A Brief History of Superman

Long before 1939’s “Superman” #1, and well before 1938’s “Action Comics” #1, was Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s first attempt at a superheroic being released in January of 1933. This Superman, though, was a bald-headed, telepathic villain.

Okay, maybe Lex Luther didn’t have telepathic powers, but that look was eerily similar …

The short story was the team’s first published use of the Superman name, which incidentally was only hyphenated on the story’s splash page due to a staple issue.

During the Great Depression, Siegel and Shuster wrote several stories together to help escape from the era’s extreme poverty. When Shuster was 18, he produced the first of what would be five issues of their typed and mimeographed fanzine: “Science Fiction: The Advance Guard of Future Civilization.”

It was Siegel who wrote “The Reign of the Superman” in 1932, as inspired by the German Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophical concept of the Übermensch,or “beyond man,” from his 1883 “Thus Spoke Zarathustra.” In Nietzsche’s parable, the Übermensch becomes a living goal for all of humanity to set for itself. The term “superman” was later popularized in 1903’s “Man and Superman,” as written by George Bernard Shaw.

In 1912’s “Tarzan of the Apes” by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Jane referred to Tarzan as “superman,” which Siegel also credited as an inspiration.

In Siegel’s tale, a timid chemist transforms himself into an all-powerful villain determined to dominate the world. Siegel published the work under the moniker Herbert S. Fine, combining the first name of a cousin with his mother’s maiden name, according to Wikipedia.

The years went on, and when Siegel spotted a copy of a black and white comic book called “Detective Dan, Secret Operative” #48 he realized that a heroic main character would be the preferred way to go. Shortly thereafter, a man of steel was born.

Until then …

“The Reign of the Super-man”

The following is a reprint of “The Reign of the Super-man” …

For a more in-depth look at the creation of “The Reign of the Superman” and subsequently the character we know today as Superman, see the below entry from fortress.net, complete with rare original art, which contains quotes from the original creators:

From such humble beginnings were legends made. Superman as we know him today took flight (I couldn’t resist) in the comics world, and became first a popular series of Max Fleischer cartoons, followed by a 1948 live-action “Superman” serial starring Kirk Alyn as the Man of Steel (which also featured a young Noel Neill as Lois Lane), and a 1950 sequel serial, “Atom Man vs. Superman” (also co-starring Alyn and Neill).

George Reeves took over the cape initially in the 1951 feature, “Superman and the Mole Men,” which spun-off the hugely successful series, “The Adventures of Superman.” The film co-starred Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane, the role she repeated in the series’ first season. Noel Neill reprised her role from the Alyn serials for the next five seasons. The series lasted from 1952 to 1958, and 104 episodes were shot.