Talking about comic books, TV shows, movies, sports, and the numerous other pastimes that make us Gentlemen of Leisure.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

To Better Know A Hero: Superman


This week sees the release of Man of Steel, Warner Bros. attempt to rejuvenate the Superman film franchise following the snoozefest that was Superman Returns, and, presumably, finally get around to launching a cinematic superhero universe to rival Disney/Marvel's. More importantly, the release of the film finally provides me with an opportunity to do a timely post examining the history of comics' first superhero (also, be sure to check out friend-of-the-blog Blam's Adventures in Comicology blog. where, amongst other things, he is in the midst of a daily Superman cover retrospective celebrating the character's 75th anniversary.  

Real Name
Clark Kent/Kal-El 

First Appearance
Action Comics #1, June 1938
  
Nicknames and Aliases
Supes, The Last Son of Krypton, the Big Blue Boy Scout.

Powers and Abilities
"Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!"


Though the extent and level of Superman's powers have varied through the years, his core abilities remain superhuman strength, speed, senses, durability and the ability to fly. He also usually has some combination of enhanced vision, be it telescopic, X-ray, microscopic or heat. The earliest Golden Age stories depicted a more grounded Superman, one who could only leap great distances rather than fly, while the Superman of the Silver Age was nearly godlike in his abilities, including a wide bevy of powers such as freeze breath, a super kiss that erased memories, super-intelligence, super-ventriloquism, and the ability to travel through time by flying fast enough to break the time barrier.


Following the Silver Age, concerted efforts were made to reign in his power to make him more down-to-Earth (and thus, easier to write for, as he didn't necessarily overpower every antagonist he encountered), but he is still considered to be one of the most powerful heroes in the DC Universe.

Additionally, Superman is a top-notch investigative journalist.

Weaknesses and Achilles’ Heels
Kryptonite, irradiated chunks of his home planet, perhaps the most famous weakness in comics, severely weakens Superman and prolonged exposure runs the risk of killing him. In addition to the traditional green kryptonite, the Silver Age introduced a wide variety of kryptonites, each triggering a different effect (Green K weakens and kills Superman, Gold K takes away his powers, Red K is wild card, etc.).


As Superman's fantastic abilities are derived from the way his alien body metabolizes the radiation from Earth's yellow sun, prolonged exposure to other forms of radiation (such as from a red sun) or prolonged time away from the sun's light can weaken or remove his powers. 

Superman is also susceptible to magic and magical items, as well as women with the initials "LL".

Gadgets and Accessories
Generally one to eschew a lot of gadgets, Superman does have a secret base, his Fortress of Solitude, located in the Arctic, and has been known to deploy Superman robots and other bits of salvaged Kryptonian technology from time to time.

Friends and Allies
Lois Lane (his girlfriend/wife/fellow reporter), Jimmy Olsen (his pal), Perry White (his boss at the Daily Planet), Jonathan and Martha Kent (his adoptive parents), Lana Lang (his childhood sweetheart), Pete Ross (his childhood friend), Krypto (his dog), Batman, Wonder Woman, the Justice League of America, the Justice Society of America, the Legion of Superheroes.


Foes and Antagonists
Lex Luthor, Braniac, General Zod, Bizarro, Parasite, Metallo, Mongul, Darkseid, Mr. Mxyzptlk, the Prankser, the Toyman, Doomsday.


Movies and Appearances
Superman is, not surprisingly, the most prolific comic book character in mediums outside of comics.In the 1940s, he had his own radio show, starring Bud Collyer as Superman, which introduced the character of Jimmy Olsen and kryptonite to the Superman mythology, as well as a live action film serial.

The 40s also brought us the iconic cartoon serials by Max Fleischer, which remain one of the most enjoyable and iconic depictions of Superman (it was also the first place to depict him as flying, rather than leaping).


The 1950s brought us the popular Adventures of Superman TV show starring George Reeves, Noel Neill and Jack Larson.


The 1960s featured a variety of Superman cartoons created by Filmation, and Superman was a fixture of the various incarnations of the Super Friends cartoon in the 70s and 80s. 1988 saw the release of a short-lived animated series by Ruby-Spears.


Superman, the characters first full length feature film, was released in 1978. Starring Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder and Gene Hackman and directed by Richard Donner, it remains a well-regarded depiction of the character. It led to three more sequels of varied quality, as well as the not-as-well received Superman Returns in 2006, a spiritual sequel to the first two Superman films.


On TV, a live action Superboy TV show in the late 80s (starring first John Haymes Newton and then Christopher Gerad as Superboy) was followed by Lois & Clark: the New Adventures of Superman starring Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher. Smallville, a modern take on the Superboy story starring Tom Welling, Kristen Kreuk and Michael Rosenbaum,  began its ten year run in 2001, and it remains the longest running Superman TV show (and by the end there, it was pretty much a full blown live action DC Universe show).


The late 90s also saw a new Superman cartoon by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, the creative team responsible for the acclaimed Batman animated series, starring Tim Daly and Dana Delany, and Superman was a fixture of the duo's later Justice League animated series. Since then, Superman has starred in a wide variety of direct-to-DVD animated films.


And of course, this week sees the release of Man of Steel, starring Henry Cavill as the titular character.


One-Sentence Origin
The introduction to the 1950s TV show does a pretty good job with it (albeit in two sentences): "[A] 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 in his bare hands, and who, disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fights a never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way!"


Or there's Grant Morrison's four panel, eight word origin from All-Star Superman #1:


Memorable Moment
Superman Annual #11 (1985) - When Batman, Robin and Wonder Woman arrive at Superman's Fortress of Solitude to celebrate his birthday, they find alien conqueror Mongul waiting for them, having given Superman a gift which makes him believe he's living his perfect fantasy life. After Superman awakens from the dream (thanks to an assist from Batman), he attacks the powerful Mongul, enraged not only at his violation of Superman's sanctuary but for making him live his heart's desire only to have it ripped away. As their battle rages, Superman uses his heat vision on the villain, telling him simply to burn.


Fun Fact
Superman starred in a Broadway musical in 1966, It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman!, which was later retooled and broadcast as a TV special in 1975.


Teebore's Take
Though Superman hasn't always been the most popular superhero (these days, Batman, Spider-Man, Wolverine and heck, probably Iron Man and a few other Avengers most likely outpace him in that department), he was the first, and superhero comics as they exist today wouldn't without Superman. Even beyond the blatant knockoffs that cropped up in the wake of his immense popularity shortly after his debut (issues of his comics routinely sold in the millions throughout the forties), Superman can be pointed to as either a direct or indirect inspiration for nearly every superhero that followed. The entire field of superhero comics, the most dominant form of sequential art in American comic books, exists because of Superman.


The notion of a hero with fantastic abilities was certainly around before Superman, as far back as Greek mythology, and literary elements like the secret identity, devotion to an ideal, even the wearing of a cape all predate Superman, but he codified all those elements and wedded them to the visual medium of comic strips. His influence extends even beyond comics books: terms like kryptonite, brainiac and bizarro are all well-known and accepted parts of the modern lexicon.


Part of Superman's impact stems from the fact that he can be read as many things. For some, he is an analog to Moses, cast into the reeds of space by his family to save his life. For others, he is Jesus Christ, sent by his father to save and inspire mankind. He is Hercules, a god living among mortals. He is the ultimate immigrant, a stranger from a strange land who makes good in America, and becomes one of its most fervent champions. He embodies the fundamental ideals of America, while also providing a lesson to all mankind that, like Spider-Man, great power, be it large or small, comes with great responsibility.


Within the comics themselves, Superman's longevity has created a Superman for everyone: the socially-relevant crusader of the Golden Age, the over-the-top, batshit insane tales of the Silver Age (in which a near-omnipotent Superman seems most often to teach lessons via tricks and obsfucation, a trait known as Superdickery), the more grounded, traditionally-superheroic tales of the Bronze Age, the post-modern stories of more recent vintage, things like Kingdom Come, Superman For All Seasons and All-Star Superman, tales which examine the thematic and cultural impact of Superman as much they spin a good yarn.


Superman isn't my favorite comic book character, but he's close. Superman is a character who, like Captain America, will always do the right thing, no matter how difficult that might be, and the best Superman stories are the ones which springboard off that idea. Due to the level of power the character frequently exhibits, many creators and fans bemoan the difficulty of coming up with an adversary powerful enough for Superman to fight. Thus, Superman is often at his best when it isn't readily apparent what the right thing to do so, or when he's confronted with a problem that can't be punched away (this is one of the reasons I've always liked the post-Crisis depiction of Lex Luthor as a corrupt businessman). Then again, anyone can be confronted with tricky moral quandaries, and it's important to remember there's a reason Superman is, well, a super man: there is a visceral thrill in seeing a character with tremendous power use that power against a despicable foe.


Ultimately, no matter how good or successful Man of Steel or any future Superman films may be, Superman will most likely never again reach the level of popularity he achieved in his heyday. Even within the DC Universe, the darker edge, cool gadgets, colorful villains and penchant for doling out justice on his own terms will keep Batman on top. Batman is, after all, the character we all could be (given proper motivation and resources). But Superman is the character we all should be. Being an inspirational figure may not be as cool, but it's no less worthy of celebration.


5 comments:

  1. "Batman is, after all, the character we all could be (given proper motivation and resources). But Superman is the character we all should be"

    Dude. Very nice.

    Also this reminded me that i wanted to look more into George Reeves' death to see if it's weird enough to use for one of my Wednesday Weird posts

    ReplyDelete

  2. You did a nice job of sticking with the attributes (in-story and meta) of an aggregate Superman, for lack of a better word, through all the "handbook" categories and then of detailing some differences over the years later on.

    Superman is also susceptible to magic and magical items, as well as women with the initials "LL".

    Ha!

    I like your phrasing here regarding magic, as I've always been a proponent of interpreting his vulnerability to it as him simply having no more defense or resistance to it as anyone else rather than (as it's sometimes portrayed) him being more vulnerable to magic than the average Joe.

    George and Martha Kent

    Jonathan and Martha, in almost all eras and media. The 1942 novel said Eben and Sarah, but in the first real expanded comics origin in 1948 it's John and Mary — the names that ended up being ascribed to the Earth-Two Kents, as once the pair was renamed Jonathan and Martha it stuck, becoming the Earth-One canon as well as the standard used in the 1978 movie and later TV/film adaptations.

    As much as I love the comics, and a wide variety of styles of them at that, I can't (nor is there any reason to) deny that media spinoffs have produced some of the most memorable Superman moments. John Williams' score for the Christopher Reeve films is still utterly thrilling, and that opening from the 1950s George Reeves show is too. The opening was actually carried over from the 1940s radio show, and Bud Collyer returned to voice the character in the 1960s Filmation series. His switch from Clark Kent tenor to resonant Superman baritone in "This is a job... for Superman!" just makes me a kid again.

    Superman isn't my favorite comic book character, but he's close.

    I love Batman and the original Captain Marvel and Metamorpho and Hellboy and plenty of others, but hands down Superman is one of my favorite concepts ever, one of my favorite things in life, period. Which makes it all the more painful to see him done boringly or obnoxiously or just plain wrongly.

    Thanks for the shout-out, by the way... I'm hoping I'll get to take a break from taking a break to roll out some more beyond the daily covers what with the new movie out and people (including DC) celebrating the 75th anniversary in Action #1' s cover-date month of June.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice post. When it comes to superheroes, Superman either number 1 or tied at number 1 along with Batman.

    ReplyDelete

  4. I just realized that "George and Martha" probably got into your head from the children's picture books with the hippos — I didn't grow up with them myself, but I have encountered them since.

    ReplyDelete
  5. @Sarah: Dude. Very nice.

    Thanks!

    Also this reminded me that i wanted to look more into George Reeves' death to see if it's weird enough to use for one of my Wednesday Weird posts

    It probably is. Did you ever see Hollywoodland? It's a neo-noir from the early 00s about Reeves' death, with Ben Affleck playing him. It's actually a neat little movie.

    @Blam: You did a nice job of sticking with the attributes (in-story and meta) of an aggregate Superman, for lack of a better word, through all the "handbook" categories and then of detailing some differences over the years later on.

    Thanks. That's always the trick with these posts for characters that have been around longer, especially DC ones that have clearly defined "versions".

    I've always been a proponent of interpreting his vulnerability to it as him simply having no more defense or resistance to it as anyone else rather than (as it's sometimes portrayed) him being more vulnerable to magic than the average Joe.

    Ditto.

    Jonathan and Martha, in almost all eras and media.

    D'oh! I know that, I swear. I mean, if nothing else, I watched more than enough Smallville to know its Jonathan. I was bouncing around from section to section when I first started writing this; I'm betting I wrote "George" because I had just been typing up something about George Reeves.

    As much as I love the comics, and a wide variety of styles of them at that, I can't (nor is there any reason to) deny that media spinoffs have produced some of the most memorable Superman moments.

    Indeed.

    Thanks for the shout-out, by the way

    No problemo! I'm long overdue, in fact, to give you a larger shoutout, in a post all its own. Maybe now that the TV posts are done for the season and I have more time to work on other things...

    @arw1985Nice post.

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

Comment. Please. Love it? Hate it? Are mildly indifferent to it? Let us know!