Happy Birthday, Superman!: 80 Years of the Man of Steel

On April 18, 1938, Action Comics #1 hit newsstands.  This comic was unique at the time because it was a last-minute creation by the editors of National Allied Publications (which we know today as DC Comics) to capitalize on the success of their other comic books.  It was to be an “anthology” book, containing shorter stories rather than the entire book focusing on one character.  Several unpublished comic strips were stumbled upon and the creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, were asked to repurpose them into a cohesive story.  That 13-page story was the debut of Superman.

 

Action Comics #1 (June 1938)

Today, 80 years to the day later, Action Comics #1000 was released.

Many herald Superman as the first superhero.  While that is more opinion as opposed to a verifiable fact, one thing is certain: the comic book industry (and potentially the entertainment industry as a whole) would not be what it is today without the impact he has made.

 

Action Comics #1000 variant cover by Jock

Superman, at his best, is just that.  A super-man.  Someone to whom we can all look up and be inspired.  Superman’s father maybe said it best:

“You will give the people of Earth an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you, they will stumble, they will fall. But in time, they will join you in the sun. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders.”

Superman’s ideals are meant to be a guiding light for human kind.  He may be “faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound,” but what set Superman apart from his fellow caped characters are his commitment to compassion and to truth and to justice.  Batman once said:

“It is a remarkable dichotomy. In many ways, Clark is the most human of us all. Then... he shoots fire from the skies, and it is difficult not to think of him as a god. And how fortunate we all are that it does not occur to him.”

Superman is the epitome of the “good guy”.  He was raised with values and morals and in many ways he represents a time and a class of person that we don’t see in the world anymore.  When speaking of comic book characters, the concept of “power” is clear: you can lift large masses, punch harder than normal, or endure lots of damage.  But when we think of the real world, power is less physical.  We tend to think of powerful people in the real world as those with wealth or those in elected office.  It’s unfortunate that so many elected officials appear to be Lex Luthor more than they do Superman. 

 

Remarkably familiar

With the recent developments in the political climate in my state and looming elections in June and November, I’d like to share another Superman quote:

“There is a right and a wrong in the universe and that distinction is not hard to make.”

I know that I’m “the Batman guy” and, when I think of Superman, I tend to think of my best friend.  I’ve written about it at length here.  Batman is dark and brooding.  Superman is bright and inspirational.  Batman is generally unlikeable (me for sure).  Superman is everyone’s best friend.  So, even though I identify more with Batman, Superman is special and important to me in vastly different ways.

 

Super Friends

As we head into the next year, I’m super (pun intended) excited about the things in store for The Man of Steel including a brand new series written by the critically acclaimed Brian Michael Bendis.

 

Superman #1 out this July

We all need to hear some inspiring words at times, so I’ll leave you with these:

“It's never as bad as it seems. You're much stronger than you think you are. Trust me.”

-Josh