Superman character and cast
Initially a crime fighter, the character was seen in early adventures stepping in to stop wife beaters and gangsters, with rather rough edges and a rather looser moral code than audiences may be used to today.
[2] In the previous continuity, the characters had been written as having died early in Superman's life (about the time of Clark Kent's graduation from high school).
Although nowhere near as cold-blooded as the early Batman, the Superman featured in the comics of the 1930s and 1940s is unconcerned about tossing evildoers around in such a manner that fatalities would logically be almost inevitable (although seldom or never shown on the page).
His actions were more socially conscious, such as declaring war on reckless drivers, fighting against the mistreatment of prisoners, or tearing down insufficient housing so that the government would be forced to build new homes.
"[volume & issue needed] Recent writers have attempted to deepen Superman's persona and provide a rationale for his goodness.
Now possessing nearly unlimited power himself, he feels additional responsibility to behave in a compassionate and protective manner to others similarly threatened.
Before the Crisis on Infinite Earths (i.e., DC comics published up to the early 1980s), the attitude was that Clark Kent was actually a "secret identity" for Superman.
Various methods for keeping his secret over the years include wearing eyeglasses and "super-hypnosis", subliminally preventing people from making the connection; or if they did, sometimes resorting to outright erasing their memories.
"[12] Superman's Kryptonian physiology has been a matter of serious and humorous discussion, such as in Larry Niven's essay Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex.
The 1998 crossover story DC One Million, reveals Superman as the progenitor of a dynasty of part-Kryptonian protectors of the Earth, reference is made in the series of him marrying a fifth-dimensional queen in the 67th century and adding extra powers to his bloodline.
Superman is portrayed as a father for the first time in canonical continuity, when he and his wife Lois become the foster parents of a Kryptonian boy, whom they named Chris Kent.
[18] A woman from an alternate future named Cir-El who claims to be Superman's daughter with Lois Lane (though Cir-El is later revealed to have been artificially engineered by Brainiac 13 using the DNA of her supposed natural parents); a future glimpse (via Mister Mxyzptlk) of a potential daughter named Lara in Adventures of Superman #638 [19] and others.
[20] As an influential archetype of the superhero genre, Superman possesses extraordinary powers, with the character traditionally described as "faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound," a phrase coined by Jay Morton and first used in the Superman radio serials and Max Fleischer animated shorts of the 1940s,[21] as well as the television series of the 1950s.
As originally conceived and presented in his early stories, Superman's powers were relatively limited, consisting of superhuman strength that allowed him to lift a car over his head, run at amazing speeds, and leap one-eighth of a mile, as well as incredibly tough skin that could be pierced by nothing less than an exploding artillery shell.
The character's creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, compared his strength and leaping abilities to an ant and a grasshopper.
[22] When making the cartoons, the Fleischer brothers found it difficult to keep animating him leaping and requested to DC to change his ability to flying.
[23] Writers gradually increased his powers to larger extents during the Silver Age, in which Superman could fly to other worlds and galaxies, and even across universes with relative ease.
Soon after, it is established that Krypton's gravity had been stronger than Earth's, a situation similar to that of Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter.
As Superman becomes increasingly god-like, the implication that all Kryptonians had possessed the same abilities became problematic for writers, making it doubtful that a race of such beings could have been wiped out by something as trifling as an exploding planet.
In part to counter this, the Superman writers established that Kryptonians, whose native star had been red, only possessed superpowers under the light of a yellow sun.
Superman is most vulnerable to kryptonite, mineral debris from Krypton transformed into radioactive material by the forces that destroyed the planet.
Lois Lane is perhaps the character most commonly associated with Superman, being portrayed at different times as his colleague, competitor, friend, love interest and wife.
Other supporting characters includes Daily Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen, editor-in-chief Perry White, gossip columnist Cat Grant, political editorialist Ron Troupe, and sports reporter Steve Lombard.
Incarnations of Supergirl, Krypto the Superdog, and Superboy have also been major allies in the mythos, as well as the Justice League of America and the Super Friends (of which Superman is usually a member and most of the time, the leader).
This Superboy is no longer in publication, as post-Crisis continuity deemed that Clark Kent did not become a costumed superhero until he reached adulthood.
In the annual Justice League/Justice Society crossover stories of the Silver Age, the Superman of Earth-2 began participating in JSA adventures on a more regular basis.
Nathaniel fought for the North and married a half-Native American woman who gave him a special traditional spiritual symbol that was apparently a forerunner and inspiration for Superman's chest emblem.
Unfortunately, his son turned out to be a murderous sociopath and Jeb approached his estranged brother to arrange a trap to stop him.
Regrettably, in springing the trap, the son mortally wounded his father before being killed himself, and Jeb fully reconciled with Nate before dying.
Other enemies of note include the demon Satanus, the fifth-dimensional imp Mr. Mxyzptlk, the Ultra-Humanite, the imperfect Superman clone or duplicate Bizarro, criminal cyborg Metallo, the alien Amazon from Apokolips Lashina, Kryptonian criminal General Zod (and other Kryptonians imprisoned in the Phantom Zone for their crimes), the Parasite, the Prankster, the Cyborg Superman, Terra-Man, the Toyman, Composite Superman, Gog, and the Metropolis gang known as Intergang (which includes mad scientists such as Dabney Donovan and Thaddeus Killgrave).
