[81], Whereas comic books in the 1950s were read by children, since the 1990s the average reader has been an adult. [7] Superman #23 (July–August 1943) featured the first Superman comic book story written by someone other than Jerry Siegel. Comic book stories can be produced quickly and cheaply, and are thus an ideal medium for experimentation. The love triangle between Lois Lane, Clark, and Superman was inspired by Siegel's own awkwardness with girls. [10][11], Siegel and Shuster showed this second concept of Superman to Consolidated Book Publishers, based in Chicago. [20], Siegel wrote to numerous artists. The judge ruled that DC Comics had effectively abandoned the copyright to Superman and therefore forfeited its right to sue Fawcett for copyright infringement. This section details the most consistent elements of the Superman narrative in the myriad stories published since 1938. The Kents name the boy Clark and raise him in a farming community. Its sequel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), featured Superman alongside Batman and Wonder Woman, making it the first theatrical movie in which Superman appeared alongside other superheroes from the DC Universe. Adventures of Superman, which aired from 1952 to 1958, was the first television series based on a superhero. Through the use of a dual identity, Superman allowed immigrants to identify with both of their cultures. 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. After World War 2, American superhero fiction entered Japanese culture. Weisinger retired in 1970 and Julius Schwartz took over. [83], Beginning in January 1939, a Superman daily comic strip appeared in newspapers, syndicated through the McClure Syndicate. The first big-budget movie was Superman in 1978, starring Christopher Reeve and produced by Alexander and Ilya Salkind. [117][118][119] The 1978 movie spawned four sequels: Superman II (1980), Superman III (1983), Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) and Superman Returns (2006); the last of which replaced Reeve with Brandon Routh. The series was retitled Adventures of Superman (Volume 1) starting with issue #424 in 1987. [106] Bud Collyer was the voice actor for Superman in most episodes. [123][124] 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. [84] By 1941, the newspaper strips had an estimated readership of 20 million. 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. "[238], Some see Judaic themes in Superman. Death to the Mother Mold in ‘House of X’ #3. DC Comics launched Superman volume 3 with issue #1 in September 2011 (cover dated November 2011), as part of The New 52. Although his name and history were taken 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, has a plausible reason to be present at crime scenes, and need not strictly account for his whereabouts as long as he makes his story deadlines. Superman gained the ability to fly in the second episode of the radio serial in 1940. In some stories, he is strong enough to shift the orbits of planets[170] and crush coal into diamond with his hands. The tale was an inspiration for Mark Millar's Superman: Red Son limited series published in 2003. He argues that Superman's early stories portray a threat: "the possibility that the exile would overwhelm the country. This prompted Siegel to revisit Superman as a comic strip character. Since Action Comics #1 (1938), Superman has superhuman strength. They chose to keep marketing Superman to newspaper syndicates themselves. Between 1986 and 2006 it was retitled, The Adventures of Superman, while a … Superman, he notes was very much part of that effort. [65] The first three issues saw George Pérez doing the scripting and breakdowns. National Comics Publications, Inc. v. Fawcett Publications, Inc. Superman: Krypton Coaster (Six Flags Fiesta Texas), Superman: Krypton Coaster (Six Flags Mexico), Superman: Ultimate Flight (Six Flags Discovery Kingdom), Invisible Kid (Lyle Norg and Jacques Foccart), Triplicate Girl/Duo Damsel/Duplicate Damsel, Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century, Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Cosmic Clash, List of Legion of Super-Heroes publications, Wonder Women! At the very least, bullets bounce harmlessly off his body. [143][c] However, this would only apply to the character as he is depicted in Action Comics #1 (1938). "[58] Shuster taught himself to draw by tracing over the art in the strips and magazines they collected. [39][40] 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. 1941). The first nine episodes were produced by Fleischer Studios and the next eight were produced by Famous Studios. His ship landed in the American countryside, near the fictional town of Smallville. The last game centered on Superman was Superman Returns (adapted from the movie) in 2006. Bud Collyer provided the voice of Superman. The arrival of Supergirl, who has been confirmed to be not only from Krypton, but also his cousin, has relieved this loneliness somewhat. [22] Superman #300 (June 1976) featured an out-of-continuity story by Bates and Maggin which imagined the infant Superman landing on Earth in 1976 and becoming a superhero in 2001. Superman maintains a secret hideout called the "Fortress of Solitude", which is located somewhere in the Arctic. Donovan's Billboard Hot 100 topping single "Sunshine Superman" utilized the character in both the title and the lyric, declaring "Superman and Green Lantern ain't got nothing on me. [38] Siegel and Shuster refused his offer because Wheeler-Nicholson had demonstrated himself to be an irresponsible businessman. [33] Superman was relaunched with a new #1 issue in a second volume in 1986,[34] and was published concurrently with The Adventures of Superman. 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. By 1942, however, Superman was working side-by-side with the police. That's where the dual-identity concept came from" and Shuster supporting that as being "why so many people could relate to it". Another classic feat of strength on Superman's part is breaking steel chains. 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. 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. ),[50] but Superman became far more popular and valuable than they anticipated and they much regretted giving him away. Kirk Alyn became the first actor to portray the hero onscreen. Superman can project and perceive X-rays via his eyes, which allows him to see through objects. This was the first story in which Superman and Lois marry that wasn't an "imaginary tale." One last story, which also marked the end of Schwartz's tenure as editor of the series,[16] was published to give a send-off to the former status quo: Alan Moore's Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? [200] While the character swiftly took on a life of its own, moving beyond parody, other animated characters soon took their turn to parody the character. [101] Joe Shuster defined the aesthetic style of Superman in the 1940s. 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. This flourishing is today referred to as America's Golden Age of Comic Books, which lasted from 1938 to about 1950. They continued collaborating on other projects, but for the time being Shuster was through with Superman. 1, the comic book that introduced the Man of Steel to the world in 1938, sold for $3,207,852 on … In Action Comics #1, Superman could not fly. [78] Sales declined from that point on. [134] Between 1938 and 1947, DC Comics paid them together over $400,000 (equivalent to $6,140,000 in 2019). The Untold Story of American Superheroines, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Superman&oldid=1019803300, DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds, DC Comics characters with accelerated healing, DC Comics characters with superhuman strength, Fictional characters with nuclear or radiation abilities, Fictional characters with superhuman senses, Fictional immigrants to the United States, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Pages using collapsible list with both background and text-align in titlestyle, Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images, Pages using Sister project links with wikidata namespace mismatch, Pages using Sister project links with hidden wikidata, Wikipedia articles with PLWABN identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SELIBR identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with multiple identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, durability, senses, and longevity, This page was last edited on 25 April 2021, at 14:24. 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