Superman

From The Book of THoTH (Leaves of Wisdom)

.--> |caption=Cover to Superman #204 (April 2004).
Art by Jim Lee |comic_color=background:#8080ff |character_name=Superman |real_name=Clark Joseph Kent, born as Kal-El |publisher=DC Comics |debut=Historical:
Action Comics #1 (1938)
Modern:
The Man of Steel #1 (1986) |creators=Jerry Siegel
Joe Shuster |alliance_color=background:#ffc0c0 |status=Active |alliances=The Daily Planet, Batman |previous_alliances=Justice League |aliases=Nightwing, Jordan Elliot, Nova |relatives=Lois Lane (wife), Jor-El (father, deceased), Lara Lor-Van (mother, deceased), Jonathan Kent (adoptive father), Martha Kent (adoptive mother), Zor-El (uncle, deceased), Alura In-Ze (aunt, deceased), Kara Zor-El (cousin), Kon-El (genetic son, "cousin", deceased), Cir-El (partial clone, "daughter", deceased) |powers=Vast super strength, speed & stamina, multiple extra sensory and vision powers, invulnerability, longevity, flight. |}} Superman is a fictional character and the staple superhero of DC Comics. He first appeared in Action Comics #1 in 1938 and is considered the first character to embody the particular combination of traits that characterize the modern superhero.

The comic book character, created by Toronto-born Joe Shuster and Cleveland-born Jerry Siegel in 1932 and sold to Detective Comics, Inc (today DC Comics) in 1938, subsequently appeared in various radio serials, television programs, films, newspaper strips, and video games. As was written in the first edition of Action Comics #1 (June, 1938), Superman is born on the planet Krypton and as an infant is rocketed to Earth by his scientist father, moments before Krypton explodes. The rocket lands on Earth, where amiable couple the Kents find the baby and adopt him. As he grows, he discovers that he possesses powers far beyond those of mortal men and women and resolves to use them to help others. When not fighting the forces of evil as Superman, he lives among humanity as "mild-mannered" Clark Kent, a reporter for the Daily Star (later changed to The Daily Planet). Clark works alongside reporter Lois Lane, with whom he is romantically involved. In current comics continuity, they are married; however, the character has several other relationships throughout his years in comics. Today, the character's adventures are published in a number of comic books.

Contents 1 Character history 1.1 Golden Age version 1.2 Silver Age version 1.2.1 Superboy 1.2.2 The Multiverse and Earth-Two 1.2.3 Crisis on Infinite Earths 1.2.4 Post-Crisis 1.3 Modern Age version 1.3.1 The Man of Steel 1.3.2 Death and rebirth 1.3.3 Superman: Birthright 1.3.4 Infinite Crisis 1.3.5 One Year Later 2 Clark Kent 3 Personality and character 4 Powers and abilities 5 Publication history 6 Awards 7 Cultural influences 7.1 Supporting characters 7.2 Villains 8 Superman in popular culture 9 Additional reading 10 References 11 Notes 12 See also 12.1 The Superman conspiracy 13 External links

Character history

Superman's abilities, relationships and even facts of his origin change significantly over time. Editors and writers used the process of retroactive continuity, or retcon, to adjust to changes in popular culture, eliminate restrictive segments of the mythos, and permit contemporary storylines. These changes, while significant, permit the retention of the core elements that make Superman an iconic character.

The story of Superman's origin parallels those of other cultural heroes and religious figures <ref>Such as Moses, Gilgamesh or Krishna.</ref> who were spirited away as infants from places where they were in danger.

Golden Age version

As shown in the original Golden Age comics — including Action Comics #1 (1938), Superman Vol. 1 #1 (1939), and Superman Vol. 1 #61 (1949), as well as in such later stories such as Secret Origins Vol. 2, #1 (1986) — noted scientist Jor-L discovers his planet of Krypton is about to explode yet is unable to convince his fellow Kryptonians to save themselves. However, he manages to construct a spaceship to save his infant son, Kal-L. The ship launches just as the planet explodes, with Kal-L landing on Earth around the time of World War I. The Kents, passing motorists who witness the landing, take the infant to an orphanage and soon return to adopt the child, naming him "Clark." (George Lowther changes the names "Jor-L", "Kal-L", and "Lora" (Superman's birth mother) to the more modern "Jor-El", "Kal-El", and "Lara" in his 1942 novel.

Clark grows up with an ordinary childhood on the Kent family farm, slowly discovering that he possesses various superpowers, but unaware of his Kryptonian origins. After the deaths of his parents, Clark decides to use his powers for the benefit of humanity, constructing a stylized costume and moving to the nearby city of Metropolis. Obtaining employment at the newspaper The Daily Star, Clark soon makes his debut as the world's first superhero, Superman. Superman's powers increase during the 1940s, including vast increases in his strength and gaining the ability to fly — the earliest comics depict Superman able only to leap about an eighth of a mile at a time). In Superman Vol. 1 #61 (1949), Superman finally learns of the existence of Krypton.

During the 1940s, Superman also becomes an honorary member of the Justice Society of America, although he is only shown participating in two cases in the original Golden Age stories (All-Star Comics #8 and #36).

The comic books only gradually flesh out Superman's life as a boy. The first Superboy story apprears in More Fun Comics #101 (February 1945). In the story, the Kents still do not have names, and the locale is still not clearly spelled out, although it appears to be a Metropolis neighborhood. Superboy isn't established as living in Smallville until Superboy Vol. 1 #2 (May 1949), that and his parents names aren't given as Jonathan and Martha Kent until Superboy Vol. 1 #12 (January 1951).

Other developments in the Superman mythos appear because of the character's appearances in other media, including radio and the newspaper strips. The Daily Star quickly becomes The Daily Planet (possibly because newspapers called The Daily Star already existed). Perry White replaces original editor George Taylor in the first episode of the radio serial, and an office boy named Jimmy Olsen joins the cast soon afterward.

Silver Age version

During the 1940s and 1950s, the Superman mythos gradually adds familiar elements, and they become firmly established by the late 1950s. This includes a greater emphasis on the science fiction elements of Superman's world, including his Kryptonian origins, as well as an updated version of his origin story.

In the version that had become extant by the early 1960s (and memorably summarized at the start of each episode of the 1950s Adventures of Superman television series<ref>Narrator Bill Kennedy intoned at the start of each program: "Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Look! Up in the sky. It's a bird. It's a plane. It's Superman! Yes, it's Superman — strange visitor from another planet who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Superman — who can change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel with his bare hands, and who, disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fights a neverending battle for Truth, Justice, and the American Way."</ref>), Superman is born on Krypton as Kal-El, the son of Jor-El, a scientist and leader, and Lara. When Kal-El is two or three years old, Jor-El learns that Krypton is doomed to explode. He brings this warning to the attention of Krypton's ruling leaders, the Science Council. Disbelieving Jor-El's prediction, they refuse to warn their fellow Kryptonians, and forbid Jor-El to do so. Jor-El immediately begins work on a rocket which will allow the whole family to escape the coming disaster; however, events move too quickly and only a small model is completed by the time of the final quakes. Lara vows to stay by her husband's side rather than accompany Kal-El to Earth, so that his ship will have a better chance of surviving the trip. Moments before Krypton explodes, Jor-El launches Kal-El's rocketship toward Earth, knowing that Earth's lower gravity and yellow sun will give the boy extraordinary powers.

Superboy

Kal-El's ship lands in a field near the town of Smallville and is discovered by Jonathan and Martha Kent. They name him Clark after Martha's maiden name. After formally adopting him, the Kents raise him on their farm through his preschool years. By the time Clark starts school, the Kents sell their farm and move into Smallville, where they purchase a general store. During this time, Clark and the Kents discover Clark's amazing powers, and, the Kents realizing the good he could do with his powers, begin training their adopted son to use his powers wisely. At the age of eight, Clark adopts the superhero identity "Superboy," and begins to fight crime, both in the present and in the far future as a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. After he graduates from high school and the Kents die, Clark moves to Metropolis to attend Metropolis University. During his junior year, Clark changes his superhero name to Superman. After graduating with a degree in journalism, Clark is hired by The Daily Planet.

In 1971, the Galaxy Broadcasting System and its president, Morgan Edge, purchase The Daily Planet, Edge subsequently naming Clark Kent as the lead anchorman for its Metropolis television station, WGBS-TV. Later in the 1970s, childhood friend Lana Lang joins Clark in his newscasts as co-anchor.

The Multiverse and Earth-Two

After the establishment of DC Comics' Multiverse in the 1960s, it is established retroactively that the Golden Age version of Superman lives on the parallel world of Earth-Two and is named Kal-L, while his Silver Age counterpart lives on Earth-One and is named Kal-El. While the Multiverse allowed for DC comics to bring Golden Age stories back into continuity, it also created problems. There had been no break in Superman stories between the Golden and Silver Ages; the character had been published in one ongoing story since his debut. Additionally, DC had had dropped the name Kal-L in favor of Kal-El before the end of the Golden Age.

A series of stories in the 1970s establish that the Earth-Two Superman had married his version of Lois Lane in the 1950s (Action Comics #484, (1978)) and had become the editor-in-chief of the The Daily Star. In the late 1970s, Kal-L discovers a Kryptonian rocket that contains his cousin Kara Zor-L. After acclimating to Earth, Kara becomes the superheroine Power Girl. Kal-L also continues to serve with the revived Justice Society; he is revealed as a founding member of the group in the team's origin story in DC Special #29. In the early 1980s, Kal-L is also shown as a member of the All-Star Squadron during World War II.

Crisis on Infinite Earths

During the 1985 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths, the various parallel Earths combine into one, retroactively eliminating some Earth-Two heroes from existence. Kal-L, the Earth-Two Superman, his wife Lois Lane of Earth-Two, the Superboy of Earth-Prime and Alexander Luthor, Jr. of Earth-Three, have no reality to call their own, and they enter a "paradise dimension" at the end of the series. This Superman isn't seen again until the limited series The Kingdom, in which it is revealed that he has found a means of exiting his dimension, but chooses not to do so yet.

Post-Crisis

DC Comics also retires the Silver Age version of Superman in 1986 after Crisis on Infinite Earths. Just before the character's revamp, the Silver Age Superman is given a sendoff in the two-part story "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?", written by Alan Moore with art by Curt Swan. Although the new Modern Age version of Superman is said to have already been active for many years, most previous Superman appearances and elements are rendered out of continuity by John Byrne's Man of Steel. Later stories such as Superman: Birthright bring many of the Silver Age elements back into continuity.

Modern Age version

The Man of Steel

In 1986, after the Crisis on Infinite Earths limited series, DC Comics hired writer/artist John Byrne to re-create the Superman character, reshaping the previous 48 years of stories by putting new twists on the established mythos.

In the post-Crisis version, as seen in Byrne's introductory miniseries The Man of Steel, Superman—like all post-Crisis Kryptonians— is created through in-vitro fertilization on Krypton. While a fetus, he escapes Krypton's destruction in a spacecraft (his "birthing matrix" with a rocket engine attached), and lands some 50 years later on Earth, just outside of Smallville, Kansas. This Superman is effectively born on Earth and is as much a son of Earth as of Krypton. As in the original version, the Kents find and adopt him and raise him like a normal human. In the retelling, Clark's powers develop gradually, beginning with his invulnerability, and he doesn't fly until he is a teenager. After leaving Smallville, he travels the world before settling in Metropolis, completing his education, and going to work at The Daily Planet. Although he spends months helping people and averting disasters in secret during his travels, Clark does not become a superhero until just before starting work at The Daily Planet, when he prevents an experimental spacecraft from crashing in Metropolis. The Kents remain alive during Clark's transition to Superman.

The post-Crisis comics presented Clark Kent as the "real" person, with Superman the secret identity that he presents to the world to prevent his enemies from harming his family or friends. People do not suspect that Superman is hiding his real identity, because he wears no mask. The concept that Clark is the real man, as well as the greater emphasis on his earthly upbringing, is a deliberate reversal of the earlier pre-Crisis version. Another significant aspect of the post-Crisis Superman's reinvention is a reduced level of abilities compared to his previous incarnation, with powers such as time travel removed outright and other powers — notably his invulnerability and super-strength — vastly reduced. The series also introduces the idea that Superman's invulnerability stems from his body's creating an "energy field" when exposed to solar radiation from the Earth's yellow sun. This energy field lies just above his skin and is used to explain why his costume (excluding his cape) is rarely damaged during adventures. It also explains why Superman is only invulnerable when exposed to the radiation from a yellow sun.

The Man of Steel #3 , documents the first meeting between Superman and Batman. Superman attempts to take Batman into custody but in the end realizes why Batman must operate outside the law. Other post-Crisis comics show that the relationship between the two is a trusting one, despite the unease each feels due to the differences in their methods: Superman relies on trust and strength to achieve his goals in cooperation with the law, while Batman relies on violence and fear and operates outside the law.

Man of Steel also reduces the emphasis on Superman's Kryptonian heritage. Previous comic books depicted a Superman not only aware of his heritage, but also versed in its language, culture, and other elements. In Man of Steel #6, Superman only first learns of his Kryptonian heritage as an adult when his birthing matrix generates a memory implant. While such Kryptonian technology is able to help bolster his knowledge, the revamped Superman is no longer a completely Kryptonian-educated man.

As in the original continuity, Lois Lane is Clark Kent/Superman's love interest. In the early 1990s, Lois and Clark fall in love. Clark soon tells her that he is Superman, which causes a brief strain on their relationship. They eventually marry in the mid-'90s special Superman: The Wedding Album.

Image:Deathofsuperman.jpg

Death and rebirth

In 1993, DC Comics published the storyline "The Death of Superman", in which Superman and the Justice League fight a character called Doomsday. The story concludes with the Justice League in a hospital while Superman fights Doomsday on his own. Both Superman and Doomsday are killed, taking each other down with their final blows. "The Death of Superman" is followed by "Funeral for a Friend", which chronicles Superman's funeral and examines other characters' reactions to the death of their greatest hero.

Next, DC published the "Reign of the Supermen" storyline, during which four different characters — a new Superboy, the cyborg "Man of Tomorrow", the murderous "Last Son of Krypton", and Steel — are introduced as Superman, although none of them is. A de-powered Kal-El later surfaces in a Kryptonian battle suit near the end of "Reign of the Supermen". He wears a black costume with a silver 'S' shield and long hair.

The cyborg is revealed to be Hank Henshaw, who allies with Mongul and destroys Coast City. Superman, Superboy, Supergirl, Steel, Hal Jordan, and the Eradicator attack "Engine City" (built on top of Coast City), and the united Supermen defeat the cyborg Superman and destroy his body.

Superman: Birthright

In 2004, DC published an updated version of Superman's origin in the 12-issue limited series Birthright. Written by Mark Waid, the limited series restores some of the pre-Crisis elements eliminated by John Byrne, including an emphasis on alien heritage. The series was planned as an origin story meant to reconcile material published between Man Of Steel and Birthright. It introduces elements from Superman adaptations such as Superman: The Animated Series and the Smallville television series and brings several Silver Age and some Golden Age concepts back into continuity. Unlike the previous Man of Steel origin, Birthright doesn't eliminate most of the previous Superman stories told, even making reference to Man of Steel itself.

In Birthright, the "birthing matrix" is replaced by the more well-known rocket ship, with Kal-El leaving Krypton as an infant rather than a fetus. Clark Kent now possesses the ability to see a living being's "aura," which leads him to become a vegetarian. Superman's identity has more facets than just Clark vs. Superman, instead his identities represent different aspects of his personality. "Smallville Clark" is the "true" Clark Kent, the one most comfortable with who he is and who he is with his parents. "Metropolis Clark" is quiet, fairly isolated and shy, blending into the background and not drawing attention to himself. He often finds himself being the odd man out. "Superman" is also quiet, but rather than being seemingly harmless like Clark, he is a force to be reckoned with, tearing robot assault helicopters from the sky and dropping a drug lord's private yacht into his pool.

Infinite Crisis

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