Krypton’s Last Son

Making his debut in June 1938, Superman struck up quite the fan base. His origins story, like many of his comic book buddies has changed in small ways to suit new fans, but essentially the last son of Krypton is ever the same, and, an iconic character who’s symbol is something pretty much everyone in Western culture is familiar with. Ultimately, Superman paved the way for pretty much ever Superhero imaginable, and, though many people prefer his darker companion Batman, comic fans really owe a lot to the character (or more, his creators).

Superman was conceived by Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster, a move which lead to the conception of the Superhero as a prominent comic book theme. His origins story is pretty basic, and, known by pretty much everyone to some degree or another. Originally born as Kal-El on the planet Krypton, the infant future Superman was sent to earth by his father in order to save his life (in the recent SupermanBatman series it was told that Kal’s father discovered Earth through the father of Bruce Wayne). Kal-El was found by a farming couple in Smallville, Kansas. Raised as Clark Kent, the character grew up and moved to Metropolis where he works for The Daily Planet as a reporter whilst saving the world in the guise of Superman. And of course, he’s in a relationship with fellow reporter Lois Lane, a relationship that is now well established in Superman’s timeline.

Of course, Superman isn’t just about Clark and Lois, there's also Supergirl, Clark’s cousin from Kyrpton and Krypto the Superdog. As well as Lex Luthor and the fatal Doomsday who have played their roles in making the Superman comics long lasting, and, most likely contribute alot to its pretty sturdy fan base, highlighting the importance of supporting characters in long lived fandoms.

The Golden Age of comics saw Superman freeing oppressed citizens in pretty brutal ways. In the Silver Age the Superman comics really transformed into a series that in ways is comparable to the modern day publications. The character was corrected, the flaws and plot holes removed, the plots themselves became slightly more sophisticated and we were introduced to now well known and loved characters like Bizarro. Though, when it hit the 60’s Superman had some darker days, the arrival of new and interesting heroes at Marvel Comicscaused competition with sales, and, within the same company there was a kind of ‘Batman Boom’ with the character finally taking first place over the two famous caped crusaders. The character, however, maintained some of his former popularity. The Bronze Age saw a shift in storylines, such as the elimination of Kryptonite, the only weakness of Superman and a significant change in his levels of power. Neither change was long lasting, but both made their landmarks in comic history with plots of a similar nature appearing in the SupermanBatman series.

The Modern Age is really where things get interesting for Superman. DC had the famous Crisis on Infinite Earths story and the back story was rewritten to the one we’re all pretty familiar with, the major difference being Kal never took on a superhero mantle as a child. Audiences experienced a shift in Superman’s abilities, making the battles with enemies a little more interesting. Lex Luthor also saw a change in character. One significant change was Superman’s allegiance to Batman, once portrayed as best friends the pair now acted as reluctant and conflicting allies, and though, at present the pair have mentioned a kind of brotherly bond, the disagreements and clashes still exist. However, possibly the most significant comic event in Superman’s history was his death in 1992. The Death of Superman had the hero killed by Doomsday, however, his death, like that of many heroes didn’t last forever though his return wasn’t a simple “I’m back!”

Within the past decade Superman has seen Lois die in the sequel of Crisis on Infinite Earths, he’s lost his abilities and found his long-written-out-of-the-story cousin once again. He’s teamed up with Batman to bring down numerous villains, he experienced the death of Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson taking on the mantle. He’s been manipulated by Poison Ivy in the Batman story Hush and he’s been jumping through time trying to stop the doomsday weapon that was Bruce Wayne from returning to present day Gotham.

With around seventy good years under his belt, its no wonder Superman seems a little boring to people, and its no wonder he’s the hero subjected to the most media adaptations, and, with a new film lined up it really makes you wonder how long DC Comics can keep producing new, exciting stories for Superman. It is undeniable though, that the boy scout was the character responsible for the superhero genre and fans of other superheroes really owe a lot to Siegel and Schuster for inventing Kal-El.