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(Golden Age Debut: Action Comics #1) |
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Clark
Kent as seen changing into his Superman
costume Superman-
(Kal-El) --1st appearance: Action
Comics #1
(1938). Kal-El, better
known as Superman, is the only surviving man
from the now-dead planet of Krypton. His only
surviving blood relative is Kara Zor-El, his
first cousin, who is the only surviving woman
from Krypton. His cousin is better known
throughout the universe as Supergirl. "The Man of
Tomorrow", as he is sometimes called, arrived on
earth inside of a spacecraft built by his
father, the Kryptonian scientist, Jor-El. Jor-El
correctly theorized that Krypton was doomed to
explode. With very few people willing to believe
him, he created a small spacecraft in which to
carry his infant son, Kal-El, to safety. The
ship landed on the planet Earth. Kal-El's spaceship
crash landed in a farmer's field near
Smallville, a rural town in Kansas in the
American midwest. The small spacecraft was
discovered by Jonathan and Martha Kent, who
owned a farm nearby. Finding the infant Kal-El
alive inside the ship, they took him home and
raised him as their own son. They did not tell
anyone of his alien origins, letting family and
friends believe he was born on the farm as their
biological son, whom they named Clark Joseph
Kent. After attending
college, Clark Kent moved to the big city of
Metropolis, where he began his dual careers as a
mild-mannered newspaper reporter and as a
costumed superhero called "Superman." The
general public does not know that Clark Kent and
Superman are one and the same, and throughout
his life, Clark/Superman goes to great lengths
to keep his dual identity a secret, even from
those closest to him. An important
factor in Superman's persona is the way in which
he views his role as a superpowered being living
in a world inhabited (for the most part), by
people who are less powerful and much more
fragile than he is. Despite the fact that he
could easily kill and destroy any common
criminal and most supervillains, he refrains
from doing so for one very simple reason. He
believes that killing is wrong. This is based on
his upbringing with the Kents, who raised him to
be a decent person who sees his role in the
world as someone who should help others.
Superman could easily make himself financially
wealthy, yet he lives on Clark's reporter's
salary in a regular apartment in
Metropolis. In his superhero
career, Superman is a close ally to the Batman,
the Caped Crusader of Gotham City. Superman's
home base is Metropolis, but travels around the
world and into the depths of outer space to
protect others and to stop various
supervillains. Superman is a member of the
Justice League, and is often considered to be
one of the planet's primary
protectors. Henry
Cavill as the film version of
Superman The 2013 Superman
film, Man of Steel, featured Henry
Cavill as the last son of Krypton, and was
fairly popular, though it did receive criticism
from Superman fans for the excessive destruction
to Metropolis and for the manner in which
Superman ended the threat of General Zod. The
2016 sequel, Batman V Superman: Dawn of
Justice, introduced the Dark Knight of
Gotham with the Man of Tomorrow from Metropolis,
as well as the Amazon Princess, Wonder Woman.
This film, which opened to huge success, also
showed cameos by Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg, all
members of (in the comics) the Justice League.
The extreme violence at the end of Man of
Steel, sets up the conflict and plot of
Batman V Superman: Dawn of
Justice, and when taken together, the
two films mesh well and provide a consistent
storyline justifying the eventual
Superman/Batman team-up. Superman,
Wonder Woman, and
Batman Superman
is known worldwide, both within Supeman's comic
world (i.e. The DC Universe), as well as in our
own, real world as a symbol of "truth, justice,
and the American Way." Superman is also
known by various nicknames bestowed on him by
friends and foes alike. These include: The Man
of Steel, the Man of Tomorrow, the Last Son of
Krypton, the Metropolis Marvel, the Action Ace,
Big Blue, Supes Links
and Resources on
Superman Man
of Steel, Woman of
Kleenex--Amusing
but thought-provoking essay
by science-fiction author Larry Niven as
he ponders the physiological complications
to Superman's potential ability to mate
and reproduce with a human female such as
Lois Lane. The
Religious Affiliation of Comic Book
Character: Clark Kent/Kal-El:
Superman--Interesting
article on Superman's most likely
religious beliefs. Journal
of Religion and Film: Superman as
Christ-Figure: The American Pop Culture
Movie Messiah Sequart.com:
Superman
--Complete study of the Man of Steel,
including spin-offs. Superman
Through the Ages: History of Superman
Comics
--Features details about Superman and his
history in the comic books from
improvements in color printer
ink
to different style lettering and art from
1933 to present day. Sequart.com:
Superman
--Complete study of the Man of Steel,
including spin-offs. DC
Comics: Superman
--Official site from DC, featuring sneak
peeks at upcoming issues of Superman
comics. Clark
Kent's Superman
Resources
--Pictures and information
about the Superman Family. Superman:
The 10¢
Adventure
--Official site of the comic book
title. Superman:
The First 50 Covers
--An illustrated guide to the first 50
issues of Superman, published between
1939-48. Action
Comics
--History
of the comic that introduced Superman to
the world. "Superman" and all fictional characters mentioned on this page are the property of DC Comics. "The History Guy" is a Registered Trademark. |
Historyguy.com Search
Engine
Family Jor-El
--Biological
Father; deceased Lara
--Biological
Mother; deceased Jonathan
Kent --Adopted
Father Martha
Kent --Adopted
Father Kara
Zor-El/Linda Danvers/Supergirl
--Cousin Zor-El
--Uncle;
deceased Alura
In-Ze --Aunt;
deceased Associates,
Colleagues, & Opponents Friends
& Allies Batman Wonder
Woman The
Justice League Jimmy
Olson Lois
Lane Lana
Lang Perry
White Krypto
the Superdog Lex
Luthor Brainiac Darkseid Mr.
Mxyzptlk General
Zod Parasite Doomsday The
Intergang Crime
Syndicate The
Prankster Toyman Ultra-Humanite The
Kryptonite Man Metallo Mongul Site
Map--revision
in progress |
