Superman

Origin:  Krypton was a planet where humanity had reached the pinnacle in evolution. The Kryptonians were a race of superhumans, whose technology was far in advance of that of 20th century Earth. Unfortunately, Krypton was a doomed planet. It began to break apart, vast earthquakes shaking the countryside. Jor-L was determined that his son would survive his planet's destruction. He placed his son in an experimental rocket and sent it into space.

The rocket landed  in a field, where it was discovered by the Kents. The Kents adopted the child contained within the strange vessel and named him "Clark." Clark Kent exhibited superhuman abilities from early age; while still a toddler he could lift a chair. As he grew older he learned the extent of his powers and an idea was planted in his mind. With the deaths of the Kents, Clark decided to put this idea to fruition--he would use his enormous powers for good. And so Clark donned the familiar red and blue costume to fight a never ending battle against the forces of evil as Superman.

Powers: As originally described in the comic books, Superman could "hurdle skyscrapers...leap an 8th of a mile...raise tremendous weights...run faster than a streamline train...and nothing less than  a bursting shell could penetrate his skin." It was not long before Superman became even more powerful. In the words of the radio show, he was "faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!" Indeed, no longer could Superman simply leap tall buildings in a single bound, he could fly over them! As for bursting shells penetrating his skin, by the early Forties even battleship guns could not get through Superman's hide. As the Golden Age progressed, Superman developed yet more powers. He had X-ray vision, with which he could see through walls, heat vision, with which he could melt even steel, super hearing with which he could hear distant sounds, and so on.. By the end of the Golden Age Superman was nearly god-like in the scope of his powers. He could even survive an atomic bomb blast!

History:  The creation of Superman is perhaps better documented than any other superhero in history. He was the creation of writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster when the two were still high school students in Cleveland. Avid science fiction fans, Siegel may have published the first science fiction fanzine in history.

The inspiration for Superman probably developed from many sources. Certainly the Biblical story of Samson and the Greek myth of Hercules are antecedents to the character. More direct inspiration for Superman, however, may have come from two immediate sources. One was Philip Wylie's Gladiator, a science fiction novel about a man with superhuman strength. Another may have been house ads for Street and Smith's new pulp magazine, Doc Savage. The house ads read,  "Superman..Doc Savage--man of Master Mind and Body..." Eventually, the influence of Doc Savage may well have gone beyond the house ads, however, as  it may be no coincidence that while Doc Savage is called "the Man of Bronze," Superman is called the "Man of Steel." Similarly, both characters bear the first name, "Clark." It must also be pointed out that while Doc Savage has a "Fortress of Solitude," a place where he can work in private located in the deepest regions of the Arctic, references are made fairly early to a mountain hideaway where Superman can similarly work without distraction. In 1949 this hideaway would be established as being in the Arctic and would be called the Fortress of Solitude!

Initially Superman had little in common with Doc Savage, however, as in his first appearance he was a villain! In January 1933 Siegel and Shuster published a fanzine called Science Fiction which featured a story called The Reign of the Superman, written by Siegel and illustrated by Shuster. In The Reign of the Superman, a mad scientist, not unlike Lex Luthor, gives a man superhuman powers. This Superman later takes over the world. Fortunately, Superman did not stay a villain long. Upon seeing a comic strip collection featuring  Detective Dan, the  long running  newspaper strip by Norman Marsh, Siegel decided that Superman would not only make a great hero, but a great comic strip character. Siegel then wrote a comic strip, illustrated by Shuster, called The Superman. Unfortunately, this first story featuring Superman as a hero did not survive. When it was rejected by a major publisher, Shuster destroyed everything bit of the artwork except the cover.

It was on a summer night in 1934 that Superman took shape as we know him. Siegel decided that Superman would have a secret identity. In contrast to Superman, this other identity would be mild mannered and wear glasses. Superman's alter ego would be named "Clark" for "Clark Gable (and perhaps Doc Savage as well)." Because Siegel had thought about becoming a reporter,  Clark Kent would be a reporter for a large metropolitan newspaper. Working with him at this newspaper would be female reporter who thought little of Clark, although she worshipped Superman. The female reporter was named "Lois" for a girl on whom both Siegel and Shuster had a crush. That night Siegel completed scripts for enough Superman comic strips to last for weeks. The following day Shuster spent designing Superman's costume. Siegel suggested that Shuster place an "S" in a triangle on Superman's chest, while Shuster gave Superman a cape to better give the illusion of movement in the comic strip. Shuster set about illustrating Siegel's scripts--among them was the origin story that would eventually see print in Action Comics #1.

The next three years Siegel and Shuster spent trying to sell Superman to various newspaper syndicates. They were rejected every time. They never thought of selling Superman to a comic book publisher, even though they were working in the comic book field at the time. In fact, among the companies for which Siegel and Shuster supplied comic strips was National Periodical Publications Inc., where they did both Federal Men and Dr. Occult. Dr. Occult would be significant as a comic book forerunner of Superman. A detective who specialised in the paranormal, for a brief time he wore a costume similar to those worn by superheroes several years later. Regardless, the comic book industry was very small at the time and any money to be had for a cartoonist was in newspaper syndication. Since Siegel and Shuster believed that Superman would be a resounding success, they did not want to waste it on comic books.

Among the companies which had rejected Superman was the McClure Syndicate. McClure's executive at the time was M. C. Gaines, possibly the most important figure in comic book history.  Gaines was an salesman at Eastern Colour Printing Company when he and sales manager Harry I. Wildenberg struck upon the idea of collecting newspaper strips into a 7 inch by 9 inch book. They convinced Easter Colour to print 10,000 copies of Funnies on Parade, which would be given away as premiums for Proctor and Gamble. Funnies on Parade proved so successful that Eastern Colour produced more comic books as premiums for Kenney Shoe Stores and Milk-O-Malt. The success of these giveaways prompted Eastern Colour to print the first regularly published comic book, Famous Funnies, in 1934. As the head of the McClure Syndicate, Gaines was about to make comic book history for the second time.

M. C. Gaines did not particularly care for the Superman comic strip, although his assistant Sheldon Mayer thought otherwise and could not comprehend why McClure would not publish it. When the owner of  National Periodical Publications, Harry Donenfield, approached Gaines about comic strips for a new magazine, Action Comics,  Mayer persuaded Gaines to recommend Superman to the publisher.  Donenfield showed the comic strip to editor Vince Sullivan, who thought that it would be successful with children because it had a lot of action. Donenfield then paid Siegel and Shuster ten dollars a page for the first Superman story. After finding little success with the newspaper syndicates, Siegel and Shuster sold all rights to the character to Donenfield for a mere $130.

The tiny amount Donenfield paid for the rights to the character perhaps demonstrated his lack of faith in the comic strip. When Donenfield saw the cover of Action Comics #1, which portrayed Superman picking up a car, he thought that no one would believe it. Fortunately, Donenfield's fears proved to be unwarranted. Action Comics #1, June 1938, broke all sales records in the comic book industry. Within a year Superman was a media sensation and a multimillion dollar industry. In January 1939 the McClure Syndicate began publishing a daily Superman newspaper strip (it was here that  Superman's home planet was first called Krypton and his parents first named Jor-L and Lara). With the summer of 1939 came the first issue of Superman's own title. On February 12, 1940 a radio show based on the Man of Steel's exploits, The Adventures of Superman, debuted. September 26, 1941 saw the debut of a series of Superman animated cartoons produced by the Fleischer brothers. In 1942 a novel, The Adventures of Superman, was also published.

Although Superman would conquer several other media, perhaps the best measure of his impact was on the number of other comic book characters he inspired. National Periodical Publications attempted to capitalise on Superman's popularity with another superhero almost immediately. The Crimson Avenger debuted in Detective Comics #20, October 1938, only months after Superman's debut. Unfortunately, The Crimson Avenger, which drew more upon such pulp heroes as The Shadow than Superman, would never achieve widespread popularity. National Periodical Publication had much more success with their next superhero, a character called Batman. Soon other companies started producing their own superheroes. In August 1939 The Blue Beetle first appeared in Fox Feature Syndicate's Mystery Men Comics. That October the Human Torch would debut in Timely's Marvel Comics. By 1940 comic books would be swarming with superheroes.

Eventually the National and All-American lines alone had enough superheroes to form a superhero group, the Justice Society of America. From the very beginning Superman was an honourary member of the group. Superman and Batman both made cameos in All-Star Comics #7, October-November 1941 and guest starred, along with the rest of the JSA, in a Hop Harrigan text story in All-Star Comics #8, December 1941-January 1942. Superman and Batman would each have their own chapters when they filled in for Johnny Thunder and The Atom in All-Star Comics #36, August-September 1947. It was in All-Star Comics that Superman and Batman first appeared together, pre-dating both the team-ups on The Adventures of Superman radio show (which started in 1945) and in Superman #76, May-June 1953 (they would become a permanent team in World's Finest Comics the following year).

For the first four years of its existence the Superman comic strip underwent various changes. In the original comic strip, Clark Kent worked for the Daily Star with editor George Taylor. On the radio show, however, the newspaper was called the Daily Planet and the editor was Perry White. It was with Superman #4, spring 1940 that the newspaper was first called the Daily Planet in the comic books. For a time George Taylor would continue to be Clark's boss, although eventually he was replaced by  Perry White in Superman #7,  December 1940.

These changes would be minor compared to one that would come in 1945. In More Fun Comics #101, March 1945 a comic strip called Superboy debuted. This is significant because it would change Superman's origin. Previously Clark Kent is said to have attended high school in Metropolis; Superboy portrays the future Man of Steel as growing up in a small town called Smallville. It had also been established that Clark did not assume the guise of Superman until adulthood; in Superboy he becomes a superhero while still a teenager. Finally, in the original origin of Superman it was stated that all Kryptonians had superpowers; it is in the Superboy series that the idea that Superman's strength comes from Earth's lesser gravity is first expressed. Curiously, despite the changes Superboy wrought on the Man of Steel's origin, for quite some time the continuity of Superboy would be ignored in the Superman series itself.

Unfortunately, the creation of Superboy would also result in the dismissal of Siegel and Shuster. Both men had been serving in World War II when Superboy was created. When they returned they were less than happy to learn about the comic strip. Siegel claimed that Donenfield had previously rejected a Superboy strip when  he and Shuster had proposed it. Siegel and Shuster were also unhappy with the fact that National Periodical Publications was making millions off a character that they had sold for only $130, all the while the money they were getting from their ten year contract with National was growing smaller and smaller in amount. For those reasons Siegel and Shuster sued National Periodical Publications for $5 million to retain the rights for Superman. In the end they only received $100 thousand for Superboy and their contract with National Periodical Publications was not renewed in 1948.

With the Man of Steel's creators gone, editor Mort Weisinger became the primary creative mind guiding the comic strip. Slowly, under Weisinger's editorial reins, the Superman mythos would begin to change. The first sign of these changes appeared in Superman #53, July 1948, where Superman's origin was retold in celebration of his tenth anniversary. For the most part this origin story was faithful to all those that had gone before. It portrays the Kryptonians as a highly advanced, superhuman race; no mention is made that Superman's powers stem from Earth's lesser gravity. There is also no mention of Superboy. This version of  Superman's origin, however, marks the beginning of the larger role that the planet Krypton would play in Superman's life.

Kryptonite, a mainstay of the radio show since 1943, would make its first comic book appearance in Superman #61, December 1949. In this story Superman flies faster than the speed of light to break the time barrier and learn the origin of the mysterious substance. In the process Superman learns of the planet Krypton and its tragic fate. The following August, in Superman #65, Superman would face his first Kryptonian opponents, Mala, K120, and U-Ban. They were criminals whom Jor-El had sent into space as a means of exile (the Phantom Zone and General Zod would not come until later).

It would be in 1951 in Action Comics #158, April 1951  that the Superman legend would be changed forever. In that issue Superman's origin is told once again. Superboy is included as part of the origin and Superman's powers are ascribed to the lesser gravity of Earth. Curiously, the Kryptonians would be described as a superhuman race for one last time in Superman #73, November-December 1951. Because Action Comics #158, April 1951 drastically altered the origin of Superman, it would perhaps be wise to state that the Golden Age Superman ended with that issue. Thereafter Superman's powers were ascribed to the lesser gravity of Earth and still later the yellow sun of our solar system. As the Fifties progressed, Krypton would play a larger and larger role in Superman stories. By the end of the Fifties Superman would no longer be the only Kryptonian fighting crime on earth. His cousin Supergirl first appeared in Action Comics #252, May 1959. Not only was the Superman comic strip of the Fifties extremely different from that of the Forties, the background of the character of Superman differed as well.

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 Unless otherwise stated, all text on this site is © 1999 T. L. Canote