Superman

Lore & Background

Since 1939, Superman has starred in both Action Comics and his own title within the DC Universe. He interacts with allies like Wonder Woman and Batman as a Justice League member. Different versions exist across alternative universes: the Earth-Two version from the Golden Age and the Earth-One version from the Silver and Bronze Ages. His persona inspired characters such as Supergirl, Superboy, and Krypto the Superdog. His enemies include Brainiac, General Zod, and his archenemy Lex Luthor. Historically, he was the best-selling superhero in American comic books until the 1980s and remains the highest-grossing when considering the entire genre's history since 1938.

Reader's Guide

To understand Superman's development, note that Siegel initially sought to replace Shuster with an established artist due to rejections, but they reconciled before finding work with National Allied Publications in June 1935. In July 1933, artist Leo O'Mealia produced lost strips based on a script where Superman was a 'scientist-adventurer' from the far future. By November 1934, Russell Keaton produced two weeks of strips featuring a special 'uniform,' though the design was not described. The final breakthrough came when Siegel and Shuster showed their work to Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, who published two of their other strips in New Fun Comics #6 but offered to publish Superman only after demonstrating irresponsible business practices like slow responses and non-payment, leading the duo to refuse the offer and continue marketing to syndicates themselves.

Did You Know?

• The original 1933 concept for 'Super-Man' was a villain named Bill Dunn who gained mind-reading and mind-control powers from an experimental drug.
• Bud Collyer voiced Superman in both the radio series (1940–1951) and the Fleischer/Famous Studios animated shorts (1941–1943).
• Kirk Alyn played Superman in film serials released in 1948 and 1950, preceding Christopher Reeve's portrayal in 1978.