LEGENDARY HEROES #30

SUPERMAN

Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster met in 1932 while attending Glenville High School in Cleveland, Ohio and they shared an interest in science fiction.  Jerry wanted to be a writer and Joe wished to be an illustrator.  Jerry Siegel printed his own stories in a mimeographed paper he called "Amazing Stories" that he distributed to fellow students, and Joe Shuster began providing drawings for the tales.  Siegel was lying in bed one night in 1932 when he conceived a character like Samson and Hercules all rolled into one, only more so.  He leaped out of bed and wrote down his idea.  In January 1933 the Siegel and Shuster story titled "The Reign of the Superman" was printed in their self-published paper.  Siegel and Shuster were hardly the prototype of their creation (they stood 5'6" and 5'2" respectively) as they were shy, near-sighted, and fragile - the type of individuals that bullies picked on.

After graduation the two shifted their focus to comic strips and concentrated on creating adventure and humor style strips.  Newspaper syndicates told them that their comics weren't sensational enough to compete with the current comics that appeared in print and they returned to their idea of Superman.  Comic books were becoming popular by mid-decade, but they almost exclusively reprinted newspaper strips.  As comic books began creating original material Siegel and Shuster saw the possibilities and began formatting their Superman stories into comic book pages.  Their story and character went through several changes and incarnations over the years, usually after they received another rejection notice from a publisher, until the familiar story as we know it became the story that they were pitching.

Superman was born on the planet Krypton and given the name Kal-El.  As a baby he is sent hurtling to Earth in a small rocketship mere moments before a natural cataclysm destroys his home planet.  The rocket lands in a field near the little town in Kansas of Smallville where the infant is found and adopted by local farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent.  They raise the infant as their son and name him Clark.  From the beginning the young boy exhibits unusual powers of strength and physical abilities that defy human logic and his adopted parents advise him to use his abilities for the benefit of humanity.  To conceal his identity of Clark Kent he dons a costume and calls himself Superman.  Clark moves to the city of Metropolis where he becomes a journalist for the Daily Planet newspaper, which provides him his supporting cast of characters - Lois Lane, fellow reporter and love interest, Jimmy Olsen, news photographer and friend, and Perry White, editor of the newspaper.  Superman's arch-enemy is Lex Luthor, a mad scientist and evil genius.

Siegel and Shuster eventually found work with a comic book publisher called Detective Comics or DC as they were better known as in later years.  But DC suffered financial setbacks and went into receivership.  Two junior partners of the company, Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz, swooped in and took control of the company.  They decided to launch a new title and called it Action Comics.  Max Gaines, father of William M. Gaines of EC comics and Mad magazine fame, was familiar with the Superman story of Siegel and Shuster and suggested that they show it to Liebowitz.  Liebowitz liked the story and commissioned the boys to do a 13-page story (and cover).  They were paid $130 and signed a contract that gave the rights of their creation to DC.  Action Comics #1 which had the cover date of June 1938 hit the newsstands on April 18, 1938 and was an instant sensation.

One year later in June 1939 Superman was given his own title and was soon appearing regularly in yet another comic book titled World's Finest Comics.  Superman became the best-selling superhero character in American comic books through the 1980s and the greatest pop culture sensation that the world has ever known.  Neither DC or Siegel and Shuster ever imagined that Superman would reach the heights of popularity that it achieved, a popularity that had never been realized by a fictional character.  It was an explosion that propelled the business of comic books into a multi-million dollar industry.  Others will debate that Zorro, The Phantom, Doc Savage or Mandrake the Magician were the first superhero - (the very word "superhero" is derived from Superman) - but no one will argue that the most important event in all of comic book history was the debut of Superman in Action Comics #1.  Today there are only four known copies of Superman #1 that have survived and the 64-page comic that sold for a dime could today be sold for enough money to buy your dream house or put your children through college.  By 1941 Action Comics was selling 600,000 issues a month and Superman was selling a million copies.  In the first two years Superman had grossed about $3 million in sales.  The Golden Age of comic books (1938-1950) ended in the post-WWII era when costumed superhero sales declined in favor of horror and crime comics.  This led to the cancellation of many characters, but Superman was one of the few to survive.  Superman flourished and sustained popularity, thanks in part to success in other media.

In January 1939 a daily newspaper strip was syndicated by the McClure Syndicate with a Sunday page added in November of that year.  Jerry Siegel wrote most of the stories until he was drafted in 1943.  By 1941 the comic strip was appearing in 300 daily newspapers and 90 Sunday papers with a combined readership of 25 million people.  Shuster drew the early strips then handed the job over to Wayne Boring.  The image of Superman followed a strict "house style" established by DC and based on Shuster's work.  From 1949-1956 Win Mortimer drew the newspaper strip and Wayne Boring took over the comic book franchise, and Curt Swan replaced Boring in 1955.  The newspaper strip ended in 1966 but was revived from 1977-1983 to coincide with the release of Superman movies produced by Warner Brothers.

By the time the US entered WWII Superman had inspired a boom in the comic book industry resulting in dozens of publishers, hundreds of titles, and countless costumed heroes.  While the fictional Superman was considered to be America's secret weapon in the war, the comic book character stated, "I hope the whole world hears of this, and of our nation's real secret weapon - the unflagging courage of her men, no matter what the odds, and their indomitable will to win!  Against that Hitler and Hirohito haven't a ghost of a chance!"  "The Adventures of Superman" debuted on radio on February 12, 1940 as a live broadcast from the studios of WOR in New York City.  The 15-minute broadcast with Bud Collyer as Superman was so popular that by the 14th show the Mutual Broadcasting Network had purchased the show and began airing it coast-to-coast.  A writer came up with the iconic line "Up, up and away" having been inspired by the Lone Ranger and his "Hi-yo Silver!"  The show aired five times a week through February 4, 1949, then went to a half-hour format that aired three times a week until June 24, 1949.  ABC took over the broadcasting and aired it on Saturday evenings until October 29, 1949 and then went back to afternoons twice a week until the show ended on March 1, 1951.  In total the radio series produced 2088 episodes.

The first Superman toy was a jointed figurine made of wood in 1939.  The Daisy air rifle company in 1939 produced a Krypto-Raygun that flashed scenes of Superman comics onto the wall via film strips that were inserted into the "gun".  Dunhill made a tabletop cigarette lighter that sported a 3" chrome figure of Superman on top in 1942.  And Kellogg's Pep cereal, sponsor of the radio show, sent promotional posters to supermarkets of a wonderfully illustrated scene of Superman surrounded by smiling children with the tagline "Boy! It's Super!"  In 1940 gum cards were sold to the public with a vivid color illustration on one side with a story on the back along with an advertisement to join the Supermen of America club.  200,000 kids became members the first year.  The Man of Steel was quickly being elevated to the rank of folk hero.  Kids could purchase Superman jackets and sweaters at Irvin Foster sportswear stores and Superman brand bread at their local supermarket.

Republic Studios tried unsuccessfully to produce a Superman movie serial in 1940 and 1941 but couldn't secure the rights because Paramount had the rights to do an animated cartoon series.  Fleischer Studios, which did Betty Boop and Popeye cartoons for Paramount, was chosen to do the Superman series from 1941-1943.  Bud Collyer of the radio series provided the voice of Superman for the 17 short features that were produced.  At a time when most short cartoons cost $9000 to $15,000 to make, Paramount was spending $30,000 to $50,000 an episode.  The cartoons were exceptionally lavish and the aesthetic appeal is still appreciated today.

In 1948 Columbia produced a 15-chapter serial and Kirk Alyn became the first actor to portray the caped superhero.  The production cost $325,000 to make and became the most profitable movie serial in film history.  A second serial followed in 1950 called "Atom Man vs. Superman" again with Alyn as Superman, Noel Neill as Lois Lane, and Lyle Talbot as Lex Luthor.  Unfortunately for Kirk Alyn once the serials ended his phone stopped ringing.  He was told, "Everybody thinks you're Superman.  They wouldn't believe you in another part."  The only work he could get was doing commercials on television.  Said Alyn, "Superman ruined my acting career and I've been bitter for many years about the whole thing."

As the radio series ended in 1951 the first feature film "Superman and the Mole Men" was released.  It was a B-movie made on a budget of $30,000 that ran for a whole 58 minutes.  The movie was intended to promote the subsequent TV series and starred actor George Reeves.  Reeves was a classically trained actor who studied for a time at the National Theatre in London.  His big break came with a role in "Gone With the Wind" and his first starring role was in the WWII film "So Proudly We Hail".  But then Reeves was drafted and his career was sidelined, and after the war was slow to resurrect.  The TV series "Adventures of Superman" aired from 1952-1958 and was syndicated after that.  Originally filmed at RKO Studios the show was sponsored by Kellogg's cereals.  The first show debuted on September 19, 1952 and was an instant sensation.  Phyllis Coates played Lois Lane in the first season but was subsequently replaced by fan-favorite Noel Neill.  Each episode cost a paltry $15,000 to produce, an extremely low budget even by the standards of 1952, and the acting leads were only paid $200 an episode.  Kids didn't seem to notice or care that Reeves was suspended by wires in his "flying" sequences.  By the end of the run George Reeves was making $2500 per show.

The first two seasons were filmed in black & white and consisted of 26 episodes per season.  Starting with the third season the show was filmed in color, but the extra expense of filming in color reduced the output to 13 new episodes per season with the other 13 episodes being reruns of black & white shows.  (In the earlier episodes Reeves wore a costume of grey and brown instead of blue and red because it photographed better on black & white film).  Each episode began with the iconic opening - "Faster than a speeding bullet!  More powerful than a locomotive!  Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound! (Look!  Up in the sky!  It's a bird - it's a plane - it's Superman!)  Yes, it's Superman!  Strange visitor from another planet who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal man!  Superman...who can change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel in his bare hands, and who, disguised as Clark Kent, mild mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fights a never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way!"

The TV show aired in 21 foreign countries in three different languages - "Mi Amiga!  Es SuperHombre!" - the show was so popular in Japan that it had an audience share of 74.2% in 1958.  But in the US actor George Reeves was reduced to making personal appearances as Superman to make extra money because no other work was available to him in films or TV.  Like Kirk Alyn before him, Reeves was too closely affiliated with the role.  At one personal appearance a kid thrust a real loaded gun at Reeves with the intent of seeing whether bullets would bounce off his chest.  Reeves disarmed the youth by telling him that the bullets would indeed bounce off his chest and ricochet into the audience and prove fatal to another child.  The TV series ended on April 28, 1958 and the sudden death of George Reeves followed in June 1959.

Reeves died of a gunshot wound to the head in the upstairs bedroom of his home at 1579 Benedict Canyon Drive.  LAPD ruled it a suicide despite the fact that there was no seeming reason for suicide.  Reeves had several acting and directing projects lined up now that his Superman days were behind him, and he was to be married that week to New York playgirl Lenore Lemmon and they were to honeymoon in Mexico.  Reeves was said to be looking anxiously toward the future.  No fingerprints were found on the weapon, the ejected bullet casing was found under his body, two other bullets were found embedded in the floor despite the fact that only one gunshot was heard, and no gunpowder residue was found on Reeves' hands.  Actors Alan Ladd and Gig Young, friends of Reeves who served as pallbearers at his funeral, were skeptical of the suicide angle and said it was "B.S".  Actor Rory Calhoun told a reporter that "no one in Hollywood believed the suicide story".  It is ironic that Alan Ladd is alleged to have died of an alcohol and drug overdose, and that Gig Young committed suicide after murdering his bride.  It was well known throughout Hollywood that George Reeves had been having a long time affair with Toni Mannix, wife of MGM vice president Eddie Mannix who was a "fixer" in the studio system - a man who covered up and concealed items of bad publicity that would be detrimental to the careers of Hollywood stars - and was rumored to have underworld criminal ties.  Whatever really happened in June 1959 will probably never be known, nut children across the nation were subjected to glaring newspaper headlines that proclaimed "SUPERMAN KILLS SELF".

In 1966 a Superman Broadway musical opened titled "It's a Bird, it's a Plane, it's Superman".  Bob Holiday was Superman and Patricia Marand was Lois Lane and the show was nominated for a Tony despite the fact that it was panned by critics and audiences alike and closed soon after it opened.  By 1978 sales of the comic book were beginning to lag as Spiderman at the rival Marvel Comics was becoming more popular.  But the trend was about to reverse itself as the first big-budget film of Superman was about to be released in theaters worldwide.  It starred the relatively unknown Christopher Reeve as Superman, Margot Kidder as Lois Lane, and Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor.  The film was budgeted at $55 million and went on to become the most successful Superman movie to date.  It was the most expensive movie ever made at the time, but actually it was two movies.  The sequel was being filmed simultaneously.  "Superman" made $300 million worldwide and the sequel brought in another $190 million.  There were two more sequels with Christopher Reeve and another with Brandon Routh as Superman.  reeve, paralyzed in a 1995 horse riding accident, made a cameo in the last film.  A 2013 reboot of the series was attempted with Henry Cavill as the Man of Steel.

The first animated TV series of Superman ran from 1966-1970.  A Superboy TV series aired 1988-1992.  "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" with Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher ran from 1993-1997, and then "Smallville" with Tom Welling told the early years of Superman before Metropolis and it aired from 2001-2011.  Superman enjoyed a long successful run on television.  In November 1992 DC announced that it was killing off Superman in their comic book franchise.  That single issue sold 23 million copies becoming the bestselling comic book issue of all time.  This on top of the fact that Superman has sold more comic books during his history than any other comic book hero.  (SPOILER ALERT! - DC brought Superman back from the dead - SURPRISE!)

Despite the fame, fortune and success of Superman, there has also been a darkside to the hero.  Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster never anticipated how successful their creation would become and signed away their rights to him for $130.  From 1938 to 1947 they were employed and compensated by DC to the tune of $400,000.  But the pair still harbored resentment as they saw how DC had grown financially.  In 1947 they sued DC in an attempt to reclaim the rights to their character.  At the time that their lawsuit was going on DC was involved in their own litigation against Fawcett Comics and their character Captain Marvel.  Captain Marvel was the only costumed hero to pose a serious threat to the Superman franchise.  Fawcett proudly proclaimed on the cover of Captain Marvel "Largest Circulation of Any Comic Magazine".  I'll discuss the Superman - Captain Marvel feud at length in a future post.  As to Siegel and Shuster DC settled out of court giving them $94,000 and then firing them.  In 1975 the pair were scrimping to stay alive.  Joe Shuster was nearly blind and had become a recluse living in quiet anonymity in Forest Hills, NY while Jerry Siegel lived in Los Angeles as a mail clerk earning $7000 a year.  Shuster died in 1992 and DC offered his heirs $20,000 a year for life to never challenge ownership of the character.  Siegel died in 1996 but his heirs did sue - successfully - and DC gave them a yearly stipend of $500,000 in exchange for permanently granting DC the rights to Superman.

Stories of a "curse" upon DC and Superman have followed the comic book publisher for decades - the ruin of Kirk Alyn's career, the death of George Reeves, the paralysis of Christopher Reeve - and the ongoing fight over ownership of the character.  But despite the unsettling bad things that took place, Superman has taken a place in American culture that has never been experienced before or since.  Heroes come and go, but once in awhile one comes along whose impact cannot be diminished.