Interwar America saw a significant rise in the economy, but after a decade of prosperity came a long period of depression; in the midst of this came an idea that attempted to embody the American ideal and raise the spirits of a nation. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shushter, working for National Comics¹, published Action Comics #1 in June 1938 and the front cover featured a man of incredible power, lifting up a car. That man would spend the rest of the Century, and more, being given various nicknames but would always be known, officially, as Superman.

Is It A bird? Is It A plane?

In a universe not dissimilar to our very own, there was a planet called Krypton which was about to explode. Desperate to save his newborn child, scientist and leader Jor-El sent his son to Earth, knowing it had similar stable conditions to Krypton; he hoped to travel along afterwards with his wife, Lara, but there was no time as soon after the child, Kal-El, was sent into space their home planet exploded. Kal-El landed in a field near the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas and was discovered by Jonathan and Martha Kent². Being kind and gentle country-folk they adopted the alien as their own and named him Clark, after Martha's maiden name.

In 1986 the DC Comics world had become so convoluted that they retconned³ all of their major characters in a series called Crisis on Infinite Earths changing the entire Superman canon⁴. Before the series the Kents sold their farm and moved into Smallville, buying a general store. Clark began to discover his powers and adopted the identity Superboy, fighting crime while graduating high school. Once the Kents died he moved to the city Metropolis and became Superman while attending university. After graduating with a degree in journalism he was hired by the newspaper The Daily Planet. The new canon states that Kal-El was effectively born on Earth as well as Krypton because his ship was a birthing matrix and he gestated on the way to our planet. Clark's powers developed gradually rather than instantly and he travelled the world before settling in Metropolis, completing his education and working for the newspaper. In this version he became a superhero the day before he started his job, preventing an experimental spacecraft from crashing in Metropolis - the Kents do not die in this version.

No, It's Superman!

Clark Kent made his first public appearance in Metropolis to save a space experiment, he soon reappeared in a bright red and blue costume and the symbol on his chest, resembling the letter S inside a diamond; his future love, Lois Lane, gave him the moniker Superman in a newspaper article. The first full length account of Superman appeared in The Daily Planet, written by Clark Kent. To disguise his hidden identity, Clark adopts a passive and introverted personality, a higher-pitched voice and a slouch as well as changing his hair and wearing glasses⁵. The mild-mannered Kent is viewed rather differently, but still with affection, than his alter-ego, the man of steel - Superman.

The Death of Superman

On the last page of one of the Superman comics, Superman: The Man of Steel⁶, for months leading up to issue 18, there was an image of a gloved fist punching into a steel wall with the caption 'Doomsday is coming!' This would be the precursour to a major DC comics event that saw much of the characters from the DC universe crossing over into other comics. In the closing months of 1992 a monster defeated the entire Justice League of America (JLA) and in the next issue of Superman, the eponymous hero sought out Doomsday - who had been given his name from the line 'It's like Doomsday is here' from one of the JLA members. Over the course of his four comic book titles the two engage in a grand battle that reached its climax when the story came back to Superman for issue 75, dated January 1993⁷, this fifth instalment of the saga was short because each page was a splash page, a lavishly drawn and flattering picture that spans the leaf normally reserved for the front cover and title pages only. Superman finally realises Doomsday's weakness is his protuding bones but in delivering mighty blows to them shockwaves are sent out throughout Metropolis taking down both Doomsday and the Man of Steel, not to mention half the city.

The following episode, Funeral For A Friend, saw the erection of a mausoleum built to honour the hero. His body was stolen in an attempt to clone him but was rescued by Lois Lane and Supergirl but was stolen once again, unbenknownst to all, by The Eradicator⁸ who took the body to Superman's home, The Fortress of Solitude, and put him in the regeneration matrix. The title mainly focusses, though, on a funeral which was attended by the majority of DC superheroes - most of them also wore a black armband sporting the 'S' insignia during this time too. The following comics mostly focussed on the general public's reaction as well as close family and friends, occasionally even villains; at the end of this event Jonathan Kent has a heart attack and the reader follows his journey into the afterlife in a later episode, a possible hallucination where he tries to will Superman back to life. When Jonathan awakes his dream has come true to a larger degree than he could imagine; four men claiming to be Superman had appeared.

After a 3 month hiatus on all Superman comic book lines they reappeared on the shelves, with each of the four starring a different incarnation of the new heroes, with the crossover title Reign of the Supermen - the first issue of each came with a cardboard cover and a poster of the new hero. Superman: The Man of Steel follows John Henry Irons, an ironworker and ex-weapons manufacturer who develops a suit and bids to continue Superman's legacy under the superhero name Man of Steel. The Superman line followed Man of Tomorrow, a deceased astronaut, Hank Henshaw, who had transformed his mind into a computer, giving him the name The Cyborg, and used Superman's birthing matrix to create a partially mechanic body. Though he was genetically proven to be Superman, via the birthing matrix, he soon turns out to be a rampant killing machine. Superboy appeared in Adventures of Superman as the product of the attempts to clone Superman from the first time his body was stolen but was merely a reckless adolescent; the second thief, The Eradicator, appeared in Action Comics and became The Last Son of Krypton and dealt with criminals lethally.

The Cyborg destroys a nearby city on the coast called, inventively, Coast City. His plan is twofold as he believed to kill The Eradicator in the explosion and creates Engine City in its wake, capturing Superboy and holding him there. Superboy, being the rebel without a cause that he is, quickly breaks free and meets up with The Man of Steel to team up with him. A fifth Superman turns up, The Man In Black wearing a black Superman suit with a silver 'S' logo, and turns out to be the real Superman who has lost all his powers after escaping the regeneration matrix. He teams up with the other two just as The Cyborg launches a missile at Metropolis with the intent to turn it into Engine City Two but Superboy rides it the whole way and narrowly saves Metropolis. The Eradicator emerges once again, having healed himself in the Fortress of Solitude and all four join forces against The Cyborg for a final battle. Cyborg sprayed a Kryptonite-based gas at Superman but The Eradicator jumps in his way and dies while the gas gives Superman back his powers which he uses to destroy The Cyborg. Both Superboy and The Man of Steel, becoming Steel, gained their own series of DC Comics while the former also is involved with a group of teenage superheroes, Teen Titans, but also features in the Superman storyline as Ma and Pa Kent's adopted nephew.

In the non-fictional world, the storyline gained huge media attention as the story was covered on news channels and some celebrities, most notably Jay Leno, donned the black armband with the Superman logo that came free with some of the comics. Many, however, criticised the plot as a sensationalist story which detracted attention away from other industries; years later Chuck Rozanski would pen a vitriolic essay in the Comic Buyer's Guide blaiming it for the downfall of the comic book industry in the late 1990s, which saw DC and Marvel Comics virtually eclipse all others. In the DC universe it saved them from lack of interest that they had been suffering in recent times but also opened up the possibility of superheroes being injured, something which happened to many in the following months including Batman's broken back storyline. It also invited many readers, new and old, to follow a story across a number of different publications.

Science Of Superman

Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.

Superman's powers are explained by his Kryptonian body reacting to the Earth's sun and lower gravity. Used to their red sun, exposure to our yellow sun gives Kryptonians all of the powers that Superman possesses; similarly the lower gravity on Earth means that it is possible for Kryptonians to levitate with ease.

Invulnerability

Though not completely invulnerable, there is little that can hurt Superman. Originally 'nothing less than a bursting artillery shell could break his skin' but by the 1970s he could withstand nuclear explosions. Also, his high immunity protects him from toxins and illness.

Heightened Senses

Superman's eyes are enhanced in a number of ways, he has X-Ray vision and can see through anything except lead, occasionally looking through layer after layer⁹. He can see all the colours of the spectrum as well as the two normally masked to human eyes, infrared and ultraviolet - this means he can see in the dark. He has telescopic vision, allowing him to see into the distance and microscopic vision allows him to see small objects and images. A popular weapon of Superman is his heat vision; depicted as two laser beams from his eyes, he can focus heat energy on a small area; this is matched by his breath which can, as well as create winds up to a hurricane power, freeze a target with cold air. As well as heightened powers in his eyes, his hearing can focus in on sounds far away as well as from a pitch frequency with as much scope as a blue whale. Superman's voice could be projected before the 1986 retcon, but he is still able to mimic people expertly. Another dropped power was hypnotism, which helped his disguise fool people.

Movement

Often quoted as being confused with a bird, then a plane and then, despite his conspicuous bright red and blue spandex suit, recognised, it is clear that Superman can fly. Originally he could jump an eighth of a mile but very soon, he could fly as filmic depictions of a man jumping did not look impressive. His super speed means that he can run very fast, but flying is more versatile, once again it was changed from 30 miles per hour to near the speed of light.

Brains Or Braun?

Though the magnitude of his strength is not specific, he can easily lift more than 100 tonnes - in some stories he has shifted planets from their orbit. However, he is also a vastly intelligent man, as well as having a degree in journalism under the guise of Clark Kent, he did, at one point, possess the intelligence of the world's greatest minds but over time this has been decreased. Still, his photographic memory means that he can scan images faster than a human could see them but still remember the image perfectly.

Weaknesses

Despite being given the super prefix to his moniker, Superman is not totally infallible. As well as not being able to donate parts of his body to save people being an alien, he cannot undergo surgery without very special, strengthened equipment due to the high levels of defence in his skin. Also, it is known that he is weak against magic. His main weakness, though, lies in small fragments of his home planet that have been rendered radioactive by the explosion and have travelled to Earth, where the crystal substance was given the name Kryptonite. Green kryptonite, the most popular form, is fatal to Superman if exposed to a sufficient period of time - before the 1980s retcon it was harmless to humans but it has been known, now, to give humans cancer. The red variant is much more unpredictable and has split Superman in two, given him amnesia, turned him into a giant and more, but wears off after a day or so, whereas the gold variant permanently removes a Kryptonian's superpowers. Once again the 1986 reboot changed kryptonite, wiping out all forms but green, though a new form of red has been reintroduced.

Super Wardrobe

Superman, like any superhero with two identities, has a distinct costume that he wears while fighting the good fight; when he is disguising himself as Clark Kent he sticks to a business suit, often with a hat and glasses. When evil is afoot Clark is often seen¹⁰ running down the street clutching his shirt, he then rips it open and the 'S' insignia is revealed, though readers are spared the rest of the costume change and the issue of where Clark puts his clothes during this and when he fixes his shirt buttons has never been resolved. Superman's suit is predominantly blue, but his boots, cape and outwardly worn underwear is red as well as the 'S' and the diamond shape that surround it - but with a gold background - this is seen in the middle of his chest and on his cape.

The Fortress of Solitude

Given his amazing powers, Superman has little need for gadgets and equipment; however being plagued by so much internal fighting, Clark Kent needs a place to go to collect his thoughts. Though the comics made reference to a 'mountain retreat' in the 1940s, it was not until 1958 that the Fortress of Solitude was revealed. In pre-Crisis comics it was in the Arctic, whereas post-Crisis comics have placed it in Antarctica - but common to both is the idea of this place being a secret base of operations, where Superman can reflect on his thoughts and plans, make emergency contacts to people and it is always adorned with a statue of his parents, Jor-El and Lara holding the planet Krypton. In pre-Crisis continuity there were laboratories, alien animal zoos and guest rooms for all his close friends (including Clark, to ward off any suspicions of his identity to guests) that contained special presents in the event of his death. In post-Crisis mythology the fortress contains much Kryptonian technology, such as gadgets, equipment and vehicles in case of emergency.

Super Friends

Lois Lane

Fellow Daily Planet reporter and long-term friend and crush, now wife, Lois Lane is the heroine of the Superman comics. Originally she was always portrayed as indifferent to Clark, though often showing an underlying affection for him, but being madly in love with Superman. She was born in West Germany and travelled to Metropolis many times with her family at a young age, she tried to gain a job at the newspaper and was only accepted by the editor, Perry White, after obtaining information on Lex Luthor. She originally saw Clark as a rival after he scooped up the first interview with Superman, despite her coining that name, but soon turned to like him. Later his old friend from Smallville, Lana Lang, convinced her that he had affections for her. Clark proposed to her and she accepted, not knowing his real identity but when she did find out, she urged him not to reveal it to the rest of the world. After being poisoned by the Joker¹¹ Lois was convinced that Clark spent too much time as Superman and broke off the relationship, working abroad as a foreign correspondant but it was not long before she realised how much she needed him and the two soon wed.

Jonathan and Martha Kent

Surrogate parents of the alien child, Ma and Pa Kent found Kal-El's crashed spaceship on their farm and decided to raise him as their own. Martha helped design the Superman costumes and still makes them for her son. Whenever the Man of Steel needs a place to rest they are there to offer advice back in Smallville.

Jimmy Olsen

Since he encouraged Clark to join the Daily Planet, he has been firm friends with Kent and later Lois Lane. He is an able reporter but often lets his own ambition, pride and foolhardiness bring him down. After his father disappeared on a military mission, though he later found out this was merely a cover and he had ran off with another woman, Jimmy was raised by just his mother in Metropolis and this may be the reason why he has had numerous girlfriends - including Lois' younger sister Lucy Lane. At one time he was laid off from the newspaper and, after trying his hand at a few jobs, ended up homeless for a while until he joined a television show. Something of a technology whizz-kid, Jimmy rigged a watch with a hypersonic sound emitter that attracted Superman's attention. Impressed with Olsen's initiative the two became friends, and he is sometimes referred to as 'Superman's pal.' At one time he almost revealed Superman's identity on national television to save himself embarrassment. He was, however, wrong about his assumptions and Clark persuaded him that reporters must sometimes keep their secrets; having promised to reveal the identity Olsen resorted to announcing that Superman was actually noone. He was fired from the TV show and rehired by the paper.

Perry White

Perry's father went missing in combat overseas and he grew up parentless in the Suicide Slums of Metropolis. He became a copy boy for the Daily Planet working his way up to successful reporter and finally chief editor. In his marriage to Alice Spencer he has had one son, Jerry White Jr. who turned out to be the son of Superman's nemesis and Perry's childhood friend, Lex Luthor due to a brief seduction of Alice when Perry was overseas reporting. After Jerry was shot dead, Perry and his wife grieved for a long time - Perry took some time off from the paper; they never had another son but did adopt a homeless boy, Keith Roberts.

Superboy

A new character, first appearing in 1993. After Doomsday supposedly killed Superman, his body was taken to a government institution, without their permission, where director Paul Westfield attempted to clone his body. Unable to replicate Kryptonian DNA he merely cloned a human's genetic structure, manipulating it to give him a likeness to Superman but spliced some of the superhero's DNA into it, giving Superboy tactile telekenisis - this allows him to fly, simulate super-strength and have largely increased invulnerability. Superman took the youngster under his cape, so to speak, giving him the Kryptonian name Kor-El; the boy later went to live in Smallville as Ma and Pa Kent's nephew, Connor Kent. It was revealed much later that only half of the DNA that went into making him was Superman's, the human side used to stabilise him was Lex Luthor's. Superboy's adventures appear in the comic book series Teen Titans.

Steel

Dr John Henry Irons once worked as a ballistics engineer but retired once he realised the devastating effects his technology had on people in Qurac; he became a construction worker who Superman once saved. After seeing Superman supposedly killed by Doomsday, Irons forged a suit of armour and adopted the alter-ego Steel. After moving to Washington DC he discovered he was a metahuman with powers to summon armour. Steel has helped Superman learn about the workings of his new Fortress of Solitude. He even, for a while, joined the Justice League of America.

Supervillains

Lex Luthor

Lex spent his youth growing up in the Suicide Slum area, friendly with Perry White. Shortly after Luthor's parents had life insurance taken out on them, they both died in a place crash at the age of 13. He used the money to educate himself and help build a sub-orbital aircraft dubbed LexWing which made him famous as an engineer. His success earned him defence department contracts for his new business LexCorp. Somewhat of a billionaire philanderer, Luthor had been married eight times before he set his eyes on Lois Lane, who was shortly distracted by the debut of the Man of Steel. Trying to gain Superman as an ally, Luthor staged a test for him but was arrested for reckless endangerment - though in comparison to the amount of time he should have spent in prison this was a mere trifle. Still, Luthor was livid and soon vowed to see Superman dead. At one point he bought out the Daily Planet, firing all of its members and hiring Lois to work for his own news network, LexCom in order to distance her from Clark and try to control her. He eventually sold the newspaper under a secret agreement with Lois that she would bury a story of his choosing in the future.

Doomsday

A genetic killing machine created long ago on one of Krypton's moons. Though it can be killed, it regenerates itself and develops toleration to that form of death, making him invulnerable from that way of being killed. Of the superheroes on Earth, only Superman was strong enough to kill him on a battle of mammoth proportions outside the Daily Planet headquarters. The battle was so strong, however, that Superman fell to the floor, supposedly dead, following the battle. His body was sent into space where it eventually reached the planet Apokolips; with assistance from a time traveller, Superman fought and defeated Doomsday once more, leaving him trapped in a timestream.

Darkseid

In the distant past, the homeworld of the Old Gods was shattered by its final war, Ragnarok. From this two worlds were born: New Genesis was a bright and beautiful planet watched over by Highfather of the New Gods, the other planet spun forever in the shadow of its sister world, it was named Apokolips and it is ruled by Darkseid. He sent forth Omega Beams to bring Superman towards him, unaware the beams were meant for Superman, Clark Kent is transported to meet with Darkseid. Unaware of Clark Kent's double-life, Darkseid assumes he has failed and throws Kent out the window into the Fire Pits. Superman survives this and soon leads a short-lived resistance on Apokolips, but knowing nothing over than their Lord, Darkseid, the denizens of the world fall back into servitude. The resurrected Doomsday wreaks havoc upon Darkseid's forces and eventually brings Darkseid himself, before his knees. The Justice League of America is contacted by Apokolips and Superman aids the mortally wounded Darkseid and, as stated above, traps Doomsday in a timestream. Darkseid now bargains with Superman when it benefits his own agenda; still though he is very self-seeking, this was seen when he released Doomsday to attack Earth once again. Darkseid remains to be Superman's greatest threat.

Intergang

A nationwide crime syndicate formerly headed in Metropolis. It has been lead by numerous people, most notable Boss Moxie and Lex Luthor. After Superman arrived the gang was advanced exceedingly by its contemporary boss Morgan Edge, with considerable help from Darkseid, and took advantage of Luthor's hatred of the new Kryptonian to gain power in the form of a new ally. The two have not been the best of bedfellows though it must be said, as Luthor once had an attempt made on his life by Intergang but was saved by Clark, who had no time to disguise himself in his superhero alias.

The Crime Syndicate

An evil consortium of the Earth's most powerful super criminals from another dimension. The Syndicate mirrors the Justice League of America and its members. Superman's match takes the form of Ultraman who can fly and possesses both ultra strength and ultra speed. Unlike Superman, however, everytime he is exposed to Kryptonite he gains a new power.

Outside The Comic Books

Being one of the earliest superheros, Superman has made many appearances in motion picture, either as a cartoon, a live-action TV series or numerous films as well as a number of unofficial adventures. His first new medium, though, was just two years after he made his comic book debut on New York's WOR radio station in 1940. He then upgraded to all four of the Mutual Broadcasting stations¹² as a weekly seriel between 1942 and 1949; from the start of this final year the show was put on three times per week. By June he was off-air but ABC soon started making shows in November on Saturday mornings, then twice each week in the subsequent June, 1950. This was shortlived, though, as by March 1951 Superman left radio never to return. Superman was voiced by Bud Collyer aside from his final two years, where the part was taken by Michael Fitzmauric.

Bud Collyer also voiced the Superman cartoon that aired between 1941 and 1943, made by Paramount Pictures at Fleischer Studios - it was the first technicolour production for this studio. Superman would not return to cartoons until the 1996 where, in the vein of Batman, Superman: The Animated Series was aired until 2000 where Tim Daley voiced the Man of Steel. The third series saw it combined with Batman: The Animated Series, the inspiration for this show, in The Batman/Superman Show. The hour long show was nothing more than both episodes played back to back, but in Knight Time the two joined up in a multi-part episode to take on Ra's Al-Ghul, Batman's hated foe.

Elsewhere on TV, Superman first starred on the small screen in 1951, running with 104 episodes until 1957. It was one of the first TV shows to move from black-and-white to colour - interestingly the series spent exactly half its time in either formats. George Reeves played the eponymous role, but none of the comic book villains made an appearance. The superhero was brought to a new generation, much later, from 1993 to 1997 in the guise of The New Adventures of Superman¹³ This series focussed more on the role of Clark as a journalist bordering detective rather than his super-ego; Dean Clark played Superman. Fans had only a small time to wait until the next Superman spin-off which came in 2001. Smallville is set in Clark's adolescent years with Tom Welling playing Kent, there is much incontinuity between the show and other incarnations of Superman, mainly that it is set in the 21st Century and that Lex Luthor is a friend of Kent's, but still an enemy of Superman. One highlight of the series was a guest appearance by Christopher Reeve in 2003 as Dr. Swann, a character giving many clues to Clark about his origins. As well as the episode Rosetta he reappeared the next year in the episode Legacy before the character died early in 2005 in Sacred.

Christopher Reeve is worthy of mention, of course, because he is seen by many as the archetypal incarnation of Superman as he appeared in four films between from 1978 - 1987. The first two films are largely seen as a success; dealing firstly with Lex Luthor's typical plans of trying to bring him down and then three Kryptonians, imprisoned by Jor-El come to Earth and try to defeat Superman before he eventually tricks them into losing their power. The two films saw support from Gene Hackman play a cocky and deceptive Lex Luthor, while Jor-El's part was played by Marlon Brando. The third Superman film starred neither of these but attempted to enlist the help of comedian Richard Pryor who unwittingly turns the hero evil. Pryor's character somehow discovers what Kryptonite is and tries to synthesize it, resulting in Superman being split in two. The film was seen as a box office disappointment, a farce of a film and generally a big mistake. Despite this a fourth film was made with Hackman reprising his role as Luthor due to a new producer¹⁴. The film saw Superman campaign to bring an end to the Cold War, even making a speech at the UN, but his plans recieve somewhat of a problem when Lex Luthor's newest creation, Nuclear Man¹⁵ absorbs the power of every nuclear missile on Earth. Despite being 10 years on, this film had worse special effects than the original and was badly recieved by critics and fans alike; after two flops it seemed that Superman's time on the big screen was over and Batman would replace him, with a string of films starting in 1989.

By 2001 both superheroes had seen four films and both had seen negative reactions to the latter two. For a brief period in that year and the following year there was rumours of a Superman Vs. Batman film but the project was abandoned and Catwoman¹⁶ was filmed in its place. However by 2005, a new film was definitely in motion and filming began in Australia. Directed by Brian Singer, Superman Returns aimed to eliminate the history of the two poorly recieved films, unlike Batman which began a whole new canon with Batman Begins, and is set after the three Kryptonites have battled Superman. After a five year pilgrimage to his destroyed home planet, Superman returns to reunite with his widowed mother and find his love, Lois Lane, is in a serious relationship with another man and has given birth to a son. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor, played by Kevin Spacey, is recently released from prison and hopes to bring down the superhero with data from crystals stolen from the Fortress of Solitude. Superman's role will be played by Brandon Routh, a near unknown, but the real interest is over the posthumous appearance of Marlon Brando, using archive footage.