Superman came on the scene 80 years ago and was a totally new concept at a time when stories relating to science fiction were very few. Writers like H. G. Wells dealt with imaginary situations of a war between humans and creatures from another world, but Superman was a breath of fresh air and is popular even today after so many years.
New Zealand Herald reports that the character was created by a couple of high school students. They were Jerry Siegal and Joe Shuster and they created Superman out of a desire of every teenage boy. The desire was to possess immense powers in order to undertake apparently impossible tasks and impress the girls.
The first appearance of the Action Hero was on the cover of a June 1938 comic book.
Background of Superman
The origin of Superman is shrouded in mystery. He was an alien and lived with his parents on a distant planet, Krypton. When the planet was about to disintegrate, his parents put him in a rocket and sent it hurtling towards the Earth. It landed in Smallville and the boy was raised by Martha and Jonathan Kent. They named him Clark who later moved to Metropolis and joined the Daily Planet as a reporter. It is here that he met Lois Lane, a fellow reporter. He fell for her but she ignored him because she only had eyes for Superman.
As time passed, the action hero realized that he was in possession of some inbuilt powers and could carry out nearly impossible tasks.
He began to use those powers to fight crime and help out people in distress. The origin of the character was what science fiction is all about – to blur the difference between fantasy and reality.
Legacy of the hero
No one can mistake Superman – his costume is in primary colors with the red “S” insignia emblazoned on his chest.
He possesses X-Ray vision and can fly from one location to another at lightning speed to perform impossible tasks and rescue people in distress.
This action hero is now 80 years old and other similar science fiction characters like Batman, Deadpool and Wolverine are later entrants. They fall into the category of clones. Superman's popularity is because of his adaptability.
He is there in films, animations, television, radio and video games. He is the be-all and end-all of sci-fi characters in his time.
Forbes adds that the first time he came on celluloid was in “Superman" (1978). Christopher Reeves portrayed the role to perfection. In those days, technology was in its infancy and getting the tricky shots required experienced people.
