Superman

Superman is a fictional character and one of the most famous and popular comic book superheroes of all time. more...

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Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective Comics Inc. the same year Superman debuted in Action Comics #1 (June 1938), the character has since appeared in radio serials, television programs, films, comic books, newspaper strips and video games, contributing to his long-standing ubiquity.

Superman is born Kal-El on an alein planet — later named Krypton — and is rocketed to Earth as an infant by his scientist father moments before the planet's destruction. The rocket lands on Earth, where he is found by passing motorists who adopt him and give him the name Clark Kent. As Clark reaches maturity, he learns he has superhuman abilities, which he resolves to use to help others, fighting anything from petty crime to universal threats. After adopting a costume consisting of a blue shirt with a stylized "S" on the chest, a pair of red briefs over blue pants, a pair of red boots, and a red cape, he becomes Earth's champion, with the media giving him several nicknames including "The Man of Steel", "The Man of Tomorrow", and "The Last Son of Krypton". To keep his identity secret when not fighting evil as Superman, Clark lives among humanity as a "mild-mannered" reporter for the Metropolis newspaper The Daily Planet (originally called the Daily Star). Clark works alongside reporter Lois Lane, with whom he is romantically involved (and whom he marries in the mainstream current comics' continuity).

Publication history

The first Superman character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster was not a hero, but a villain. Their short story "The Reign of the Superman", concerning a bald-headed villain bent on dominating the world, appeared in Science Fiction #3 (1933), a science fiction fanzine that Siegel published. Jerry reconceived the character in 1933 as a hero, and began a six-year quest to find a publisher. This new heroic version of Superman wore the costume that is familiar to us today. The design was based on the traditional "circus strong-man" outfit. This "pants-over-tights" outfit became the basis for many future superhero outfits. This new version of Superman had vast physical superhuman abilities, as opposed to the mental abilities of the original, bald, and villainous Superman. The heroic Superman had many of the qualities of pulp action heroes before him, indeed, the moniker "Man of Steel" was directly based on that of "Doc Savage, Man of Bronze."

Read more at Wikipedia.org