Information AboutKal-el |
Superman is a Fictional Character and regarded as the most influential and popular Superhero of DC Comics . Created by Canadian -born artist Joe Shuster and American writer Jerry Siegel in 1932 and sold to Detective Comics, Inc. in 1938, Superman first appeared in '' Action Comics '' #1 (June 1938) and subsequently appeared in various Radio Serial s, Television Program s, Film s, Newspaper Strips , and Video Game s. With a premise that taps into adolescent fantasy, Superman is born '''Kal-El''' on the Alien planet Krypton , before being rocketed to Earth as an infant by his Scientist father moments before the planet's destruction. Adopted and raised by a Kansas farmer and his wife, the child is raised as ''' Clark Kent ''', and imbued with a strong moral compass. Upon reaching maturity the character develops Superhuman abilities, resolving to use these for the benefit of humanity. With the success of his adventures, Superman helped to create the superhero genre and establish its primacy within the American Comic Book .Daniels (1998), p. 11. Superman is widely considered to be both one of the most famous and popular comic book superheroes of all time,1 and an American cultural icon.234 While referred to less flatteringly as "the big blue Boy Scout" by some of his fellow superheroes,5 Superman is hailed as "The Man of Steel," '''"The Man of Tomorrow,"''' and '''"The Last Son of Krypton,"''' by the general public within the comics. As Clark Kent, Superman lives among humans as a "mild-mannered Reporter " for the Metropolis Newspaper ''The Daily Planet '' (the ''Daily Star'' in original stories). There he works alongside reporter Lois Lane , with whom he is romantically linked. This relationship has been consummated by marriage on numerous occasions across varying media, and the union is now firmly established within the current mainstream comics Continuity . The character's cast, powers, and trappings have slowly expanded throughout the years. Superman's backstory was altered to allow for adventures as Superboy , and other survivors of Krypton were created, including Supergirl and Krypto The Superdog . In addition, Superman has been licensed and adapted into a variety of media, from radio to television and film. The motion picture '' Superman Returns '' was released in 2006, with a performance at the international box office which exceeded expectations.6 The character has been revamped and updated, most recently in 1986. John Byrne recreated the character, reducing Superman's powers and erasing several characters from the canon in a move which attracted media attention. Press coverage was again garnered in the 1990s with '' The Death Of Superman '', a storyline which saw the character briefly killed. Superman has also held fascination for scholars, with Cultural Theorists , Commentators , and Critics alike exploring the character's impact and role in the United States and the rest of the world. Umberto Eco discussed the mythic qualities of the character in the early 1960s, and Larry Niven has pondered the implications of a sexual relationship the character might enjoy with Lois Lane.7 The character's Ownership has often been the subject of dispute, with Siegel and Shuster twice suing for the return of legal ownership. The Copyright is again currently in dispute, with changes in copyright law allowing Siegel's wife and daughter to claim a share of the copyright, a move DC parent company Warner Bros. disputes. PUBLICATION HISTORY Creation ''. Although they received an encouraging letter, Consolidated never published in the comic book market again. Shuster took this to heart and destroyed all pages of the story, the cover surviving only because Siegel rescued it from the fire. Siegel and Shuster have both reported this version of the character as being comparable to Slam Bradley , a character the pair created in 1937 for the first issue of '' Detective Comics ''.Daniels (1998), p. 17. By 1934 the pair had once more re-envisioned the character. He became more of a ISBN 0-446-82565-4 who would right the wrongs of Siegel and Shuster's times, fighting for Social Justice and against Tyranny . It was at this stage the costume was introduced, Siegel later recalling that they created a "kind of costume and let's give him a big ''S'' on his chest, and a cape, make him as colorful as we can and as distinctive as we can."Daniels (1998), p. 18. The design was based in part on the costumes worn by characters in outer space settings published in pulp magazines, as well as Comic Strips such as '' Flash Gordon '',Daniels (1998), p. 19. and also partly suggested by the traditional circus strong-man outfit.8 However, the cape has been noted as being markedly different from the Victorian tradition. Gary Engle described it as without "precedent in popular culture" in ''Superman at Fifty: The Persistence of a Legend''.9 The pants-over-tights outfit was soon established as the basis for many future superhero outfits. This third version of the character was given extraordinary abilities, although this time of a physical nature as opposed to the mental abilities of the villainous Superman. The locale and the hero's civilian names were inspired by the Movies , Shuster said in 1983. "Jerry created all the names. We were great movie fans, and were inspired a lot by the actors and actresses we saw. As for Clark Kent, he combined the names of Clark Gable and Kent Taylor . And Metropolis , the city in which Superman operated, came from the Fritz Lang movie Although they were by now selling material to comic book publishers, notably Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson 's National Allied Publishing , the pair decided to feature this character in a comic strip format, rather than in the longer comic book story format that was establishing itself at this time. They offered it to both Max Gaines , who passed, and to United Feature Syndicate , who expressed interest initially but finally rejected the strip in a letter dated February 18 , 1937 . However, in what historian Les Daniels describes as "an incredibly convoluted turn of events", Max Gaines ended up positioning the strip as the lead feature in Wheeler-Nicholson's new publication, '' Action Comics ''. Vin Sullivan , editor of the new book, wrote to the pair requesting that the comic strips be refashioned to suit the comic book format, requesting "eight panels a page". However Siegel and Shuster ignored this, utilising their own experience and ideas to create Page Layouts , with Siegel also identifying the image used for the cover of ''Action Comics'' #1 ( June 1938 ), Superman's First Appearance .Daniels (1998), pp. 25–31. Publication See Also: List of Superman comics '' #1 (June 1938). The début of Superman. Cover art by Joe Shuster .]] Superman's first appearance was in ''Action Comics'' #1, in 1938. In 1939 , a Self-titled Series was launched. The first issue mainly reprinted adventures published in ''Action Comics'', but despite this the book achieved greater sales.Daniels (1998), p. 44. 1939 also saw the publication of ''New York World's Fair Comics'', which by Summer of 1942 became '' World's Finest Comics ''. With issue #7 of ''All Star Comics'', Superman made the first of a number of infrequent appearances, on this occasion appearing in cameo to establish his honorary membership of the Justice Society Of America . Initially Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster would provide the story and art for all the strips published. However, Shuster's eyesight began to deteriorate, and the increasing appearances of the character saw an increase in the workload. This led Shuster to establish a Studio to assist in the production of the art, although he insisted on drawing the face of every Superman the studio produced. Outside the studio, Jack Burnley began supplying covers and stories in 1940 .Daniels (1998), p. 13. Wayne Boring , initially employed in Shuster's studio, began working for DC in his own right in 1942 providing pages for both ''Superman'' and ''Action Comics''.Daniels (1998), p. 69. The scripting duties also became shared. In late 1939 a new Editorial team assumed control of the character's adventures. Whitney Ellsworth , Mort Weisinger and Jack Schiff were brought in following Vin Sullivan's departure. This new editorial team brought in Edmond Hamilton , Manly Wade Wellman , and Alfred Bester , established writers of science fiction.Daniels (1995), p. 28. By 1943, Jerry Siegel was drafted into the army in a special celebration, and his duties there saw high contributions drop. Don Cameron and Alvin Schwartz joined the writing team, Schwartz teaming up with Wayne Boring to work on the Superman Comic Strip which had been launched by Siegel and Shuster in 1939. '' #1 (July 1986), written and drawn by John Byrne .]] In 1945 ", a two part story written by Alan Moore , with art by Curt Swan , George Perez and Kurt Schaffenberger . The story was published in ''Superman'' #423 and ''Action Comics'' #583, and presented what Les Daniels notes as "the sense of loss the fans might have experienced if this had really been the last Superman tale."Daniels (1998), p. 150. Superman was relaunched by writer & artist '' limited series, with '' All Star Superman '' launched in 2005 and '' Superman Confidential '' in 2006. Influences See Also: Cultural influences on Superman An influence on early Superman stories is the context of the Great Depression . The left-leaning perspective of creators Shuster and Siegel is reflected in early storylines. Superman took on the role of social activist, fighting crooked businessmen and politicians and demolishing run-down tenements.Daniels (1995), pp. 22–23. This is seen by comics scholar Roger Sabin as a reflection of "the liberal idealism of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal", with Shuster and Siegel initially portraying Superman as champion to a variety of social causes. In later Superman radio programs the character continued to take on such issues, tackling a version of the KKK in a 1946 Broadcast .1011 |
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