The Origin And Development Of Superman

Superman was created by Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel. Initially, the duo came up with a telepathically gifted villain named Superman. It appeared once in the story 'The Reign of the Superman' by Fiction #3, a science fiction magazine. This character did not appeal to the general public, and the duo then came up with a second character called Superman. This time they chose a hero with physical rather than mental powers. This version of Superman made its debut in Action Comics #1 in 1938.

Superman did appeal to a large audience in this form, and soon got his own comic strip series. The first stories were all drawn and written by Siegel and Shuster. Initially he was still a fairly radical hero who beat his enemies hard, but when other writers took over the series he got his moral code and he started to show less violent behaviour.

Subsequently, Superman appeared in various radio and television programmes, both as films and in the form of games. Eventually the superhero broadened his horizons and began to appear internationally, also in the Netherlands.

Superman's origins and background have often changed over the years, as have his well-known superpowers. The time in which his stories take place also varies from the thirties (oldest comics) to the present day.

Superman was born as Kal-El, son of the scientist Jor-El and his wife Lara Lor-Van, on the planet Krypton. This planet was about to explode, so Superman's parents decided to evacuate him with a capsule. This ship was sent to Earth, as this planet also had a perfect living environment for Kryptonians. There the capsule landed just outside the small village of Smallville, where the young Kal-El was found and adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent. They called him Clark Kent.

As he grew up, he discovered that he possessed powers far above those of the common man. As an adult, Clark decided to use these powers to fight crime. He moved to the city of Metropolis, where he got a job as a journalist for the Daily Planet newspaper. There he works with journalist Lois Lane, with whom he maintains a romantic relationship. In the current continuity of the comics, the two are married, although both have had different relationships over the years.

Within the DC Universe, Superman is known as a role model for many heroes. He has a strong moral code from which he never deviates. Superman has been a member of many superhero teams, especially the Justice League. Within these teams he almost always has the role of team leader.

Because he is well aware that he has lost his real homeworld, Superman is very protective against the earth. He has a strong sense of justice, which is often attributed to his austere upbringing in the rural town of Smallville. However, it often becomes clear that Superman has the feeling of being alone, despite his friends and acquaintances whom he has acquired as his alter-ego, Clark Kent. An important turning point in Superman's life was when he was killed in the cartoon series by the villain Doomsday. In the film cycle Superman comes to an end in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, where he is killed by a creature made by his greatest human enemy, Lex Luthor.

Superman's strengths have evolved over the years. In the oldest strips, Superman's forces were still limited. He was stronger than the average person (he could lift a car), could run fast and jump very far and high. The explanation given for this was that Superman's home planet, Krypton, has a much greater gravity than the earth. Since Superman's body is adapted to this great gravity, he is able to do more on Earth (the same effect as astronauts who can jump higher and further on the moon than on Earth).

In the current continuity of the strip, Superman has a much larger arsenal of forces. He can now, for example, fly, look through most materials (only with lead he has trouble), fire heat from his eyes, has superhuman strong senses, and can freeze things with his breath. Superman's muscular strength and invulnerability have also increased. So nowadays he can pulverize mountains, withstand a nuclear explosion and survive in space without oxygen or space suit. The source of Superman's powers has also changed over the years as he gained more powers. A common explanation is that Superman owes his powers to the Earth's sun. Krypton's sun was a red one, but Earth's sun was a yellow one. Under the influence of a yellow sun, Kryptonians get superpowers. Superman's powers are often described as 'faster than a bullet, and stronger than a locomotive.

The time at which Superman got his powers varies from one strip to another. Some stories assume that Superman had his powers since he was a child. In these comics Superman was also a hero called Superboy in his youth. Other comics, however, assume that Superman's powers only developed (far) in his teenage years.

Superman has two major weaknesses: on the one hand the opposite sex, by which he often comes into a kind of conflict of interest, and on the other hand kryptonite, a substance that is said to originate from his native planet Krypton. This kryptonite occurs in different forms, and each form has a different effect on him. Its best-known version is green, which deprives Superman of his powers and can even be fatal if exposed to it for too long.

Because of his status as a cultural icon and the fact that he was the first costumed superhero to appear in a comic strip, Superman has already been regularly studied by critics and scholars. These studies focus mainly on the impact that Superman has had on the world, how he has contributed to the creation of the superhero genre, and how the character is often used as a symbol for the political situation in the world. Over the years, the superman comic strips have been adapted to reflect current events. Superman, like many other heroes, was used during the Second World War as a metaphor for the fight against Nazi Germany and Japan. In the 50's and 60's he was a metaphor for the fight against the threat of the Cold War. Even today, the character is still sometimes used to make the political climate clear.

An important point of discussion is the fact that Superman is not technically an American, as he comes from another planet, and can therefore be regarded as an immigrant. According to critics, this has contributed, among other things, to the development of greater tolerance for immigrants in America, and emphasizes the fact that most Americans themselves are descendants of immigrants.

In May 2011, DC decided to have Superman declare publicly that he was no longer an American, something that led to a lot of commotion among fans. This was to put an end to the idea that Superman would represent pure America, so that he can't actually interfere in international conflicts in which America is involved. However, DC indicated that it wouldn't go too far in this new direction.