Superman's story play out across different venues presented a challenge for Jerry and the writers who came after him: Each installment needed to seem original yet part of a whole, stylistically and narratively. Their solution, at the beginning, was to wing it..."
- Daniels (1998). Superman: The Complete History, p. 42: "...the publisher was anxious to avoid any repetition of the censorship problems associated with his early pulp magazines (such as the lurid Spicy Detective)."
- Tye (2012). Superman, p. 49: "Once Superman became big business, however, plots had to be sent to New York for vetting. Not only did editors tell Jerry to cut out the guns and knives and cut back on social crusading, they started calling the shots on minute details of script and drawing."
- Daniels (1998). Superman: The Complete History, p. 42: "It was left to Ellsworth to impose tight editorial controls on Jerry Siegel. Henceforth, Superman would be forbidden to use his powers to kill anyone, even a villain."
- Tye (2012). Superman, p. 47: "No hint of sex. No alienating parents or teachers. Evil geniuses like the Ultra-Humanite were too otherworldly to give kids nightmares... The Prankster, the Toyman, the Puzzler, and J. Wilbur Wolngham, a W. C. Fields lookalike, used tricks and gags instead of a bow and arrows in their bids to conquer Superman. For editors wary of controversy, 1940s villains like those were a way to avoid the sharp edges of the real world."
- Tye (2012). Superman, p. 162: "Before Mort came along, Superman's world was ad hoc and seat-of-the-pants, with Jerry and other writers adding elements as they went along without any planning or anyone worrying whether it all hung together. That worked fine when all the books centered around Superman and all the writing was done by a small stable. Now the pool of writers had grown and there were eight different comic books with hundreds of Superman stories a year to worry about."
- Tye (2012). Superman, p. 173: "But Weisinger's innovations were taking a quiet toll on the story. Superman's world had become so complicated that readers needed a map or even an encyclopedia to keep track of everyone and everything. (There would eventually be encyclopedias, two in fact, but the first did not appear until 1978.) All the plot complications were beguiling to devoted readers, who loved the challenge of keeping current, but to more casual fans they could be exhausting."
- Tye (2012). Superman, p. 165: "Weisinger stories steered clear of the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, the black power movement, and other issues that red the 1960s. There was none of what Mort would have called "touchy-feely" either, much as readers might have liked to know how Clark felt about his split personality, or whether Superman and Lois engaged in the battles between the sexes that were a hallmark of the era. Mort wanted his comics to be a haven for young readers, and he knew his right-leaning politics wouldn't sit well with his leftist writers and many of his Superman fans."
- Daniels (1998). Superman: The Complete History, p. 102: "One of the ways the editor kept in touch with his young audience was through a letters column, 'Metropolis Mailbag,' introduced in 1958."
- Tye (2012). Superman: The Complete History, p. 168: "He admitted later he was losing touch with a new generation of kids and their notions about heroes and villains."
- Julius Schwartz, quoted in Daniels (1998): "I said, 'I want to get rid of all the kryptonite. I want to get rid of all the robots that are used to get him out of situations. And I'm sick and tired of that stupid suit Clark Kent wears all the time. I want to give him more up-to-date clothes. And maybe the most important thing I want to do is take him out of the Daily Planet and put him into television.' I said 'Our readers are not that familiar with newspapers. Most of them get their news on television, and I think it's high time after all these years.'"
- Harvey (1996), p. 144: "Artistic expressiveness of a highly individualistic sort had never been particularly welcomed by traditional comic book publishers. The corporate mind, ever focused on the bottom line of the balance sheet, favored bland "house styles" of rendering..."
- Eury et al. (2006). The Krypton Companion, p. 18: "In 1948 Boring succeeded Shuster as the principal superman artist, his art style epitomizing the Man of Steel's comics and merchandising look throughout the 1950s."
- Daniels (1998). Superman: The Complete History, p. 74: "...Superman was drawn in a more detailed, realistic style of illustration. He also looked bigger and stronger. "Until then Superman had always seemed squat," Boring said. "He was six heads high, a bit shorter than normal. I made him taller–nine heads high–but kept his massive chest."
- Curt Swan (1987). Drawing Superman. Essay reprinted in Eury et al. (2006), pp. 58: "For 30 years or so, from around 1955 until a couple of years ago when I more or less retired, I was the principal artists of the Superman comic for DC Comics."
- Hayde (2009). Flights of Fantasy
- Tye (2012). Superman, p. 88: " drafted Maxwell into Superman, Inc., first to oversee the licensing of toys and other products, then to bring the superhero into the world of broadcast."
- Scivally (2007). Superman on Film, Television, Radio and Broadway, p. 16: "Superman was brought to radio by Allen Ducovny, a press agent with Detective Comics, and Robert Maxwell (the pen name of Robert Joffe), a former pulp fiction author who was in charge of licensing the subsidiary rights of the company's comic book characters."
- Pointer (2017): "...the budget for each short – an astonishing $30,000..."
- Dave Fleischer, quoted in Daniels (1998) Superman: The Complete History, p. 58: "The average short cost nine or ten thousand dollars, some ran up to fifteen; they varied."
- Tye (2012). Superman, p. 94: "Max and Dave composers knew what Superman, Lois, and the others should look like, thanks to model sheets provided by Joe Shuster."
- Scivally (2007). Superman on Film, Television, Radio and Broadway, p. 37: "The challenges of the production had more than doubled its budget; the final cost was variously reported as anywhere from $250,000 to $325,000."
- Scivally (2007). Superman on Film, Television, Radio and Broadway, p. 37: "With all the hype, Superman quickly became the most profitable serial in film history."
- Scivally (2007). Superman on Film, Television, Radio and Broadway, p. 49: "According to Variety, the feature film and an additional twenty-four half-hour episodes were to come in for $400,000, or roughly $15,000 each."
- ^ Scivally (2007). Superman on Film, Television, Radio and Broadway
- "Superman Movies at the Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
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- Scivally (2007). Superman on Film, Television, Radio and Broadway, p. 90
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- Sharf, Zack (May 24, 2023). "'The Flash' Director Just Announced the Movie's Most Shocking Cameo That's Decades in the Making". Variety. Archived from the original on May 24, 2023. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
- Bernard Luber, quoted in Flights of Fantasy (Hayde 2009): "The show wasn't strictly for youngsters. We offered the dream of every man – to fly, to be super."
- Scivally (2007), p. 52: "...Robert Maxwell hoped for an adult time slot, so he made Superman an adult show, with death scenes and rough violence."
- Clements, Jonathan; Tamamuro, Motoko (2003). The Dorama Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese TV Drama Since 1953. Stone Bridge Press. p. 200. ISBN 9781880656815.
- Beeler, Stan (2011). "From Comic Book To Bildungsroman: Smallville, Narrative, And The Education Of A Young Hero". In Geraghty, Lincoln (ed.). The Smallville Chronicles: Critical Essays on the Television Series. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810881303.
- Aurthur, Kate (May 20, 2006). "Young Male Viewers Lift Ratings for 'Smallville'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 12, 2006. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
- Gordon (2017)
- J. Addison Young, "Findings of Fact" (April 12, 1948), in Jerome Siegel and Joseph Shuster vs. National Comics Publications Inc. et al. (New York Supreme Court 1947) (Scan available on Scribd)
- Gordon (2017). Superman: The Persistence of an American Icon p. 162
- "Retail Sales of Licensed Merchandise Based on $100 Million+ Entertainment/Character Properties". The Licensing Letter. July 23, 2018. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
- Anthony, Ian (November 2003). "Superb Manifestations: Five Anniversaries Converge In 2003 For Superman". Superman Homepage. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
- Gordon (2017). Superman: The Persistence of an American Icon p. 146
- Gordon (2017). Superman: The Persistence of an American Icon pp. 162–165
- Gordon (2017). Superman: The Persistence of an American Icon, p. 155
- Ricca (2014). Super Boys, p. 150: "It was then Donenfeld who not only now owned the property, but received the lion's share of the profits; whatever Jerry and Joe got was parsed out by him."
- Ricca (2014). Super Boys, p. 155: " knew readers had become accustomed to Siegel and Shuster's work, and he didn't want to risk upsetting a secret formula that he still didn't completely understand, especially when it was selling so well."
- Tye (2012). Superman, p. 119: "In the ten years from 1938, when the first Action was published, to the filing of the suit in 1947, Jerry and Joe were paid a total of $401,194.85."
- Exhibit Q (Docket 353–3) in Laura Siegel Larson v Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., DC Comics, Case no. 13-56243 (Scans available from Dropbox and Scribd). Originally submitted as an exhibit in Jerome Siegel and Joseph Shuster vs. National Comics Publications Inc. et al. (New York Supreme Court 1947)
- Jerry Siegel. The Life and Times of Jerry Siegel (unpublished memoir, written c.1946; Scans available at Dropbox and Scribd):
"While I was in service, the majority of SUPERMAN's adventures were ghost-written by writers employed by DETECTIVE COMICS, Inc. - Jerry Siegel, in a 1975 interview with Phil Yeh for Cobblestone magazine. Quoted in Siegel and Shuster's Funnyman by Tom Andrae and Mel Gordon on page 49.:
"While I was in the service they started ghosting the Superman scripts, because obviously I couldn't write them while I was away in the service." - Ricca (2014). Super Boys, p. 223: "Jerry felt angryand instantly very isolated: Harry had gone ahead and okayed the title without telling him—or paying for it?"
- ^ Sergi (2015). The Law for Comic Book Creators
- Ricca (2014). Super Boys, p. 226: "Jerry and Joe got a final check—and were promptly shown the door by National."
- Ricca 2014
- Exhibit 2 (Docket 722–1) in Laura Siegel Larson vs Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., DC Comics, case no 13-56243.
- Sergi (2015), p. 214
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- The Marvel Family #89. Copyright date registered as September 25, 1953.
See Catalog of Copyright Entries, Third Series, Volume 7, Part 2, Number 1: Periodicals, Jan–Jun 1953. United States Library of Congress. 1954. p. 268. - Thomas, Roy; Ordway, Jerry (July 2001). "Not Your Father's Captain Marvel! An Artist-by-Artist Account of a Doomed Quest for a 1980s Shazam! Series". Alter Ego. 3 (9). Raleigh, North Carolina: Two Morrows Publishing: 9–17.
- Superman comic strip, January 16, 1939 Archived October 8, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, reprinted at "Episode 1: Superman Comes to Earth". TheSpeedingBullet.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
- Lowther, George (1942). The Adventures of Superman. Per Ricca (2014), p. 204: "The book is also the first time that Superman's parents are named "Jor-el" and "Lara"—a slight spelling change that would stick."
- The Secret Rocket per Lantz, James. "Superman Radio Series – Story Reviews". SupermanHomepage.com. Archived from the original on June 26, 2016.
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Decades of comic book mythology and a hit TV series have made Superman's hometown of Smallville, Kan., one of the most famous places in America.
- Mankiewicz & Crane (2012), p. 203
- Daniels (1998). Superman: The Complete History
- "The New Batman/Superman Adventures". Warner Bros. Archived from the original on February 2, 2007.
- John Sikela (p). "The Origin of Superboy's Costume!" Superboy, vol. 1, no. 78 (January 1960). New York, NY: DC Comics.
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- Daniels (1998). Superman: The Complete History, p. 42
- Weldon 2013, p. 33
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- "The religion of Superman (Clark Kent / Kal-El)". Adherents.com. August 14, 2007. Archived from the original on August 28, 2012.
{{cite web}}
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–Look! Look! There, in the sky! It's a man!
–Why, he's flying!
–It can't be! It's not possible! - Daniels (1998), pp. 106–107.
- The Meteor From Krypton (June 1943). Per Hayde (2009): "Only one arc in 1943 managed to transcend its era: "The Meteor from Krypton." Debuting on June 3, it marked the debut of kryptonite..."
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- "If Lois should ACTUALLY learn Clark's secret, the strip would lose about 75% of its appeal—the human interest angle. I know that a formula can possibly prove monotonous through repetition but I fear that if this element is removed from the story formula that makes up SUPERMAN, that this strip will lose a great part of its effectiveness." Siegel, in his script notes, quoted in Ricca (2014) (Super Boys).
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- Scivally (2007). Superman on Film, Television, Radio and Broadway: "The episode also introduced Julian Noa as Clark Kent's boss, whose name had evolved from Paris White to Perry White. White's newspaper changed from The Daily Flash to the Daily Planet. Soon after the radio show appeared, the comic books also changed their Daily Star editor George Taylor to Daily Planet editor Perry White..."
- Daniels (1998). Superman: The Complete History, p. 160
- Though created to appear in Superman #30 (Sept. 1944), publishing lag time resulted in the character first appearing in the Superman daily comic strip that year, per Superman #30 Archived March 11, 2016, at the Wayback Machine at the Grand Comics Database.
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Like Moses. Much as the baby prophet was floated in a reed basket by a mother desperate to spare him from an Egyptian Pharaoh's death warrant, so Kal-El's doomed...
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Bibliography
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Further reading
- De Haven, Tom (2009). Our Hero: Superman on Earth. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-11817-9. OCLC 320132317.
External links
- Official website
- Golden Age Archived November 21, 2019, at the Wayback Machine, Silver Age Archived November 6, 2019, at the Wayback Machine and Modern Age Archived November 21, 2019, at the Wayback Machine Superman at the Comic book database
- Superman on DC Database, a DC Comics wiki
- Superman on IMDb
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- DC Comics superheroes
- Superman
- 1938 comics debuts
- Culture of the United States
- Characters created by Jerry Siegel
- Characters created by Joe Shuster
- Comics adapted into animated series
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- Comics characters introduced in 1938
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