The Saga of Superman
Superman – also known as Clark Kent – wasn’t always the altruistic hero we know him as today. In fact, he was the exact opposite: He was an evil villain. After Jerry Seigel and Joe Schuster were repeatedly rejected by publishers, they decided to start their own fanzine, “Science Fiction: The Advance Guard of Future Civilization.” When the third issue appeared, it featured “The Reign of Superman,” which introduced Superman as a bald super-villain with superior mental abilities.
One year later, Siegel rewrote the character, turning him into a hero, but this Superman was still cut from a different cloth, having been created before 1940, when editor Whitney Ellsworth created the strict code of conduct for heroes. The first hero version of Superman was much rougher and more aggressive than his later self.
The then character of Superman survived up to the 50’s, but writers were confused about how to take the character forward after he’d suffered so many anomalies. To explain the differences in his story, they established two different parallel dimensions, Earth-One and Earth-Two. On Earth-One, Silver Age Superman was born Kal-El, son of Jor-El, and went on to be adopted by Johnathan and Martha Kent and would join the Justice League. On Earth-Two, Golden Age Superman he was Kal-L, son of Jor-L. He was a member of the Justice Society and adopted by John and Mary Kent.
Superman has been in print for 75 years. With his long standing as a comic book character, Superman has seen quite a few alterations, including 25 variations of his famous “S” logo. There are five official versions of the hero, including the Superman of Earths One through Three, Prime, and Byrne’s “Man of Steel.” He’s been drawn by many great artists, the greatest of whom include Joel Schuster, Alex Ross, Max Fleischer, Gary Frank, and Glenn Swan.
More than just print, Superman has entered our lives through the silver and the small screens. He’s been the subject of movies since the early 40’s, the latest of which is 2013’s “Man of Steel.” He’s been played by a long succession of handsome actors, including Kirk Alyn, George Reeves, David Wilson, and Christopher Reeve.
Source: SuperScholar.org Home of the best ideas in the world.
The Many Ages of Superman
About Douglas Smythe
