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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the superhero. For other uses, see Superman (disambiguation).
"Zerox" redirects here. For the song by Adam and the Ants, see Zerox (song).
Superman
Superman with his cape billowing
Superman appearing on a variant cover of Action Comics #1000 (April 2018)
Art by Jason Fabok.
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance Action Comics #1
(cover-dated June 1938; published April 18, 1938)
Created by Jerry Siegel (writer)
Joe Shuster (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego Kal-El (birth name)
Clark J. Kent (adopted name)
Species Kryptonian
Place of origin Krypton
Team affiliations
Justice League
Legion of Super-Heroes
Superman Family
Partnerships
Supergirl (various)
Superboy (various)
Batman
Wonder Woman
Notable aliases
Superboy
The Man of Steel
The Last Son of Krypton
The Man of Tomorrow
The Big Blue Boy Scout
Abilities
Superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, longevity, senses, and durability
Heat vision
Wind and freeze breath
Solar energy absorption
X-ray vision
Flight
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book Action Comics #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and published April 18, 1938).[1] Superman has been adapted to a number of other media, which includes radio serials, novels, films, television shows, theater, and video games.
Superman was born on the fictional planet Krypton with the birth name of Kal-El. As a baby, his parents sent him to Earth in a small spaceship shortly before Krypton was destroyed in a natural cataclysm. His ship landed in the American countryside near the fictional town of Smallville. He was found and adopted by farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent, who named him Clark Kent. Clark began developing various superhuman abilities, such as incredible strength and impervious skin. His adoptive parents advised him to use his powers for the benefit of humanity, and he decided to fight crime as a vigilante. To protect his personal life, he changes into a colorful costume and uses the alias "Superman" when fighting crime. Clark resides in the fictional American city of Metropolis, where he works as a journalist for the Daily Planet. Superman's supporting characters include his love interest and fellow journalist Lois Lane, Daily Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen, and editor-in-chief Perry White, and his enemies include Brainiac, General Zod, and archenemy Lex Luthor.
Superman is the archetype of the superhero: he wears an outlandish costume, uses a codename, and fights evil with the aid of extraordinary abilities. Although there are earlier characters who arguably fit this definition, it was Superman who popularized the superhero genre and established its conventions. He was the best-selling superhero in American comic books up until the 1980s.[2]
Development
Jerry Siegel, writer
Joe Shuster, illustrator
"The Reign of the Superman", a short story by Jerry Siegel (January 1933)
Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster met in 1932 while attending Glenville High School in Cleveland and bonded over their admiration of fiction. Siegel aspired to become a writer and Shuster aspired to become an illustrator. Siegel wrote amateur science fiction stories, which he self-published as a magazine called Science Fiction: The Advance Guard of Future Civilization. His friend Shuster often provided illustrations for his work.[3] In January 1933, Siegel published a short story in his magazine titled "The Reign of the Superman". The titular character is a homeless man named Bill Dunn who is tricked by an evil scientist into consuming an experimental drug. The drug gives Dunn the powers of mind-reading, mind-control, and clairvoyance. He uses these powers maliciously for profit and amusement, but then the drug wears off, leaving him a powerless vagrant again. Shuster provided illustrations, depicting Dunn as a bald man.[4]
Siegel and Shuster shifted to making comic strips, with a focus on adventure and comedy. They wanted to become syndicated newspaper strip authors, so they showed their ideas to various newspaper editors. However, the newspaper editors told them that their ideas were insufficiently sensational. If they wanted to make a successful comic strip, it had to be something more sensational than anything else on the market. This prompted Siegel to revisit Superman as a comic strip character.[5][6] Siegel modified Superman's powers to make him even more sensational: Like Bill Dunn, the second prototype of Superman is given powers against his will by an unscrupulous scientist, but instead of psychic abilities, he acquires superhuman strength and bullet-proof skin.[7][8] Additionally, this new Superman was a crime-fighting hero instead of a villain, because Siegel noted that comic strips with heroic protagonists tended to be more successful.[9] In later years, Siegel once recalled that this Superman wore a "bat-like" cape in some panels, but typically he and Shuster agreed there was no costume yet, and there is none apparent in the surviving artwork.[10][11]
Siegel and Shuster showed this second concept of Superman to Consolidated Book Publishers, based in Chicago.[12][a] In May 1933, Consolidated had published a proto-comic book titled Detective Dan: Secret Operative 48.[13] It contained all-original stories as opposed to reprints of newspaper strips, which was a novelty at the time.[14] Siegel and Shuster put together a comic book in a similar format called The Superman. A delegation from Consolidated visited Cleveland that summer on a business trip and Siegel and Shuster took the opportunity to present their work in person.[15][16] Although Consolidated expressed interest, they later pulled out of the comics business without ever offering a book deal because the sales of Detective Dan were disappointing.[17][18]
Cover of an unpublished comic book, 1933
Siegel believed publishers kept rejecting them because he and Shuster were young and unknown, so he looked for an established artist to replace Shuster.[19] When Siegel told Shuster what he was doing, Shuster reacted by burning their rejected Superman comic, sparing only the cover. They continued collaborating on other projects, but for the time being Shuster was through with Superman.[20]
Siegel wrote to numerous artists.[19] The first response came in July 1933 from Leo O'Mealia, who drew the Fu Manchu strip for the Bell Syndicate.[21][22] In the script that Siegel sent to O'Mealia, Superman's origin story changes: He is a "scientist-adventurer" from the far future when humanity has naturally evolved "superpowers". Just before the Earth explodes, he escapes in a time-machine to the modern era, whereupon he immediately begins using his superpowers to fight crime.[23] O'Mealia produced a few strips and showed them to his newspaper syndicate, but they were rejected. O'Mealia did not send to Siegel any copies of his strips, and they have been lost.[24]
In June 1934, Siegel found another partner: an artist in Chicago named Russell Keaton.[25][26] Keaton drew the Buck Rogers and Skyroads comic strips. In the script that Siegel sent Keaton in June, 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. The time-machine appears on a road where it is discovered by motorists Sam and Molly Kent. They leave the boy in an orphanage, but the staff struggle to control him because he has superhuman strength and impenetrable skin. The Kents adopt the boy and name him Clark, and teach him that he must use his fantastic natural gifts for the benefit of humanity. In November, Siegel sent Keaton an extension of his script: an adventure where Superman foils a conspiracy to kidnap a star football player. The extended script mentions that Clark puts on a special "uniform" when assuming the identity of Superman, but it is not described.[27] Keaton produced two weeks' worth of strips based on Siegel's script. In November, Keaton showed his strips to a newspaper syndicate, but they too were rejected, and he abandoned the project.[28][29]
Siegel and Shuster reconciled and resumed developing Superman together. The character became an alien from the planet Krypton. Shuster designed the now-familiar costume: tights with an "S" on the chest, over-shorts, and a cape.[30][31][32] They made Clark Kent a journalist who pretends to be timid, and conceived his colleague Lois Lane, who is attracted to the bold and mighty Superman but does not realize that he and Kent are the same person.[33]
Concept art c. 1934/1935. Note the laced sandals, based on those of strongmen and classical heroes.[34]
In June 1935 Siegel and Shuster finally found work with National Allied Publications, a comic magazine publishing company in New York owned by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson.[35] Wheeler-Nicholson published two of their strips in New Fun Comics #6 (1935): "Henri Duval" and "Doctor Occult".[36] Siegel and Shuster also showed him Superman and asked him to market Superman to the newspapers on their behalf.[37] In October, Wheeler-Nicholson offered to publish Superman in one of his own magazines.[38] Siegel and Shuster refused his offer because Wheeler-Nicholson had demonstrated himself to be an irresponsible businessman. He had been slow to respond to their letters and had not paid them for their work in New Fun Comics #6. They chose to keep marketing Superman to newspaper syndicates themselves.[39][40] Despite the erratic pay, Siegel and Shuster kept working for Wheeler-Nicholson because he was the only publisher who was buying their work, and over the years they produced other adventure strips for his magazines.[41]
Wheeler-Nicholson's financial difficulties continued to mount. In 1936, he formed a joint corporation with Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz called Detective Comics, Inc. in order to release his third magazine, which was titled Detective Comics. Siegel and Shuster produced stories for Detective Comics too, such as "Slam Bradley". Wheeler-Nicholson fell into deep debt to Donenfeld and Liebowitz, and in early January 1938, Donenfeld and Liebowitz petitioned Wheeler-Nicholson's company into bankruptcy and seized it.[3][42]
In early December 1937, Siegel visited Liebowitz in New York, and Liebowitz asked Siegel to produce some comics for an upcoming comic anthology magazine called Action Comics.[43][44] Siegel proposed some new stories, but not Superman. Siegel and Shuster were, at the time, negotiating a deal with the McClure Newspaper Syndicate for Superman. In early January 1938, Siegel had a three-way telephone conversation with Liebowitz and an employee of McClure named Max Gaines. Gaines informed Siegel that McClure had rejected Superman, and asked if he could forward their Superman strips to Liebowitz so that Liebowitz could consider them for Action Comics. Siegel agreed.[45] Liebowitz and his colleagues were impressed by the strips, and they asked Siegel and Shuster to develop the strips into 13 pages for Action Comics.[46] Having grown tired of rejections, Siegel and Shuster accepted the offer. At least now they would see Superman published.[47][48] Siegel and Shuster submitted their work in late February and were paid $130 (equivalent to $2,703 in 2022) for their work ($10 per page).[49] In early March they signed a contract at Liebowitz's request in which they gave away the copyright for Superman to Detective Comics, Inc. This was normal practice in the business, and Siegel and Shuster had given away the copyrights to their previous works as well[50]
Super-man's debut
The duo's revised version of Superman appeared in the first issue of Action Comics, which was published on April 18, 1938. The issue was a huge success thanks to Superman's feature.[1][51][52]
Influences
Siegel and Shuster read pulp science-fiction and adventure magazines, and many stories featured characters with fantastical abilities such as telepathy, clairvoyance, and superhuman strength. One character in particular was John Carter of Mars from the novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. John Carter is a human who is transported to Mars, where the lower gravity makes him stronger than the natives and allows him to leap great distances.[53][54] Another influence was Philip Wylie's 1930 novel Gladiator, featuring a protagonist named Hugo Danner who had similar powers.[55][56]
Superman's stance and devil-may-care attitude were influenced by the characters of Douglas Fairbanks, who starred in adventure films such as The Mark of Zorro and Robin Hood.[57] The name of Superman's home city, Metropolis, was taken from the 1927 film of the same name.[58] Popeye cartoons were also an influence.[58]
The name "Clark Kent" was created by taking the first names of actors Clark Gable and Kent Taylor. "Clark" was also inspired by explorer William Clark especially when coming up with the names "Lois and Clark" a nod to Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, American explorers who discovered an overland route to the Pacific Ocean.[citation needed]
Douglas Fairbanks (left) and Harold Lloyd (right) influenced the look of Superman and Clark Kent, respectively.
Clark Kent's harmless facade and dual identity were inspired by the protagonists of such movies as Don Diego de la Vega in The Mark of Zorro and Sir Percy Blakeney in The Scarlet Pimpernel. Siegel thought this would make for interesting dramatic contrast and good humor.[59][60] Another inspiration was slapstick comedian Harold Lloyd. The archetypal Lloyd character was a mild-mannered man who finds himself abused by bullies but later in the story snaps and fights back furiously.[61]
Kent is a journalist because Siegel often imagined himself becoming one after leaving school. The love triangle between Lois Lane, Clark, and Superman was inspired by Siegel's own awkwardness with girls.[62]
The pair collected comic strips in their youth, with a favorite being Winsor McCay's fantastical Little Nemo.[58] Shuster remarked on the artists who played an important part in the development of his own style: "Alex Raymond and Burne Hogarth were my idols – also Milt Caniff, Hal Foster, and Roy Crane."[58] Shuster taught himself to draw by tracing over the art in the strips and magazines they collected.[3]
As a boy, Shuster was interested in fitness culture[63] and a fan of strongmen such as Siegmund Breitbart and Joseph Greenstein. He collected fitness magazines and manuals and used their photographs as visual references for his art.[3]
The visual design of Superman came from multiple influences. The tight-fitting suit and shorts were inspired by the costumes of wrestlers, boxers, and strongmen. In early concept art, Shuster gave Superman laced sandals like those of strongmen and classical heroes, but these were eventually changed to red boots.[34] The costumes of Douglas Fairbanks were also an influence.[64] The emblem on his chest was inspired by heraldic crests.[65] Many pulp action heroes such as swashbucklers wore capes. Superman's face was based on Johnny Weissmuller with touches derived from the comic-strip character Dick Tracy and from the work of cartoonist Roy Crane.[66]
The word "superman" was commonly used in the 1920s and 1930s to describe men of great ability, most often athletes and politicians.[67] It occasionally appeared in pulp fiction stories as well, such as "The Superman of Dr. Jukes".[68] It is unclear whether Siegel and Shuster were influenced by Friedrich Nietzsche's concept of the Übermensch; they never acknowledged as much.[69]
Comics
See also: Publication history of Superman and Superman (franchise)
Comic books
See also: List of Superman comics
The cover of Superman #6 (Sept. 1940) by Joe Shuster, the original artist and co-creator
Since 1938, Superman stories have been regularly published in periodical comic books published by DC Comics. The first and oldest of these is Action Comics, which began in April 1938.[1] Action Comics was initially an anthology magazine, but it eventually became dedicated to Superman stories. The second oldest periodical is Superman, which began in June 1939. Action Comics and Superman have been published without interruption (ignoring changes to the title and numbering scheme).[71][72] A number of other shorter-lived Superman periodicals have been published over the years.[73] Superman is part of the DC Universe, which is a shared setting of superhero characters owned by DC Comics, and consequently he frequently appears in stories alongside the likes of Batman, Wonder Woman, and others.
Superman has sold more comic books over his publication history than any other American superhero character.[74] Exact sales figures for the early decades of Superman comic books are hard to find because, like most publishers at the time, DC Comics concealed this data from its competitors and thereby the general public as well, but given the general market trends at the time, sales of Action Comics and Superman probably peaked in the mid-1940s and thereafter steadily declined.[75] Sales data first became public in 1960, and showed that Superman was the best-selling comic book character of the 1960s and 1970s.[2][76][77] Sales rose again starting in 1987. Superman #75 (Nov 1992) sold over 23 million copies,[78] making it the best-selling issue of a comic book of all time, thanks to a media sensation over the supposedly permanent death of the character in that issue.[79] Sales declined from that point on. In March 2018, Action Comics sold just 51,534 copies, although such low figures are normal for superhero comic books in general (for comparison, Amazing Spider-Man #797 sold only 128,189 copies).[80] The comic books are today considered a niche aspect of the Superman franchise due to low readership,[81] though they remain influential as creative engines for the movies and television shows. Comic book stories can be produced quickly and cheaply, and are thus an ideal medium for experimentation.[82]
Whereas comic books in the 1950s were read by children, since the 1990s the average reader has been an adult.[83] A major reason for this shift was DC Comics' decision in the 1970s to sell its comic books to specialty stores instead of traditional magazine retailers (supermarkets, newsstands, etc.) — a model called "direct distribution". This made comic books less accessible to children.[84]
Newspaper strips
See also: Superman (comic strip)
Beginning in January 1939, a Superman daily comic strip appeared in newspapers, syndicated through the McClure Syndicate. A color Sunday version was added that November. Jerry Siegel wrote most of the strips until he was conscripted in 1943. The Sunday strips had a narrative continuity separate from the daily strips, possibly because Siegel had to delegate the Sunday strips to ghostwriters.[85] By 1941, the newspaper strips had an estimated readership of 20 million.[86] Joe Shuster drew the early strips, then passed the job to Wayne Boring.[87] From 1949 to 1956, the newspaper strips were drawn by Win Mortimer.[88] The strip ended in May 1966, but was revived from 1977 to 1983 to coincide with a series of movies released by Warner Bros.[89]
Editors
Initially, Siegel was allowed to write Superman more or less as he saw fit because nobody had anticipated the success and rapid expansion of the franchise.[90][91] But soon Siegel and Shuster's work was put under careful oversight for fear of trouble with censors.[92] Siegel was forced to tone down the violence and social crusading that characterized his early stories.[93] Editor Whitney Ellsworth, hired in 1940, dictated that Superman not kill.[94] Sexuality was banned, and colorfully outlandish villains such as Ultra-Humanite and Toyman were thought to be less nightmarish for young readers.[95]
Mort Weisinger was the editor on Superman comics from 1941 to 1970, his tenure briefly interrupted by military service. Siegel and his fellow writers had developed the character with little thought of building a coherent mythology, but as the number of Superman titles and the pool of writers grew, Weisinger demanded a more disciplined approach.[96] Weisinger assigned story ideas, and the logic of Superman's powers, his origin, the locales, and his relationships with his growing cast of supporting characters were carefully planned. Elements such as Bizarro, his cousin Supergirl, the Phantom Zone, the Fortress of Solitude, alternate varieties of kryptonite, robot doppelgangers, and Krypto were introduced during this era. The complicated universe built under Weisinger was beguiling to devoted readers but alienating to casuals.[97] Weisinger favored lighthearted stories over serious drama, and avoided sensitive subjects such as the Vietnam War and the American civil rights movement because he feared his right-wing views would alienate his left-leaning writers and readers.[98] Weisinger also introduced letters columns in 1958 to encourage feedback and build intimacy with readers.[99]
Weisinger retired in 1970 and Julius Schwartz took over. By his own admission, Weisinger had grown out of touch with newer readers.[100] Starting with The Sandman Saga, Schwartz updated Superman by making Clark Kent a television anchor, and he retired overused plot elements such as kryptonite and robot doppelgangers.[101] Schwartz also scaled Superman's powers down to a level closer to Siegel's original. These changes would eventually be reversed by later writers. Schwartz allowed stories with serious drama such as "For the Man Who Has Everything" (Superman Annual #11), in which the villain Mongul torments Superman with an illusion of happy family life on a living Krypton.
Schwartz retired from DC Comics in 1986 and was succeeded by Mike Carlin as an editor on Superman comics. His retirement coincided with DC Comics' decision to reboot the DC Universe with the companywide-crossover storyline "Crisis on Infinite Earths". In The Man of Steel writer John Byrne rewrote the Superman mythos, again reducing Superman's powers, which writers had slowly re-strengthened, and revised many supporting characters, such as making Lex Luthor a billionaire industrialist rather than a mad scientist, and making Supergirl an artificial shapeshifting organism because DC wanted Superman to be the sole surviving Kryptonian.
Carlin was promoted to Executive Editor for the DC Universe books in 1996, a position he held until 2002. K.C. Carlson took his place as editor of the Superman comics.
Aesthetic style
In the earlier decades of Superman comics, artists were expected to conform to a certain "house style".[102] Joe Shuster defined the aesthetic style of Superman in the 1940s. After Shuster left National, Wayne Boring succeeded him as the principal artist on Superman comic books.[103] He redrew Superman taller and more detailed.[104] Around 1955, Curt Swan in turn succeeded Boring.[105] The 1980s saw a boom in the diversity of comic book art and now there is no single "house style" in Superman comics.[citation needed]
In other media
Main article: Superman (franchise)
Radio
The first adaptation of Superman beyond comic books was a radio show, The Adventures of Superman, which ran from 1940 to 1951 for 2,088 episodes, most of which were aimed at children. The episodes were initially 15 minutes long, but after 1949 they were lengthened to 30 minutes. Most episodes were done live.[106] Bud Collyer was the voice actor for Superman in most episodes. The show was produced by Robert Maxwell and Allen Ducovny, who were employees of Superman, Inc. and Detective Comics, Inc. respectively.[107][108]
Stage
In 1966 Superman had a Tony-nominated musical play produced on Broadway. It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman featured music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Lee Adams and book by David Newman and Robert Benton. Actor Bob Holiday performed as Clark Kent/Superman and actress Patricia Marand performed as Lois Lane.
Film
Paramount Pictures released a series of Superman theatrical animated shorts between 1941 and 1943. Seventeen episodes in total were made, each 8–10 minutes long. The first nine films were produced by Fleischer Studios and the next films were produced by Famous Studios. Bud Collyer provided the voice of Superman. The first episode had a production budget of $50,000 with the remaining episodes at $30,000 each[109] (equivalent to $597,000 in 2022), which was exceptionally lavish for the time; $9,000 – $15,000 was more typical for animated shorts.[110] Joe Shuster provided model sheets for the characters, so the visuals resembled the contemporary comic book aesthetic.[111]
Kirk Alyn as Superman
The first live-action adaptation of Superman was a movie serial released in 1948, targeted at children. Kirk Alyn became the first actor to portray the hero onscreen. The production cost up to $325,000[112] (equivalent to $3,959,000 in 2022). It was the most profitable movie serial in movie history.[113] A sequel serial, Atom Man vs. Superman, was released in 1950. For flying scenes, Superman was hand-drawn in animated form, composited onto live-action footage.
The first feature film was Superman and the Mole Men, a 58-minute B-movie released in 1951, produced on an estimated budget of $30,000 (equivalent to $338,000 in 2022).[114] It starred George Reeves as Superman, and was intended to promote the subsequent television series.[115]
The first big-budget movie was Superman in 1978, starring Christopher Reeve and produced by Alexander and Ilya Salkind. It was 143 minutes long and was made on a budget of $55 million (equivalent to $247,000,000 in 2022). It is the most successful Superman feature film to date in terms of box office revenue adjusted for inflation.[116] The soundtrack was composed by John Williams and was nominated for an Academy Award. Superman (1978) was the first big-budget superhero movie, and its success arguably paved the way for later superhero movies like Batman (1989) and Spider-Man (2002).[117][118][119]
The 1978 film spawned three sequels: Superman II (1980), Superman III (1983), Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987).
In 2006, Superman Returns was released, designed after the 1978–1987 film series. Superman was portrayed by Brandon Routh, who later reprised his role in the Arrowverse crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019–2020).
Superman has appeared in a series of direct-to-video animated films produced by Warner Bros. Animation called DC Universe Animated Original Movies, beginning with Superman: Doomsday in 2007. Many of these movies are adaptations of popular comic book stories.
Superman appeared in the theatrical animated feature film Teen Titans Go! To the Movies (2018), voiced by Nicolas Cage.
Superman appeared in the theatrical animated feature film DC League of Super-Pets (2022), voiced by John Krasinski.
DC Extended Universe
In 2013, Man of Steel was released by Warner Bros. as a reboot of the film series, starring Henry Cavill as Superman.
A sequel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), featured Superman alongside Batman and Wonder Woman, making it the first theatrical film in which Superman appeared alongside other superheroes from the DC Universe.
Cavill reprised his role in Justice League (2017) and its director's cut (2021).
This version of Superman also makes cameos in Shazam! (2019) and in the first season finale of the TV series Peacemaker (2022) but portrayed by stand-ins for Cavill.
Cavill makes an uncredited cameo appearance as Superman in the mid-credits scene of the film Black Adam (2022).
Nicolas Cage makes a cameo appearance as an alternate version of Superman in the film The Flash (2023), Cage shooting his scenes through volumetric capture, before he was deaged with computer-generated imagery (CGI).[120] Cavill, George Reeves, and Christopher Reeve also cameo as their respective versions of Superman through the use of CGI representing their likenesses, Cavill having filmed additional scenes as the character for the film which were removed during post-production.
DC Universe
A new reboot of the film series, titled Superman: Legacy is in development, to be set in the DC Universe (DCU) franchise. The film will be written and directed by James Gunn and produced by DC Studios. It is set to release on July 11, 2025. On June 27, 2023, David Corenswet was cast as Superman in the film.
Television
Actor George Reeves portraying Superman in Stamp Day for Superman. After appearing in film, he would be the first actor to star as Superman in television.
Adventures of Superman, which aired from 1952 to 1958, was the first television series based on a superhero. It starred George Reeves as Superman. Whereas the radio serial was aimed at children, this television show was aimed at a general audience,[121][122] although children made up the majority of viewers. Robert Maxwell, who produced the radio serial, was the producer for the first season. For the second season, Maxwell was replaced with Whitney Ellsworth. Ellsworth toned down the violence of the show to make it more suitable for children, though he still aimed for a general audience. This show was extremely popular in Japan, where it achieved an audience share rating of 74.2% in 1958.[123]
His first animated television series was The New Adventures of Superman, which aired from 1966 to 1970. The show also feature a seven-minute part focused on Superboy named The Adventures of Superboy.
Starting in 1974, Superman was one of the leading characters in the Hanna-Barbera-produced animated series Super Friends and all its sequels until 1986.
To celebrate his 50th anniversary, Ruby Spears produced an animated series partially based on Superman (1978) and post-Crisis Superman comics created by John Byrne. The model sheets for Superman (1988) were drawn by legendary comics artist Gil Kane and most of the episodes were written by comics writer Marv Wolfman.
Superboy aired from 1988 to 1992. It was produced by Alexander and Ilya Salkind, the same men who had produced the Superman films starring Christopher Reeve.
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman aired from 1993 to 1997. This show was aimed at adults and focused on the relationship between Clark Kent and Lois Lane as much as Superman's heroics.[115] Dean Cain played Superman, and Teri Hatcher played Lois.
Smallville aired from 2001 to 2011. The show was targeted at young adults.[124][125] Played by Tom Welling, the series covered Clark Kent's life prior to becoming Superman, spanning ten years from his high school years in Smallville to his early life in Metropolis. Although Clark engages in heroics, he does not wear a costume, nor does he call himself Superboy. Rather, he relies on misdirection and his blinding speed to avoid being recognized. Later seasons find him becoming a public hero called the Red-Blue Blur, eventually shortened to the Blur, in a proto-Justice League before taking on the mantle of Superman.
Superman: The Animated Series (with the voice of Tim Daly as the adult character) aired from 1996 to 2000. After the show's conclusion, this version of Superman appeared in the sequel shows Batman Beyond (voiced by Christopher McDonald) aired from 1999 to 2001 and Justice League and Justice League Unlimited (voiced by George Newbern), which ran from 2001 to 2006. All of these shows were produced by Bruce Timm. This was the most successful and longest-running animated version of Superman.[115]
In the Arrowverse, the main Superman (played by Tyler Hoechlin), appears as a guest star in several television series: Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow. A Supergirl spin-off, Superman & Lois, premiered on February 23, 2021.
Superman appears as an ensemble character in the animated show Justice League Action. He also appears as a guest character in other animated shows such as Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Harley Quinn.
Video games
Main article: List of video games featuring Superman
The first electronic game was simply titled Superman, and released in 1979 for the Atari 2600.
The last game fully centered on Superman was the adaptation of Superman Returns in 2006.
From 2006 to present, Superman appeared in a co-starring role, such as the Injustice game series (2013–present).
Merchandising
DC Comics trademarked the Superman chest logo in August 1938.[126] Jack Liebowitz established Superman, Inc. in October 1939 to develop the franchise beyond the comic books.[51] Superman, Inc. merged with DC Comics in October 1946.[127] After DC Comics merged with Warner Communications in 1967, licensing for Superman was handled by the Licensing Corporation of America.[128]
The Licensing Letter (an American market research firm) estimated that Superman licensed merchandise made $634 million in sales globally in 2018 (43.3% of this revenue came from the North American market). For comparison, in the same year, Spider-Man merchandise made $1.075 billion and Star Wars merchandise made $1.923 billion globally.[129]
The earliest paraphernalia appeared in 1939: a button proclaiming membership in the Supermen of America club. The first toy was a wooden doll in 1939 made by the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company.[130] Superman #5 (May 1940) carried an advertisement for a "Krypto-Raygun", which was a gun-shaped device that could project images on a wall.[131] The majority of Superman merchandise is targeted at children, but since the 1970s, adults have been increasingly targeted because the comic book readership has gotten older.[132]
During World War II, Superman was used to support the war effort. Action Comics and Superman carried messages urging readers to buy war bonds and participate in scrap drives.[133] Other superheroes became patriots who went to fight: Batman, Wonder Woman and Captain America.
Copyright issues
Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster
Main article: Copyright lawsuits by Superman's creators
In a contract dated 1 March 1938, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster gave away the copyright to Superman to their employer, DC Comics (then known as Detective Comics, Inc.)[b] prior to Superman's first publication in April. Contrary to popular perception, the $130 that DC Comics paid them was for their first Superman story, not the copyright to the character — that, they gave away for free. This was normal practice in the comic magazine industry and they had done the same with their previous published works (Slam Bradley, Doctor Occult, etc.),[50] but Superman became far more popular and valuable than they anticipated and they much regretted giving him away.[134] DC Comics retained Siegel and Shuster, and they were paid well because they were popular with the readers.[135] Between 1938 and 1947, DC Comics paid them together at least $401,194.85 (equivalent to $7,030,000 in 2022).[136][137]
Siegel wrote most of the magazine and daily newspaper stories until he was conscripted into the army in 1943, whereupon the task was passed to ghostwriters.[138][139] While Siegel was serving in Hawaii, DC Comics published a story featuring a child version of Superman called "Superboy", which was based on a script Siegel had submitted several years before. Siegel was furious because DC Comics did this without having bought the character.[140]
After Siegel's discharge from the Army, he and Shuster sued DC Comics in 1947 for the rights to Superman and Superboy. The judge ruled that Superman belonged to DC Comics, but that Superboy was a separate entity that belonged to Siegel. Siegel and Shuster settled out-of-court with DC Comics, which paid the pair $94,013.16 (equivalent to $1,145,085 in 2022) in exchange for the full rights to both Superman and Superboy.[141] DC Comics then fired Siegel and Shuster.[142]
DC Comics rehired Jerry Siegel as a writer in 1959.
In 1965, Siegel and Shuster attempted to regain rights to Superman using the renewal option in the Copyright Act of 1909, but the court ruled Siegel and Shuster had transferred the renewal rights to DC Comics in 1938. Siegel and Shuster appealed, but the appeals court upheld this decision. DC Comics fired Siegel once again, when he filed this second lawsuit.[143]
In 1975, Siegel and a number of other comic book writers and artists launched a public campaign for better compensation and treatment of comic creators. Warner Brothers agreed to give Siegel and Shuster a yearly stipend, full medical benefits, and credit their names in all future Superman productions in exchange for never contesting ownership of Superman. Siegel and Shuster upheld this bargain.[3]
Shuster died in 1992. DC Comics offered Shuster's heirs a stipend in exchange for never challenging ownership of Superman, which they accepted for some years.[141]
Siegel died in 1996. His heirs attempted to take the rights to Superman using the termination provision of the Copyright Act of 1976. DC Comics negotiated an agreement wherein it would pay the Siegel heirs several million dollars and a yearly stipend of $500,000 in exchange for permanently granting DC the rights to Superman. DC Comics also agreed to insert the line "By Special Arrangement with the Jerry Siegel Family" in all future Superman productions.[144] The Siegels accepted DC's offer in an October 2001 letter.[141]
Copyright lawyer and movie producer Marc Toberoff then struck a deal with the heirs of both Siegel and Shuster to help them get the rights to Superman in exchange for signing the rights over to his production company, Pacific Pictures. Both groups accepted. The Siegel heirs called off their deal with DC Comics and in 2004 sued DC for the rights to Superman and Superboy. In 2008, the judge ruled in favor of the Siegels. DC Comics appealed the decision, and the appeals court ruled in favor of DC, arguing that the October 2001 letter was binding. In 2003, the Shuster heirs served a termination notice for Shuster's grant of his half of the copyright to Superman. DC Comics sued the Shuster heirs in 2010, and the court ruled in DC's favor on the grounds that the 1992 agreement with the Shuster heirs barred them from terminating the grant.[141]
Under current US copyright law, Superman is due to enter the public domain on January 1, 2034.[145][c] However, this will only apply (at first) to the character as he is depicted in Action Comics #1, which was published in 1938. Versions of him with later developments, such as his power of "heat vision", may persist under copyright until the works they were introduced in enter the public domain themselves.[146] Lois Lane, who also debuted in Action Comics #1, is expected to enter public domain as well in 2034, but supporting characters introduced in later publications, such as Jimmy Olsen and Supergirl, will pass into the public domain at later dates.
Captain Marvel
See also: National Comics Publications v. Fawcett Publications
Superman's success immediately begat a wave of imitations. The most successful of these at this early age was Captain Marvel, first published by Fawcett Comics in December 1939. Captain Marvel had many similarities to Superman: Herculean strength, invulnerability, the ability to fly, a cape, a secret identity, and a job as a journalist. DC Comics filed a lawsuit against Fawcett Comics for copyright infringement.[citation needed]
The trial began in March 1948 after seven years of discovery. The judge ruled that Fawcett had indeed infringed on Superman. However, the judge also found that the copyright notices that appeared with the Superman newspaper strips did not meet the technical standards of the Copyright Act of 1909 and were therefore invalid. Furthermore, since the newspaper strips carried stories adapted from Action Comics, the judge ruled that DC Comics had effectively abandoned the copyright to the Action Comics stories and Superman, and therefore forfeited its right to sue Fawcett for copyright infringement.[141]
DC Comics appealed this decision. The appeals court ruled that unintentional mistakes in the copyright notices of the newspaper strips did not invalidate the copyrights. Furthermore, Fawcett knew that DC Comics never intended to abandon the copyrights, and therefore Fawcett's infringement was not an innocent misunderstanding, and therefore Fawcett owed damages to DC Comics.[d] The appeals court remanded the case back to the lower court to determine how much Fawcett owed in damages.[141]
At that point, Fawcett Comics decided to settle out of court with DC Comics. Fawcett paid DC Comics $400,000 (equivalent to $4,375,124 in 2022) and agreed to stop publishing Captain Marvel. The last Captain Marvel story from Fawcett Comics was published in September 1953.[147]
DC Comics licensed Captain Marvel in 1972 and published crossover stories with Superman. By 1991, DC Comics had purchased Fawcett Comics and with it the full rights to Captain Marvel. DC eventually renamed the character "Shazam" to prevent disputes with Marvel Comics, who had created a character of their own named "Captain Marvel" back when the Fawcett character had lingered in limbo.[148]
Character overview
This section details the most consistent elements of the Superman narrative in the myriad stories published since 1938.
Superman himself
In Action Comics #1 (1938), Superman is born on an alien world to a technologically advanced species that resembles humans. Shortly after he is born, his planet is destroyed in a natural cataclysm, but Superman's scientist father foresaw the calamity and saves his baby son by sending him to Earth in a small spaceship. The ship is too small to carry anyone else, so Superman's parents stay behind and die. The earliest newspaper strips name the planet "Krypton", the baby "Kal-L", and his biological parents "Jor-L" and "Lora";[149] their names were changed to "Jor-el", and "Lara" in a 1942 spinoff novel by George Lowther.[150] The ship lands in the American countryside, where the baby is discovered by the Kents, a farming couple.
The Kents name the boy Clark and raise him in a farming community. A 1947 episode of the radio serial places this unnamed community in Iowa.[151] It is named Smallville in Superboy #2 (June 1949). The 1978 Superman movie placed it in Kansas, as have most Superman stories since.[152] New Adventures of Superboy #22 (Oct. 1981) places it in Maryland.
In Action Comics #1 and most stories published before 1986, Superman's powers begin developing in infancy. From 1944 to 1986, DC Comics regularly published stories of Superman's childhood and adolescent adventures, when he called himself "Superboy". From 1986 on (beginning with Man of Steel #1), Superman's powers emerged more slowly and he began his superhero career as an adult.
The Kents teach Clark he must conceal his otherworldly origins and use his fantastic powers to do good. Clark creates the costumed identity of Superman so as to protect his personal privacy and the safety of his loved ones. As Clark Kent, he wears eyeglasses to disguise his face and wears his Superman costume underneath his clothes so that he can change at a moment's notice. To complete this disguise, Clark avoids violent confrontation, preferring to slip away and change into Superman when danger arises, and in older stories he would suffer occasional ridicule for his apparent cowardice.
In Superboy #78 (1960), Superboy makes his costume out of the indestructible blankets found in the ship he came to Earth in. In Man of Steel #1 (1986), Martha Kent makes the costume from human-manufactured cloth, and it is rendered indestructible by an "aura" that Superman projects. The "S" on Superman's chest at first was simply an initial for "Superman". When writing the script for the 1978 movie, Tom Mankiewicz made it Superman's Kryptonian family crest.[153] This was carried over into some comic book stories and later movies, such as Man of Steel. In the comic story Superman: Birthright, the crest is described as an old Kryptonian symbol for hope.
Clark works as a newspaper journalist. In the earliest stories, he worked for The Daily Star, but the second episode of the radio serial changed this to the Daily Planet. In comics from the early 1970s, Clark worked as a television journalist (an attempt to modernize the character). However, for the 1978 movie, the producers chose to make Clark a newspaper journalist again because that was how most of the public thought of him.[154]
The first story in which Superman dies was published in Superman #149 (1961), in which he is murdered by Lex Luthor by means of kryptonite. This story was "imaginary" and thus was ignored in subsequent books. In Superman #188 (April 1966), Superman is killed by kryptonite radiation but is revived in the same issue by one of his android doppelgangers. In the 1990s The Death and Return of Superman story arc, after a deadly battle with Doomsday, Superman died in Superman #75 (Jan. 1993). He was later revived by the Eradicator using Kryptonian technology. In Superman #52 (May 2016) Superman is killed by kryptonite poisoning, and this time he is not resurrected, but replaced by the Superman of an alternate timeline.
Superman maintains a secret hideout called the "Fortress of Solitude", which is located somewhere in the Arctic. Here, Superman keeps a collection of mementos and a laboratory for science experiments. In Action Comics #241, the Fortress of Solitude is a cave in a mountain, sealed with a very heavy door that is opened with a gigantic key too heavy for anyone but Superman to use. In the 1978 movie, the Fortress of Solitude is a structure made out of crystal.
Clark Kent
"Clark Kent" redirects here. For other uses, see Clark Kent (disambiguation).
Superman's secret identity is Clark Joseph Kent, a reporter for the Daily Planet. Although his name and history originate from his early life with his adoptive Earth parents, everything about Clark was staged for the benefit of his alternate identity: as a reporter for the Daily Planet, he receives late-breaking news before the general public, always has a plausible reason to be present at crime scenes, and need not strictly account for his whereabouts as long as he makes his publication deadlines. He sees his job as a journalist as an extension of his Superman responsibilities—bringing truth to the forefront and fighting for the little guy. He believes that everybody has the right to know what is going on in the world, regardless of who is involved.[155] In the Bronze Age of Comic Books, Clark Kent was featured in a series that appeared primarily in The Superman Family, "The Private Life of Clark Kent" where Superman dealt with various situations subtly while remaining Clark.
To deflect suspicion that he is Superman, Clark Kent adopted a mainly passive and introverted personality with conservative mannerisms, a higher-pitched voice, and a slight slouch. This personality is typically described as "mild-mannered", as in the opening narration of Max Fleischer's Superman animated theatrical shorts. These traits extended into Clark's wardrobe, which typically consists of a bland-colored business suit, a red necktie, black-rimmed glasses, combed-back hair, and occasionally a fedora. Clark wears his Superman costume underneath his street clothes, allowing easy changes between the two personae and the dramatic gesture of ripping open his shirt to reveal the familiar "S" emblem when called into action. His hair also changes with the clothing change, with Superman sporting a small curl or spit curl on his forehead. Superman usually stores his Clark Kent clothing compressed in a secret pouch within his cape,[156] though some stories have shown him leaving his clothes in some covert location (such as the Daily Planet storeroom)[157] for later retrieval.
As Superman's alter ego, the personality, concept, and name of Clark Kent have become synonymous with secret identities and innocuous fronts for ulterior motives and activities. In 1992, Superman co-creator Joe Shuster told the Toronto Star that the name derived from 1930s cinematic leading men Clark Gable and Kent Taylor, but the persona from bespectacled silent film comic Harold Lloyd and himself.[158] Clark's middle name is given variously as either Joseph, Jerome, or Jonathan, all being allusions to creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
Personality
In the original Siegel and Shuster stories, Superman's personality is rough and aggressive. He often uses excessive force and terror against criminals, on some occasions even killing them. This came to an end in late 1940 when new editor Whitney Ellsworth instituted a code of conduct for his characters to follow, banning Superman from ever killing.[159] The character was softened and given a sense of humanitarianism. Ellsworth's code, however, is not to be confused with "the Comics Code", which was created in 1954 by the Comics Code Authority and ultimately abandoned by every major comic book publisher by the early 21st century.[160]
In his first appearances, Superman was considered a vigilante by the authorities, being fired upon by the National Guard as he razed a slum so that the government would create better housing conditions for the poor. By 1942, however, Superman was working side-by-side with the police.[161][162] Today, Superman is commonly seen as a brave and kind-hearted hero with a strong sense of justice, morality, and righteousness. He adheres to an unwavering moral code instilled in him by his adoptive parents.[163] His commitment to operating within the law has been an example to many citizens and other heroes, but has stirred resentment and criticism among others, who refer to him as the "big blue boy scout". Superman can be rather rigid in this trait, causing tensions in the superhero community.[164] This was most notable with Wonder Woman, one of his closest friends, after she killed Maxwell Lord.[164] Booster Gold initially had an icy relationship with the Man of Steel but grew to respect him.[165]
Having lost his home world of Krypton, Superman is very protective of Earth,[166] and especially of Clark Kent's family and friends. This same loss, combined with the pressure of using his powers responsibly, has caused Superman to feel lonely on Earth, despite having his friends and parents. Previous encounters with people he thought to be fellow Kryptonians, Power Girl[167] and Mon-El,[168] have led to disappointment. The arrival of Supergirl, who has been confirmed to be his cousin from Krypton, relieved this loneliness somewhat.[169] Superman's Fortress of Solitude acts as a place of solace for him in times of loneliness and despair.[170]
Powers, abilities, and weaknesses
The catalog of Superman's abilities and his strength has varied considerably over the vast body of Superman fiction released since 1938.
Since Action Comics #1 (1938), Superman has superhuman strength. The cover of Action Comics #1 shows him effortlessly lifting a car over his head. Another classic feat of strength on Superman's part is breaking steel chains. In some stories, he is strong enough to shift the orbits of planets[171] and crush coal into diamond with his hands.
Since Action Comics #1 (1938), Superman has a highly durable body, invulnerable for most practical purposes. At the very least, bullets bounce harmlessly off his body. In some stories, such as Kingdom Come, not even a nuclear bomb can harm him.
In the earliest stories, Superman's costume is made out of exotic materials that are as tough as he is, which is why it typically does not tear up when he performs superhuman feats. In later stories, beginning with Man of Steel #1 (1986), Superman's body is said to project an aura that renders invulnerable any tight-fitting clothes he wears, and hence his costume is as durable as he is even if made of common cloth.
In Action Comics #1, Superman could not fly. He traveled by running and leaping, which he could do to a prodigious degree thanks to his strength. Superman gained the ability to fly in the second episode of the radio serial in 1940.[172] Superman can fly faster than sound and in some stories, he can even fly faster than the speed of light to travel to distant galaxies.
Superman can project and perceive X-rays via his eyes, which allows him to see through objects. He first uses this power in Action Comics #11 (1939). Certain materials such as lead can block his X-ray vision.
Superman can project beams of heat from his eyes which are hot enough to melt steel. He first used this power in Superman #59 (1949) by applying his X-ray vision at its highest intensity. In later stories, this ability is simply called "heat vision".
Superman can hear sounds that are too faint for a human to hear, and at frequencies outside the human hearing range. This ability was introduced in Action Comics #11 (1939).
Since Action Comics #20 (1940), Superman possesses superhuman breath, which enables him to inhale or blow huge amounts of air, as well as holding his breath indefinitely to remain underwater or space without adverse effects. He has a significant focus of his breath's intensity to the point of freezing targets by blowing on them. The "freeze breath" was first demonstrated in Superman #129 (1959).
Action Comics #1 (1938) explained that Superman's strength was common to all Kryptonians because they were a species "millions of years advanced of our own". In the first newspaper strips, Jor-El is shown running and leaping like Superman, and his wife survives a building collapsing on her. Later stories explained they evolved superhuman strength simply because of Krypton's higher gravity. Superman #146 (1961) established that Superman's abilities other than strength (flight, durability, etc.) are activated by the light of Earth's yellow sun. In Action Comics #300 (1963), all of his powers including strength are activated by yellow sunlight and can be deactivated by red sunlight similar to that of Krypton's sun.
Exposure to green kryptonite radiation nullifies Superman's powers and incapacitates him with pain and nausea; prolonged exposure will eventually kill him. Although green kryptonite is the most commonly seen form, writers have introduced other forms over the years: such as red, gold, blue, white, and black, each with peculiar effects.[173] Gold kryptonite, for instance, nullifies Superman's powers but otherwise does not harm him. Kryptonite first appeared in a 1943 episode of the radio serial.[174] It first appeared in comics in Superman #61 (Dec. 1949).[175]
Superman is also vulnerable to magic. Enchanted weapons and magical spells affect Superman as easily as they would a normal human. This weakness was established in Superman #171 (1964).
Like all Kryptonians, Kal-El is also highly susceptible to psychokinetic phenomena ranging along Telekinesis, Illusion casting, Mind control, etc., as shown in Wonder Woman Vol 2 # 219 (Sept. 2005). A powerful enough psionic can affect either the psyche or microbiology of Superman to induce strokes or mangle his internal organs, as well as disrupt his mind and perceptions of the world, something a young power-amped Gene-Bomb meta showcased in Superman #48 (Oct. 1990).
Supporting characters
See also: Superman character and cast and List of Superman supporting characters
Superman's first and most famous supporting character is Lois Lane, introduced in Action Comics #1. She is a fellow journalist at the Daily Planet. As Jerry Siegel conceived her, Lois considers Clark Kent to be a wimp, but she is infatuated with the bold and mighty Superman, not knowing that Kent and Superman are the same person. Siegel objected to any proposal that Lois discover that Clark is Superman because he felt that, as implausible as Clark's disguise is, the love triangle was too important to the book's appeal.[176] However, Siegel wrote stories in which Lois suspects Clark is Superman and tries to prove it, with Superman always duping her in the end; the first such story was in Superman #17 (July–August 1942).[177][178] This was a common plot in comic book stories prior to the 1970s. In a story in Action Comics #484 (June 1978), Clark Kent admits to Lois that he is Superman, and they marry. This was the first story in which Superman and Lois marry that was not an "imaginary tale." Many Superman stories since then have depicted Superman and Lois as a married couple, but about as many depict them in the classic love triangle. In modern era comic books, Superman and Lois are a stable married couple, and the Superman supporting cast was further expanded with the introduction of their son, Jonathan Kent.
Other supporting characters include Jimmy Olsen, a photographer at the Daily Planet, who is friends with both Superman and Clark Kent, though in most stories he does not know that Clark is Superman. Jimmy is frequently described as "Superman's pal", and was conceived to give young male readers a relatable character through which they could fantasize being friends with Superman.
In the earliest comic book stories, Clark Kent's employer is George Taylor of The Daily Star, but the second episode of the radio serial changed this to Perry White of the Daily Planet.[179]
Clark Kent's foster parents are Ma and Pa Kent. In many stories, one or both of them have died by the time Clark becomes Superman. Clark's parents taught him that he should use his abilities for altruistic means, but that he should also find some way to safeguard his private life.
Antagonists
Main article: List of Superman enemies
The villains Superman faced in the earliest stories were ordinary humans, such as gangsters, corrupt politicians, and violent husbands; but they soon grew more colorful and outlandish so as to avoid offending censors or scaring children. The mad scientist Ultra-Humanite, introduced in Action Comics #13 (June 1939), was Superman's first recurring villain. Superman's best-known nemesis, Lex Luthor, was introduced in Action Comics #23 (April 1940) and has been depicted as either a mad scientist or a wealthy businessman (sometimes both).[180] In 1944, the magical imp Mister Mxyzptlk, Superman's first recurring super-powered adversary, was introduced.[181] Superman's first alien villain, Brainiac, debuted in Action Comics #242 (July 1958). The monstrous Doomsday, introduced in Superman: The Man of Steel #17–18 (Nov.-Dec. 1992), was the first villain to evidently kill Superman in physical combat without exploiting Superman's critical weaknesses such as kryptonite and magic.
Alternative depictions
Main article: Alternative versions of Superman
See also: Superman (Earth-Two) and Superman (Earth-One)
The details of Superman's origin story and supporting cast vary across his large body of fiction released since 1938, but most versions conform to the basic template described above. A few stories feature radically altered versions of Superman. An example is the graphic novel Superman: Red Son, which depicts a communist Superman who rules the Soviet Union. DC Comics has on some occasions published crossover stories where different versions of Superman interact with each other using the plot device of parallel universes. For instance, in the 1960s, the Superman of "Earth-One" would occasionally feature in stories alongside the Superman of "Earth-Two", the latter of whom resembled Superman as he was portrayed in the 1940s. DC Comics has not developed a consistent and universal system to classify all versions of Superman.
Cultural impact and legacy
The superhero archetype
Superman is often thought of as the first superhero. This point can be debated: Ogon Bat, the Phantom, Zorro, and Mandrake the Magician arguably fit the definition of the superhero yet predate Superman. Nevertheless, Superman popularized this kind of character and established the conventions: a costume, a codename, extraordinary abilities, and an altruistic mission.[citation needed] Superman's success in 1938 begat a wave of imitations, which include Batman, Captain America, and Captain Marvel. This flourishing is today referred to as America's Golden Age of Comic Books, which lasted from 1938 to about 1950. The Golden Age ended when American superhero book sales declined, leading to the cancellation of many characters; but Superman was one of the few superhero franchises that survived this decline, and his sustained popularity into the late 1950s led to a revival in the Silver Age of Comic Books, when characters such as Spider-Man, Iron Man, and The X-Men were created.
After World War 2, American superhero fiction entered Japanese culture. Astro Boy, first published in 1952, was inspired by Mighty Mouse, which in turn was a parody of Superman.[182] The Superman animated shorts from the 1940s were first broadcast on Japanese television in 1955, and they were followed in 1956 by the TV show Adventures of Superman starring George Reeves. These shows were popular with the Japanese and inspired Japan's own prolific genre of superheroes. The first Japanese superhero movie, Super Giant, was released in 1957. The first Japanese superhero TV show was Moonlight Mask in 1958. Other notable Japanese superheroes include Ultraman, Kamen Rider, and Sailor Moon.[183][184][185]
Fine art
Starting with the Pop Art period and on a continuing basis, since the 1960s the character of Superman has been "appropriated" by multiple visual artists and incorporated into contemporary artwork,[186][187] most notably by Andy Warhol,[188][189] Roy Lichtenstein,[190] Mel Ramos,[191] Dulce Pinzon,[192] Mr. Brainwash,[193] Raymond Pettibon,[194] Peter Saul,[195] Giuseppe Veneziano,[196] F. Lennox Campello,[197] and others.[193][198][199]
Literary analysis
Superman has been interpreted and discussed in many forms in the years since his debut, with Umberto Eco noting that "he can be seen as the representative of all his similars".[200] Writing in Time in 1971, Gerald Clarke stated: "Superman's enormous popularity might be looked upon as signaling the beginning of the end for the Horatio Alger myth of the self-made man." Clarke viewed the comics characters as having to continuously update in order to maintain relevance and thus representing the mood of the nation. He regarded Superman's character in the early seventies as a comment on the modern world, which he saw as a place in which "only the man with superpowers can survive and prosper."[201] Andrew Arnold, writing in the early 21st century, has noted Superman's partial role in exploring assimilation, the character's alien status allowing the reader to explore attempts to fit in on a somewhat superficial level.
A.C. Grayling, writing in The Spectator, traces Superman's stances through the decades, from his 1930s campaign against crime being relevant to a nation under the influence of Al Capone, through the 1940s and World War II, a period in which Superman helped sell war bonds,[202] and into the 1950s, where Superman explored the new technological threats. Grayling notes the period after the Cold War as being one where "matters become merely personal: the task of pitting his brawn against the brains of Lex Luthor and Brainiac appeared to be independent of bigger questions", and discusses events post 9/11, stating that as a nation "caught between the terrifying George W. Bush and the terrorist Osama bin Laden, America is in earnest need of a Saviour for everything from the minor inconveniences to the major horrors of world catastrophe. And here he is, the down-home clean-cut boy in the blue tights and red cape".[203]
An influence on early Superman stories is the context of the Great Depression. Superman took on the role of social activist, fighting crooked businessmen and politicians and demolishing run-down tenements.[204] Comics scholar Roger Sabin sees this as a reflection of "the liberal idealism of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal", with Shuster and Siegel initially portraying Superman as champion to a variety of social causes.[205][206] In later Superman radio programs the character continued to take on such issues, tackling a version of the Ku Klux Klan in a 1946 broadcast, as well as combating anti-semitism and veteran discrimination.[207][208][209]
Scott Bukatman has discussed Superman, and the superhero in general, noting the ways in which they humanize large urban areas through their use of the space, especially in Superman's ability to soar over the large skyscrapers of Metropolis. He writes that the character "represented, in 1938, a kind of Corbusierian ideal. Superman has X-ray vision: walls become permeable, transparent. Through his benign, controlled authority, Superman renders the city open, modernist and democratic; he furthers a sense that Le Corbusier described in 1925, namely, that 'Everything is known to us'."[210]
Three men seated onstage, flanked by Superman material
The Library of Congress hosting a discussion with Dan Jurgens and Paul Levitz for Superman's 80th anniversary and the 1,000th issue of Action Comics
Jules Feiffer has argued that Superman's real innovation lay in the creation of the Clark Kent persona, noting that what "made Superman extraordinary was his point of origin: Clark Kent." Feiffer develops the theme to establish Superman's popularity in simple wish fulfillment,[211] a point Siegel and Shuster themselves supported, Siegel commenting that "If you're interested in what made Superman what it is, here's one of the keys to what made it universally acceptable. Joe and I had certain inhibitions… which led to wish-fulfillment which we expressed through our interest in science fiction and our comic strip. That's where the dual-identity concept came from" and Shuster supporting that as being "why so many people could relate to it".[212]
Ian Gordon suggests that the many incarnations of Superman across media use nostalgia to link the character to an ideology of the American Way. He defines this ideology as a means of associating individualism, consumerism, and democracy and as something that took shape around WWII and underpinned the war effort. Superman, he notes was very much part of that effort.[213]
An allegory for immigrants
Superman's immigrant status is a key aspect of his appeal.[214][215][216] Aldo Regalado saw the character as pushing the boundaries of acceptance in America. The extraterrestrial origin was seen by Regalado as challenging the notion that Anglo-Saxon ancestry was the source of all might.[217] Gary Engle saw the "myth of Superman [asserting] with total confidence and a childlike innocence the value of the immigrant in American culture". He argues that Superman allowed the superhero genre to take over from the Western as the expression of immigrant sensibilities. Through the use of a dual identity, Superman allowed immigrants to identify with both of their cultures. Clark Kent represents the assimilated individual, allowing Superman to express the immigrants' cultural heritage for the greater good.[215] David Jenemann has offered a contrasting view. He argues that Superman's early stories portray a threat: "the possibility that the exile would overwhelm the country".[218] David Rooney, a theater critic for The New York Times, in his evaluation of the play Year Zero considers Superman to be the "quintessential immigrant story [...] [b]orn on an alien planet, he grows stronger on Earth, but maintains a secret identity tied to a homeland that continues to exert a powerful hold on him even as his every contact with those origins does him harm".[219]
Religious themes
Some believe that Superman took inspiration from Judaic mythology. The British rabbi Simcha Weinstein notes that Superman's story has some parallels to that of Moses. For example, Moses as a baby was sent away by his parents in a reed basket to escape death and adopted by a foreign culture. Weinstein also posits that Superman's Kryptonian name, "Kal-El", resembles the Hebrew words קוֹל-אֵל (qōl ʾēl) which can be taken to mean "voice of God".[220] The historian Larry Tye suggests that this "Voice of God" is an allusion to Moses' role as a prophet.[221] The suffix "el", meaning "god", is also found in the name of angels (e.g. Gabriel, Ariel), who are airborne humanoid agents of good with superhuman powers. The Nazis also thought Superman was a Jew and in 1940 Joseph Goebbels publicly denounced Superman and his creator Jerry Siegel.[222]
All that said, historians such as Martin Lund and Les Daniels argue that the evidence for Judaic influence in Siegel's stories is merely circumstantial. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were not practicing Jews and never acknowledged the influence of Judaism in any memoir or interview.[223][224]
Superman stories have occasionally exhibited Christian themes as well. Screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz consciously made Superman an allegory for Jesus Christ in the 1978 movie starring Christopher Reeve: baby Kal-El's ship resembles the Star of Bethlehem, and Jor-El gives his son a messianic mission to lead humanity into a brighter future.[225] This messianic theme was revisited in the 2013 movie Man of Steel, wherein Jor-El asks Superman to redeem the Kryptonian race, which corrupted itself through eugenics, by guiding humanity down a wiser path.[226]
See also
List of Superman supporting characters
List of DC animated universe characters
List of DC Comics characters
Music of Superman
Kryptonian
Golden Age Archived November 21, 2019, at the Wayback Machine, Silver Age Archived November 6, 2019, at the Wayback Machine and Modern Age Archived November 21, 2019, at the Wayback Machine Superman at the Comic book database
Superman on DC Database, a DC Comics wiki
Superman on IMDb
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Superman
Jerry SiegelJoe ShusterOther writers and artists
Characters
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History and themes
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Ongoing publications
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Category
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Justice League characters
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Recurring
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Other
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Supporting
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Enemies
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Other
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Organizations
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Alternative
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Alternate versions
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Outside
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All-Star Superman (2005–2008)"The K-Metal from Krypton" (Unpublished)"The Sandman Saga" (1971)Son of Superman (1999)Superboy: The Comic Book (1989–1992)Superboy's Legion (2001)Superman Adventures (1996–2002)Superman: At Earth's End (1995)Superman: Earth One (Vol 1. 2010, Vol 2. 2012, Vol. 3 2015)Superman: The Last Family of Krypton (2010)Superman: The Feral Man of Steel (1994)Superman: Last Son of Earth (2000)Superman: Last Stand on Krypton (2003)Superman's Metropolis (1996)Superman: Peace on Earth (1998)Kingdom Come (1996)The Superman Monster (1999)Superman: Red Son (2003)Superman: Secret Identity (2004)Superman: Speeding Bullets (1993)Superman: A Tale of Five Cities (1990)Superman: The Dark Side (1998)Superman: True Brit (2004)Superman: War of the Worlds (1998)Superman & Batman: Generations (1999, 2001 and 2004)Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? (1986)Whom Gods Destroy (1996)Dark Knights of Steel (2021–2023)
Crossovers
Superman/Aliens (1995 and 2002)Superman & Bugs Bunny (2000)Superman and Batman versus Aliens and Predator (2007)Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man (1976)Superman and Spider-Man (1981)Superman/Fantastic Four: The Infinite Destruction (1999)Superman vs. Predator (2000)Superman/Tarzan: Sons of the Jungle (2001–2002)Superman vs. The Terminator: Death to the Future (1999–2000)
Storylines
"For the Man Who Has Everything" (1985)"The Greatest Hero of Them All" (1987)"The Death of Superman" (1992–1993)"Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey" (1994)"Worlds Collide" (1994)"The Trial of Superman!" (1995–1996)"Superman Red/Superman Blue" (Original: 1963, adaptation: 1998)"What's So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way?" (2001)"For Tomorrow" (2004–2005)"Up, Up and Away!" (2006)"Last Son" (2006–2008)"Kryptonite" (2007–2008)"Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes" (2007–2008)"The Third Kryptonian" (2007–2008)"The Coming of Atlas" (2008)"Brainiac" (2008)"New Krypton" (2008–2009)"World of New Krypton" (2009–2010)"World Without Superman" (2009)"War of the Supermen" (2010)"Grounded" (2010–2011)"Reign of Doomsday" (2011)"H'El on Earth" (2012–2013)"Doomed" (2014)"Reborn" (2017)"Super Sons of Tomorrow" (2017–2018)"Warworld Saga" (2021–2022)
Other
Superman (comic strip)Superman: The Complete Comic Strips 1939-1966Action Comics #1Action Comics #1000
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Superman franchise media
Comic strips
Superman (1939–1966)The World's Greatest Superheroes (1978–1985)Superman: The Complete Comic Strips 1939-1966 (2013-present) - Reprint book collection
Radio
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Live-action films
Serials
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1978 film series
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DC Extended Universe
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Animated films
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Documentary films
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Television
Live-action
Adventures of SupermanThe Adventures of Superboy (pilot)SuperboyLois & ClarkSmallvilleSupergirlKryptonSuperman & Lois
Animation
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Novels
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Other media
It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman (musical)The Adventures of Seinfeld & Superman (advertisement)
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Related
Christopher and Dana Reeve FoundationHollywoodland"Lucy and Superman" (I Love Lucy episode, 1957)"Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex"National Comics Publications, Inc. v. Fawcett Publications, Inc.Sunman (1992 video game)Superman curseSuperman ice cream"Superman and Paula Brown's New Snowsuit""The Reign of the Superman"Superman and Lois LaneSuperman '78
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Supporting characters
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Enemies
Antagonists
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Special members
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Alternate continuities
Legion of Galactic Guardians 2099Superboy's LegionLegion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century
In other media
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Adventure ComicsAtmosDev-EmThe Final NightHeroes of LallorInterlacInvasion!KwaiL.E.G.I.O.N.Legion of Super-PetsR.E.B.E.L.S.Science PoliceSodam YatUnited PlanetsWanderersWorkforceZero Hour: Crisis in TimeDC League of Super-Pets
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Lex Luthor
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Supporting
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Notable former members
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Batman: Assault on ArkhamSuicide Squad: Hell to Pay
Live-action
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Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
Related articles
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Superboy
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Main supporting
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Gotham City Police
Department contacts
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Neutral characters
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Recurring
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Central rogues
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Mobsters
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Justice League
2017
12A
2h
IMDb RATING
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
Ben Affleck, Jeremy Irons, Amy Adams, Henry Cavill, Jason Momoa, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, and Ray Fisher in Justice League (2017)
Extended Trailer
Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman's selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his new-found ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy.
Director
Zack Snyder
Writers
Jerry SiegelJoe ShusterChris Terrio
Stars
Ben AffleckGal GadotJason Momoa
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Awards
2 wins & 14 nominations
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Justice League Trailer
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'Steppenwolf' Trailer
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Official Heroes Trailer
Trailer 3:14
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Comic-Con Sneak Peek
Trailer 4:12
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Official Trailer
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Special Comic-Con Footage
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DC’s Justice League: Cosmic Chaos
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Photos659
Jason Momoa in Justice League (2017)
Ben Affleck in Justice League (2017)
Gal Gadot in Justice League (2017)
Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Jason Momoa, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, and Ray Fisher in Justice League (2017)
Ezra Miller in Justice League (2017)
Ray Fisher in Justice League (2017)
Justice League (2017)
Ben Affleck and Jason Momoa in Justice League (2017)
Ben Affleck, Jason Momoa, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, and Ray Fisher in Justice League (2017)
Joe Morton in Justice League (2017)
Jason Momoa in Justice League (2017)
Ben Affleck, J.K. Simmons, Gal Gadot, and Ezra Miller in Justice League (2017)
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Top cast
Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck
Batman…
Gal Gadot
Gal Gadot
Wonder Woman…
Jason Momoa
Jason Momoa
Aquaman…
Ezra Miller
Ezra Miller
The Flash…
Henry Cavill
Henry Cavill
Superman…
Amy Adams
Amy Adams
Lois Lane
Ray Fisher
Ray Fisher
Cyborg…
Jeremy Irons
Jeremy Irons
Alfred
Diane Lane
Diane Lane
Martha Kent
Connie Nielsen
Connie Nielsen
Queen Hippolyta
J.K. Simmons
J.K. Simmons
Commissioner Gordon
Ciarán Hinds
Ciarán Hinds
Steppenwolf(voice)
Amber Heard
Amber Heard
Mera
Joe Morton
Joe Morton
Silas Stone
Lisa Loven Kongsli
Lisa Loven Kongsli
Menalippe
Ingvar Sigurdsson
Ingvar Sigurdsson
Mayor
David Thewlis
David Thewlis
Ares
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Zeus
Director
Zack Snyder
Writers
Jerry SiegelJoe ShusterChris Terrio
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Zack Snyder's Films, Ranked by IMDb Users
Zack Snyder has legions of fans who love the director's visual flair in hits like Watchmen, 300, and more. See how IMDb users rank all of his feature films as director.
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More like this
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6.5
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7.9
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7.1
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Storyline
Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman's selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of meta-humans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes-Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash-it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions. —ahmetkozan
Plot summaryPlot synopsis
Taglines
Unite
Genres
ActionAdventureFantasySci-Fi
Certificate
12A
Parents guide
Did you know
Trivia
When the film was shown in Iceland, which uses subtitles rather than dialog dubbing for films with non-Icelandic languages, Jason Momoa's pronunciation of his single line of Icelandic was so unintelligible that it had to be subtitled into Icelandic (often resulting in audience laughter).
Goofs
A powerful bomb that is about to destroy four "city blocks" from inside a bank, does not explode harmlessly just above the roof of that bank.
Quotes
Barry Allen: How many people are on this special fight team?
Bruce Wayne: Three, including you.
Barry Allen: Three? Against what?
Bruce Wayne: I'll tell you on the plane.
Barry Allen: [gets in the car] Plane? What are your superpowers again?
Bruce Wayne: I'm rich.
Crazy credits
There is a scene in the closing credits: Superman and the Flash race each other.
Alternate versions
In March 18, 2021, after almost four years of online petition and fan pressure, Warner Bros. released the original director's cut of Justice League, renamed Zack Snyder's Justice League. The cut was more than two hours longer than the theatrical version, including additional scenes, alternate takes, detailed expositions, more character backstory and even a different camera setup and musical score by Junkie XL. Also, the new version introduced characters that were cut from the theatrical version like Iris West (Kiersey Clemons), Antiope (Robin Wright), Ares (David Thewlis), King Arthur (Francis Mcgee) Martian Manhunter (Harry Lennix), DeSaad (Peter Guinness), Cyborg's mother Elinore (Karen Bryson), Ryan Choi (Zheng Kai) and Justice League's archenemy, Darkseid (Ray Porter). The cut was rated R for violence and language, unlike the theatrical version, which was PG-13.
Connections
Edited into 365 Days, also Known as a Year (2019)
Soundtracks
Batman Theme
(1989)
Composed by Danny Elfman
User reviews2.3K
Featured review
5/10
The Avenger's this is not
You have to feel sorry for DC Comics.
Sure they've made more than a bucket load of cash with many of their releases, including of course this year's box office behemoth and critical darling Wonder Woman, but overall the company has been living in the shadows of Marvel for a number of years now and have been late to the party when it comes to superhero team-up events until now.
Suffering a troubled production that saw original director Zack Snyder depart the project late in the piece due to a family tragedy and replaced by Avenger's mastermind Joss Whedon, Justice League has had a far from smooth run to cinemas, that includes the fact we've never truly been properly introduced to its new main players, Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg, with DC keen to get this ensemble together as quickly as possible.
Considering all of this, Justice League is not what I'd call a "bad" movie, in the sense that I'd warn everyone against seeing it, but this often jumbled and sometimes just not that interesting blockbuster is still far from the all-round winner DC would've been hoping for with Snyder and Whedon's film lacking both a genuinely good story arc (new villain Steppenwolf is just generic baddie 101 or even worse) and any true memorable set-pieces or set-ups.
At what feels like a fairly brisk 120 minute runtime, Justice League is always on the move as we initially get to witness the first meetings between this collection of new friends (the highlight of which is probably Ezra Miller's pizza eating Barry Allen/The Flash) but with so many people, so many different arcs to play out, Snyder and Whedon struggle to bring it all home and action scenes often feel haphazard, some scenes feel rushed or unwanted (a Russian family is given far too much screen time), while all the films colourful characters don't get the airtime they perhaps needed.
After the middling response so far to his take on Batman, Affleck won't be gaining or losing too many supporters here, the verdict is well and truly still out on Cavill's take on Superman, while Gadot is once again great as Wonder Woman. Of the new cast Miller is a fine addition as the awkward Allen, Jason Momoa gives fans hope that his standalone Aquaman will be a lot of fun, while it's surprising just how affecting Ray Fisher is as Cyborg even if his character doesn't seem cut out to get his own standalone feature.
It's a shame then that we don't ever feel like this team is given the scenarios they needed to really gel together. There's chemistry to be found here, even Cavill and Affleck benefit from the likes of Gadot and the new additions, their rather tiresome portrayals enlivened by the fresh, energetic nature of their co-stars but overall the film lacks an energy or pizazz that would've been the kicker to elevate this genuine middle of the road experience to something else entirely.
Final Say –
All in all huge fans of DC will be kept happy with this sometimes enjoyable, sometimes downright bad big screen culmination of hero's and one badly CGI'd and generic villain.
Devoid of anything of true note and without a memorable set-piece, Justice League is unquestionably the poor cousin of The Avenger's but with the talented cast involved, there is enough hope here to suggest that this band of hero's have some room to grow into something special if all the stars align.
2 1/2 terrorised Russian families out of 5
helpful•80
40
eddie_bagginsNov 16, 2017
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FAQ4
Why doesn't Superman beat up Steppenwolf in 1 second flat and be done with it all? Surely he's no match for Supes. Just seems like a huge plot hole
Who are the members of the League?
Who are the villains?
Details
Release date
November 17, 2017 (United Kingdom)
Countries of origin
United StatesCanadaUnited Kingdom
Official site
Official Facebook
Languages
EnglishIrish GaelicRussianIcelandic
Also known as
Justice League Mortal
Filming locations
Djúpavík, Westfjords, Iceland(Bruce Wayne at top of waterfall above village where he meets Aquaman)
Production companies
Warner Bros.RatPac EntertainmentDC Entertainment
See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
Budget
$300,000,000 (estimated)
Gross US & Canada
$229,024,295
Opening weekend US & Canada
$93,842,239Nov 19, 2017
Gross worldwide
$661,326,987
See detailed box office info on IMDbPro
Technical specs
Runtime
2 hours
Color
Color
Sound mix
Dolby Digital12-Track Digital SoundDolby AtmosIMAX 6-TrackSonics-DDPAuro 11.1Dolby Surround 7.1
Aspect ratio
1.85 : 1
The film opens with camera phone footage of Clark Kent/Superman (Henry Cavill) recorded by two kids. They interview him just after one of his heroic missions. One of the kids asks Superman what his favorite thing about Earth is. He smiles but the footage cuts off before he gives his answer.
It's now months later in Gotham City. A man (Holt McCallany) on a rooftop has just committed a robbery. He sees Bruce Wayne/Batman (Ben Affleck) perched on a gargoyle before he leaps over and fights the man. Batman dangles the man over a ledge, using the man's fear to lure out a strange, winged creature. Batman fights the monster until he traps it in a net. The creature explodes moments later, leaving behind three boxes burnt on the wall. Alfred (Jeremy Irons) sees this through the monitor. He tells Batman it's time to round up his team.
It has been several months since Superman's death (from the film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)); people all around the world still mourn him. Martha Kent (Diane Lane) has moved away from her rural home in Smallville while Lois Lane (Amy Adams) feels more alone.
In London, a team of robbers stage a heist in a bank, holding the bank's customers as hostages. Standing atop a statue of the Greek goddess Themis (Lady Justice) Diana Prince/Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) leaps down to stop them. The leader of the robbers plans to use a bomb to destroy nearby technology and bring the city back to the Dark Ages, but Wonder Woman fights back and throws the bomb into the sky as it explodes. The leader then tries to shoot all the hostages; Wonder Woman runs and deflects all the bullets with her gauntlets. She then clashes the gauntlets together to defeat the leader.
Bruce travels to a small town in Iceland to find Arthur Curry, AKA Aquaman (Jason Momoa). Bruce finds him in a tavern and offers him money to go with him, but Arthur declines. He also mentions that he knows about "The Batman" and his crime-fighting in Gotham City, even expressing his admiration. He steps into the harbor and swims away at incredible speed.
Bruce returns home to discuss matters with Alfred. After having no luck getting Arthur on the team, his other options are Victor Stone/Cyborg (Ray Fisher), who is presumed dead, and Barry Allen/The Flash (Ezra Miller), who has been foiling minor criminals with his blinding speed.
Barry visits his father Henry Allen (Billy Crudup) in prison after he was locked up for allegedly murdering his wife when Barry was a child. Henry wants Barry to live his own life and to stop visiting him because he doesn't have any hope that he will ever be freed.
On Themyscira, the Amazons are guarding a cube known as a Mother Box. The cube has been pulsating with energy recently, reactivated from an unknown source. A beam comes down from the sky and a swarm of Parademons descend with their leader, Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds). He attempts to take the Mother Box, prompting the Amazons to fight back. Steppenwolf and his Parademons force the fight outside the temple where Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) tries to keep the box from their enemy in a furious chase across the countryside. Steppenwolf proves to be too much for the Amazons and succeeds in taking the box back with him. Hippolyta then tells her general they must ignite a fire in a temple because Diana will know what it means. Hippolyta fires the burning arrow, and Diana sees it on the news.
At Star Labs, Silas Stone (Joe Morton) is leaving his job and goes home to Victor. Victor is hiding after everyone thought he died, and he is worried that his new appearance will have everyone see him as a monster. He also sadly remarks that his enhanced networking power bombards him constantly with knowledge of the entire world and that it feels overwhelming. His father pleads with him to hold on and that his powers will be useful.
Diana goes to find Bruce. They walk by the lake near his forest home as she tells him the history of Steppenwolf and the Mother Boxes; three exist and if brought together, Steppenwolf would create The Unity, which destroys planets and reshapes them into the hellscape of Steppenwolf's home planet. Long ago, the Amazons, Atlanteans, and the Green Lantern Corps all joined forces to fight Steppenwolf and his army, sending him away and driving him mad. Anyone who fell in battle to Steppenwolf would be reborn as Parademons, the winged monsters Bruce has been tracking. The Amazons kept one of the Boxes, the Atlanteans kept another, while the third was kept hidden in secrecy by humankind so that nobody may be tempted to harness its power. As Bruce and Diana walk away, Cyborg is watching them nearby.
Bruce locates Barry's hideout in Central City. While he knows who Barry really is, Barry denies it until Bruce throws a Batarang, which Barry easily catches. Realizing Bruce is Batman, Barry agrees to join him. He flies them back to meet with Diana.
Cyborg contacts Diana through Bruce's computer in the Batcave. They agree to meet up in an isolated location for Diana to try and convince Cyborg to join them, but he flies away before agreeing to anything.
In a remote region of Russia, a poor family goes about their normal business in their small house, which sits in view of an abandoned nuclear power plant. Outside they hear a noise that sounds like insect wings flapping, only much louder. The family begins to barricade themselves inside. Outside, Parademons have descended on the nuclear power plant. Inside one of the cooling towers, Steppenwolf places the cube he'd stolen from the Amazonians in a stone monolith. Strange, thick roots suddenly emerge from the ground and spread to the surrounding area. Steppenwolf gloats that the Unity is at hand and he will take his place among the new gods and a being he calls "Darkseid".
On the ocean, a fisherman is caught in a terrible storm. Arthur rescues him and brings him to the tavern for some whiskey. Arthur notices a viscous green substance on his fingers. He leaves the tavern and heads back down to Atlantis. Before he arrives, however, Steppenwolf and the Parademons invade and take the second Mother Box, battling the surprised Atlanteans. Mera (Amber Heard) tries to intervene as Arthur arrives, but the Mother Box is gone. He tells her he'll need something from her before he goes after Steppenwolf.
Meanwhile, Police Commissioner Jim Gordon (J.K. Simmons) is alerted to a series of civilian kidnappings. He sends out the Bat Signal to contact Batman. Joined by Wonder Woman and The Flash, and then Cyborg, Gordon tells them what has happened, showing them a sketch from a witness: Diana identifies it as a Parademon. The four head off to save the civilians.
Batman and his team track Steppenwolf to an island near Gotham Harbor. Steppenwolf and the Parademons are pressing their hostages for the location of the third Mother Box. One of the hostages is Silas, who used the power of the Mother Box to revive Victor after his accident. Cyborg initiates the attack against Steppenwolf while The Flash, scared at first to get involved in combat but inspired by Batman, takes Steppenwolf's hostages to safety. The Flash rejoins Wonder Woman and Cyborg as they battle the Parademons while Batman uses his Nightcrawler to battle the Parademons. When Cyborg fires a missile from the Nightcrawler Steppenwolf, he easily catches it and aims it at the tunnel wall. Water from Gotham City Harbor floods in. Aquaman appears and stops the water from engulfing his allies with a five-tined fork given to him by Mara. The team escapes in the Nightcrawler.
Back at Bruce's home, Cyborg reveals that Star Labs was holding the Mother Box. Bruce comes up with the idea to use the Mother Box's power to revive Superman so that he may help them defeat Steppenwolf. Diana disagrees with the plan for fear that Superman may come back the way Zod came back as Doomsday. Bruce tells them he has a backup plan in case Superman becomes violent and uncontrollable after his resurrection. Despite several misgivings about the plan, they decide to give the idea a shot. Barry and Victor go to the cemetery to dig up Superman's grave.
The League goes to the Kryptonian ship in Metropolis with the Box and Superman's body. When Cyborg tells them the control panel is burned out, The Flash devises a plan to charge the field; he'll run from a distance to build a stronger charge. It works and Superman comes back to life, immediately rocketing out of the ship, and the others go after him. They find him nearby, at his memorial that was damaged in the battle with Doomsday. He scans them with his X-ray vision while Cyborg's defense system activates on its own. He fires a blast at Superman, leading him to attack the others. The League tries to defend themselves as he comes close to killing them. They are stopped when Batman's strategy for subduing the confused Superman is revealed: Lois is brought to the scene. Superman calms down and flies away with Lois. Distracted by the fight with Superman, the team doesn't realize that Steppenwolf has taken the last Mother Box from the ship.
Clark Kent and Lois are outside his old childhood home in Smallville. He still feels overwhelmed after being brought back to life, but Lois convinces him that the other heroes and the rest of the world need him. Moments later, Martha drives up and runs up to embrace Clark.
In Russia, Steppenwolf brings all the Boxes together to begin The Unity. Everything around him starts to burn and decay. More of the huge roots burst from the ground, destroying anything in their path. The League arrives to begin the final showdown. Batman will take the troop transport they flew to the site in and penetrate the energy dome that has covered the nuclear plant. He'll use the Batmobile to broadcast a tone that attracts the Parademons while his comrades fight them on their way to Steppenwolf. The League is able to kill many of them and they advance to Steppenwolf and the Motherboxes. Communicating with Alfred, Batman sends The Flash out to rescue the family from the house.
Cyborg tries to separate the boxes, and Steppenwolf tries to tear him apart. Just as it seems the tide of the battle with turn in Steppenwolf's favor, Superman arrives and begins to fight alongside the rest of the League. He hears the panicked voices of nearby civilians and rushes off to help them, guiding The Flash to the family that was attempting to flee the site. The Flash pushes their truck to safety and then sees Superman carrying an entire apartment building to safety.
Superman returns to the power plant where Cyborg has reassembled the leg Steppenwolf pulled from his body. Together, Superman and Cyborg pull the Boxes apart, stopping the transformation process. Enraged, Steppenwolf tries to finish them off himself, but Superman uses his ice breath to freeze Steppenwolf's ax, allowing Diana to shatter it with her sword. Now weakened and bewildered, the Parademons sense Steppenwolf's fear and begin to tear him apart as they are sent back to their world.
Later, the heroes return to their homes. Barry gets a job with the Central City forensics department and he lets a proud Henry know about it. Victor works with his father at Star Labs. Bruce and Clark visit his childhood home and see that it's being returned to Martha Kent after it was foreclosed. Bruce tells Clark he bought the bank that owned it so he could return it to them. Arthur returns to Atlantis to fulfill his role as king. Bruce, Diana, and Alfred look into an abandoned building to establish the Hall of Justice. Lois then writes an article stating that there is once again hope out there. The last thing we see is Superman flying into the sky above Metropolis.
Mid-Credits Scene: Superman and The Flash start a race to see who is faster, with a bet placed that if The Flash loses, he has to invite the others to brunch, and if he wins, he gets to tell everyone he beat Superman.
Post-Credits Scene: Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) has escaped prison and left an impostor in his cell. On his yacht, he is visited by Slade Wilson/Deathstroke (Joe Manganiello). Lex proposes an idea to Slade that they come up with their own little team... the Legion of Doom.
DC Comics
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the US publisher of comics. For the Scottish publisher of comics and newspapers, see DC Thomson.
DC Comics, Inc.
DC Comics' current logo, introduced with the DC Rebirth relaunch in 2016
Parent company DC Entertainment
Status Active
Founded
1935; 89 years ago[1][2][3] (as National Comics Publications)
1961; 63 years ago (as National Periodical Publications)
1977; 47 years ago (as DC Comics)
Founder Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson
Country of origin United States
Headquarters location 4000 Warner Blvd., Burbank, California
Distribution
Lunar Distribution (direct market)[4]
Penguin Random House Publisher Services (bookstores)
Key people
Jim Lee (President, Publisher, CCO)
Anne DePies (SVP, General Manager)
Marie Javins (EIC)
Publication types List of publications
Fiction genres
Superhero
Fantasy
Science fiction
Action
Adventure
Imprints List of imprints
Owner(s) Warner Bros. Discovery
No. of employees ~230[5]
Official website dc.com
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment,[6][7] a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.[8][9]
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their first comic under the DC banner being published in 1937.[10] The majority of its publications take place within the fictional DC Universe and feature numerous culturally iconic heroic characters, such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, the Flash, and Aquaman; as well as famous fictional teams including the Justice League, the Justice Society of America, the Teen Titans, and the Suicide Squad. The universe also features an assortment of well-known supervillains such as the Joker, Lex Luthor, Deathstroke, the Reverse-Flash, Brainiac, and Darkseid. The company has published non-DC Universe-related material, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Fables and many titles under their alternative imprint Vertigo and now DC Black Label.
Originally in Manhattan at 432 Fourth Avenue, the DC Comics offices have been located at 480 and later 575 Lexington Avenue; 909 Third Avenue; 75 Rockefeller Plaza; 666 Fifth Avenue; and 1325 Avenue of the Americas. DC had its headquarters at 1700 Broadway, Midtown Manhattan, New York City, but DC Entertainment relocated its headquarters to Burbank, California in April 2015.[11]
Penguin Random House Publisher Services distributes DC Comics' books to the bookstore market,[12] while Diamond Comic Distributors supplied the comics shop direct market[11][13] until June 2020, when Lunar Distribution and UCS Comic Distributors, who already dominated direct market distribution on account of the disruption to Diamond that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic, replaced Diamond to distribute to that market.[4]
DC Comics and its longtime major competitor Marvel Comics (acquired in 2009 by The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. Discovery's main competitor) together shared approximately 70% of the American comic book market in 2017,[14] though this number may give a distorted view since graphic novels are excluded. With the sales of all books included, DC is the second biggest publisher, after Viz Media, and Marvel is third.[15]
History
National Comics Publications
Main articles: National Comics Publications and All-American Publications
Golden Age
Main article: Golden Age of Comic Books
Pioneers of DC Comics who started in the 1930s[16]
Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson Jerry Siegel Joe Shuster Bob Kane Bill Finger Sheldon Mayer Gardner Fox
Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson Jerry Siegel Joe Shuster Bob Kane Bill Finger Sheldon Mayer Gardner Fox
Founder of DC Comics Creators of Superman Creators of Batman and the Joker Early founder Created various characters
Cover art of the first comic book by National Comics Publications, New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine #1 (cover dated February 1935). Unlike comic book magazines series up to that point, characters in this book, such as the Western character Jack Wood, were original creations, and did not originate in comic strips.[17]
Entrepreneur Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson founded National Allied Publications in 1935 intended as an American comic book publishing company.[1][2][3] The first publishing of the company debuted with the tabloid-sized New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine #1 (the first of a comic series later called More Fun Comics) with a cover date of February 1935. It was an anthology title essentially for original stories not reprinted from newspaper strips, unlike many comic book series before it.[17][18] While superhero comics are what DC Comics is known for throughout modern times, the genres in the first anthology titles consisted of funnies, Western comics and adventure-related stories. The character Doctor Occult, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in December 1935 with issue No. 6 of New Fun Comics, is considered the earliest recurring superhero created by DC who is still used.[19][20] The company created a second recurring title called New Comics No. 1, released in December 1935, which was the start of the long-running Adventure Comics series featuring many anthology titles as well.[21]
Wheeler-Nicholson's next and final title, Detective Comics, advertised with a cover illustration dated December 1936, eventually premiered three months late with a March 1937 cover date. The themed anthology that revolved originally around fictional detective stories became in modern times the longest-running ongoing comic series. A notable debut in the first issue was Slam Bradley, created in a collaboration between Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.[20] In 1937, in debt to printing-plant owner and magazine distributor Harry Donenfeld — who also published pulp magazines and operated as a principal in the magazine distributorship Independent News — Wheeler-Nicholson had to take Donenfeld on as a partner to publish Detective Comics No. 1. Detective Comics, Inc. (which would help inspire the abbreviation DC) was formed, with Wheeler-Nicholson and Jack S. Liebowitz, Donenfeld's accountant, listed as owners. Major Wheeler-Nicholson remained for a year, but cash-flow problems continued, and he was forced out. Shortly afterwards, Detective Comics, Inc. purchased the remains of National Allied, also known as Nicholson Publishing, at a bankruptcy auction.[22]
American comic books such as Action Comics #1 and Detective Comics #27 introduced two well known superheroes to life: Superman and Batman.
Action Comics No. 1, the iconic issue that introduced Superman and helped birth the superhero genre
Detective Comics No. 27, featuring the first appearance of Batman
Meanwhile, Max Gaines formed the sister company All-American Publications in 1939.[23] Detective Comics, Inc. soon launched a new anthology title, entitled Action Comics. Issue#1, cover dated June 1938, first featured characters such as Superman by Siegel and Shuster, Zatara by Fred Guardineer and Tex Thompson by Ken Finch and Bernard Baily. It is considered to be the first comic book to feature the new character archetype, soon known as "superheroes", and was a sales hit bringing to life a new age of comic books, with the credit going to the first appearance of Superman both being featured on the cover and within the issue. It is now one of the most expensive and valuable comic book issues of all time.[24] The issue's first featured tale which starred Superman was the first to feature an origin story of superheroes with the reveal of an unnamed planet, later known as Krypton, that he is said to be from. The issue also contained the first essential supporting character and one of the earliest essential female characters in comics with Lois Lane as Superman's first depicted romantic interest.[25] The Green Hornet-inspired character known as the Crimson Avenger by Jim Chamber was featured in Detective Comics No. 20 (October 1938). The character makes a distinction of being the first masked vigilante published by DC.[26][27] An unnamed "office boy" retconned as Jimmy Olsen's first appearance was revealed in Action Comics #6's (November 1938) Superman story by Siegel and Shuster.[28][29]
Starting in 1939, Siegel and Shuster's Superman would be the first comic-derived character to appear outside of comic magazines and later appear in newspaper strips starring himself, which first introduced Superman's biological parents, Jor-El and Lara.[30] All-American Publications' first comic series called All-American Comics was first published in April 1939.[25] The series Detective Comics would make successful history as first featuring Batman by Bob Kane and Bill Finger in issue No.27 (March 1939) with the request of more superhero titles. Batman was depicted as a masked vigilante wearing a caped suit known as the Batsuit, along with riding a car that would later be referred to as the Batmobile. Also within the Batman story was the supporting character, James Gordon, Police commissioner of what later would be Gotham City Police Department.[31] Despite being a parody, All-American Publications introduced the earliest female character who would later be a female superhero called Red Tornado (though disguised as a male) in Ma Hunkel who first appeared in the "Scribbly" stories in All-American Comics No. 3 (June 1939).[32] Another important Batman debut was the introduction of the fictional mansion known as Wayne Manor first seen in Detective Comics No. 28 (June 1939).[31] The series Adventure Comics would eventually follow in the footsteps of Action Comics and Detective Comics, featuring a new recurring superhero. The superhero called Sandman was first written in issue No. 40 (cover date: July 1939).[33] Action Comics No. 13 (June 1939) introduced the first recurring Superman enemy referred to as the Ultra-Humanite first introduced by Siegel and Shuster, commonly cited as one of the earliest supervillains in comic books.[34] The character Superman had another breakthrough when he was given his own comic book, which was unheard of at the time.[35] The first issue, introduced in June 1939, helped directly introduce Superman's adoptive parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent, by Siegel and Shuster.[28] Detective Comics #29 (July 1939) introduced the Batman's utility belt by Gardner Fox.[36][31] Outside of DC's publishing, a character later integrated as DC was introduced by Fox Feature Syndicate named the Blue Beetle released in August 1939.[37][38] Fictional cities would be a common theme of DC. The first revealed city was Superman's home city, Metropolis, that was originally named in Action Comics No. 16 in September 1939.[39][40] Detective Comics No. 31 in September 1939 by Gardner Fox, Bob Kane and Sheldon Moldoff introduced a romantic interest of Batman named Julie Madison, the weapon known as the Batarang that Batman commonly uses, and the fictional aircraft called the Batplane.[31] Batman's origin would first be shown in Detective Comics No. 33 (Nov. 1939) first depicting the death of Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne by a mugger. The origin story would remain crucial for the fictional character since the inception.[17][41] The Daily Planet (a common setting of Superman) was first named in a Superman newspaper strip around November 1939.[42] The superhero Doll Man was the first superhero by Quality, which DC now owns.[43] Fawcett Comics was formed around 1939 and would become DC's original competitor company in the next decade.[44]
National Allied Publications soon merged with Detective Comics, Inc., forming National Comics Publications on September 30, 1946.[a] National Comics Publications absorbed an affiliated concern, Max Gaines' and Liebowitz' All-American Publications. In the same year Gaines let Liebowitz buy him out, and kept only Picture Stories from the Bible as the foundation of his own new company, EC Comics. At that point, "Liebowitz promptly orchestrated the merger of All-American and Detective Comics into National Comics... Next he took charge of organizing National Comics, [the self-distributorship] Independent News, and their affiliated firms into a single corporate entity, National Periodical Publications".[46] National Periodical Publications became publicly traded on the stock market in 1961.[47][48]
Despite the official names "National Comics" and "National Periodical Publications", the company began branding itself as "Superman-DC" as early as 1940, and the company became known colloquially as DC Comics for years before the official adoption of that name in 1977.[49]
The company began to move aggressively against what it saw as copyright-violating imitations from other companies, such as Fox Comics' Wonder Man, which (according to court testimony) Fox started as a copy of Superman. This extended to DC suing Fawcett Comics over Captain Marvel, at the time comics' top-selling character (see National Comics Publications, Inc. v. Fawcett Publications, Inc.). Faced with declining sales and the prospect of bankruptcy if it lost, Fawcett capitulated in 1953 and ceased publishing comics. Years later, Fawcett sold the rights for Captain Marvel to DC—which in 1972 revived Captain Marvel in the new title Shazam![50] featuring artwork by his creator, C. C. Beck. In the meantime, the abandoned trademark had been seized by Marvel Comics in 1967, with the creation of their Captain Marvel, forbidding the DC comic itself to be called that. While Captain Marvel did not recapture his old popularity, he later appeared in a Saturday morning live action TV adaptation and gained a prominent place in the mainstream continuity DC calls the DC Universe.
When the popularity of superheroes faded in the late 1940s, the company focused on such genres as science fiction, Westerns, humor, and romance. DC also published crime and horror titles, but relatively tame ones, and thus avoided the mid-1950s backlash against such comics. A handful of the most popular superhero-titles, including Action Comics and Detective Comics, the medium's two longest-running titles, continued publication.
Silver Age
Main article: Silver Age of Comic Books
In the mid-1950s, editorial director Irwin Donenfeld and publisher Liebowitz directed editor Julius Schwartz (whose roots lay in the science-fiction book market) to produce a one-shot Flash story in the try-out title Showcase. Instead of reviving the old character, Schwartz had writers Robert Kanigher and John Broome, penciler Carmine Infantino, and inker Joe Kubert create an entirely new super-speedster, updating and modernizing the Flash's civilian identity, costume, and origin with a science-fiction bent. The Flash's reimagining in Showcase No. 4 (October 1956) proved sufficiently popular that it soon led to a similar revamping of the Green Lantern character, the introduction of the modern all-star team Justice League of America (JLA), and many more superheroes, heralding what historians and fans call the Silver Age of Comic Books.
National did not reimagine its continuing characters (primarily Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman), but radically overhauled them. The Superman family of titles, under editor Mort Weisinger, introduced such enduring characters as Supergirl, Bizarro, and Brainiac. The Batman titles, under editor Jack Schiff, introduced the successful Batwoman, Bat-Girl, Ace the Bat-Hound, and Bat-Mite in an attempt to modernize the strip with non-science-fiction elements. Schwartz, together with artist Infantino, then revitalized Batman in what the company promoted as the "New Look", with relatively down-to-Earth stories re-emphasizing Batman as a detective. Meanwhile, editor Kanigher successfully introduced a whole family of Wonder Woman characters having fantastic adventures in a mythological context.
Since the 1940s, when Superman, Batman, and many of the company's other heroes began appearing in stories together, DC's characters inhabited a shared continuity that, decades later, was dubbed the "DC Universe" by fans. With the story "Flash of Two Worlds", in Flash No. 123 (September 1961), editor Schwartz (with writer Gardner Fox and artists Infantino and Joe Giella) introduced a concept that allowed slotting the 1930s and 1940s Golden Age heroes into this continuity via the explanation that they lived on an other-dimensional "Earth 2", as opposed to the modern heroes' "Earth 1"—in the process creating the foundation for what was later called the DC Multiverse.
National Periodical Publications
DC's introduction of the reimagined superheroes did not go unnoticed by other comics companies. In 1961, with DC's JLA as the specific spur,[b] Marvel Comics writer-editor Stan Lee and a robust creator Jack Kirby ushered in the sub-Silver Age "Marvel Age" of comics with the debut issue of The Fantastic Four.[52] Reportedly, DC ignored the initial success of Marvel with this editorial change until its consistently strengthening sales, albeit also benefiting Independent News' business as their distributor as well, made that impossible. That commercial situation especially applied with Marvel's superior sell-through percentage numbers which were typically 70% to DC's roughly 50%, which meant DC's publications were barely making a profit in comparison after returns from the distributors were calculated while Marvel was making an excellent profit by comparison.[53]
However, the senior DC staff were reportedly at a loss at this time to understand how this small publishing house was achieving this increasingly threatening commercial strength. For instance, when Marvel's product was examined in a meeting, Marvel's emphasis on more sophisticated character-based narrative and artist-driven visual storytelling was apparently ignored for self-deluding guesses at the brand's popularity which included superficial reasons like the presence of the color red or word balloons on the cover, or that the perceived crudeness of the interior art was somehow more appealing to readers. When Lee learned about DC's subsequent experimental attempts to imitate these perceived details, he amused himself by arranging direct defiance of those assumptions in Marvel's publications as sales strengthened further to frustrate the competition.[54]
However, this ignorance of Marvel's true appeal did not extend to some of the writing talent during this period, from which there were some attempts to emulate Marvel's narrative approach. For instance, there was the Doom Patrol series by Arnold Drake, a writer who previously warned the management of the new rival's strength;[55] a superhero team of outsiders who resented their freakish powers,[56] which Drake later speculated was plagiarized by Stan Lee to create The X-Men.[57] There was also the young Jim Shooter who purposely emulated Marvel's writing when he wrote for DC after much study of both companies' styles, such as for the Legion of Super-Heroes feature.[58] In 1966, National Periodical Publications had set up its own television arm, led by Allen Ducovny to develop and produce projects for television, with Superman TV Corporation to handle its television distribution of NPP's TV shows.[59]
A 1966 Batman TV show on the ABC network sparked a temporary spike in comic book sales, and a brief fad for superheroes in Saturday morning animation (Filmation created most of DC's initial cartoons) and other media. DC significantly lightened the tone of many DC comics—particularly Batman and Detective Comics—to better complement the "camp" tone of the TV series. This tone coincided with the famous "Go-Go Checks" checkerboard cover-dress which featured a black-and-white checkerboard strip (all DC books cover dated February 1966 until August 1967) at the top of each comic, a misguided attempt by then-managing editor Irwin Donenfeld to make DC's output "stand out on the newsracks".[60] In particular, DC artist, Carmine Infantino, complained that the visual cover distinctiveness made DC's titles easier for readers to see and then avoid in favor of Marvel's titles.[61]
In 1967, Batman artist Infantino (who had designed popular Silver Age characters Batgirl and the Phantom Stranger) rose from art director to become DC's editorial director. With the growing popularity of upstart rival Marvel Comics threatening to topple DC from its longtime number-one position in the comics industry, he attempted to infuse the company with more focus towards marketing new and existing titles and characters with more adult sensibilities towards an emerging older age group of superhero comic book fans that grew out of Marvel's efforts to market their superhero line to college-aged adults. He also recruited major talents such as ex-Marvel artist and Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko and promising newcomers Neal Adams and Denny O'Neil and replaced some existing DC editors with artist-editors, including Joe Kubert and Dick Giordano, to give DC's output a more artistic critical eye.
Kinney National / Warner Communications (1967–1990)
In 1967, National Periodical Publications was purchased by Kinney National Company,[62] which purchased Warner Bros.-Seven Arts in 1969. Kinney National spun off its non-entertainment assets in 1972 (as National Kinney Corporation) and changed its name to Warner Communications Inc.
In 1970, Jack Kirby moved from Marvel Comics to DC, at the end of the Silver Age of Comics, in which Kirby's contributions to Marvel played a large, integral role.
As artist Gil Kane described:
Jack was the single most influential figure in the turnaround in Marvel's fortunes from the time he rejoined the company ... It wasn't merely that Jack conceived most of the characters that are being done, but ... Jack's point of view and philosophy of drawing became the governing philosophy of the entire publishing company and, beyond the publishing company, of the entire field ... [Marvel took] Jack and use[d] him as a primer. They would get artists ... and they taught them the ABCs, which amounted to learning Jack Kirby ... Jack was like the Holy Scripture and they simply had to follow him without deviation. That's what was told to me ... It was how they taught everyone to reconcile all those opposing attitudes to one single master point of view.[63]
Given carte blanche to write and illustrate his own stories, he created a handful of thematically-linked series he called collectively "The Fourth World". In the existing series Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen and in his own, newly-launched series New Gods, Mister Miracle, and The Forever People, Kirby introduced such enduring characters and concepts as arch-villain Darkseid and the other-dimensional realm Apokolips. Furthermore, Kirby intended their stories to be reprinted in collected editions, in a publishing format that was later called the trade paperback, which became a standard industry practice decades later. While sales were respectable, they did not meet DC management's initially high expectations, and also suffered from a lack of comprehension and internal support from Infantino. By 1973 the "Fourth World" was all cancelled, although Kirby's conceptions soon became integral to the broadening of the DC Universe, especially after the major toy-company, Kenner Products, judged them ideal for their action-figure adaptation of the DC Universe, the Super Powers Collection.[64] Obligated by his contract, Kirby created other unrelated series for DC, including Kamandi, The Demon, and OMAC, before ultimately returning to Marvel Comics in 1976.
Bronze Age
Main article: Bronze Age of Comic Books
Following the science-fiction innovations of the Silver Age, the comics of the 1970s and 1980s became known as the Bronze Age, as fantasy gave way to more naturalistic and sometimes darker themes. Illegal drug use, banned by the Comics Code Authority, explicitly appeared in comics for the first time in Marvel Comics' story "Green Goblin Reborn!" in The Amazing Spider-Man No. 96 (May 1971), and after the Code's updating in response, DC offered a drug-fueled storyline in writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams' Green Lantern, beginning with the story "Snowbirds Don't Fly" in the retitled Green Lantern / Green Arrow No. 85 (September 1971), which depicted Speedy, the teen sidekick of superhero archer Green Arrow, as having become a heroin addict.
Jenette Kahn, a former children's magazine publisher, replaced Infantino as editorial director in January 1976. As it happened, her first task even before being formally hired, was to convince Bill Sarnoff, the head of Warner Publishing, to keep DC as a publishing concern, as opposed to simply managing their licensing of their properties.[65] With that established, DC had attempted to compete with the now-surging Marvel by dramatically increasing its output and attempting to win the market by flooding it. This included launching series featuring such new characters as Firestorm and Shade, the Changing Man, as well as an increasing array of non-superhero titles, in an attempt to recapture the pre-Wertham days of post-War comicdom.
DC Comics
In 1977, the company officially changed its name to DC Comics.[66] It had used the brand "Superman-DC" since the 1950s, and was colloquially known as DC Comics for years.[67]
In June 1978, five months before the release of the first Superman movie, Kahn expanded the line further, increasing the number of titles and story pages, and raising the price from 35 cents to 50 cents. Most series received eight-page back-up features while some had full-length twenty-five-page stories. This was a move the company called the "DC Explosion".[68] The move was not successful, however, and corporate parent Warner dramatically cut back on these largely unsuccessful titles, firing many staffers in what industry watchers dubbed "the DC Implosion".[69] In September 1978, the line was dramatically reduced and standard-size books returned to 17-page stories but for a still increased 40 cents.[70] By 1980, the books returned to 50 cents with a 25-page story count but the story pages replaced house ads in the books.
Seeking new ways to boost market share, the new team of publisher Kahn, vice president Paul Levitz, and managing editor Giordano addressed the issue of talent instability. To that end—and following the example of Atlas/Seaboard Comics[71] and such independent companies as Eclipse Comics—DC began to offer royalties in place of the industry-standard work-for-hire agreement in which creators worked for a flat fee and signed away all rights, giving talent a financial incentive tied to the success of their work. As it happened, the implementation of these incentives proved opportune considering Marvel Comics' Editor-in-Chief, Jim Shooter, was alienating much of his company's creative staff with his authoritarian manner and major talents there went to DC like Roy Thomas, Gene Colan, Marv Wolfman, and George Perez.[72]
In addition, emulating the era's new television form, the miniseries while addressing the matter of an excessive number of ongoing titles fizzling out within a few issues of their start, DC created the industry concept of the comic book limited series. This publishing format allowed for the deliberate creation of finite storylines within a more flexible publishing format that could showcase creations without forcing the talent into unsustainable open-ended commitments. The first such title was World of Krypton in 1979, and its positive results led to subsequent similar titles and later more ambitious productions like Camelot 3000 for the direct market in 1982.[73]
These changes in policy shaped the future of the medium as a whole, and in the short term allowed DC to entice creators away from rival Marvel, and encourage stability on individual titles. In November 1980 DC launched the ongoing series The New Teen Titans, by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez, two popular talents with a history of success. Their superhero-team comic, superficially similar to Marvel's ensemble series X-Men, but rooted in DC history, earned significant sales[74] in part due to the stability of the creative team, who both continued with the title for six full years. In addition, Wolfman and Pérez took advantage of the limited-series option to create a spin-off title, Tales of the New Teen Titans, to present origin stories of their original characters without having to break the narrative flow of the main series or oblige them to double their work load with another ongoing title.
Modern Age
Main article: Modern Age of Comic Books
This successful revitalization of the Silver Age Teen Titans led DC's editors[75] to seek the same for the wider DC Universe. The result, the Wolfman/Pérez 12-issue limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths, gave the company an opportunity to realign and jettison some of the characters' complicated backstory and continuity discrepancies. A companion publication, two volumes entitled The History of the DC Universe, set out the revised history of the major DC characters. Crisis featured many key deaths that shaped the DC Universe for the following decades, and it separated the timeline of DC publications into pre- and post-"Crisis".
Meanwhile, a parallel update had started in the non-superhero and horror titles. Since early 1984, the work of British writer Alan Moore had revitalized the horror series The Saga of the Swamp Thing, and soon numerous British writers, including Neil Gaiman and Grant Morrison, began freelancing for the company. The resulting influx of sophisticated horror-fantasy material led to DC in 1993 establishing the Vertigo mature-readers imprint, which did not subscribe to the Comics Code Authority.[76]
Two DC limited series, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller and Watchmen by Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, drew attention in the mainstream press for their dark psychological complexity and promotion of the antihero.[77] These titles helped pave the way for comics to be more widely accepted in literary-criticism circles and to make inroads into the book industry, with collected editions of these series as commercially successful trade paperbacks.[78]
The mid-1980s also saw the end of many long-running DC war comics, including series that had been in print since the 1960s. These titles, all with over 100 issues, included Sgt. Rock, G.I. Combat, The Unknown Soldier, and Weird War Tales.
Time Warner / Time Warner Entertainment / AOL Time Warner (1990–2018)
In March 1989, Warner Communications merged with Time Inc., making DC Comics a subsidiary of Time Warner. In June, the first Tim Burton-directed Batman movie was released, and DC began publishing its hardcover series of DC Archive Editions, collections of many of their early, key comics series, featuring rare and expensive stories unseen by many modern fans. Restoration for many of the Archive Editions was handled by Rick Keene with colour restoration by DC's long-time resident colourist, Bob LeRose. These collections attempted to retroactively credit many of the writers and artists who had worked without much recognition for DC during the early period of comics when individual credits were few and far between.
The comics industry experienced a brief boom in the early 1990s, thanks to a combination of speculative purchasing (mass purchase of the books as collectible items, with intent to resell at a higher value as the rising value of older issues, was thought to imply that all comics would rise dramatically in price) and several storylines which gained attention from the mainstream media. DC's extended storylines in which Superman was killed, Batman was crippled and superhero Green Lantern turned into the supervillain Parallax resulted in dramatically increased sales, but the increases were as temporary as the hero's replacements. Sales dropped off as the industry went into a major slump, while manufactured "collectables" numbering in the millions replaced quality with quantity until fans and speculators alike deserted the medium in droves.
DC's Piranha Press and other imprints (including the mature readers line Vertigo, and Helix, a short-lived science fiction imprint) were introduced to facilitate compartmentalized diversification and allow for specialized marketing of individual product lines. They increased the use of non-traditional contractual arrangements, including the dramatic rise of creator-owned projects, leading to a significant increase in critically lauded work (much of it for Vertigo) and the licensing of material from other companies. DC also increased publication of book-store friendly formats, including trade paperback collections of individual serial comics, as well as original graphic novels.
One of the other imprints was Impact Comics from 1991 to 1992 in which the Archie Comics superheroes were licensed and revamped.[79][80] The stories in the line were part of its own shared universe.[81]
DC entered into a publishing agreement with Milestone Media that gave DC a line of comics featuring a culturally and racially diverse range of superhero characters. Although the Milestone line ceased publication after a few years, it yielded the popular animated series Static Shock. DC established Paradox Press to publish material such as the large-format Big Book of... series of multi-artist interpretations on individual themes, and such crime fiction as the graphic novel Road to Perdition. In 1998, DC purchased WildStorm Comics, Jim Lee's imprint under the Image Comics banner, continuing it for many years as a wholly separate imprint – and fictional universe – with its own style and audience. As part of this purchase, DC also began to publish titles under the fledgling WildStorm sub-imprint America's Best Comics (ABC), a series of titles created by Alan Moore, including The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Tom Strong, and Promethea. Moore strongly contested this situation, and DC eventually stopped publishing ABC.
In March 2003 DC acquired publishing and merchandising rights to the long-running fantasy series Elfquest, previously self-published by creators Wendy and Richard Pini under their WaRP Graphics publication banner. This series then followed another non-DC title, Tower Comics' series T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, in collection into DC Archive Editions. In 2004 DC temporarily acquired the North American publishing rights to graphic novels from European publishers 2000 AD and Humanoids. It also rebranded its younger-audience titles with the mascot Johnny DC and established the CMX imprint to reprint translated manga. In 2006, CMX took over from Dark Horse Comics publication of the webcomic Megatokyo in print form. DC also took advantage of the demise of Kitchen Sink Press and acquired the rights to much of the work of Will Eisner, such as his The Spirit series and his graphic novels.
In 2004, DC began laying the groundwork for a full continuity-reshuffling sequel to Crisis on Infinite Earths, promising substantial changes to the DC Universe (and side-stepping the 1994 Zero Hour event which similarly tried to ret-con the history of the DCU). In 2005, the critically lauded Batman Begins film was released; also, the company published several limited series establishing increasingly escalated conflicts among DC's heroes, with events climaxing in the Infinite Crisis limited series. Immediately after this event, DC's ongoing series jumped forward a full year in their in-story continuity, as DC launched a weekly series, 52, to gradually fill in the missing time. Concurrently, DC lost the copyright to "Superboy" (while retaining the trademark) when the heirs of Jerry Siegel used a provision of the 1976 revision to the copyright law to regain ownership.
In 2005, DC launched its "All-Star" line (evoking the title of the 1940s publication), designed to feature some of the company's best-known characters in stories that eschewed the long and convoluted continuity of the DC Universe. The line began with All-Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder and All-Star Superman, with All-Star Wonder Woman and All-Star Batgirl announced in 2006 but neither being released nor scheduled as of the end of 2009.[82]
DC licensed characters from the Archie Comics imprint Red Circle Comics by 2007.[83] They appeared in the Red Circle line, based in the DC Universe, with a series of one-shots followed by a miniseries that lead into two ongoing titles, each lasting 10 issues.[81][84]
DC Entertainment
In 2011, DC rebooted all of its running titles following the Flashpoint storyline. The reboot called The New 52 gave new origin stories and costume designs to many of DC's characters.
DC licensed pulp characters including Doc Savage and the Spirit which it then used, along with some DC heroes, as part of the First Wave comics line launched in 2010 and lasting through fall 2011.[85][86][87]
In May 2011, DC announced it would begin releasing digital versions of their comics on the same day as paper versions.[88]
On June 1, 2011, DC announced that it would end all ongoing series set in the DC Universe in August and relaunch its comic line with 52 issue #1s, starting with Justice League on August 31 (written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Jim Lee), with the rest to follow later on in September.[89][90]
On June 4, 2013, DC unveiled two new digital comic innovations to enhance interactivity: DC2 and DC2 Multiverse. DC2 layers dynamic artwork onto digital comic panels, adding a new level of dimension to digital storytelling, while DC2 Multiverse allows readers to determine a specific story outcome by selecting individual characters, storylines and plot developments while reading the comic, meaning one digital comic has multiple outcomes. DC2 appeared in the digital-first title, Batman '66, based on the 1960s television series and DC2 Multiverse appeared in Batman: Arkham Origins, a digital-first title based on the video game of the same name.[91]
In 2014, DC announced an eight-issue miniseries titled Convergence which began in April 2015.[92][93][94][95]
In 2016, DC announced a line-wide relaunch titled DC Rebirth.[96] The new line would launch with an 80-page one-shot titled DC Universe: Rebirth, written by Geoff Johns, with art from Gary Frank, Ethan Van Sciver, and more. After that, many new series would launch with a twice-monthly release schedule and new creative teams for nearly every title. The relaunch was meant to bring back the legacy and heart many felt had been missing from DC characters since the launch of the New 52. Rebirth brought huge success, both financially and critically.[97][98][99]
WarnerMedia/Warner Bros. Discovery unit (2018–present)
On February 21, 2020, the Co-Publisher of DC Comics, Dan DiDio stepped down after 10 years at that position. The company did not give a reason for the move, nor did it indicate whether it was his decision or the company's. The leadership change was the latest event in the company restructuring which began the previous month, as several top executives were laid off from the company.[100][101] However, Bleeding Cool reported that he was fired.[102]
In June 2020, Warner Bros. announced a separate DC-themed online-only convention. Known as DC FanDome, the free "immersive virtual fan experience" was a 24-hour-long event held on August 22, 2020.[103] The main presentation, entitled "DC FanDome: Hall of Heroes", was held as scheduled on August 22.[104] The remaining programming was provided through a one-day video on demand experience, "DC FanDome: Explore the Multiverse", on September 12.
As Warner Bros. and DC's response to San Diego Comic-Con's cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the convention featured information about DC-based content including the DC Extended Universe film franchise, the Arrowverse television franchise, comic books, and video games. The convention also returned for the virtual premiere of Wonder Woman 1984[105] and returned once again on October 16, 2021.[106]
In August 2020, roughly one-third of DC's editorial ranks were laid off, including the editor-in-chief, senior story editor, executive editor, and several senior VPs.[107]
In March 2021, DC relaunched their entire line once again under the banner of Infinite Frontier. After the events of the Dark Nights: Death Metal storyline, the DC Multiverse was expanded into a larger "Omniverse" where everything is canon, effectively reversing the changes The New 52 introduced a decade prior.[108]
Furthermore, AT&T spun off WarnerMedia to Discovery, forming Warner Bros. Discovery. This merger was completed on April 8, 2022.
In January 2023, DC relaunched their line under the banner of Dawn of DC following the conclusion of Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths and Lazarus Planet.[109] Later that year, Jim Lee was promoted to President of DC in May.[110]
Logo
DC's first logo appeared on the April 1940 issues of its titles. The small logo, with no background, read simply, "A DC Publication".[citation needed]
The November 1941 DC titles introduced an updated logo. This version was almost twice the size of the previous one and was the first version with a white background. The name "Superman" was added to "A DC Publication", effectively acknowledging both Superman and Batman. This logo was the first to occupy the top-left corner of the cover, where the logo has usually resided since. The company now referred to itself in its advertising as "Superman-DC".[111]
In November 1949, the logo was modified to incorporate the company's formal name, National Comics Publications. This logo also served as the round body of Johnny DC, DC's mascot in the 1960s.[citation needed]
In October 1970, DC briefly retired the circular logo in favour of a simple "DC" in a rectangle with the name of the title, or the star of the book; the logo on many issues of Action Comics, for example, read "DC Superman". An image of the lead character either appeared above or below the rectangle. For books that did not have a single star, such as anthologies like House of Mystery or team series such as Justice League of America, the title and "DC" appeared in a stylized logo, such as a bat for "House of Mystery". This use of characters as logos helped to establish the likenesses as trademarks, and was similar to Marvel's contemporaneous use of characters as part of its cover branding.[citation needed]
DC's "100 Page Super-Spectacular" titles and later 100-page and "Giant" issues published from 1972 to 1974 featured a logo exclusive to these editions: the letters "DC" in a simple sans-serif typeface within a circle. A variant had the letters in a square.[citation needed]
The July 1972 DC titles featured a new circular logo. The letters "DC" were rendered in a block-like typeface that remained through later logo revisions until 2005. The title of the book usually appeared inside the circle, either above or below the letters.
In December 1973, this logo was modified with the addition of the words "The Line of DC Super-Stars" and the star motif that continued in later logos. This logo was placed in the top center of the cover from August 1975 to October 1976.[citation needed]
When Jenette Kahn became DC's publisher in late 1976, she commissioned graphic designer Milton Glaser to design a new logo. Popularly referred to as the "DC bullet", this logo premiered on the February 1977 titles. Although it varied in size and colour and was at times cropped by the edges of the cover, or briefly rotated 4 degrees, it remained essentially unchanged for nearly three decades. Despite logo changes since 2005, the old "DC bullet" continues to be used only on the DC Archive Editions series.[citation needed][112]
On May 8, 2005, a new logo (dubbed the "DC spin") was unveiled, debuting on DC titles in June 2005 with DC Special: The Return of Donna Troy No. 1 and the rest of the titles the following week. In addition to comics, it was designed for DC properties in other media, which was used for movies since Batman Begins, with Superman Returns showing the logo's normal variant, and the TV series Smallville, the animated series Justice League Unlimited and others, as well as for collectibles and other merchandise. The logo was designed by Josh Beatman of Brainchild Studios[113] and DC executive Richard Bruning.[114]
In March 2012, DC unveiled a new logo consisting of the letter "D" flipping back to reveal the letter "C" and "DC ENTERTAINMENT".[115]
DC Entertainment announced a new identity and logo for another iconic DC Comics universe brand on May 17, 2016. The new logo was first used on May 25, 2016, in conjunction with the release of DC Universe: Rebirth Special #1 by Geoff Johns.[116]
Gallery
1977–2005 logo, aka the "DC Bullet"
1977–2005 logo, aka the "DC Bullet"
2005–2012 logo, aka the "DC Spin"
2005–2012 logo, aka the "DC Spin"
2012–2016 logo
2012–2016 logo
DC Comics' current logo, introduced with the DC Rebirth relaunch in 2016
DC Comics' current logo, introduced with the DC Rebirth relaunch in 2016
Imprints
Main article: List of DC Comics imprints
Active
DC (1937–present)
Elseworlds (1989–2010, 2024–present)
WildStorm (1999–2010, 2017–present)
Earth-M (1993–1997, 2018–present)
Young Animal (2016–present)
DC Black Label (2018–present)[117]
Sandman Universe (2018–present)
Hill House Comics (2019–present)
Wonder Comics (2019–present)
DC Graphic Novels for Young Adults (2020–present)
DC Graphic Novels for Kids (2020–present)
DC Compact Comics (2024–present)[118]
Mad (1953–present)
Defunct
DC Archive Editions (1989–2014; replaced by DC Omnibus)
Piranha Press (1989–1993; renamed Paradox Press)
Impact Comics (1991–1993; licensed from Archie Comics)
Vertigo Comics (1993–2019)[7]
Amalgam Comics (1996–1997; jointly with Marvel Comics)
Helix (1996–1998; merged with Vertigo)
Tangent Comics (1997–1998)
Paradox Press (1998–2003)
WildStorm Productions (1999–2010)
America's Best Comics (1999–2005)
Homage Comics (1999–2004; merged to form WildStorm Signature)
Cliffhanger (1999–2004; merged to form WildStorm Signature)
WildStorm Signature (2004–2006; merged with main WildStorm line)
CMX Manga (2004–2010)
DC Focus (2004–2005; merged with main DC line)
Johnny DC (2004–2012)
All Star (2005–2008)
Minx (2007–2008)
Zuda Comics (2007–2010)
First Wave (2010–2011; licensed from Condé Nast Publications and Will Eisner Library)
DC Ink (2019; replaced by DC Graphic Novels for Young Adults)
DC Zoom (2019; replaced by DC Graphic Novels for Kids)
See also
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Companies portal
Batman Day (September 17)
DC Collectibles
DC Cosmic Cards
DC Extended Universe
DC Studios
List of comics characters which originated in other media
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List of DC Comics characters
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List of television series based on DC Comics publications
List of unproduced DC Comics projects
List of video games based on DC Comics
Publication history of DC Comics crossover events
Notes
In a 1947–1948 lawsuit field by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster against National, the presiding judge noted in a "Findings of Facts": "DETECTIVE COMICS, INC. was a corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of the State of New York, and was one of the constituent corporations consolidated on September 30, 1946 into defendant NATIONAL COMICS PUBLICATIONS, INC."[45]
Apocryphal legend has it that in 1961, either Jack Liebowitz or Irwin Donenfeld of DC Comics (then known as National Periodical Publications) bragged about DC's success with the Justice League (which had debuted in The Brave and the Bold No. 28 [February 1960] before going on to its own title) to publisher Martin Goodman (whose holdings included the nascent Marvel Comics, which was being distributed by DC's Independent News at this time.) during a game of golf.
However, film producer and comics historian Michael Uslan partly debunked the story in a letter published in Alter Ego No. 43 (December 2004), pp. 43–44
Irwin said he never played golf with Goodman, so the story is untrue. I heard this story more than a couple of times while sitting in the lunchroom at DC's 909 Third Avenue and 75 Rockefeller Plaza office as Sol Harrison and [production chief] Jack Adler were schmoozing with some of us ... who worked for DC during our college summers ... [T]he way I heard the story from Sol was that Goodman was playing with one of the heads of Independent News, not DC Comics (though DC owned Independent News) ... As the distributor of DC Comics, this man certainly knew all the sales figures and was in the best position to tell this tidbit to Goodman. ... Of course, Goodman would want to be playing golf with this fellow and be in his good graces ... Sol worked closely with Independent News' top management over the decades and would have gotten this story straight from the horse's mouth.
Goodman, a publishing trend-follower aware of the JLA's strong sales, confirmably directed his comics editor, Stan Lee, to create a comic-book series about a team of superheroes. According to Lee: "Martin mentioned that he had noticed one of the titles published by National Comics seemed to be selling better than most. It was a book called The [sic] Justice League of America and it was composed of a team of superheroes. ... ' If the Justice League is selling ', spoke he, 'why don't we put out a comic book that features a team of superheroes?'"[51]
DC Comics at the Grand Comics Database
DC Comics at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
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DC Comics
Former subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery
Key People
Jim Lee (CCO)Amit Desai (EVP, Creative director)Anne Leung DePies (Senior VP & GM)Whitney EllsworthIrwin DonenfeldCarmine InfantinoJenette KahnPaul LevitzBob HarrasMarie Javins
Publications
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Former
Aircel ComicsAll-American PublicationsAmalgam ComicsAmerican Comics GroupAnglo-American PublishingAnother Rainbow PublishingApe EntertainmentApple ComicsArcade ComicsAtlas ComicsAtlas/Seaboard ComicsAwesome ComicsAzteca ProductionsBell FeaturesBlackthorne PublishingBongo ComicsBroadway ComicsCat-Head ComicsCatalan CommunicationsCentaur PublicationsChaos! ComicsCharlton ComicsColumbia ComicsHarry "A" CheslerComicoComicsOneComiXology OriginalsContinuity ComicsContinüm ComicsCrestwood PublicationsCrossGenDabel Brothers ProductionsDavid McKay PublicationsDefiant ComicsDell ComicsDel Rey MangaDisney ComicsDouble Take ComicsDragon Lady PressDreamwave ProductionsEastern Color PrintingEC ComicsEclipse ComicsEternity ComicsFantaCo EnterprisesFawcett ComicsFiction HouseFirst ComicsFox Feature SyndicateFuture ComicsGemstone PublishingGilbertonGladstone PublishingGold Key ComicsHarvey ComicsHighwater BooksHillborough StudiosHillman PeriodicalsHolyoke PublishingInnovation PublishingKitchen Sink PressLion Forge ComicsMagazine EnterprisesMainline PublicationsMalibu ComicsMaple Leaf PublishingMillennium PublicationsMirage StudiosNational Comics PublicationsNedor PublishingNew Reliable PressNOW ComicsPacific ComicsPendulum PressPrint MintQuality ComicsRenegade PressRevolutionary ComicsSemic ComicsSirius ComicsSirius EntertainmentSkywald PublicationsSparkplug ComicsStandard ComicsStrawberry Jam ComicsStreet & SmithTekno ComixTimely ComicsTopps ComicsTundra PublishingVertigo ComicsViper ComicsWarren PublishingWildstorm
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DC Comics war titles
Titles
All-Out WarBlackhawksBlitzkriegG.I. CombatMen of WarOur Army at WarOur Fighting ForcesStar Spangled War StoriesThe War that Time ForgotWeird War Tales
Characters
BlackhawkBoy CommandosCreature CommandosEasy CompanyEnemy AceG.I. RobotHaunted TankHop HarriganThe LosersMademoiselle MarieSgt. RockUnknown Soldier
Editors
Murray BoltinoffArchie GoodwinRobert KanigherJoe KubertJoe Orlando
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DC Comics crossover event publication history
1980s
"Crisis on Infinite Earths" (April 1985)"Legends" (November 1986)"Millennium" (January 1988)"Invasion!" (January 1989)"The Janus Directive" (May 1989)
1990s
"Armageddon 2001" (May 1991)"War of the Gods" (September 1991)"Eclipso: The Darkness Within" (July 1992)"The Death of Superman" (October 1992)"Bloodlines" (1993)"The Children's Crusade" (December 1993)"Worlds Collide" (July 1994)"End of an Era" (August 1994)"Zero Hour: Crisis in Time!" (September 1994)"Underworld Unleashed" (November 1995)"DC vs. Marvel" (April 1996)"The Final Night" (November 1996)"Genesis" (October 1997)"DC One Million" (November 1998)"Day of Judgment" (November 1999)"JLApe: Gorilla Warfare!" (1999)
2000s
"Our Worlds at War" (August 2001)"Joker: Last Laugh" (December 2001)"Identity Crisis" (June 2004)"Infinite Crisis" (December 2005)"Amazons Attack!" (March 2007)"Sinestro Corps War" (August 2007)"Final Crisis" (July 2008)"Blackest Night" (June 2009)
2010s
"Brightest Day" (May 2010)"Reign of Doomsday" (January 2011)"Flashpoint" (May 2011)"The Culling" (November 2011)"Batman: Night of the Owls" (April 2012)"Death of the Family" (October 2012)"H'El on Earth" (October 2012)"Throne of Atlantis" (November 2012)"Wrath of the First Lantern (February 2013)"Batman: Zero Year" (June 2013)"Trinity War" (July 2013)"Forever Evil" (September 2013)"Forever Evil: Blight" (October 2013)"The New 52: Futures End" (September 2014)"Convergence" (April 2015)"Darkseid War" (June 2015)"Dark Nights: Metal" (June 2017)"The Lazarus Contract" (July 2017)"Doomsday Clock" (November 2017)"Milk Wars" (March 2018)"Heroes in Crisis" (September 2018)"The Terminus Agenda" (March 2019)"Year of the Villain" (May 2019)
2020s
"Dark Nights: Death Metal" (June 2020)"Joker War" (September 2020)"Generations" (September 2020)"Endless Winter" (December 2020)"Future State" (January 2021)"Infinite Frontier" (June 2021)"Fear State" (August 2021)"War for Earth-3" (March 2022)"Shadow War" (April 2022)"Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths" (May 2022)"The New Golden Age" (November 2022)"Lazarus Planet" (January 2023)"Worlds Collide" (February 2023)"Knight Terrors" (July 2023)"Gotham War" (August 2023)"Titans: Beast World" (November 2023)
Launch lines
DC ImplosionThe New 52DC RebirthThe New Age of DC HeroesNew JusticeThe Sandman UniverseMilestone ReturnsInfinite FrontierMurphyverseThe New Golden AgeDawn of DC
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Golden Age of Comic Books
Ace Comics
Captain CourageousDoctor NemesisThe FlagLash LightningThe RavenUnknown SoldierVulcan
All-American
Publications
The Atom Al PrattBlack Canary Dinah DrakeDoctor Mid-Nite Charles McNiderDoiby DicklesThe Flash Jay GarrickThe Gay GhostGreen Lantern Alan ScottHawkgirl Shiera Sanders HallHawkman Carter HallHop HarriganJohnny ThunderJustice Society of AmericaThe KingMister Terrific Terry SloaneNeptune PerkinsRed TornadoSargon the SorcererThe Terrific WhatzitThunderboltUltra-ManThe WhipWildcat Ted GrantWonder Woman Diana Prince
Centaur Comics
AirmanAmazing-ManThe ArrowThe ClockThe EyeFantom of the FairMagician from MarsThe Masked MarvelMinimidget
Charlton Comics
Atomic MouseCaptain AtomNightshadeMr. MusclesNature BoySpace AdventuresYellowjacket
Dell Comics
Doctor HormoneFlash GordonThe OwlPhantasmoSupermind's SonZorro
Fawcett Comics
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Fox Comics
Black FuryBlue Beetle Dan GarretThe BouncerBronze ManDynamoThe FlameGreen MaskThe MothSamsonStardust the Super WizardU.S. JonesWonder Man
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Lev Gleason
Publications
Captain BattleClawCrimebusterDaredevilLittle Wise GuysSilver Streak
MLJ Comics
The Black HoodBob PhantomCaptain FlagThe CometThe FireflyThe FoxThe HangmanRang-a-Tang the Wonder DogThe ShieldSuper DuckThe WebThe Wizard
National Allied
Publications
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Nedor Comics
American CrusaderAmerican EagleBlack TerrorCaptain FutureDoc StrangeFighting YankThe GhostGrim ReaperJudy of the JungleKara the Jungle PrincessLance Lewis, Space DetectiveLiberatorThe MagnetMiss MasquePrincess PanthaPyromanThe ScarabThe Woman in Red
Novelty Press
Blue BoltDick ColeThe TargetThe TargeteersThe Twister
Prize
Publications
Atomic-ManBlack OwlFighting AmericanGreen LamaYank & Doodle
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#711The Black CondorBlackhawkBlue TracerBozo the Iron ManCaptain TriumphDoll GirlDoll ManFirebrandThe Human BombInvisible HoodThe JesterKid EternityLady LuckMadame FatalMagnoManhunterMerlin the MagicianMidnightMiss AmericaMiss FearMouthpieceNeon the UnknownPhantom LadyPlastic ManQuicksilverThe RayRed BeeRed TorpedoThe SpiderSpider WidowUncle SamWildfireWonder BoyWoozy Winks
Timely Comics
All-Winners SquadAmerican AceThe AngelBlack MarvelBlack Widow Claire VoyantBlazing SkullBlonde PhantomBlue BladeBlue DiamondBreeze BartonBucky Bucky BarnesCaptain AmericaCaptain WonderThe ChallengerCitizen VThe DestroyerDynamic ManFather TimeThe FerretFiery MaskThe FinGolden GirlThe Human TorchJack FrostLaughing MaskMarvel BoyMercuryMiss AmericaMiss FuryMister ENamorNamoraThe PatriotPhantom ReporterRed RavenRockmanSilver ScorpionSun GirlSuper RabbitThin ManThundererTim MulrooneyToroVenusThe VisionThe Whizzer Robert FrankThe WitnessYoung Allies
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