Embedded Files
By Sophia Doshi
Ahead of the July 9, 2025 premiere of James Gunn’s new Superman film, I want to take a moment to reflect of all of the different interpretations of our caped symbol of hope over the years. This new film promises a true-to-character interpretation of Superman, with David Corenswet playing the hero and his alter-ego, Clark Kent (also known as Kal-El).
When the US was emerging from the disruptive Great Depression, when Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt were the presiding presidents, Americans needed a symbol of hope to reinvigorate the population and boost morale among the effected masses. This time coincides with Action Comics’ release of the first ever Superman comic, titled Action Comics #1, in April 18, 1938.
Action Comics was an American comic and magazine brand that first introduced the well-known hero in the 1930s. Previously known as Detective Comics, later merging to become National Comics Publications, the brand is now famously known as DC Comics.
Image from Wikipedia
Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster - Image from The New Yorker
Publication Timeline
Publication Timeline
The Golden Age
The Golden Age
Originally created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Superman was first introduced in Action Comics on April 18, 1938. However, before they successfully published the comic, Superman was run in newspaper strips to introduce the character. He was originally “a bald madman…who used his telepathic abilities to wreak havoc on humanity”. He had appeared in Siegel and Shuster’s fanzine (fan-magazine) Science Fiction. Upon reflection, Siegel commented, “What if this Superman was a force for good instead of evil?” So, when asked to provide a feature for National’s newest publication, the two men submitted Superman for consideration. After preparing the newspaper strips in comic book format, National ran the comic as the cover feature of their new magazine. Yet Harry Donenfeld dismissed the feature as ridiculous and demanded that it never be on the cover of the series. Still, subsequent reports of the issue’s strong sales revealed that Superman was the reason. This incentivized National to re-feature Superman from issue 19, onwards.
The Golden Age also saw appearances from:
Zatara, a magician
ex Thompson (who later became Mr. America then Americommando)
VIgilante
Hayfoot Henry (a policeman who talked in rhymes)
Lois Lane also appeared in Action Comics #1, forever sealed in Superman’s lore. Jimmy Olsen is allegedly seen in Action Comics #6, appearing as “Superman’s Phony Manager”.
Issue #11 (April 1939): new powers, including X-ray vision and super-hearing.
Issue #20 (January 1940): new powers, including telescopic vision and super-breath.
Lex Luthor, the infamous arch-villain, was introduced in #23, in April 1940.
#64 (September 1943): Toyman, as created by writer Don Cameron and artist Ed Dobrotka.
1942: Artist Wayne Boring became a major artist in Superman.
The Silver Age
The Silver Age
Action Comics expanded on Superman’s mythology, with the creation of the Fortress of Solitude in #241 (June 1958). Writers Otto Binder and Al Plastino created the villain Braniac and the Bottle City of Kandor the following month. The size of the issues also increased due to increased demand and success. The introduction of Supergirl also followed in #252 (May 1959). Interestingly, during this time, Supergirl adopted the alias of Linda Lee and made Midvale Orphanage her home base of operations.
#261 (February 1960): Supergirl’s cat Streaky was introduced in collaboration with Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney.
#276: Supergirl joins Legion of Super-Heroes.
#262 (April 1960): Bizarro World introduced in “The World of Bizarros!”
#340 (August 1966): The villain Parasite is introduced.
Image from Wordpress
Action Comics #441 - Image from DC Fandom
The Bronze Age
The Bronze Age
The Green Arrow and the Black Canary, later seen extensively in the CW’s Arrow, were introduced in feature #421 and ran through #458. The superheroine Vixen made her first appearance in #521 (July 1981), and to mark the 45th anniversary of the series, Lex Luthor and Brainiac were both given updated appearances in #544. A funny connection is that Jean-Marc Lofficier wrote #579, and made a tribute to Asterix, a French comic series, where Superman and Jimmy Olsen are transported back in time to a small village of Gauls.
Action Comics #447 - Image from DC Fandom
The Modern Age
The Modern Age
Crisis on Infinite Earths, later explored in 2010s adaptations in shows from the CW, was introduced in 1985-1986 as a 12-issue limited series. The writer, John Byrne, followed this with the Man of Steel limited series in 1986. With #584 (January 1987) a team-up of Superman and the New Teen Titans also had costars including the Phantom Stranger, the New Gods, the Demon, Hawkman and Hawkwoman, the Green Lantern Corps, the Metal Men, Superboy, Big Barda, Mister Miracle, Booster Gold, the Martian Manhunter, the Spectre, Lois Lane and Lana Lang, Checkmate, Wonder Woman (my favorite DC Hero!) and the Man-Bat. The first Action Comics Annual was published in 1987 and featured a team-up between Superman and Batman. Imagine the writers (Byrne and Arthur Adams) hearing the quote from Batman vs. Superman today: “Do you bleed?”
From May 24, 1988, to March 14, 1989, the publication frequency was changed to weekly and the title was changed to Action Comics Weekly. These issues featured rotating stories of other DC characters, including the Black Canary, Blackhawk, Captain Marvel, Catwoman, Deadman, Nightwing, the Phantom Lady, the Phantom Stranger, the Secret Six, Speedy and Wild Dog. The final issue was intended to feature a lengthy encounter between Clark Kent and Hal Jordan. The story challenged DC’s editorial policy at the time as it portrayed Hal Jordan and Clark Kent as old friends who knew each other's secret identities. This was not considered canon in 1989, but Gaiman was unwilling to change this aspect of the story, so the story was pulled and a one-shot was published in its place. Gaiman’s story was eventually published as a one-shot in Green Lantern/Superman: Legend of the Green Flame. The weekly format was replaced by issue #643, returning the publication to its original monthly timeline.
1991: Roger Stern wrote the story in which Clark Kent reveals his identity to Lois Lane.
#851: The “Last Son” storyline was written by Geoff Johns and Richard Donner, the director of the 1978 film Superman: The Movie. The story features the original character, Christopher Kent, and introduces General Zod, Ursa and Non into the DC Universe.
#879 (September 2009): The Captain Atom backup feature began.
DC Rebirth
DC Rebirth
In June 2016, Action Comics reverted to its original numbering, with Action Comics #957, and served as a continuation of Superman: Lois and Clark. This particular installment featured the pre-Flashpoint Superman alongside his wife, Lois Lane, and their son, Jon Kent. For the 1000th issue (April 18, 2018), DC reverted Superman back to his traditional costume with red trunks and a yellow belt.
Cinema Timeline
Cinema Timeline
Staying true to the character created and modified by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in June 1938, Superman has seen many variations of character, appearance, storyline and adaptations. The character first appeared on the silver screen in a series of animated shorts beginning in 1941, and featured in two movie serials in 1948 and 1950. A movie serial is a film-like feature that is divided into episodes and shown in theatres weekly (the good old days, eh?).
An independent studio called Lippert Pictures released the first feature film, Superman and the Mole Men, starring George Reeves, in 1951. Richard Donner was hired to direct the 1978 Superman: The Movie and Superman II, both starring Christopher Reeve. Donner had directed around 75% of Superman II before he was fired, and Richard Lester was hired as his replacement (drama!). Lester also returned to direct Superman III, and the same owners to the original rights, Ilya and Alexander Salkind, created the spin-off Supergirl in 1984. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace was a poorly reviewed sequel made after the Salkinds sold the rights to Cannon Films. Salkind commissioned a fifth Superman script before Warner Bros. acquired the rights in 1993 (thank GOODNESS, those rights needed to be taken away).
Warner Bros. developed (and canceled) three projects over the course of 11 years:
Superman Lives (Tim Burton, starring Nicolas Cage)
Batman vs. Superman (Wolfgang Petersen)
Superman: Flyby (J.J. Abrams’ script, directed by Joseph Nichols and Brett Ratner)
In 2004, the studio hired Bryan Singer and released Superman Returns (2006, starring Brandon Routh), and Donner’s cut for Superman II released in the same year. The studio was disappointed in the financial performance of Returns and canceled a sequel.
While not necessarily cinema, Tom Welling starred as Clark Kent before he was Superman in the CW series, Smallville. The pilot aired in October 2001 and became the highest-rated debut for the WB, now known as the CW.
Man of Steel (YESSSSS)
Man of Steel (YESSSSS)
Here we address my personal favorite Superman movie to date. Sack Snyder’s Man of Steel (2013) was the first-ever Superman movie I’ve ever watched, and since I watched it with my father, it forever solidified itself as a special film in my heart. It also definitely doesn’t hurt that Henry Cavill stars as (subjectively) the hunkiest Superman to date. Man of Steel became the first installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), which was an attempt to rival the wildly successful Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). This particular adaptation framed Superman as the unknown, and what humanity doesn’t know, humans are afraid of.
Just look at that beautiful face. Image from Flite Cast
Cavill then appeared as Superman in:
Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Justice League (2017)
Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
Cameo appearance in Black Adam (2022)
Cameo appearance in The Flash (2023)
Justice League - Cover image from Nerd Caster
Dawn of Justice - Cover image from The New Yorker
Cover image from Heroic Hollywood
That finally brings us to the much-anticipated movie (at the very least, anticipated by yours truly), Superman, directed by James Gunn and starring David Corenswet. Will it be hard to follow in Cavill’s footsteps? Maybe. But James Gunn already believes that this adaptation will blow fans away (I’m holding him to that). This adaptation will humanize Superman and make him a symbol for hope again. Behind-the-scenes footage already shows the scenes he films with children being goofy and human, which is what Superman has always been about. The kids are not seeing him as David, but as the caped hero he is portraying. That is evidence of a role well played.
With Corenswet and Gunn's Superman, a new legacy of a timeless character will yet again be created. No matter the version, Superman endures because he speaks to something deeper within us: the belief that even in our darkest times, a force for good can rise.
Keep looking up.
Cover image from Decider TV
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