Superman

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

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 an apocalyptic cataclysm. His ship landed in the American countryside near the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, where he was found and adopted by farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent, who named him Clark Kent. The Kents quickly realized he was superhuman; all of his physical and sensory abilities are far beyond those of a human, and he is nearly impervious to harm and capable of unassisted flight. His adoptive parents having instilled him with strong morals, he chooses to use his powers to benefit humanity, and to fight crime as a vigilante. To protect his personal life, he changes into a primary-colored 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 alongside supporting characters including his love interest and fellow journalist Lois Lane, photographer Jimmy Olsen, and editor-in-chief Perry White. His enemies include Brainiac, General Zod, and archenemy Lex Luthor.

Reader's Guide

Superman's significance lies in his role as the archetypal superhero who popularized the genre and established its conventions. The character's development involved collaborations with artists like Leo O'Mealia and Russell Keaton before Siegel and Shuster finalized the alien origin from Krypton and the familiar costume. Superman has been adapted into radio serials, films, television shows, and video games, with notable portrayals by Bud Collyer, Kirk Alyn, Christopher Reeve, Henry Cavill, and David Corenswet. He exists within the DC Universe, interacting with heroes like Wonder Woman and Batman, and has inspired characters such as Supergirl, Superboy, and Krypto the Superdog.

Did You Know?

• Superman first appeared in issue #1 of Action Comics, published on April 18, 1938.
• The first version of Superman, in a 1933 story titled 'The Reign of the Super-Man', was a homeless man named Bill Dunn who gained psychic powers from an experimental drug and used them maliciously.
• Artist Joe Shuster once burned the rejected Superman comic they had created, sparing only the cover, after Siegel tried to replace him with another artist.
• The radio series The Adventures of Superman ran from 1940 to 1951, with Bud Collyer providing the voice of Superman.
• Christopher Reeve portrayed Superman in the 1978 film and its sequels, defining the character in cinema for generations.

From Rejection to Revolution: The Birth of a Character

Siegel and 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. In January 1933, Siegel published a short story in his magazine Science Fiction: The Advance Guard of Future Civilization titled 'The Reign of the Super-Man'. The titular character is a homeless man named Bill Dunn who is tricked by an evil scientist into consuming an experimental drug, giving him powers of mind-reading, mind-control, and clairvoyance, which he uses maliciously. Siegel and Shuster shifted to making comic strips, but newspaper editors told them they needed something more sensational. Siegel revisited Superman, modifying his powers to superhuman strength and bullet-proof skin, and making him a crime-fighting hero instead of a villain. They showed this concept to Consolidated Book Publishers, who had published Detective Dan: Secret Operative 48 in May 1933. Siegel and Shuster put together a comic book called The Superman, but Consolidated later pulled out of the comics business because sales of Detective Dan were disappointing. Siegel looked for an established artist to replace Shuster, and when Shuster found out, he burned their rejected Superman comic, sparing only the cover. Siegel wrote to numerous artists, including Leo O'Mealia in July 1933, sending a script where Superman is a 'scientist-adventurer' from the far future who escapes Earth's explosion in a time-machine. In June 1934, Siegel sent a script to Russell Keaton where Superman's origin evolved: in the distant future, the last surviving man sends his three-year-old son back in time to 1935, where he is discovered by motorists Sam and Molly Kent, left in an orphanage, then adopted and named Clark. Keaton produced two weeks' worth of strips, but they were rejected. Siegel and Shuster reconciled and resumed developing Superman, making him an alien from Krypton, with Shuster designing 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 Lois Lane. In June 1935, they found work with National Allied Publications, owned by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, who published two of their strips in New Fun Comics #6 (1935): 'Henri Duval' and 'Doctor Occult'. They showed him Superman, but refused his offer to publish it because Wheeler-Nicholson had been slow to respond and had not paid them for their work.

A Kryptonian Among Us: Identity, Power, and Purpose

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 an apocalyptic cataclysm. His ship landed in the American countryside near the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, where he was found and adopted by farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent, who named him Clark Kent. The Kents quickly realized he was superhuman; all of his physical and sensory abilities are far beyond those of a human, and he is nearly impervious to harm and capable of unassisted flight. His adoptive parents having instilled him with strong morals, he chooses to use his powers to benefit humanity, and to fight crime as a vigilante. To protect his personal life, he changes into a primary-colored 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 alongside supporting characters including his love interest and fellow journalist Lois Lane, photographer Jimmy Olsen, and editor-in-chief Perry White. His enemies include Brainiac, General Zod, and archenemy Lex Luthor.

Defining a Genre: Superman's Archetypal Legacy

Superman is the archetypal superhero: he wears an outlandish costume, uses a codename, and fights evil and averts disasters with the aid of extraordinary abilities. Although there are earlier characters who arguably fit this definition, it was Superman who popularized the superhero genre and established its conventions. He was the best-selling superhero in American comic books up until the 1980s and remains the highest grossing superhero if one considers the entire history of the genre (starting in 1938). Since 1939, Superman has been featured in both Action Comics and his own Superman comic. He exists within the DC Universe, where he interacts with other heroes including fellow Justice League members like Wonder Woman and Batman, and appears in various titles based on the team. Different versions of the character exist in alternative universes; the Superman from the Golden Age of comic books was later labeled as the Earth-Two version while the version appearing in Silver Age and Bronze Age comics has been labeled the Earth-One Superman. His persona has also inspired the creation of characters such as Supergirl, Superboy and Krypto the Superdog.

Beyond the Page: Superman Across a Century of Media

Superman has been adapted outside of comics. The radio series The Adventures of Superman ran from 1940 to 1951 and featured Bud Collyer as the voice of Superman. Collyer also voiced the character in a series of animated shorts produced by Fleischer/Famous Studios and released between 1941 and 1943. Superman appeared in film serials in 1948 and 1950, played by Kirk Alyn. Christopher Reeve portrayed Superman in the 1978 film and its sequels, and defined the character in cinema for generations. Superman continued to appear in feature films, including a series starring Henry Cavill and a series starring David Corenswet. The character has also appeared in numerous television series, including Adventures of Superman, played by George Reeves, Superman: The Animated Series, voiced by Tim Daly, and My Adventures with Superman, voiced by Jack Quaid.