Superman’s homeworld to be explored in new show
Rocketed from the planet Krypton as a baby, Kal-El grew up on Earth to become Superman, the first of the great comic book superheroes.
Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, two young men from Cleveland, created one of the most recognizable fictional characters in the world in the early 1930s. Superman, was unveiled to the world on April 18, 1938, in “Action Comics” No. 1.
This year, Superman and his world are in the spotlight as the character celebrates his 80th birthday.
Recalling elements of the Moses story, Superman was born Kal-El on the planet Krypton, but as a baby he was rocketed to earth by his father, Jor-El, to save him from the fate of his dying planet. Kal-El was found near Smallville, Kan., by Jonathan and Martha Kent, who raised the boy, who they named Clark, to always fight for truth and justice.
When on this new planet, Clark developed powers beyond those of mortal men, he used them to help the weak and downtrodden as Superman.
New TV show
A new TV show will look at the planet of the Els before Kal-El’s time, as the TVshow “Krypton” is set two generations before the destruction of Superman’s original homeworld. The synopsis for “Krypton” is as follows:
What if Superman never existed? Set two generations before the destruction of Superman’s home planet,“Krypton” follows Seg-El (Cameron Cuffe), the legendary Man of Steel’s grandfather, as a young man who is faced with a life and death conflict— save his home planet or let it be destroyed in order to restore the fate of his future grandson. With Krypton’s leadership in disarray and the House of El ostracized, Seg finds himself in a difficult position. He must redeem his family’s honor and protect the ones he loves while being challenged by familiar DC characters Brainiac
(Blake Ritson) and Earthly time-traveler Adam Strange (Shaun Sipos).
The show stars Cuffe, Georgina Campbell (“Black Mirror”), Elliot Cowan (“Da Vinci’s Demons”), Ann Ogbomo (“Wonder Woman”), and
Ian McElhinney (“Game of Thrones”), and premieres at 9 p.m. Central on Syfy.
In bookstores and comic shops this month is “Superman: The Many Worlds of Krypton,” collecting various stories focusing on the planet.
Coming up Super
“Krypton,” appropriately, is just the beginning of DC’s plans for Superman in this anniversary year.The red trunks often associated with Superman make their return to the costume with issue #1000 of “Action Comics” in April; a litany of past and present Superman creators contributed to the issue. Also in April is the release of a hardcover book celebrating 80 years of the Man of Steel.
Popular comics writer Brian Michael Bendis is slated to take over writing reins of the character in comics with a new “Man of Steel” miniseries beginning in May. July will see a new “Superman” #1 written by Bendis, as well as “Action Comics” #1001.
In August, a Superman project will debut with DC’s recently announced high-end “Black Label” line. Writer Frank Miller and artist John Romita Jr. will craft a three-part prestige format miniseries “Superman: Year One” beginning in August.