Alan Kistler's Superman Files

 "Who are you?"
"A friend."
"Why are you? ... I mean, why are you here? There must be a reason."
"Yes. I'm here to fight for truth, justice and the American Way." 

- Lois Lane and Superman,

from Superman: The Movie (1978)

OUR HERO IN A NUTSHELL

An alien immigrant with the values of a mid-western upbringing. An angel who came from the sky to help and inspire us. To other costumed heroes, he's "the big guy", the one who will always know how to handle a situation. For us, he is the reason the term "super-hero" became a household word.

He is: Kal-El of the House of El. Clark Joseph Kent. The Man of Steel. The Metropolis Marvel. The Man of Tomorrow. The Last Son of Krypton.

His story began when he was a child on the planet Krypton. His father, a scientist named Jor-El, realized that the planet would soon explode. No one listened to his warnings, unwilling to believe they could lose their home and too xenophobic to consider fleeing to the stars, where their culture could be "contaminated" by alien influences.

Due to a ban on space travel technology, Jor-El and his wife Lara couldn't build a ship to take escape Krypton. Jor-El only had time to build a small experimental craft that could be cloaked from detection. This way, at least, he could save the life of his infant son Kal-El (whose name means "star-child"). Kale-El was sent to Earth, a primitive planet inhabited by people who looked just like Kryptonians (thus the child would not be immediately seen as a freak) and with a yellow sun whose radiation would grant the child great powers, ensuring his survival.

Landing outside of Smallville, Kansas, the baby was found by Jonathan and Martha Kent, a farming couple who'd been unable to concieve a child. They took the boy in as their own, naming him Clark Joseph Kent. As Clark reached puberty, he found himself becoming more and more powerful. Still not fully in control of his abilities, Clark grew afraid of hurting friends when he played with them. He became introverted and started wearing glasses so people would percieve him as meek and not wonder why he never joined in physical activities.

Several times during his high school years, Clark was visited by the Legion of Super-Heroes, a team of teenage heroes from the 30th century who'd been inspired by the legacy Clark would carve out as an adult. Though daunted by the idea of his destiny, Clark was glad to make friends with other super-powered teens. The Legion helped him realize how incredible the universe could be.

By the time he graduated high school, Clark reached the peak of his abilities. He could fly and move at several times the speed of sound. His strength was incredible, his body recovered quickly from wounds, and a skin-tight force-field protected him from conventional weapons and even the vacuum of space. His sight and hearing were expanded to incredible levels. He could process air through his lungs to produce ice (his "Arctic breath") and expel collected solar energy as focused beams of "heat-vision."

After wandering the Earth for several years, Clark decided he had a calling to protect his adopted home. His people had died due to vanity and xenophobia and he wanted to ensure Earth did not to go down the same path. He would provide an example that power could be focused on altruism, as the Kents had taught him.

Dressed in clothing modeled after his ancestors and wearing the Kryptonian symbol for "hope" on his chest, Clark began operating in public and was soon labeled "Superman" by reporter Lois Lane. At the same time, he got a job at The Daily Planet newspaper, believing he could do much good as a journalist and also realizing that working in a news room meant being among the first to know whenever disaster struck.

Superman's debut marked the beginning of the modern age of super-heroes, inspiring many others with unique abilities to join the "never-ending battle" against evil. He grew a strong bond with the heroes Batman and Wonder Woman and later they, along with others, formed the original Justice League of America.

Once thought to be the last survivor of Krypton, Clark has since learned otherwise. He has his cousin Kara Zor-El, known to the world as Supergirl. He has his dog, the super-powered canine Krypto. For a time, he had the company of Connor Kent, a teenage clone dubbed "Superboy" by the media who later tragically died during the battles of the Infinite Crisis. And there are various Kryptonian criminals who live in the dreaded other-dimensional prison known as the Phantom Zone.

Although he and Lois are now married and he knows there are other Kryptonians, Clark still often feels alone. Many other super-heroes treat him as a celebrity rather than a friend and depiste all the good he's done, there are many who still see him as an alien invader who may turn against Earth at any moment. Nevertheless, Superman continues fighting against evil in all forms, including against his old friend Lex Luthor, who grew to become a corrupt scientist/businessman obsessed with power.

In costume, Superman fights for justice no matter what the risk. As journalist Clark Kent, he champions the cause of truth, writing various exposes on corrupt politicians and crime lords. And at all times, he tries to live by the ideals of the American Way, the dream that people from different origins can become stronger through co-existence.

You all know who he is. Now learn his history in the files below. From his initial creation, to his introduction to the world years later in June of 1938, and all the way up to today.

History of Superman Intro - This details how Superman was created, how his name was chosen and what inspirations he drew from. This intro section also discusses two of the earliest drafts of Superman's story, each giving him a vastly different origin than the one we know today.

History of Superman Part 1 - Discusses Superman's debut in the 1930's and how he evolved to the late 1950's.

History of Superman Part 2 - The Silver Age all the way to the Crisis (includes the Sandman Superman Saga).

History of Superman Part 3 - Post-Crisis.

History of Superman Part 4 - Birthright, All-Star Superman, Infinite Crisis and what's come since.

Superman in Media

History of the S-Shield

Superman's Weaknesses - The science behind how to injure the Man of Tomorrow.

Christopher Reeve Still Soars - A look back on the actor who continues to make us believe a man can fly.

Superman Comic Book Timeline - The major events of Superman's comic book adventures over the decades.

Comments

[David]

Thank you for a fascinating study of this pop cultural icon. With cultural studies in most English-language universities now largely dominated by groups analysing western popular culture, you could easily write a doctoral thesis in this area. :-)


Growing up in the 1980s, I am most familiar with the Byrne Superman. Indeed, I had the first issue of "Man of Steel" at home as a child and I loved it. I can clearly remember the whole storyline around Lex Luthor gaining cancer from his Kryptonite ring and creating the clone (who wanted to start a chain of Australian cuisine restaurants!) I also remember the Warworld storyline. My goodness, Maxima and Matrix/Supergirl were two incredibly sexy ladies!!! I think I would have taken sweet Matrix; Maxima was too assertive for me!


What I find most fascinating is your discussion of early Superman, circa late 1930s. In my mind, early Superman was always related to juvenile stories about Krypto the Wonderdog and so on. I had no idea that before this, the stories had a stronger political message or of the links to the Jewish identity of the comic strip's creators.


I didn't realise that his powers were so limited early on, nor that the comic was attempting to convey such explicit political messages, with its condemnation of arms dealers, warmongers, wifebeaters and so on. I wonder if such a strip could be published in a newspaper of today, in these supposedly more enlightened times? Would a Murdoch paper touch it?


I am going to have to look for a compendium of early Superman stories. I have seen them available in comic shops here in Australia.

[David]

One thing more I would like to add: I think the "1980s" Lex Luthor was wonderful, in that it moved him away from typical "evil genius/mad scientist" to "corrupt businessman", really reflecting the zeitgeist. In its way, this was as much a commentary on the politics of the era as those 1930s stories must have been a reflection on organised crime and the rise of fascism.


Even as a child, I was starting to become aware of the effects of white collar crime and how it could hurt innocent people, due to the huge profile of cases concerning such notorious Australian businessmen as Alan Bond, Christopher Skase and John Elliott, and the pain they caused as we entered the 1990s recession. (I am sure many international readers can think of equivalent names in their countries.)


Of course, the other aspect is that white collar crime and corporate corruption are not something that can be easily defeated by superhuman strength, a bullet-proof body or heat-ray vision, making this incarnation of Luthor a worthy adversary for Superman.


As a final aside, is there any truth to the old story that the name "Lex Luthor" was actually derived from "Les Loser" spoken with a lisp? It is a commonly-told story here in Australia but I can't find anything on the web to verify it...

[Alan Kistler]

Lex Luthor as an evil businessman was indeed a very appropriate change for the character in the 1980s. My real criticism is that he didn't stand out as much from other evil businessmen characters until they started re-introducing the mad scientist elements to his nature, combining them with his role as a corporate shark. I do think it was good to mix these qualities rather than have him go completely back to mad scientist because while Pre-Crisis Luthor was fun he never seemed as dangerous when he was sent to jail so often, as opposed to today when he has political influence and knowledge of many criminal dealings made by others who are in power.

The rumor you heard about the nature of the name is just that, a rumor. Originally, Luthor was simply called Luthor the Mad Scientist. It wasn't until over a decade later that another writer gave him the first name of "Lex" and that was just to continue the tradition that people who were connected to Clark Kent's personal life and had major importance were to have LL initials (Lori Lemaris, Lana Lang, Lois Lane).

[David]

What a pity! I liked the "Les Loser" myth. :-p

I still wonder if there was anything beyond a fixation with "L" when they chose the name "Luthor the Mad Scientist" though. As Jews, they presumably wouldn't be too concerned about Martin Luther and the Reformation...

One final question: In terms of DC history, how important was that Brainiac/Warworld story to which I alluded above? It obviously didn't "reset" the whole DC universe the way that Crisis on Infinite Earths did but, if I recall, Brainiac actually managed to kill off a number of superheroes in that story. I was only a child so I can't remember all of the details clearly so did anyone important die (and stay dead!!!)?

[Alan Kistler]

As I recall, the only person who explicitly died in that Brainiac/Warworld storyline (which was called "Panic in the Sky") was the alien warrior named Draaga. While not as earth-shattering as the Crisis, that story did have impact. It set up Superman as again becoming a rallying figure for super-heroes, leading to him rejoining the JLA. It set up Matrix's storyline that she felt lost and would soon find comfort in the arms of Lex Luthor. And Brainiac's unused secret weapon would be used by Luthor years later to destroy half of Metropolis. It was the first time the New Gods began working more openly with the general heroes of Earth and not just the major players (it's also the only time we've seen someone else sit in Metron's famous Moebius Chair). On top of all this, it was the first time Post-Crisis that Brainiac had proven to be a planetary level threat (sadly it was also the last time he would be such a threat for many years too).

So the story definitely had some chops, make no mistake.

[David]

Thanks once again for taking the time to type a detailed reply to my question. I really appreciate it. Are those stories like "Panic in the Sky" available in anthologies now?

I would love to see a published set of Superman stories circa 1988 - 1991 in order to revisit that period. Otherwise, I might have to resort to rummaging around second-hand bookstores.

[David]

I answered my own question by finding it on Amazon. The "death" of Lex Luthor story arc is also available there in a compilation, as is another one I remember in which Clark starts to turn into an emotionless, stoic Kryptonian. Cool.

[Jeremy]

So what's the deal with this Gold Superman I've been seeing? You mentioned "Superboy Prime" in the Crisis Files and I see him named, "Superman Prime." Is that the same guy or is the Gold Superman the Earth-1 Superman?

[Alan Kistler]

JEREMY:

The Gold Superman is Grant Morrison's idea of Superman's fate in the far future, that he will survive and evolve into a new type of entity who is virtually immortal. This Gold Superman appeared first during DC 1 MILLION when the JLA went into a possible version of the 853rd century and later showed up again in ALL-STAR SUPERMAN.

Superboy Prime and Superman Prime are indeed the same person. Following the publication of Infinite Crisis, DC no longer had the rights to use the name Superboy for a character nor to have it on any of their comic covers, therefore they had the character rename himself Superman Prime. Once DC got the rights again, they started calling him Superboy Prime again.