As we've discussed before , just because your hard work and perseverance led you to create something that changes the world, it doesn't mean that you'll get fame, fortune, or the slightest bit of recognition out of it. In fact, some inventors get so little credit that we completely forgot about them in our previous article, and since we really don't like angering the ghosts of people who could probably invent a way to punch us from beyond the grave, here they are.

6 Siegel and Shuster, Superman's Creators

Robert Mora/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Continue Reading Below Advertisement

Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created Superman, the most famous superhero ever, perhaps with the exception of Spider-Man or that kid who changes the channel with his eyes in X2.

DC Comics

Superman can set a TV on fire with his eyes, which isn't as useful.

Continue Reading Below Advertisement

Debuting in 1938, Superman was an instant success. DC Comics soon followed up the "man in underpants punches criminals" concept with Batman, and that was it, there was no turning back: Siegel and Shuster's creation had started a multibillion-dollar industry that is still going strong today, spawning toys, T-shirts, and, oh yeah, some of the highest-grossing movies of all time.

Nice one, Siegel and Shuster!

Alan Light

"Take it from us, kids: Work hard, change the world, and you too can see absolutely no reward from it!"

Continue Reading Below Advertisement

But Then They Got Screwed

"Nice one, Siegel and Shuster" is exactly what DC must have said, in a sarcastic tone, when the duo famously sold them all rights to Superman for a measly $130, a check that's now ironically worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.



The seller added $1,000 for every tear this thing soaked up.

At the time, no one suspected that the guy in blue pajamas that they'd been drawing would turn into a cultural icon -- so when he did, and Siegel and Shuster continued getting squat, the pair embarked on perhaps the longest clusterfuck in copyright history.