1938: The birth of a hero
Superman was created by Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel. Initially, the duo devised a villain with telepathic gifts called Superman. Once appeared in the story ‘The Reign of the Superman’ of Fiction #3, a science fiction magazine. This character did not attract the general public, and the duo then devised a second character named Superman. This time they chose a hero with physical powers instead of mental. This version of Superman debuted in Action Comics No. 1 in 1938.
Superman attracted a public in this way, and soon obtained his own comic series. The first stories were drawn and written by Siegel and Shuster. At first he was still a rather radical hero that hit his enemies hard, but when other scriptwriters took care of the series, he acquired his moral code and began to show less violent behavior.
Subsequently, Superman appeared in several radio and television programs, both in the form of movies and games. Over time, the superhero extended its horizons and began to appear internationally, also in the Netherlands.
The origins and background of Superman have often changed over the years, as well as their well -known super powers. The time in which his stories are also varies from the thirties (the oldest comics) to the present.
Superman was born as Kal-El, son of scientist Jor-El and his wife Lara Lor-Van, on the planet Krypton. This planet was about to explode, so Superman’s parents decided to evacuate it with a capsule. This ship was sent to Earth, since this planet also had a perfect life environment for the Kriptonians. There the capsule landed on the outskirts of the small town of Smallville, where the young Kal-El was found and adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent. They called him Clark Kent.
Growing up, he discovered that he possessed powers far superior to those of the common man. As an adult, Clark decided to use these powers to fight crime. He moved to the city of Metropolis, where he got a job as a journalist in the Daily Planet newspaper. There he works with the journalist Lois Lane, with whom he maintains a romantic relationship. In the current continuity of the comics, the two are married, although both have had different relationships over the years.
Within the DC universe, Superman is known as a model to follow for many heroes. He has a strong moral code that he never deviates. Superman has been a member of many superhero teams, especially the Justice League. Within these teams, he almost always has the role of team leader.
As he is aware that he has lost his true native world, Superman is very protective with earth. He has a strong sense of justice, which is often attributed to his austere education in the rural city of Smallville. However, it is often clear that Superman has the feeling of being alone, despite his friends who has acquired as his alter-ego, Clark Kent. An important inflection point in Superman’s life was when he was killed in the cartoon series by the villain Doomsday. In the Superman cinematographic cycle it comes to an end in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, where he is killed by a creature created by his greatest human enemy, Lex Luthor.
Superman’s forces have evolved over the years.In the oldest strips, Superman’s forces were still limited. He was stronger than a normal person (he could lift a car), he could run fast and jump very far and tall. The explanation that was given to this was that Superman’s native planet, Krypton, has a much greater seriousness than the earth. As Superman’s body is adapted to this great gravity, he is able to do more things on earth (the same effect as astronauts who can jump higher and further on the moon than on earth).
In the current continuity of the strip, Superman has an arsenal of much greater forces. He can now, for example, fly, look through most materials (only with lead he has problems), shoot heat from his eyes, he has superhuman strong senses and can freeze things with his breath. Superman’s muscular strength and invulnerability have also increased. So today he can spray mountains, support a nuclear explosion and survive in space without oxygen or space suit. The origin of Superman’s powers has also changed over the years as he has acquired more powers. A common explanation is that Superman owes his powers to the sun of the earth. Krypton’s sun was red, but that of the earth was yellow. Under the influence of a yellow sun, the Kriptonians obtain super powers. Superman’s powers are often described as ‘faster than a bullet and stronger than a locomotive’.
The moment when Superman obtained his powers varies from one strip to another. Some stories assume that Superman had his powers since he was a child. In these comics, Superman was also a hero named Superboy in his youth. Other comics, however, assume that Superman’s powers only developed (much) in his adolescence.
Superman has two great weaknesses: on the one hand the opposite sex, for which he often enters a kind of conflict of interest, and on the other hand the Kriptonite, a substance that is said to come from his native planet, Kripton. This Kriptonite is presented in different forms, and each of them has a different effect on it. The best known version of him is the green, which deprives Superman from his powers and can even be deadly if he is exposed to it for too long.
Due to his cultural icon and the fact that he was the first disguised superhero that appeared in a comic, Superman has been regularly studied by critics and academics. These studies focus mainly on the impact that Superman has had on the world, how he has contributed to the creation of the superhero genre and how the character is often used as a symbol of the world’s political situation. Over the years, Superman’s comics have adapted to reflect current events. Superman, like many other heroes, was used during World War II as a metaphor for the fight against Nazi and Japan Germany. In the 50s and 60s he was a metaphor for the fight against the threat of the Cold War. Even today, the character is still used to reveal the political climate.
An important discussion point is the fact that Superman is not technically an American, since he comes from another planet, and therefore he can be considered as an immigrant. According to critics, this has contributed, among other things, to the development of greater tolerance towards immigrants in the United States, and emphasizes the fact that most Americans themselves are descendants of immigrants.
In May 2011, DC decided that Superman publicly declared that he was no longer American, something that caused a stir among fans. This was intended to end the idea that Superman represented pure America, so he cannot really interfere with international conflicts in which America is involved. However, DC indicated that it would not go too far in this new direction.
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