Three Great Moments in Superman Comics
The Golden Age, the Silver Age and the Modern Age All Had Excellent Superman Comic Books
Warning: The following contains discussions of misogyny and sexual violence. Reader discretion is advised.
Superman is an alien refugee from the planet Krypton and a red cape-wearing superhero with the secret identity of newspaper journalist Clark Kent. Lois Lane, a reporter at the same newspaper as Clark, is one of Superman’s love interests. Superman helps and protects the defenseless. This has been the lore throughout every era, from Superman’s first appearance in Action Comics #1 in 1938 to the comic books published by DC today. Nevertheless, other aspects of Superman lore haven’t been as consistent.
In the Golden Age of comics, Superman was a quick-tempered social activist. There was an especially memorable moment in Action Comics #1 when Superman stopped a creepy man who refused to take Lois’ “no” for an answer. In the 1950s, the character interpretation of Superman as a soft-natured superhero with the attitude of a Boy Scout was born. This era gave us another great moment in Superman comics in Adventure Comics #210 when Superman, as Superboy in Smallville, realized that his bond with Krypto, a superpowered dog from Krypton, began when he was a baby and Krypto was a puppy. Lastly, in the Modern Age, Superman is a symbol of hope for the struggling masses. Superman for All Seasons, published by DC in 1998, had a heartbreaking moment that showed the sacrifices Clark made to become Superman and the emotional burden he carries.
Superman Stopped a Creepy, Self-Entitled Man in Action Comics #1
In the Golden Age of Comics, Superman was an Outlaw and a Radical
In the Golden Age of comics, defined as approximately 1938 through 1955, Superman was introduced as an alien refugee, a quick-tempered outlaw, a socio-political radical and a character who wasn’t averse to committing violence against the powerful and power-hungry. Action Comics #1, Superman and Lois Lane’s first appearances, written and drawn by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1938, and Superman #1, written and drawn by Siegel and Shuster in 1939, both had narration that stated:
“Superman! Champion of the oppressed, the physical marvel who had sworn to devote his existence to helping those in need!
Superman couldn’t fly in his early years. He didn’t have this power until Superman #10, written by Siegel and drawn by Leo Nowak in 1941. However, Superman could leap tall buildings in a single bound, with the proportional strength of a grasshopper.
Action Comics #1 is widely considered the first superhero comic book and is believed to have ushered in the Golden Age. Countless comic book covers across publishers and genres have paid homage to the Action Comics #1 cover artwork, including The Amazing Spider-Man #306 from Marvel Comics, Kevin Keller #5 from Archie Comics and Lady Death: Apocalyptic Abyss #1 from Coffin Comics. Additionally, the iconic cover is displayed as a mural on the outside of the Superman Museum in Metropolis, Illinois
While many comic book fans recognize the cover of Action Comics #1, fewer are aware of the context being depicted - Superman stopping a creepy man who refused to take no for an answer.
When Clark and Lois were out dancing in Action Comics #1, they were interrupted by Butch Matson, who demanded Lois dance with him. After she declined, Butch and his friends grabbed Lois and stuffed her into a green automobile, the one on the cover of Action Comics #1. The men drove Lois out of the city and into the countryside. While the comic doesn’t explicitly say that these men were rapists, it was strongly implied. Fortunately, in one of the greatest moments ever in a Superman comic, Superman stopped the moving vehicle with his bare hands. He then smashed the car, rescued Lois and strung Butch up on a telephone pole.
Other great moments in Action Comics #1 included Superman breaking into the governor’s mansion, getting an innocent woman off death row, throwing a wifebeater against the wall like a dart and repeatedly jumping high into the air as the Washington DC lobbyist in his arms screamed.
It should be noted that I wrote about the deeper meaning and historical context of Action Comics #1 in my CBR article, Action Comics #1 is One of the Greatest Works of Anti-Fascist Art Ever Made, arguing that it was “a Jewish expression of solidarity for everyone else who was also being kicked around by society.” Since I’m not retreading the points I already made, please consider reading the piece if you haven’t already done so.
DC published a sequel to Action Comics #1 in the anthology Action Comics #1000 in 2018. The Car, a five-page comic written by Geoff Johns and Richard Donner and drawn by Olivier Coipel, revealed that Butch’s father died during World War I, his mother when he was 13, and as a teenager, he was raised in an orphanage. Superman told Butch, “you’ve had your fair share of knocks, and you can keep on knocking back,” or become a better person. The reimagining of Butch in Action Comics #1000 was shortsighted. The problem with this man wasn’t that he was angry and belligerent, but that he felt entitled to a woman’s body. Men who come from enormous privilege can and do have the same sexist attitudes and commit the same types of violent acts.
Krypto’s Origin Story as a Kryptonian Test Pilot was Revealed in Adventure Comics #210
In the Silver Age of Comics, Superman Spread American Values Worldwide
The Silver Age of comics, defined as approximately 1956 through 1970, is when the interpretation of Superman as the big, blue Boy Scout was cemented and when he was endowed with Godlike physical strength and other fanciful superpowers. No longer did Superman gleefully torment the greedy and corrupt or throw machine gun-toting goons off skyscrapers to plummet to their deaths. Instead, Superman was a bastion of politeness and a hero capable of seeing the good in all people. While Superman’s slogan “truth, justice and the American way” was first said in 1942 in the radio show, The Adventures of Superman, this interpretation of the character’s ideals was most pronounced during the Silver Age.
Lawmakers held Senate hearings in 1954, charging that comic books were corrupting America’s youth and being published in poor taste. This was in response to Seduction of the Innocent, a book written by psychiatrist Fredric Wertham in 1954 that blamed comic books for juvenile delinquency. Simultaneously, in 1953 and 1954, Senator Joseph McCarthy led Senate hearings about suspected communists whom he and others wanted removed from public life.
To avoid government regulation, the comic book industry censored itself by establishing the Comics Code Authority (CCA) in 1954. For a comic book to be sold on newsstands, it needed the CCA’s stamp of approval on its cover, showing that it abided by their guidelines. This included rules like “Policemen, judges, government officials, and respected institutions shall never be presented in such a way as to create disrespect for established authority” and “Scenes of excessive violence shall be prohibited.” The CCA effectively killed horror comics until Warren Publishing launched Creepy in 1964, Eerie in 1966 and Vampirella in 1969, which were sold as magazines instead of comic books to avoid CCA censorship. Additionally, the CCA helped transform superhero comics from often transgressive storytelling into sillier, campier and more lighthearted fare.
Today, DC juxtaposes Superman, a superhero with a sunny disposition, with Batman, a darker, more stoic superhero. However, this couldn’t have been the motivation for Superman’s change in characterization in the Silver Age. Both men were usually smiling in this era.
In the Foreword to the book Superman in the Fifties, comic book writer Mark Waid argued that Superman’s characterization in the Silver Age was a product of post-World War 2 attitudes. After helping the Allied Forces defeat Nazi Germany, Waid said that Americans felt patriotic and believed their nation to be a force for good as “the world’s police,” adding:
“We were justifiably proud of ourselves and believed more than ever in the ideals of order and virtue. In reflection, Superman gradually curbed his rebel ways to become more of a super-lawman – a global Boy Scout, if you will.”
Silver Age Superman lore, such as Jor-El having been a superhero on Earth before Superman, is usually ignored in the Modern Age. However, the existence of Krypto, Superman’s superpowered pet dog, is a notable exception.
Krypto first appeared in Adventure Comics #210, written by Otto Binder, drawn by Curt Swan and Sy Barry and published by DC in 1955. This predated Supergirl’s first appearance in Action Comics #252 by four years. Krypto was troublesome and unruly, but joyful and kind-hearted, potentially reminding readers of both Superman and their own pet dogs. Adventure Comics #210 revealed that before Jor-El launched Kal-El into outer space, he tested the rocket’s design on Krypto. In other words, Krypto wasn’t only the last dog of Krypton, but a family dog that originally belonged to Superman’s birth parents.
Adventure Comics #210 was about Superman when he was still Superboy in Smallville, Kansas. After Krypto used X-ray vision to locate a bone buried deep in the ground, Superboy observed that he not only shared his super strength, but his other abilities, too. There was a particularly memorable moment in Adventure Comics #210 when, after reading Jor-El’s note, Superboy realized the bond he shared with Krypto began when he was a baby and Krypto was a puppy.
As Krypto licked his face, Superboy said with tears in his eyes:
“Krypto – my very own dog. Kind fate brought us together again after all these years.”
Adventure Comics #210 has action, adventure and a Lana Lang appearance. However, at its heart, it’s about a boy being reunited with his dog and learning how to take care of him.
The Burden of Being Superman was Depicted in Superman for All Seasons
In the Modern Age of Comics, Superman is a Symbol of Hope
In the Modern Age of comics, defined as approximately 1986 through the present day, Superman is a symbol of hope for the struggling and suffering masses. He’s the superhero who prevents a child from falling off the ledge, comforts a young woman on the verge of suicide and stops planetary destruction. Superman is a beacon of virtue and a guiding light, inspiring the citizens of Metropolis and the world to do good deeds.
Some comic book creators use Jesus Christ symbolism when writing the character, but this is a mistake. Two Jewish men from Cleveland created Superman in the late 1930s, the height of global antisemitism, and he was analogous to Jewish refugees fleeing Europe. It’s more appropriate for Modern Age comic creators to depict Superman as a metaphor for Moses, the prophet who led the ancient Israelites to freedom, as this is more relevant to Jewish theology.
Superman for All Seasons, a four-issue miniseries written by Jeph Loeb, drawn by Tim Sale and published by DC in 1998, is a top-notch Modern Age Superman comic. Each issue took place in a different season of the year, a metaphor for the chapters in Superman’s life. Each issue also featured a different narrator – Jonathan Kent, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor and Lana Lang.
Sale’s artwork in Superman for All Seasons was incredible. The book had breathtaking two-page splashes of Clark and Jonathan enjoying the sunset together in Smallville, the Metropolis skyline with a Metropolis: Home of Superman billboard in the foreground and Superman flying through outer space. Ten years before Clark was called “the red-blue blur” in Season 8 of the CW television series Smallville, Sale drew a blur of thick, red, blue and yellow lines to show the supersonic speed of Superman flying through the air.
Superman for All Seasons effectively showed the emotional burden of being Superman and the personal sacrifices Clark made to become a superhero. This is a common theme in Spider-Man stories, but it’s rarely explored in Superman comics, especially with this level of weight and gravitas.
Shortly before Clark and Lana, the girl next door and his first romantic love, graduated from Smallville High, he lifted her into the air and revealed that he could fly. He told her he had a responsibility to use his powers for good, adding that this meant moving to Metropolis, where he could make a bigger difference than in Smallville. Lana was visibly distressed while airborne, a reaction that contrasted with Lois’ attitude in Superman for All Seasons, who was thrilled by a similar experience in Metropolis. Afterwards, Clark and Lana passionately kissed, and he promised to return someday to Smallville.
There was a heartbreaking moment in Superman for All Seasons when Clark returned to Smallville for the first time, only to discover that Lana wasn’t there anymore. Clark was holding a bouquet, meant for Lana, when Pastor Linquist, who was helping tend the Lang family’s garden, informed him that she had left Smallville at the same time as him. This was after years of Clark being unable to keep in touch with Lana or know her whereabouts in life.
At this point in Superman for All Seasons, it didn’t make sense why Lana was avoiding Clark. However, in the final issue’s narration, Lana explained it when she recounted the night that Clark revealed to her that he could fly:
“He was so excited, as if whatever he had to say was going to be the best thing in the world. He was going to ask me to marry him. I was sure of it. Everything I ever wanted was going to come true - but that’s not what happened.”
Lana, a mild-mannered hometown girl, realized that she needed to have dreams beyond getting married and having kids. However, this didn’t erase her initial feelings of disappointment in Clark. By the end of Superman for All Seasons, Clark and Lana had reconciled, and she expressed admiration for him becoming Superman, someone she said was making the world a safer and more caring place.
Superman can smash a car, see through walls and bounce bullets off his chest. Nevertheless, Superman for All Seasons demonstrated that his greatest strength is his humanity. We don’t have Superman by our side in the real world, but we can still overcome emotional hardships in our lives and defeat evil and injustice in society. Whether it’s from the Golden Age, the Silver Age or the Modern Age, great Superman comics serve as a reminder of this power and possibility.
If you enjoyed this article, you can tip me on Venmo.
My next comic book review will be about Hell of a Job #1, a horror comic book from Weird Brain Entertainment. You can expect it online and in your emails on Friday, August 15.
What a great look at Superman through the ages! You did a great job highlighting how he’s changed while also maintaining a certain essence to his character. I’ve seen some people get livid over Krypto, but I’m so happy to see he’s enjoying a comeback. Thanks for another great newsletter!