Superman, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, debuted in Action Comics #1 in 1938. He is a quintessential American superhero who has been featured consistently in comic books since his creation. Superman's popularity has led to his adaptation across various media, including radio, novels, films, television, theater, and video games, solidifying his place as a cultural icon.
In 1965, Siegel and Shuster attempted to regain rights to Superman using the renewal option in the Copyright Act of 1909.
In March 1948, the trial between DC Comics and Fawcett Comics began, with the judge ruling that copyright notices on the Superman newspaper strips didn't meet the standards of the Copyright Act of 1909.
In 1927, the film Metropolis was released and the name of Superman's home city, Metropolis, was taken from this movie.
In 1930, Philip Wylie's novel Gladiator, featuring Hugo Danner with powers similar to Superman, was published and served as an influence on the Superman character.
In 1932, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster met at Glenville High School in Cleveland and bonded over their admiration of fiction, beginning their collaborative journey.
In January 1933, Jerry Siegel published "The Reign of the Superman" in his magazine. The story featured Bill Dunn, who gains mind-reading, mind-control, and clairvoyance powers from an experimental drug, illustrated by Joe Shuster.
In May 1933, Consolidated Book Publishers published Detective Dan: Secret Operative 48, a comic book featuring all-original stories, marking a novelty at the time.
In July 1933, Jerry Siegel sent a letter to Leo O'Mealia with a Superman script. The origin story changes, Superman is a scientist-adventurer from the far future. O'Mealia produced a few strips, but they were rejected.
In June 1934, Jerry Siegel partnered with artist Russell Keaton, who drew the Buck Rogers and Skyroads comic strips. Siegel sent Keaton a script in June, featuring a changed Superman origin story.
In June 1935, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster began working with National Allied Publications, owned by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson. Wheeler-Nicholson published two of their strips in New Fun Comics #6 (1935): "Henri Duval" and "Doctor Occult".
In 1935, in the script that Siegel sent Keaton, Superman's origin story further evolved: In the distant future, when Earth is on the verge of exploding due to "giant cataclysms", the last surviving man sends his three-year-old son back in time to the year 1935.
In 1936, Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson formed a joint corporation with Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz called Detective Comics, Inc. to release the magazine Detective Comics.
In early December 1937, Jack Liebowitz asked Jerry Siegel to produce comics for an upcoming anthology magazine called Action Comics, though Siegel did not initially propose Superman.
In early January 1938, Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz petitioned Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson's company into bankruptcy and seized it due to deep debt.
In early January 1938, McClure Newspaper Syndicate rejected Superman and Max Gaines asked if he could forward their Superman strips to Liebowitz so that Liebowitz could consider them for Action Comics. Siegel agreed.
On March 1, 1938, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster gave away the copyright to Superman to DC Comics prior to Superman's first publication in April.
In April 1938, Action Comics, the first and oldest Superman periodical comic book published by DC Comics, began publication.
On April 18, 1938, Superman, created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, first appeared in Action Comics #1, published in the United States.
In August 1938, DC Comics trademarked the Superman chest logo.
In 1938, Action Comics #1 explained that Superman's strength was inherent to Kryptonians due to their advanced evolution.
In 1938, Action Comics #1 introduced Superman's origin story: born on an alien planet, sent to Earth as a baby before his planet's destruction, and raised by the Kents.
In 1938, Scott Bukatman noted that Superman represented a Corbusierian ideal, humanizing urban areas and rendering the city open and democratic through his abilities.
In 1938, Superman's success led to a wave of imitations, including Batman, Captain America, and Captain Marvel, marking the beginning of the Golden Age of Comic Books.
In 1938, the origin story and supporting cast details of Superman were released, and while variations exist, most versions conform to a basic template.
In 1965, the court ruled that Siegel and Shuster had transferred the renewal rights to DC Comics in 1938.
Since 1938, several elements of the Superman narrative have remained consistent in the stories published.
Since 1938, the extent of Superman's abilities and strength has varied considerably throughout Superman fiction.
Since Action Comics #1 in 1938, Superman's body has been highly durable, making him invulnerable to bullets and other forms of harm.
Since the debut of Action Comics #1 in 1938, Superman has possessed superhuman strength, demonstrated by lifting a car over his head on the cover.
Under current US copyright law, the character as he is depicted in Action Comics #1, which was published in 1938, is due to enter the US public domain on January 1, 2034.
In January 1939, a Superman daily comic strip appeared in newspapers, syndicated through the McClure Syndicate.
In June 1939, Superman, the second oldest Superman periodical published by DC Comics, began publication.
In June 1939, the mad scientist Ultra-Humanite was introduced in Action Comics #13 as Superman's first recurring villain.
In October 1939, Jack Liebowitz established Superman, Inc. to develop the franchise beyond the comic books.
In December 1939, Captain Marvel, published by Fawcett Comics, debuted, bearing many similarities to Superman. DC Comics later filed a lawsuit for copyright infringement.
In 1939, Superman first uses his X-ray vision in Action Comics #11, allowing him to see through objects.
In 1939, the earliest Superman paraphernalia appeared, including a button for the Supermen of America club and a wooden doll made by the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company.
Superman's superhuman hearing, allowing him to hear faint sounds and frequencies outside the human range, was introduced in 1939 in Action Comics #11.
In April 1940, Superman's best-known nemesis, Lex Luthor, was introduced in Action Comics #23.
In May 1940, Superman #5 carried an advertisement for a "Krypto-Raygun", a device that could project images on a wall.
In 1940, The Adventures of Superman, the first adaptation of Superman beyond comic books, debuted as a radio show. Bud Collyer was the voice actor for Superman in most episodes.
In 1940, Whitney Ellsworth was hired as an editor. Superman stories were put under careful oversight. Siegel was forced to tone down the violence. Editor Whitney Ellsworth dictated that Superman not kill.
In 1940, the Schutzstaffel (SS) newspaper Das Schwarze Korps denounced Superman and his creator Jerry Siegel, claiming that Superman was a Jew.
In late 1940, editor Whitney Ellsworth instituted a code of conduct for Superman, banning him from killing and softening his personality with a sense of humanitarianism.
Since Action Comics #20 in 1940, Superman has possessed superhuman breath, enabling him to inhale or blow huge amounts of air.
Superman gained the ability to fly in 1940, during the second episode of the radio serial, moving beyond just running and leaping.
By 1941, the newspaper strips had an estimated readership of 20 million.
In 1941, Mort Weisinger became the editor on Superman comics until 1970, briefly interrupted by military service.
In August 1942, Superman #17 featured a story where Lois Lane suspects that Clark Kent is Superman and tries to prove it, but Superman manages to deceive her.
By 1942, Superman was working alongside the police, a change from his initial portrayal as a vigilante.
In 1942, in a spinoff novel by George Lowther, the names of Superman's biological parents, initially Kal-L, Jor-L and Lora in newspaper strips, were changed to Jor-el and Lara.
In 1943, Jerry Siegel was conscripted into the United States Army, leading to ghostwriters taking over his Superman stories. DC Comics published a Superboy story based on an old Siegel script, without buying the character.
In 1943, Jerry Siegel was conscripted into the United States Army.
Kryptonite first appeared in 1943 during an episode of the Superman radio serial.
From 1944, DC Comics regularly published stories of Superman's childhood and adolescent adventures, during which he was known as "Superboy".
In 1944, the magical imp Mister Mxyzptlk, Superman's first recurring super-powered adversary, was introduced.
In October 1946, Superman, Inc. merged with DC Comics.
In 1946, Superman radio programs tackled social issues, including a version of the Ku Klux Klan, as well as combating anti-semitism and veteran discrimination.
Between 1938 and 1947, DC Comics paid Siegel and Shuster together at least $401,194.85 (equivalent to $7,550,000 in 2024).
In 1947, after Siegel's discharge from the Army, he and Shuster sued DC Comics for the rights to Superman and Superboy. They settled out-of-court, with DC Comics paying them $94,013.16 (equivalent to $1,230,374 in 2024) for the full rights, and then firing them.
In 1947, an episode of the radio serial placed the yet unnamed community where Clark Kent grew up in Iowa.
In March 1948, the trial between DC Comics and Fawcett Comics began after seven years of discovery. The judge ruled that Fawcett had infringed on Superman's copyright but also that DC Comics had abandoned the copyright to the Action Comics stories.
In June 1949, the community where Clark Kent grew up was named Smallville in Superboy #2.
From 1949 to 1956, the Superman newspaper strips were drawn by Win Mortimer.
In 1949, Superman first used his heat vision in Superman #59 by applying his X-ray vision at its highest intensity.
In 1949, The Adventures of Superman radio episodes were lengthened to 30 minutes.
Kryptonite first appeared in comics in December 1949 within Superman #61.
Around 1950, the American superhero book sales declined, leading to the cancellation of many characters, marking the end of the Golden Age of Comic Books. Superman was one of the few franchises that survived this decline.
In 1951, The Adventures of Superman radio show concluded after running for 2,088 episodes.
In 1952, Astro Boy was first published in Japan, inspired by Mighty Mouse, which itself was a parody of Superman, marking the entry of American superhero fiction into Japanese culture.
In September 1953, the last Captain Marvel story from Fawcett Comics was published, as part of an out-of-court settlement where Fawcett paid DC Comics $400,000 (equivalent to $4,701,000 in 2024).
In 1954, the Comics Code Authority was created, but it should not be confused with Ellsworth's code for Superman in 1940.
Around 1955, Curt Swan succeeded Wayne Boring as the principal artist on Superman comic books, continuing the evolution of the character's aesthetic style.
In 1955, the Superman animated shorts from the 1940s were first broadcast on Japanese television, gaining popularity and inspiring Japan's own superhero genre.
From 1949 to 1956, the Superman newspaper strips were drawn by Win Mortimer.
In 1956, the TV show Adventures of Superman starring George Reeves was broadcast in Japan, further popularizing the superhero genre.
In 1957, the first Japanese superhero movie, Super Giant, was released.
In July 1958, Superman's first alien villain, Brainiac, debuted in Action Comics #242.
In 1958, Action Comics #241 depicted Superman's Fortress of Solitude as a cave in a mountain, sealed with a heavy door opened by a gigantic key.
In 1958, Mort Weisinger introduced letters columns to encourage feedback and build intimacy with readers.
In 1958, the first Japanese superhero TV show, Moonlight Mask, aired.
In 1959, DC Comics rehired Jerry Siegel as a writer.
Superman's freeze breath was first demonstrated in 1959 within Superman #129.
In 1960, sales data for Superman comic books became public, showing that Superman was the best-selling comic book character of the 1960s and 1970s.
In 1960, within Superboy #78, Superboy crafts his costume using the indestructible blankets discovered within the spaceship that brought him to Earth.
In 1961, the first story depicting Superman's death was published in Superman #149, where Lex Luthor murders him using kryptonite. However, this story was considered an "imaginary" tale.
Superman #146 established in 1961 that Superman's powers, excluding strength, are activated by Earth's yellow sun.
In 1963, Action Comics #300 clarified that all of Superman's powers, including strength, are activated by yellow sunlight and can be deactivated by red sunlight.
Superman's vulnerability to magic, where enchanted weapons and spells affect him like a normal human, was established in 1964 in Superman #171.
In 1965, Siegel and Shuster attempted to regain the rights to Superman, using the renewal option in the Copyright Act of 1909, but the court ruled against them, upholding the 1938 transfer of rights to DC Comics. DC fired Siegel again after this second lawsuit.
In April 1966, within Superman #188, Superman is killed by kryptonite radiation but is revived in the same issue by an android doppelganger.
In May 1966, the Superman newspaper strip ended.
In 1966, the Tony-nominated musical play, It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman, premiered on Broadway. Bob Holiday played Clark Kent/Superman, and Patricia Marand played Lois Lane.
In 1967, after DC Comics merged with Warner Communications, licensing for Superman was handled by the Licensing Corporation of America.
In 1941, Mort Weisinger became the editor on Superman comics until 1970, briefly interrupted by military service.
In 1970, Julius Weisinger retired as editor of Superman comics, and Julius Schwartz took over. Weisinger admitted to being out of touch with modern readers, prompting Schwartz to update the character and stories.
In 1971, Gerald Clarke wrote in Time magazine about Superman's popularity, suggesting it signaled the end of the Horatio Alger myth and saw Superman as continuously updating to maintain relevance.
In 1972, DC Comics licensed Captain Marvel and published crossover stories with Superman.
In 1975, Jerry Siegel and other comic book creators launched a public campaign for better compensation. Warner Brothers agreed to give Siegel and Shuster a yearly stipend, medical benefits, and credit in Superman productions in exchange for never contesting ownership.
In 1996, His heirs attempted to take the rights to Superman using the termination provision of the Copyright Act of 1976.
In 1977, the Superman newspaper strip was revived to coincide with a series of movies released by Warner Bros.
In June 1978, within Action Comics #484, Clark Kent reveals to Lois Lane that he is Superman, and they get married, marking the first non-imaginary tale of their marriage.
For the 1978 Superman movie, producers decided that Clark Kent should be a newspaper journalist, as that was how he was mostly known.
In 1978, the Superman movie placed Smallville in Kansas, as have most Superman stories since.
In 1978, the success of the Superman film paved the way for later big-budget superhero movies.
In 1978, while writing the script for the Superman movie, Tom Mankiewicz established the 'S' on Superman's chest as the crest of his Kryptonian family, the House of El.
In the 1978 Superman movie, the Fortress of Solitude is portrayed as a structure made of white crystal.
In the 1978 movie starring Christopher Reeve, screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz consciously made Superman an allegory for Jesus Christ.
In 1981, New Adventures of Superboy #22 placed the town of Smallville in Maryland.
In 1983, the Superman newspaper strip was revived to coincide with a series of movies released by Warner Bros.
From 1986 onwards, with the release of Man of Steel #1, Superman's powers began to emerge more slowly, and he started his superhero career as an adult.
In 1986, Julius Schwartz retired from DC Comics, succeeded by Mike Carlin. Simultaneously, DC Comics rebooted the DC Universe with "Crisis on Infinite Earths," leading to John Byrne rewriting the Superman mythos in The Man of Steel, which reduced Superman's powers and revised supporting characters.
In 1986, within Man of Steel #1, Martha Kent creates Superman's costume using human-manufactured cloth, rendering it indestructible through an aura projected by Superman.
Starting with Man of Steel #1 in 1986, it was established that Superman projects an aura that renders his costume invulnerable, even if made of common cloth.
Starting in 1987, sales of Superman comic books rose again.
In 1989, the success of the 1978 Superman film arguably paved the way for the Batman movie.
Superman's vulnerability to psychokinetic phenomena such as Telekinesis and Mind control was shown in Superman #48 in October 1990.
By 1991, DC Comics had purchased Fawcett Comics, acquiring the full rights to Captain Marvel. DC eventually renamed the character Shazam.
In November 1992, Superman #75, featuring The Death of Superman, sold over 23 million copies, making it the best-selling issue of a comic book of all time.
In 1992, Joe Shuster died. DC Comics offered Shuster's heirs a stipend in exchange for never challenging ownership of Superman, which they accepted for some years.
In 1992, Joe Shuster told the Toronto Star that Clark Kent's name was derived from Clark Gable and Kent Taylor, and his persona from Harold Lloyd and himself.
In 2010, the court ruled in DC's favor on the grounds that the 1992 agreement with the Shuster heirs barred them from terminating the grant.
In November-December 1992, the monstrous Doomsday, introduced in Superman: The Man of Steel #17–18, was the first villain to evidently kill Superman without exploiting his kryptonite or magic weaknesses.
In January 1993, during The Death and Return of Superman story arc, Superman died in Superman #75 after a battle with Doomsday. He was later revived.
In 1996, Jerry Siegel died. His heirs attempted to take the rights to Superman using the termination provision of the Copyright Act of 1976.
In 1996, Mike Carlin was promoted to Executive Editor for the DC Universe books.
In October 2001, the Siegel heirs accepted DC's offer, resulting in an agreement for millions of dollars and a yearly stipend for permanently granting rights to Superman.
In October 2001, the Siegels accepted DC's offer for several million dollars and a yearly stipend in exchange for permanently granting DC the rights to Superman. DC also agreed to include "By Special Arrangement with the Jerry Siegel Family" in future Superman productions.
In 2002, K.C. Carlson took Mike Carlin's place as editor of the Superman comics.
In 2002, the success of the 1978 Superman film arguably paved the way for the Spider-Man movie.
In 2003, the Shuster heirs served a termination notice for Shuster's grant of his half of the copyright to Superman.
In 2004, after striking a deal with Marc Toberoff, the Siegel heirs sued DC for the rights to Superman and Superboy.
Superman's psychokinetic vulnerability was highlighted in Wonder Woman Vol 2 # 219 in September 2005.
In 2008, the judge initially ruled in favor of the Siegels in their lawsuit against DC Comics. This decision was later appealed.
In 2010, DC Comics sued the Shuster heirs, and the court ruled in DC's favor based on the 1992 agreement.
In the 2013 movie Man of Steel, the messianic theme was revisited, with Jor-El asking Superman to redeem the Kryptonian race by guiding humanity.
In May 2016, Superman is killed by kryptonite poisoning in Superman #52 and is replaced by an alternate timeline version. This time, he is not resurrected.
In March 2018, Action Comics sold 51,534 copies. Sales data for other superhero comic books show sales are low in general.
In 2018, Superman licensed merchandise made $634 million in sales globally.
Between 1938 and 1947, DC Comics paid Siegel and Shuster together at least $401,194.85, equivalent to $7,550,000 in 2024.
In 1947, Siegel and Shuster settled out-of-court, with DC Comics paying them $94,013.16, equivalent to $1,230,374 in 2024.
In 2024, the US$130 paid to Siegel and Shuster in late February for their Superman work is equivalent to $2,900.
On January 1, 2034, the original version of Superman, as depicted in Action Comics #1, is due to enter the US public domain.
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