I can't let 2008 end without mentioning the 70th anniversary of the most important character in American comic books.
Superman, the brainchild of two teens from Cleveland, launched in "Action Comics" No. 1, cover dated June 1938. There had been comic books before, and "mystery men" before, and even costumed heroes before. But by combining all these qualities with super-powers, Superman transformed the comic book from a fad into an industry.
And that original character was somewhat different from what we know today.
For one thing, he was much weaker. He couldn't fly, but only leap an eighth of a mile. He wasn't invulnerable -- an artillery shell could penetrate his skin. And that was about the extent of his super-powers. He was a pretty rugged customer, but essentially a glorified circus strongman, as his costume suggested. Which was apparently super enough for 1938.
Another aspect of his appeal was his Moses or Christ symbolism, depending on how you interpret that rocket trip to Earth from the doomed planet Krypton. Further, he is the ultimate expression of the American immigrant experience.
And let us not forget Clark Kent, who is of vital importance to the Action Ace's success. Note that crusading journalists were held in much greater esteem in the 1930s than they are today, which is one reason that Superman's secret identity was a mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper.
And it doesn't take a degree in psychology to understand how just about everyone identifies with the ordinary person whose internal, extraordinary qualities are overlooked by a cruel and indifferent world. Who hasn't mooned over their own Lois Lane and thought, "if only I could throw off these glasses and show him/her how terrific I am!"
Further, the original wasn't the avuncular guardian of the status quo that audiences became familiar with in the Man of Steel's 1950s TV show, '60s comic books and first few movies. In his earliest appearances, he was a vigilante champion of the oppressed, a gleeful New Dealer and muckraker. In his very first issue he saved an innocent man from execution, beat up a wife-beater, roughed up a sexist bully and intimidated a crooked lobbyist. It wasn't exactly "Clash of the Titans," but Depression-era audiences loved it.
So much so that the Last Son of Krypton was translated into the most important medium of the day, radio, by 1940. He also hit comic strips the same year, and over time swooped through every other mass medium, including a 1966 Broadway play.
But while the core appeal of the Metropolis Marvel hasn't changed, he has been updated and revamped many times over the years. His powers have grown exponentially, including a cornucopia of sensory powers (X-ray vision, super-breath, heat vision, super-ventriloquism, etc.). Foster parents Jonathan and Martha Kent have sometimes survived to Superman's adulthood, sometimes not -- and in the early days had different names. Supergirl, Krypto, the Bottle City of Kandor, and other members of the extended Super-family have been written in, written out, and written back in again. Clark Kent was even a TV anchorman for a while in the 1970s, before returning to the fabled Daily Planet.
Which brings us to the present -- and the future, as you'd expect from a character nicknamed "the Man of Tomorrow."
Currently Superman is embroiled in three huge stories at once, all of which threaten to change his status quo once again. In the enormous summer crossover "Final Crisis," his wife Lois Lane lies at death's door, Pa Kent has died (again) and Darkseid of Apokolips has conquered the globe. In the weekly "Trinity," Superman is teamed with Batman and Wonder Woman in a 52-issue adventure. And in the Kryptonian trinity of books -- "Superman," "Action" and "Supergirl" -- 100,000 super-powered Kandorians have arrived on Earth, and not all of them are friendly.
Super-writer Geoff Johns told Newsarama.com that he's taking the Man of Steel to "an emotional crossroads." Super-editor Matt Idelson says "the Super-mythos will be shaken to its core again and again" in the next year. And there will be new members of the extended Super-family with the familiar names Nightwing, Flamebird and Superwoman.
But change has always been a constant for a character that has remained a vital American icon for 70 years. For Superman, and for us, it's just another exciting chapter in the never-ending battle for truth, justice and the American way.
(Contact Andrew Smith of the Memphis Commercial Appeal at capncomics(at)aol.com or visit www.captaincomics.us.)
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