18 April: Superman

On 18 April 1938 Superman was first published in the first issue of Action Comics. 10 things you might not know about Superman.

1. Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1933, when they were high school students into pulp science-fiction and adventure magazines. Characters such as John Carter of Mars, a character from the novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs and Hugo Danner from Philip Wylie's 1930 novel Gladiator were among their influences.
2. Their initial concept of Superman was very different to the superhero we know today. In their first short story, he was a telepathic villain, bent on world domination, and he was bald. However, the two writers soon decided to reinvent their character as a hero. Even so, Superman was much more violent and aggressive than he is now and showed little concern about the harm his powers might do to people. Countless villains died by his hand until 1940, when a code of conduct for superhero characters was introduced.
3. Superman had fewer powers in the 1930s.“Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound” was the sum total back then. He could leap tall buildings because of the difference in gravity between Earth and Krypton. Superman's ability to fly (millions of times faster than the speed of light) was added later because flying was easier to show in animations and films than jumping. Other powers come from absorbing energy from the sun. His powers have been added to over the years to include X-ray and heat vision, the ability to speed read and a memory which will allow him to gain PhD level knowledge of any subject in seconds, and a “Super Flare”, when all the solar energy in Superman’s body is released at once causing a huge explosion. Superman is powerless for 24 hours when he uses that one. The solar power is also pretty effective against Vampires. In one comic, Dracula bit Superman, and because of the solar energy, immediately exploded.
4. Superman’s birth parents names are Jor-El and Lara-El. He was born on the planet Krypton, just before the planet exploded. His parents sent him in a specially designed spacecraft to Earth. In one version of his story, it is Batman's father, Thomas Wayne, who convinces Jor-El Earth would be a good place to send his son. Superman's birth name is Kal-El, but when he crash lands in Smallville, Kansas, he is adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent, who name him Clark Joseph Kent. As his powers emerge, his adoptive parents instill in him a sense of truth and justice.
5. Clark Kent's career as a reporter was carefully chosen, because it would give Superman's alter-ego a reason to show up at crime scenes and disasters promptly, as he would be party to any breaking news. He does actually write articles for the paper as well. People often wonder how Superman manages to hide his identity simply by donning a pair of glasses. According to the comics, that isn't all he does. He also alters his body language, behaviour and, as Superman, speaks with a deeper voice. He doesn't wear a mask because it is easier to gain people's trust without one.
6. Making an “S” symbol on your chest is American Sign Language for “Superman.
7. Every superhero has weaknesses. Superman's best known weakness is kryptonite, although he's also vulnerable to magic and can be harmed by magical weapons. There are several different types of kryptonite characterised by different colours. The standard type, which weakens Superman and causes him pain is Green. Red kryptonite has random bizarre effects on him such as turning him into a Dragon, a villain, grow excessive hair and give him amnesia. Black gives him a split personality, silver gets him high, opal drives him mad. Pink kryptonite turns Superman gay. Perhaps the most dangerous is gold krytonite, which would remove Superman's powers for ever. Not all kryptonite is harmful to Superman. White kryptonite only damages plants; Yellow does nothing and Blue only affects Bizzaro Kryptonians. There's even a type of kryptonite which is potentially useful. Magno Kryptonite can help find objects from Krypton. Should superman find himself on a planet with a red sun rather than a yellow one, he will lose his powers. His X Ray vision is obstructed by Lead.
8. Superman stories have influenced the real world. During the second world war, the comics were full of anti-Nazi, pro-American propaganda which the Nazis hated. After the war, when the Nazis had been defeated, Superman turned his attention to the Klu Klux Klan, which was growing in popularity at the time. The 16 episode radio show exposed many of the KKK’s secrets and made a laughing stock out of them - and membership immediately declined. In more recent years, Superman comics were published in Central and Eastern Europe with storylines dealing with land mines. These had the unwanted effect of inspiring kids to stand in mined areas hoping Superman would come and rescue them. There was also an alleged incident when George Reeves appeared in public in costume and a kid pointed a loaded gun at him, because he wanted to see the bullets bounce off Superman's chest for real. Reeves convinced the kid not to shoot, because the bullets bouncing off his chest might hurt other people. However, it later came to light that Reeves made the story up so he wouldn't have to wear the costume in public.
9. Metropolis, the city Superman lives in, was inspired by the film of the same name by Fritz Lang, which depicts a city with amazing technology, but a poor and undernourished under-belly which is constantly struggling and being wronged by those in power. Modern writers have compared Metropolis to real places. Comic writer, Frank Miller, once said, “Metropolis is New York by daytime; Gotham is New York at night.”
10. Nicholas Cage almost played Superman in 1997 in a film called Superman Lives, but the film was cancelled before he got to play the part. Some may say he had a lucky escape as there is an alleged “Superman Curse”: George Reeves committed suicide, Christopher Reeve suffered life-changing injuries in a riding accident, and a baby who played the infant Kal-El, Lee Quigley, grew up to become addicted to glue and died aged 14. You don't even have to play Superman to fall victim to the curse. Richard Pryor, who played an unwitting henchman in Superman III contracted multiple sclerosis and Lane Smith (Perry White on Lois & Clark) had Lou Gehrig’s disease).

New!

Closing the Circle

A stable wormhole has been established between Earth and Infinitus. Power Blaster and his friends can finally go home.

Desi Troyes is still at large on Earth - Power Blaster has vowed to bring him to justice. His wedding to Shanna is under threat as the Desperadoes launch an attempt to rescue their leader. 

Someone from Power Blaster's past plays an unexpected and significant role in capturing Troyes.

The return home brings its own challenges. Not everyone can return to the life they left behind, and for some, there is unfinished business to be dealt with before they can start anew.

Ben Cole in particular cannot resume his old life as a surgeon because technology no longer works around him. He plans a new life in Classica, away from technology. Shanna hears there could be a way to reverse his condition and sets out to find it, putting herself in great danger. She doesn't know she is about to uncover the secret of Power Blaster's mysterious past.

Available from:

Amazon (Paperback)

Amazon Kindle

Completes The Raiders Trilogy. 

Other books in the series:

Book One

Book Two