Superman going strong at 80
In an era when superheroes seem to be everywhere — there were dozens in the most recent Avengers film — the Man of Steel stands apart.
Eighty years after his debut in Action Comics #1, dated June 1938, Superman is still a cultural icon, the hero of reference and the undisputed star of DC Comics.
Today, DC Comics, also known for Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash and Green Lantern, is counting on Superman more than ever.
“He is the mold people worked with, the template for the idea of a superhero,” explains Jared Smith, who works in a comic book store in Washington. “Superman is a very idealised character. They call him the Boy Scout of America. He always does the right thing and tries do to the good thing.”
In Action Comics #1, 13 pages were dedicated to the story of KalEl, an alien from the planet Krypton with supernatural strength, sent to Earth by his father before his home planet was destroyed.
Superman’s debut was a smash success. A year later, DC Comics gave the Man of Steel his own book, and introduced another formidable hero: Batman.
Eighty years on, the formula has not changed: Superman has more or less always appeared in his red, blue and yellow suit with the “S” symbol on the chest.
On the silver and small screen and in comic strips and videogames, he has fought for truth, justice and the “American Way”.
In Illinois, the town of Metropolis, which shares a name with Superman’s home, organises an annual festival celebrating the hero.
Superman is an immigrant on Earth, raised by a farmer and his wife from infancy in fictional Smallvillle. He takes the name Clark Kent, moves to Metropolis and becomes a journalist.
His two creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, were Jewish high school students when they came up with the idea for Superman.
Their parents were immigrants, and their character personified the American dream — a metaphor for immigrants who fled Europe in the 1930s for the peace and prosperity of America.
To keep Superman in step with society, writers tried to keep him in sync with political and societal changes. In 1978, he met boxing legend Muhammad Ali, who took him to the ghettos of Metropolis.
Smith even recalls that the Man of Steel had something of a “socialist start”, fighting capitalists “who were taking too much money or not treating their workers well” in the 1930s and 1940s. As ever, he fights for the American Way, whatever the definition.