Origin of Superman

The original story was written by Siegel and illustrated by Joe Shuster, and published as a part of the character's first appearance in Action Comics #1 (June 1938).

These origin stories adhere to the basic framework created by Siegel and Shuster, with minor variations made to serve the plot or to appeal to contemporary audiences.

Clark Kent moves to Metropolis and takes a job as a reporter at the Daily Planet, where he meets his friends and co-workers, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and editor Perry White.

[5] Superman's origin was influenced by the science fiction stories appearing in pulp magazines that Siegel and Shuster were fond of and by a variety of social and religious themes.

[7] Siegel has cited the John Carter of Mars stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs as an influence on the source of Superman's strength and leaping ability being the lesser gravity of a smaller planet.

[6] Jack Williamson once remarked that Superman's origin had strong similarities to a story he had written and published early in his career, where a Martian scientist sent his infant daughter into space to save her from their planet's destruction.

The last panel of this origin is captioned "A Scientific Explanation of Clark Kent's Amazing Strength", explaining he "had come from a planet whose inhabitants' physical structure was millions of years advanced of our own".

[13] Bridwell explained to readers that many stories were no longer in continuity because they contradicted others, stating that "it was decided that the only thing to do was to throw out part of the tales and work the rest into a consistent whole".

[37] In 2002, DC Comics Executive Editor Dan DiDio asked writer Mark Waid to reimagine Superman's origin, making the character relevant for the 21st century.

[47] Starting in 2003, the new origin story was published in the twelve issue Superman: Birthright limited series, written by Waid and drawn by Leinil Francis Yu.

During the early issues of the series, it was unclear if the story was intended to be the new origin of the mainstream Superman or the beginnings of a new universe, similar to Marvel's Ultimate line.

[48] Following the events of the Infinite Crisis limited series, DC Universe continuity was revamped in a way that both kept and altered previous elements in canon, and Superman's origin was no exception.

Described as the "definitive" telling of the origin story of Superman, it features his life in Smallville, his first adventures with the Legion of Super-Heroes as Superboy, and his arrival in Metropolis all told from Clark Kent's point of view.

The story reintroduced many Golden Age concepts (Superman fighting political and social corruption, starting out with reduced powers, working at the Daily Star rather than the Daily Planet) and removed several aspects reintroduced in Secret Origin (Clark Kent and Lex Luthor as childhood friends and his career as Superboy, though the Legion of Superheroes still played a part in Clark Kent's childhood).

Their last hope is to send Kal-El away in a prototype rocket, guided by Brainiac artificial intelligence to find planets with younger suns and weaker gravity.

In the Tangent Comics reality, Superman's origin is completely different as an ordinary man finds himself evolving into something millions of years beyond human.

Titled simply "Superman" (also referred to as "The Mad Scientist"), the animated short begins with a brief prologue that introduces Krypton as an advanced civilization that had brought forth a race of supermen, whose mental and physical powers were developed to the absolute peak of human perfection.

When giant quakes threaten to destroy Krypton forever, one of the planet's leading scientists places his infant son in a rocket bound for Earth.

As Krypton experiences a series of natural disasters, such as volcanic eruptions and tidal waves, Jor-El calls an emergency session of the governing council to warn them of the planet's impending fate.

In later chapters, Clark applies for a job at the Daily Planet,[67] and is hired after delivering a story on a mining accident from which Superman rescues Lois Lane.

The first segment, set on Krypton, is meant to be typical of science fiction films, but also lays the groundwork for the Jesus Christ analogy that emerges in the relationship between Jor-El and Kal-El.

The third (and largest) segment was an attempt to present the superhero story with as much realism as possible (what Donner called "verisimilitude"), relying on traditional cinematic drama and using only subtle humor instead of a campy approach.

Superman makes his public debut saving a space station mission from sabotage by Lex Luthor, who is initially portrayed in his corporate tycoon incarnation.

Clark's adoptive parents explain how they found him in a spacecraft in the second episode "Strange Visitor (From Another Planet)" and how they initially believed that he was part of an experiment when investigators ask them about debris from a Russian space station.

Brainiac reasons that the loss of the planet itself and all its living inhabitants is part of the natural order, but his own survival would ensure the preservation of Krypton's history and achievements.

[75] The series is named after Clark Kent's home town and focuses on the challenges he faces growing up in the rural midwest, while also discovering his super powers and the details of his alien origins.

[82] The film opens with a very brief summary of the origin story that reads: "On the doomed planet Krypton, a wise scientist placed his infant son into a spacecraft and launched him to Earth.

The destruction of Krypton is seen before the opening credits, Lex Luthor invades the Fortress of Solitude and views the recordings that Jor-El had sent to Earth with Kal-El, and Clark Kent discovers his ability to fly in a flashback.

Jor-El is the foremost member of the scientific caste who becomes disillusioned with Kryptonian dogma after he discovers the planet's core has been irreparably destabilized and conceives Kal-El with his wife Lara as Krypton's first natural birth in centuries before stealing the codex to infuse in Kal-El's genes and send him to Earth in the hope that a new Kryptonian civilization might one day be created to live in harmony with humanity.

He is initially pleased at having found a fellow survivor but the two come to blows when Clark realizes Zod's genetic programming will drive him to create a new Krypton on Earth regardless of what will happen to humanity.