Image via Complex Original
In the pantheon of superheroes, Superman stands tall as the godfather of the entire genre. With his trademark S emblazoned across his chest, bright red cape and trunks, and legendary spit curl, the Man of Steel burst onto the pop-culture scene during the waning days of the Great Depression, just a few years before the U.S. entered WWII. He was seen as a hero for the times, a working-class orphan who used his immense power to help those in need.
Over the years, Superman has freed himself from the chains of the comic book industry to become a symbol of hope and heroism in every medium, for fans around the globe. He transcends superheroes and comics; he’s a part of American folklore.
This Friday, Superman makes his triumphant comeback on the big screen in Man of Steel, starring Henry Cavill as the last son of Krypton. To give you a rundown on how the character has progressed from his humble origins to this new $225 million blockbuster, we’re taking a look at The Evolution of Superman in Pop Culture.
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Superman makes his first appearance in Action Comics #1 (June, 1938).
When Action Comics #1 debuted in June of 1938, DC Comics—known as National Allied Publications at the time—just wanted to turn a decent profit, all they could hope as the Depression was winding down. The featured tale in the 11-story collection focused on a new spandex-clad superhero known as Superman. Created by Cleveland artists Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Superman was unlike anything the world had seen before.
Up until then, comic books had largely revolved around detectives and costumed pulp heroes, but Superman was different. Decked out in a colorful costume and sporting an array of super powers, such as super strength and the ability to leap a tall building in a single bound, the man with the S on his chest was a champion of the oppressed and downtrodden. In his debut issue, he clears the name of a woman set to be wrongly executed for murder and saves Lois Lane from a kidnapping attempt. Simple stuff now, but mind-blowing back then.
Staples like his ability to fly, kryptonite, and the villainous Lex Luthor were waiting in the wings, but this was the moment that Superman took his first steps out of the primordial ooze of Siegel and Shuster’s imaginations and began his journey towards becoming an icon.
The Adventures of Superman radio show debuts (February, 1940).
Despite the countless movies, cartoons, and comics the character has appeared in over the years, the Man of Steel’s first big break came with the debut of The Adventures of Superman radio show in 1940. This helped propel the character into the national spotlight and introduce him to an audience of kids and adults who didn’t know about his comic-book roots. The show invented many aspects of Superman lore that have since become unimpeachable facts, such as the characters of Perry White and Jimmy Olsen, along with Superman’s only weakness: kryptonite.
Actor Bud Collyer provided both the meek voice of Clark Kent and the authoritative bellow of Superman himself. Joan Alexander played Lois Lane to perfection. The radio show hit its peak in 1946 when an activist named Stetson Kennedy infiltrated the ranks of the KKK and gave information on the group to the writers of the show, who then created a story arc featuring the Man of Steel doing battle with the Klan. It brought the Klan into the national spotlight and was a huge blow to its image. This was the first example of Superman not only influencing pop culture, but American society at large.
The Fleischer Studios cartoon shorts debut (September, 1941).
If the Superman radio show let people know what the Man of Steel sounded like, the animated shorts put out by Fleischer Studios in the ‘40s let the whole world see his powers in motion. Unlike animated series from today, these shorts were shown exclusively in movie theaters before the start of the feature film. Using a technique known as rotoscoping—where an actor’s facial expressions and movements are recorded, traced over, and animated—these cartoons brought a beautiful realism to Metropolis that went unrivaled for more than 50 years.
These cartoons were short, often lasting less than 10 minutes, but it was the first glimpse most Americans got of Supes, and they proved to be a huge hit. The art-deco styling and bombastic action were mesmerizing for the time, and it still holds up today. Comic artists, writers, film directors still consider this a milestone for the character, and its influence can be seen in the work of writers and artists like Mark Waid and Darwyn Cooke, as well as in movies like The Rocketeer and Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow.
The first Superman serials arrive (January, 1948).
In 1948, Superman became flesh and blood up on the big screen in a serial produced by Columbia, starring Kirk Alyn as the Man of Steel. The first serial revolved around Superman battling it out with the Spider Lady. The second introduced audiences to the first live-action Lex Luthor. These shorts were produced on a shoestring budget and meant to please children, so it didn’t live up to the standards of the comics at the time. Still, they were immensely popular and helped the character gain even more traction among the American public.
These serials are perhaps best known for introducing the world to Noel Neill, who played Lois Lane throughout these shorts and into the later TV series. Things didn’t work out the same for Alyn, who was later replaced. Still, he did an admirable job here, even if the production couldn’t find an affordable way to make him fly on screen. Instead, they cut to a cheap animated version of the character whenever he took off. Everyone has to start somewhere.
Superman makes his big screen debut (November, 1951).
The success of the Superman serials led to the release of the character’s first feature-film, titled Superman and the Mole Men. In the movie, George Reeves replaced Kirk Alyn as the hero, who proved to be a much better fit for the role. The movie paired the child-friendly action of the earlier serials and comics with themes adults could dig.
The movie put a spotlight on humanity's fear of those who are different, which echoed the racial conflicts of the time. This was an early example of superheroes entering the realm of the socially conscious. Like the serials, the movie was a hit and had a bigger impact on the character’s legacy than anything else before it. Its success was also instrumental in what came next.
The Adventures of Superman TV series hits the small screen (September, 1952).
With every new medium Superman conquered, he reached more and more people, and in 1952 he found his way into every home in America with the debut of the TV series, The Adventures of Superman. Starring George Reeves and Noel Neill, this show lasted six seasons and saw the character make his first steps into the world of color during the later seasons.
The series was a huge hit in the beginning, and despite never featuring comic book villains or plots, it was a sensation with kids everywhere. Reeves’ mild-mannered portrayal of Clark Kent and his jovial version of Superman is what Midwestern values are all about. Sure, it's campy and formulaic, but watching Reeves bend steel with his bare hands and leap head-first out of windows never gets old.
If the serials, animated shorts, and radio show introduced the world to Superman, this series proved that he was here to stay. Unfortunately, the success became more of a burden than a blessing to Reeves, who took his own life a year after it went off the air. Thus, this show was the beginning of what has become known as “The Superman Curse.”
The Super Friends begins its legendary run (September, 1973).
With the cancellation of The Adventures of Superman and the death of George Reeves, Superman took a hiatus from the three-dimensional world that would last for more than two decades. However, the character’s TV adventures weren’t over just yet. In the ‘60s, Filmation produced a series of Superman short cartoons that aired on CBS, and while they didn’t last long, it proved that the character still had life left in him. Then in 1973, Hanna-Barbera Productions debuted The Superfriends on ABC, which began the character’s most prosperous decade in pop-culture.
The show is based on the Justice League comics, where Superman teamed up with other costumed heroes, such as Batman, Flash, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern. The series, which lasted for 13 years, is a sweet and syrupy love letter to the world of DC Comics designed specifically for juvenile audiences.
The show’s reputation is somewhat divided among fans now, but it helped keep the Man of Steel in the spotlight and led up to his most important adventure of all…
Superman: The Movie brings the Man of Steel back to theaters in a big way (December, 1978).
It had been 20 years since The Adventures of Superman went off the air, so it was about time that the Man of Steel found his way back to live action. With the release of Superman: The Movie in 1978, audiences everywhere were reintroduced to the Last Son of Krypton in director Richard Donner's pop-art masterpiece. The movie sported an all-star cast, including Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor, Margot Kidder as Lois Lane, Marlon Brando as Jor-El, and Christopher Reeve as the man in the red, blue, and gold.
Beginning with Kal-El's origins on the planet Krypton, through his journeys as a teenager in Kansas and eventually his role as Earth’s savior, Superman: The Movie is an epic in every sense of the word. Combining state-of-the-art special effects with humor and heart, the film blew up at the box office and became a prime example of Hollywood’s blockbuster craze of the ‘70s.
Reeve, in particular, was singled out by critics as one of the main reasons why the movie worked so well. His Clark Kent is lovable and his Superman conveys the heroic figure of the comics we all dreamed of. To this day, he is the standard by which all other big screen comic heroes should be judged.
Superman II ups the action of the original (June, 1981).
WIth Superman: The Movie smashing the box office, fans were instantly eager for a sequel. They didn’t have to wait long; Superman: The Movie and its sequel were filmed simultaneously by Richard Donner and completed by Richard Lester after Donner and the studio had a falling out. In the sequel, Superman battles against three villains that rival his own power: the icy Ursa (Sarah Douglas), the lumbering Non (Jack O'Halloran), and the maniacal General Zod (Terence Stamp).
The movie features even more action than the original, without losing any of the heart or humor. Again, the movie was critically loved and did huge numbers at the box office. Folks thought Hollywood should never be without a Superman movie...
Superman III shows cracks in the foundation (June, 1983).
Expectations were high for Superman III after the massive success of the first two, and in order to make this installment in the franchise the best one yet, the producers decided to add Richard Pryor. The studio cast the famous comedian, who was a mega-star at the time, in the role of bumbling computer engineer Gus Gorman, in order to bring even more humor to the film. Revolving around Clark Kent’s return to Smallville and his run-ins with a villainous multimillionaire named Ross Webster, who was a poor-man’s Lex Luthor, this movie was a certified dud when it crash landed in 1983.
The film ignored the dynamics between Clark Kent and Lois Lane, introduced a flat villain, and featured some truly eye-rolling comedy throughout. The result was a movie that failed to properly carry on the Superman mantle and almost killed the franchise in the process. But there was still one nail left to be driven into the coffin.
Superman gets reinvented for the '80s (1986).
The ‘80s were a time for transition for DC Comics. In order to modernize its heroes—who had been around for almost 50 years at this point—the publisher came out with a comic miniseries called Crisis on Infinite Earths, which reset the publisher’s continuity and started all of the heroes’ lives from scratch. Before Superman got the reboot, though, writer Alan Moore and artist Curt Swan debuted a two-issue comic event titled Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?. The plot focuses on the last days of the Silver Age Superman, who meets his demise (or does he?) after sacrificing himself to save humanity.
Then, in 1986, John Byrne kicked off the reboot officially with the launch of The Man of Steel. This miniseries modernized Superman’s backstory for a new generation of comic fans. Byrne replaced Silver Age trappings like Superboy and Krypto with a more serious and relatable take on Clark Kent’s life. He was more proactive and serious, as opposed to bumbling and campy; his powers were reduced to make his physical foes more of a threat; and, most importantly of all, Lex Luthor was transformed from a mad scientist into a malicious businessman. During the Reagan administration of the ‘80s, this was as evil as evil got.
The reboot became the standard for the character and helped bring more drama and sex appeal into the life of Superman. Chances are that if you were born in the ‘80s or later, this is the version of the character that you know.
Superman IV ends the Christopher Reeve era (July, 1987).
The original Superman film franchise died an embarrassing death in July of 1987 when Superman IV: The Quest for Peace hit theaters. A flat villain, nonsensical plot, and overall tiredness signaled the end for Christopher Reeve’s tenure on the big screen as the Man of Steel, which was a landmark run in retrospect.
However, in this installment the tightly-woven stories, humor, and soul of the first two were missing. In their place was a movie that seemed to be well aware that it shouldn’t even exist. Reeve tried his best, but no one could save this train wreck. It would be almost 20 years before the character reappeared on the big screen.
Superboy carries on the character’s small screen mantle (October, 1988).
It wasn’t all bad news for Superman after the disastrous box office returns for Superman IV—the very next year the character found his way back onto the small screen, albeit as a much younger version of himself, in Superboy. Based on the Boy of Steel’s adventures around Smallville, the show featured two actors in the lead; John Haymes Newton in the first season and Gerard Christopher for the next three.
During its four-year run, the show pulled in high ratings, due in part to its dependable storytelling and the strength of Christopher’s performance. However, legal trouble with Warner Brothers killed the series after season four, despite steady ratings and fan interest. The good news was that Superman fans didn’t have to wait long until he returned to the small screen.
The Death of Superman shocks comic book readers worldwide (October, 1992).
In the early ‘90s, John Byrne left the Superman titles and sales of the comic were beginning to slump. While the writers planned to boost sales with a wedding between Lois Lane and Clark Kent, those plans were put on hold due to an impending Superman TV show that was in production. This left writers and editors at DC with a huge hole to fill, so, naturally, they decided to kill him off just to spice things up. In 1992’s The Death of Superman, the Man of Steel was killed during a violent battle with a muscle-bound alien force known as Doomsday, and comic books were never quite the same.
The world looked on in horror as Lois Lane cradled the bloodied, battered body of the Last Son of Krypton, and for a time the DC Universe was left without its savior—until he was revived a few months later. Though it may seem a bit melodramatic now, The Death of Superman was a landmark storyline. It may have been just a publicity stunt in retrospect, but it broke sales records everywhere and caught mainstream attention, which really was the whole point.
The Death of Superman and its sequels became the model for subsequent comic book events, such as the Knightfall saga and The Death of Captain America storyline.
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman re-imagines the classic comic book love story for the ‘90s (September, 1993).
More than 40 years after George Reeves lit up the small screen as Superman, ABC debuted a ‘90s version of the Man of Steel for an audience craving romance and sex appeal from its superheroes. Starring Terri Hatcher as Lois Lane and Dean Cain as Superman, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman revolved more around the relationship between this timeless couple, as opposed to the fist fights of other stories. It featured Lex Luthor and foes like Metallo, but Lois & Clark was a drama that every demographic could find something to enjoy.
The series took many of its cues from the Byrne revamp by making Clark Kent a more believable, fleshed-out character that people could relate to. Sure, he was still mild-mannered, but he is a bit more proactive than the Reeve version. Hatcher also brought a ‘90s vibe to the series by not being a typical damsel in distress. Instead, she had a career and was less dependent on Superman’s help than ever before. It seems quaint now, but this was a big step for TV shows at the time. The series wound up running for a respectable four seasons before the sagging ratings couldn’t justify the high budget.
Superman: The Animated Series begins (September, 1996).
With Lois & Clark coming to an end, the world needed its Superman fix somehow. Thankfully, in September of 1996, Warner Brothers, with the guidance of producer Bruce Timm, unleashed Superman: The Animated Series onto Saturday mornings. Timm, along with Paul Dini and Alan Burnett, were already well-known for revolutionizing animation with Batman: The Animated Series, so it only made sense that the next project they tackled would be the Man of Steel.
Running for four years, The Animated Series followed in the footsteps of John Byrne’s comic book reboot, but it also introduced elements that Jack Kirby brought to the comics in the ‘60s and ‘70s, such as the New Gods and Darkseid. Armed with some stellar action and smooth animation, this show is still the standard that all other Superman cartoons are compared to. After more than 50 years of waiting, fans of the character had a cartoon to watch that matched, if not surpassed, the Fleischer Studios shorts.
Smallville introduces a Clark Kent for the digital age (October, 2001).
In the weeks after 9/11, Americans weren't looking for grim and gritty stories starring comic book characters like Batman or the Punisher. Luckily, just a month after the attacks, Smallville debuted and reminded the world why Superman needs to exist. This WB series focuses on the early days of Clark Kent as he grows up on his family’s farm and discovers his amazing powers. Starring Tom Welling as a young Superman, Michael Rosenbaum as a young, but still very much bald, Lex Luthor, and Kristin Kreuk as Lana Lang, Clark’s boyhood crush from the original comics, Smallville introduced this colorful mythology to the digital generation.
The stories ranged from the heartfelt to the eye-rolling, but was a genuinely good-natured TV show full of love and affection for its characters. Before superheroes became big business on TV and movies, Smallville simply strived to be a humble drama about what it’s like to grow up different. Grounded by its universal lessons, it attracted a loyal legion of followers that still love it to this day.
Justice League carries on the animated Superman tradition (November, 2001).
Spinning out of Superman: The Animated Series, Cartoon Network's Justice League featured Superman teaming up with some of the heavyweights of the DC Universe; however, this version proved to be much more sophisticated and satisfying to die-hard comic book fans than the Super Friends show. With Bruce Timm at the helm, Justice League brought blockbuster action, deep plots, and compelling character dynamics to the show in a way that most comic book cartoons simply couldn’t compete with.
Featuring villains from throughout the 60 year existence of DC, Justice League introduced casual viewers into the much larger world that the company featured in the comic books. After two seasons, the show was renamed Justice League: Unlimited, and the cast expanded, allowing for more absorbing plotlines. Superman comic books may have been in a rut during the early-to-mid 2000’s, but fans found these cartoons to be a more than suitable replacement.
Superman’s early days get three major revamps (2003-2010).
Everyone knows the story of Superman’s origins: He's an orphan from the stars who is sent to Earth from a doomed planet in order to become its champion. But during the 2000s, DC produced three revamps of the character’s early days that gave comic book fans everywhere a new perspective on Clark Kent’s journey. In 2003, writer Mark Waid and artist Leinil Francis Yu conceived of Superman: Birthright. This 12-issue miniseries focused on Clark Kent’s struggles as a young adult to find his place in the world. It reinstated some of the Silver Age ideas that Byrne had previously erased and introduced some new ones as well.
Six years later, in 2009, writer Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank came out with Secret Origin, yet another version of the origin. This erased much of what happened in Birthright, replacing those beats with the romanticism of Richard Donner’s movie version. This story was yet another attempt to attract new readers to Superman and offer a fresh start.
Then, in 2010, DC came out with perhaps its most commercially successfully Superman story of the decade, Superman: Earth One, written by J. Michael Straczynski and artist Shane Davis. It was a more realistic, angst-filled version of the character that fit in with the post-Dark Knight crowd. Most importantly, though, unlike Birthright and Secret Origin, this story existed outside of the normal DC continuity and acted as a stand-alone tale. All three origins had their strengths and weakness, but an even bigger revival was on the horizon.
Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely revolutionize the Man of Steel in All-Star Superman (November, 2005).
It can be hard to shock longtime comic book readers with a story starring a character that's been around since 1938, but in 2005, writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely debuted a monumental 12-issue DC miniseries called All-Star Superman that did just that. In the story, Superman finds out that he's dying after his cells were over-saturated with yellow sun radiation, thanks to a scheme hatched by Lex Luthor. The rest of the series revolves around Superman pulling off amazing feats of both strength and altruism as he attempts to tie up all of his loose ends before the inevitable.
The story is both a sentimental look back at the character’s history as well as an exploration of what Superman means, not only to the DC Universe, but to us reading at home as well. Morrison adds poetic touch to Quitely’s art, which ranges from delicately beautiful, to widescreen and action packed. For years writers and artists have been afraid of making Superman a reverential symbol out of fear of alienating audiences; however, in All-Star, Morrison and Quitely brazenly took this challenge on and delivered the best Superman story of all time in the process.
Superman Returns offers nostalgia, but not enough to win over new fans (June, 2006).
During Superman's nearly 20-year hiatus from from the big screen characters like Batman, Spider-Man, and the X-Men took his place in the pop-culture pantheon. In 2006, director Bryan Singer attempted to change this with Superman Returns, a true sequel to Superman II that featured Brandon Routh as the new Man of Steel, Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane, and Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor.
The story focuses on Superman returning to Earth after spending six years away trying to find the remains of Krypton. When he gets back he discovers a world that has moved on without him, including Lois, who's shacked up with another man. It’s a tragic story about the Man of Tomorrow who finds himself unnecessary today. However, the discovery of a new scheme by Lex Luthor and the realization that Lois had his child while he was gone leads Superman to fly back into action as Earth’s savior.
Unfortunately the movie didn’t gain the kind of traction that Warner Brothers had hoped, and a potential new franchise starring Routh was never realized. Still, Superman Returns acts as a love letter to Richard Donner’s Superman and capped off one version of Superman, leading the way for a new one just a few years later.
The New 52 imagines a Superman for modern audiences (August, 2011).
With more than 70 years of history under its belt, DC felt it was time to give its comic book universe yet another face-lift. Thus, The New 52, introduced in August of 2011. It rebooted the company’s entire comic book line, restarting every one of its heroes with new costumes, different personalities, and a more modern edge. Fittingly, some of the biggest changes happened to the Man of Steel. After all, he started this.
No longer is Superman married to Lois Lane, nor is he seen as a god among men; instead, he's brought back to his blue collar roots from the late ‘30s as a defender of the downtrodden and a champion of the oppressed. Shedding his iconic red trunks and sporting a sleek new armored suit, this version of Superman is both a love letter to the character’s past and a fresh perspective on his future.
For the curious fan, check out the first issue of Superman Unchained, which hit comic book stores earlier this week. Written by Scott Snyder with art by the legendary Jim Lee, this is a blockbuster series that will appeal to both longtime fans and newcomers alike.
Man of Steel gives Superman a much-needed big screen makeover (June, 2013).
When Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster Dark Knight trilogy came to an end, Warner Brothers needed a new superhero franchise to fill the void, and it's only logical that they chose Superman. Directed by Zack Snyder (of Watchmen and 300) and written by David S. Goyer (of the Dark Knight trilogy), Man of Steel hits theaters this Friday, June 14th, with the hopes of propelling the character back to the top of the pop-culture landscape yet again.
Starring Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Michael Shannon as the evil General Zod, and Henry Cavill as Supes, Man of Steel looks to re-imagine the character for a new generation of fans. We’ll have to wait for the box office returns to see whether or not he's back for good, but with the trailers we've seen so far, it looks like he’s in good hands.